Were or are you a square now or then?

The cool kids in college did not study because that wasn't cool. You had to wear sloppy clothes,
smoke pot and listen a lot to rock. Bell Bottoms and cool t shirts, necklaces.
I have 2 good friends now that I would NEVER be friends with when I was much younger. Super square, prudish, unhip homebodies. Yet I enjoy their conversation. So I changed. I discovered that being cool and having common interests do not matter as much. Many kids today listen to 60s rock. We can make exceptions for new immigrants and other cultures.
 

I think the funny thing about being cool is that the moment you say you are, you're actually not. It's a label you just don't give to yourself. It's "bestowed" upon you, so to speak.

That said, I'm definitely more square now compared to my younger self. I'm definitely not cool by kids' standards but like most people, I've done some pretty cool stuff.
 
Never cool but fit in well with a group of friends who I can't really define,
@Victor was mentioning classic country music as not being cool . I made the transition from Rock and Roll to strictly country/western music in my first year of high school.
My dad would always have the radio tuned to a country station and I guess I always liked it.

I remember buying my first country album and putting it face down on the counter because I didn't want anyone to see what I was buying.
 
I was never square, but during my high school years, I wouldn’t drink any alcohol. The gang I hung with would call me a few names, but they never pushed me aside. I was a bad-ass during 8th and 9th grade and it ended by my dad sending me to military school for the next three years. So much for being a tough guy.
 
Was "square" all the way through elementary and high school. Overweight. Wore thick glasses. Made good grades. Didn't drink or swear. Bullied. Can't count the times I went home with a bruise or ink on clothes or worse.
Over the years, just worked hard to support family. We've never been very social... until we retired. Today, my wife has a circle of lady friends... a number of them widows. They treat me with all kinds of baked goods because I fix things for them, hang pictures, etc. At the golf course, I've been elected to the Board of Directors twice. Am well known, there. Have my circle of friends... many old geezers like me. So, don't know whether I could earn the title, yet, of "cool". Just a whole lot closer than earlier in life.
 
Being cool means being hooked into fashion trends and pop culture, much of which is ephemera outdated in the near future. So basically, go with what works for you, and stick with it! Male fashion doesn’t change all that much, so you’ll be all right as long as you purge the Beatle boots, leisure suits, and like hopelessly dated items from your wardrobe.

Just re-define “square.” I’m “L7,” which is the rough shape of a square when you pull it apart and twist it a bit...
 
I was not a square. I am not giving up my secrets about that. My sister was (and still is). She had guys coming over on Saturday night to play chess (like 1/2 dozen of them, or more). I'd be on my way out the door. I tried to hang back a little, just to see if my dog (15 lb wire haired fox terrier) would actually rip the dudes' throats out when she jumped that high on them. No throat ripping ever took place, even though her mouth was wide open. Only time that dog disappointed me.

I think playing chess is a sentence worse than death! OMG, so boring! When I was a kid I used to read a book while my sister decided what her next move would be. It didn't take long for me just to refuse to play. The worst part is I still remember the moves. I hope I don't have nightmares about chess tonight.

I am not a square now, either. I do live in a town full of squares. I try to pass.
 
WheatenLover said:
I was not a square. I am not giving up my secrets about that. My sister was (and still is). She had guys coming over on Saturday night to play chess (like 1/2 dozen of them, or more). I'd be on my way out the door. I tried to hang back a little, just to see if my dog (15 lb wire haired fox terrier) would actually rip the dudes' throats out when she jumped that high on them. No throat ripping ever took place, even though her mouth was wide open. Only time that dog disappointed me.

I think playing chess is a sentence worse than death! OMG, so boring! When I was a kid I used to read a book while my sister decided what her next move would be. It didn't take long for me just to refuse to play. The worst part is I still remember the moves. I hope I don't have nightmares about chess tonight.

I am not a square now, either. I do live in a town full of squares. I try to pass.
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I can play chess. But I don't. Maybe it's because I've been to war. The consequence of winning at chess is unfulfilling. Winning or losing, it's too much effort for nothing.
 
Verisure said:
I can play chess. But I don't. Maybe it's because I've been to war. The consequence of winning at chess is unfulfilling. Winning or losing, it's too much effort for nothing.
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I know what you mean. A few months ago, I thought I'd take up chess again. I played back in high school and just a few times since then, but here in retirement, I thought maybe I'd get back into it. But like you said... "it's too much effort for nothing." I played an online game against the computer just for practice. I won, but it was like, so what? I mean, I could learn the different strategies and get better, but I just don't feel like thinking that much if I'm not getting paid for it.
 
Irwin said:
I know what you mean. A few months ago, I thought I'd take up chess again. I played back in high school and just a few times since then, but here in retirement, I thought maybe I'd get back into it. But like you said... "it's too much effort for nothing." I played an online game against the computer just for practice. I won, but it was like, so what? I mean, I could learn the different strategies and get better, but I just don't feel like thinking that much if I'm not getting paid for it.
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Chess is worse than pornography. Playing chess makes you wonder why you are doing it and when it's over you wonder why you did it. Porn has only half the grief.
 
I was what I'd call "square with somewhat rounded corners" in high school. To be truly cool, you had to have parents who had the money and would indulge with with all the latest crazes and I didn't.

I got "cooler" in college because you didn't have to be rich to be cool there. Oh, maybe if I had gone to some hooty-tooty society college I would have been lower on the coolness scale, but I went to a big state university and you could be whatever you wanted to be and you'd be "cool" to some portion of the campus.

I went the "folksinger" route (not that I could sing, but I could strum the guitar passably) with the long hair, bangs down to the lower eyelids, black eyeliner, jeans and ponchos. And I sailed collegiately and since we threw the best parties off campus, we were pretty "cool".

Then, college was over and I have never been "cool" since.
 
jujube said:
I was what I'd call "square with somewhat rounded corners" in high school. To be truly cool, you had to have parents who had the money and would indulge with with all the latest crazes and I didn't.

I got "cooler" in college because you didn't have to be rich to be cool there. Oh, maybe if I had gone to some hooty-tooty society college I would have been lower on the coolness scale, but I went to a big state university and you could be whatever you wanted to be and you'd be "cool" to some portion of the campus.

I went the "folksinger" route (not that I could sing, but I could strum the guitar passably) with the long hair, bangs down to the lower eyelids, black eyeliner, jeans and ponchos. And I sailed collegiately and since we threw the best parties off campus, we were pretty "cool".

Then, college was over and I have never been "cool" since.
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Wrong Jujube. You are still very cool. Totally authentic, irrepressibly irreverent, facing life with your eyes wide open. Now that is cool! 😎
 


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