From The Storyteller
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Memories
Completing the White Mountain 1000-piece puzzle named “THE SIXTIES” gave me some unexpected smiles. Images of people, events, headlines and things, like a 1964 Mustang, and a flower power hippy van, are interspersed with pictures including those relating to the tragic deaths of ML King Jr., JFK, and his brother Bobby. This collective combined to remind me of the interesting times many of us “old guys” have lived through. The images I enjoyed the most came when I realized that groundbreaking scientific discoveries from the SIXTIES now power our cell phones and make open heart surgery a reality. In 1964 (the year I graduated from high school) my “real” world, included McDonalds, Campbells soup, Bob Dylan, NASA, and lava lamps. Back then I might have guessed McDonalds, Campbells and Dylan (his Oslo concert is Oct 17) would survive 62 years. Never, however, in my wildest dreams would I have predicted our “bad taste” lava lamps (19.99 at Hobby Lobby) would still be around. My memories of freezing in a VW Beetle that had no heat during Chicago winters, and the1963 Corvette Stingray (which was to me the definition of “cool”) still share space in my head, beside thoughts of “peace, love and tie dye” jeans, Vietnam, the draft, school busing, and Mohamed Ali. While each of these thoughts, and thousands of others, have a place on my memory shelves, I confess to some being placed further back than others. Still, I honestly can tell you all these are “fond” memories. Charles Dickens was right; a great way to start a book about life is with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. And being able to say, “I was there when it happened!” is a gift worth smiling about. Moral: As Popeye said, “I am what I am.” |