I had kind of a curious experience the other day. I was in a shop and a woman walked up to the cash register and wanted to buy something and she asked the shop person, “Do you take cash?” Wow, I thought. Times have changed. Changed, as times always do.
 
I mean, when you’re at street fairs or flea markets, and stuff like that, a lot of people want to only get paid via apps like Venmo or Zelle and the like. But, a store? That was strange.
 
I mean, I haven’t carried any cash in a long time. All you need is your phone. But, I still know cash exists. I still know it is accepted at most establishments. I guess this is a sign of what is to come. Times are changing.
 
It’s kind of like I have watched as the guitar marketplace has changed. As a longtime player, lover of, and a collector of guitars; once upon a time you never wanted any damage to befall your instrument. If you bumped it or dropped it, or whatevered it, and it got damaged, you were really upset. I used watch as people who got the smallest nick to their guitars bring it to my friend, who is a guitar luthier, and they would want him to repair it; bring it back to the way it once was.
 
I don’t know exactly when it was, maybe about ten years ago or so, but all of a sudden that changed. It was cool to have a totally messed up guitar. So much so, that companies began to issue what they called, “Relics.” Meaning, they made guitars that looked like they had totally been put through the wringer.
 
At least in my mind, it’s one thing if you bought a guitar new and through the years you played it so much that it came to that level. But, to buy it like that. That just seems disingenuous.
 
You know, and that’s the thing, times change. Reality changes. What is or is not desired changes
 
It’s like, I was at a Target yesterday. A woman walks up to me. A woman of Roma descent. She had a baby in her arms and a shopping cart full of baby and other stuff. She said, “Excuse me, sir. Can you buy this for me—for my baby.” Wow, that’s a first. I mean, at least here in L.A., it’s not uncommon to see Roma women with children begging for money outside of the Post Office and stuff. But, this was the first time I got hit up in a store. The method is constantly evolving.
 
It’s kind of like; I’ve been recently having this realization. It kind of happened a little while back. I would go into a store or someplace and I would be paying the cashier or whomever. Looking at them, they are female and aging. At first glance, I would notice their age; elderly. But, look at bit deeper, and you could/can see that once upon a time they were undoubtedly an attractive young female. Probably, full of life, with all of the dreams of tomorrow that all young people hold. Now, older. All most people see is an elderly person.
 
That’s the thing about life, it all is always changing. Sometimes things stay the same for a long period of time. Certainly, the older an individual gets, the more they want to hold onto the what once was. But, everything moves, everything changes, everything evolves.
 
Keep moving. Or, stay stagnant. Your choice. But, no matter how much you hold onto the what once was, it is guaranteed that it will not be that way tomorrow.