I’ve always enjoyed reading histories and authentic historical fiction which allow me to imagine visiting a different time. Many places where Kit and I have traveled felt like a different time. Being older now, text blurs on the pages and neither Kit nor I are as adventurous traveling. Fortunately, I’ve discovered a new time machine.

Kit and I “cut the cable” last year and subscribed to an internet feed. There I found literally thousands of old movies mostly in black and white. Some fictionalize time travel and can be entertaining but rarely provide the experience of another time. Others tell stories set in other times. I watch these too but turn them off when modern values (anachronisms) are projected into characters of different eras.

My favorites are old movies having nothing to do with time travel. But they are for viewers at the time they were made. Old movies provide a visual window into the values, living conditions, and struggles of people living and viewing during a different time. Old movies are about people and not stunts or special effects. They are generally free of prolonged violence and semi-pornographic sex.

The emotional plots are nuanced with deeply flawed characters in desperate situations. Some people might characterize these “good old days” movies as wholesome. Most are not. Subtle references may appear innocent to the naïve but titillate the imaginations of those so inclined.

While watching these old movies, my mind is truly transported to a different time. “That was nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there,” Kit and I have said about many places visited. I feel the same way about the times represented by old movies.

Drew