First, it was the Polaroid camera. Now, the Walkman is the latest archaic piece of technology to be retired by its creators. Twenty years from now, we’ll probably laugh about the fact that we ever owned smart phones.
I was pretty bummed to learn about the Walkman’s demise. What’s so bad about the Walkman?! They always came equipped with a convenient clip so that you could attach them to your shorts and listen to all the songs you taped off the radio while going for a nice jog. Maybe the Walkman ate a tape or two, but nobody’s perfect! My iPod freezes more often than that.
As a proud owner or several amazing Walkmen, it’s hard for me to grasp the fact that the Walkman is even that old. When I entered college in the fall of 2001, I actually brought my Walkman with me. On the first day of college, my freshman seminar took a field trip to Art Institute of Chicago and you better believe I brought my Walkman on the bus so that I could listen to my “Summer Before College” mix tape.
Perhaps my most beloved Walkman was the yellow, Sony Sport Walkman. The best part was that it came equipped with two holes for earphones which was perfect for my sister and I. On long family car trips in our youth, the Sony Sport Walkman saved the day as my sister and I could both listen to our favorite Wee Sing tape at the same time while my parents and older brother rocked out to Paul Simon’s Graceland. Everyone was happy! Later on, in my early high school years, the same Sony Sport Walkman of my youth survived a near drowning during a Lake Winnipesaukee canoe trip. My canoe capsized, catapulting the Sony Sport Walkman into the throes of Lake Winnipesaukee’s waters. Not only did the Walkman stay afloat, but it continued to work as it always did–like a dream.
I’m sorry to hear that future generations will no longer have the option to rock out with the Walkman. I’ve always been a proponent of being old school and using convenient technologies instead of staying up with the latest gadgets. Like I always say, if ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I raise my glass to you, Man of Walk!
Ramblings 
You realize that college kids today think it is an interesting throwback that I mix music using cds, right?
As a man who still owns over a hundred cassettes (and 4 Polaroid cameras), it was time for the Walkman to amble into the sunset. Remember the good times!
I’m not ready to let the Walkman go yet!
College kids also think that e-mail is an interesting throwback. Why must technology progress so fast?!
That last sentence indicates to me that soon you will be out shaking your fist at neighbor kids and telling them to get the hell off your lawn… just like I do.