70's toon wave

so i was watching some old cartoons this morning,not all my favorite's mind you but many of them.well it got me thinking "did my dad ever watch the old stuff from when he was a kid and feel this way?"well i started to do the math in my head to figure what was on,and you know something?he was born in 34 and didn't have access to a t.v until he was almost 20(came from a poor family you see) "wow" so he didn't get to experience the waves of nostalgia?well not over T.V . as i thought more about it i remembered some weekend after noon we ran across a station showing all the old matinee movies from the 30's and 40's and listing to my dad tell me story's of how he would steal a couple of nickels to go see the show and have a coke. now i realise that we all get lost in our lives,this small segment of reality that we inhabit.it is precious to us. i mean i knew that in an abstract way ,but to realise it as a fundamental part of me is......almost numbing.is this a common realisation? do many people think this?is it important to know your place in the time/space continuum?and like it? do we put a false glow on the past to give us hope for the future? i cant answer any of these questions yet, but when i can i will.