Every mornin’, every evenin’
Ain’t we got fun?
Not much money, oh, but honey
Ain’t we got fun?…
— ‘Ain’t We Got Fun’, by Richard Whiting, Raymond Egan and Gus Kahn, 1921.
It doesn’t seem like people are having fun, lately.
Like the ICE police, for example. Having to wear those masks, when they arrest people? I thought we finally got rid of all the masks back in 2022… but there they are, still wearing masks.
And the people they are arresting and putting into detention camps? I’m sure a detention camp can’t be much fun.
Then there’s the people who might be named in the Epstein Files. I bet they aren’t having fun right now. Even when they’re playing golf.
There was a time when America was a fun place, but not these days. And people probably aren’t having fun in other countries either, with all the threatened tariffs. Who can have fun when they’re paying 15% tariffs? Or 50% tariffs? Not me, that’s for sure.
I’ve been thinking lately about all the fun I had as a kid, and wondering why things have changed.
But it turns out, certain people still know how to have fun, in spite of everything.
For example, if you happen to have an old piece of plywood in your bedroom, and a pair of tap shoes, you can tap dance to the classic song, Ain’t We Got Fun.
Who knew you could have this much fun in your bedroom?
After watching this video, I went right online to see how much tap shoes cost, and it turns out you can deck yourself out for around $30. But you can also spend over $100, if you want to get fancy. I even saw one pair priced at $600.
I would expect to have a lot of fun if I spent $600 on tap shoes.
I didn’t price the plywood, because I think I have a small piece out in the shed, which I was going to use to patch the hole in my back deck. But tap dancing sounds like more fun.
When did we stop having fun? That’s the real question. And why?
I suspect it has something to do with the Great Recession, back in 2008. Although to be honest, things were already going downhill before that. Like climate change. The scientists started warning us about climate change back in the 1980s — but they called it ‘global warming’. Now it’s not just ‘warming’ but flooding and hurricanes and earthquakes and just about anything that happens is because of climate change.
Who can think about having fun, when just driving your car to the grocery store is causing species to go extinct?
And don’t get me started on micro-plastics. Plastic used to be fun. Remember squirt guns? And Solo party cups? And the free plastic bags at the grocery stores?
It’s no wonder people are angry.
And that’s not hyperbole. People are really angry these days. Pretty much, from the time they wake up in the morning until they finish watching Fox News in the evening. Nobody I know is tap dancing in their bedroom.
It’s sort of a chicken-and-egg situation.
Are we angry because we’ve stopped having fun? Or have we stopped having fun, because we’re angry?
Anyway, speaking for myself, I went ahead and ordered the $30 shoes. They’re only going to get more expensive when the tariffs really kick in.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.