Happens all the time. I don't know if it is a bad thing. For my dad anyway, when he does talk about things from long ago, he appears happy, as though he enjoys living in that old memory. I don't know if that is the case for others.
This happens with my dad - the long term memories are very strong and the short term not so good. He knows who i am but will talk about something that happened in his childhood as if it were recent and he also will talk about Trump. Things are mixed up. We just follow his lead. He seems content & not aware that he is mixing up time - so we go along with it.
The harder time was when he realized something was wrong with his short term memory and was afraid, in denial, or argumentative about it. More challenging to deal with then.
I knew a lady with dementia and she would confuse what she watched on TV with real life. She would get it all mixed up together. Her viewing habits had to be monitored so she wouldn't get scared (after watching "The Blacklist" or the news).
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The harder time was when he realized something was wrong with his short term memory and was afraid, in denial, or argumentative about it. More challenging to deal with then.
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My Dad had "sundowners" dementia, and after 4pm, he thought he was back in the 1940's.