Official Hobbies

Totally random thought.

In my father’s generation, men were expected to have an “Official Hobby”. For most this was a “Sport”, and it had to be “Golf”, of course. Nothing else was even thinkable. For other men the “Official Hobby” was “Philately (that’s stamp collecting)” or “Carpentry”. A wider range of collecting or crafting was permissible, but “Embroidery” or “Cooking” were definitely out of the question for businessmen. “Cooking” was possible for academics, but only if it was specialized “Cooking” that required geographical and cultural research, so it would fit in the same category as “Philately (that’s stamp collecting.)”

“Barbecuing” didn’t count as an “Official Hobby”. It was a “Mandatory Activity”, like “Bridge” and “Making The Perfect Dry Martini.” (For clarity, “Barbecuing” in the 50s didn’t mean real Texas or KC barbecue, it only meant cooking steaks over charcoal, what we now call grilling.)

When a girlfriend’s father interviewed me as a potential suitor, his first question was “What is your Hobby?” I didn’t have an “Official Hobby”, but did spend a lot of time tinkering with radios and listening to shortwave, which was similar to “Philately (that’s stamp collecting.)” Since I wasn’t prepared for the question, I said “Listening To The Radio”, which instantly disqualified me.