If you grew up in Guelph
I belong to a Facebook group called “If you grew up in Guelph, Ontario, do you remember …?” Most communities have a similar online group. It’s not unique. Frequently, the site descends into transparent nostalgia porn. Members misremember, or mis-state their memories and make the past look better than it actually was. I take it for granted - and naively credit others for knowing it - that the golden age we long for was never entirely real. Nostalgia venerates the past by shrouding it in forgetfulness.
Anyway, here are some differences between me and other Guelphites that I've discovered in this group: 1) Even though I grew up in Guelph, I never heard of the 100 Steps before I learned about them in the group last year. I still know nothing about them. Where are they? What are they? Why are they such a feature in people's memories? Beats me. 2) I have no recollection of how easy it was to get marijuana downtown, since I've never smoked marijuana. 3) I've never been to the Hillside Festival. I have only a faint idea where it is. Honestly, I don't really care. 4) I have no fond recollection of partying at downtown bars like King Eddie, the Chooch, the Albion, etc. I've never been inside a bar. I've never been drunk. And, except for modestly tasting beer and wine, I've never had an alcoholic drink in my life. Fantastic tales recalling glorious drunken adventures in rose-tinted youth don't impress me. 5) So many Guelphites seem to have experienced movies at the Mustang drive-in that there is a common assumption that it’s a universal experience, a mark of genuine Guelph-ness. Once again, I’m a black sheep in that regard. I only know the name of the Mustang. I’ve never been there, and I don’t even know where it is.
Oh, well.