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What Has Our Generation Seen - Experienced?
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What Has Our Generation Seen - Experienced? |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296
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While watching scenes on Katrina the other night, a thought came to me. I remembered 9/11 and sitting here in this very spot glued to the TV during another catastropic event... then, it came to me...wondering about all those things we've seen in our lifetime...would anyone care to add to the list of Katrina 9/11 Tsunami |
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Mistletoe Angel 
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
 Oh Lee, you're soooooo right that in just these past few years alone all generations have grown through so many events, both for the better and for worse, which I believe have all helped bring community together, and often our share of disagreements too, which nonetheless I believe have facillitated great understanding and made us only appreciate each other even more: 9/11 Katrina Tsunami Columbia Crash Iraq (Many here know well how it has influenced me before I go on a tangent, LOL, but no doubt whether you agree with it or not, it has deeply, deeply influenced everyone within the past 2 1/2 years.) Passings Of Beloved Cultural Icons (Johnny Cash, Christopher Reeve, Katherine Hepburn, etc.) ***** I'll let others add to the list, yay! Sincerely, Noah Eaton "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" |
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Cloud 9 Senior Member
since 2004-11-05
Posts 980Ca |
Lets see.......(note: not in correct order) Iraq Katrina 9/11 Tsunami NASA Columbine HS Oklahoma boming NASA 1985? EARTHQUAKE 1989 (SF) EARTHQUAKE (LA) Aruba- girl missing Polly Klass (and other little girls/boys missing out there) OJ Simpson Rodney King aftermath Don't remember too much growing up in a small town. |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Born 1970. Decade of hurricanes for coastal Texas, 1973-1984. Resignation of first President, early 70's. Vietnam truce, mid 70's. Hostages taken by Iran, late 70's. OPEC embargo, late 70's. Royal Wedding, early 80's. First Space Shuttle, early 80's. Fall of USSR and Berlin Wall, late 80's. Reaganomics bring an end to a 14 year recession and sowing seeds for 1990's economic boom. Multiple terrorists attacks on America (US embassies included), late 70's through 2001. Iraq invades Kuwait, plundering riches and setting fire to hundreds of oil wells; repelled by US led UN action, 1991. Tiawan handed over to China after 50 years of Allies control, late 90's. Those are the ones that come to mind right now. |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
When I turned fifty in early 2000, I decided to write a poem tentatively called Timeline, which would juxtapose world events with some of the more influential events in my personal life. The world events, like the personal ones, were chosen both because I thought they were significant and, after about 1960, because they were the ones I best remembered. I never finished the too-ambitious poem, but I still have my early notes on disk.  ---------------- (1950) - The Korean War, William Faulkner wins Nobel Prize, color television licenced (1951) – UNIVAC computer unveiled, first color TV broadcast, first Atomic power produced A year old, I epitomize my first and greatest love with the word “Mama.” I spoke my first word in 1951, the same year the UNIVAC computer was unvieled and the first color TV show was broadcast. A mere infant, one year old, I knew nothing yet of rhyme or poetry. But the word I spoke, that simple sound, epitomized my first and greatest love. As the first Atomic power was produced, a tiny baby cried for his “mama.” (1952) - Ernest Hemingway published “Old Man and the Sea” (1953) - Korean Armistice signed (1954) – Hemingway gets Nobel prize for literature, polio vaccine introduced by Jonas Salk My earliest memory comes when I was only four. I didn’t know Hemingway won the Nobel prize that year, or Jonas Salk introduced his polio vaccine. I only knew, instead, the first real joy of my life, a joy that has been equaled only once or twice. As the Korean War was ended, I was learning how to read. (1955) - First filmed Presidential press conference, Davy Crockett fad, Rock and Roll bursts on the scene (1956) - Elvis Presley appears on Ed Sullivan, Nobel prize in physics for transistor, Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier, last Ringling Bros/Barnum & Bailey show under canvas Karen Bigelo captured my heart, and childhood nursery rhymes are replaced with “Ronnie and Karen sitting in a tree…” I was six when Karen Bigelo captured my young heart. While the rest of the world watched Elvis Presly on Ed Sullivan, and celebrated the wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier, I discovered that little boys are not the same as little girls, and love can emcompass more than just a family. (1957) - Russia launches SPUTNIK, first underground nuclear explosion, racial violence in Little Rock, "Beatnik" Jack Kerouac publishes “On the Road”, JFK gets Pulitzer for “Profiles in Courage”, first national videotaped show Karen Bigelo breaks my heart by liking another boy better than me. Rejection brings not poetry to my lips, but devestated silence. (1958) - Van Allen Belt discovered, first US Earth Satellite (Explorer I) (1959) - Alaska and Hawaii become states, “Lady Chatterly's Lover” banned, first seven Astronauts picked, the last Civil War veteran dies (Walter Williams). I was nine when I wrote my first real poem. Alaska and Hawaii became the final two states, and seven men were picked as the first US astronauts. I didn’t write of love, not after Karen broke my heart, but rather of lost boys and hidden lands and heroes that could fly. While the country was banning Lady Chatterly’s Lover, I was writing of Peter Pan. (1960) - John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon for the presidency, Charles Van Doren arrested for cheating in quiz show, first weather satellite launched (1961) - US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba, Berlin Wall constructed, Bay of Pigs Affair, civil defense and fallout shelters, Ernest Hemingway dies, Peace Corps announced, Project Mercury puts a chimpanzee and Alan Shepard into space, James Hoffa elected President of Teamsters When I was eleven, the local newspaper first published my simple words. Between stories of a great Wall being built in Berlin and something strangely called the Bay of Pigs, there appeared a very tiny picture and a story by a boy, of how the days of the week came to be named. I didn’t know Hemingway died, even as my love of writing was being born. (1962) - Eleanor Roosevelt dies, Marilyn Monroe dies, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter orbit earth, the "twist" become popular (1963) - Martin Luther King, Jr. makes "I have a dream" speech during Freedom March on Washington, JFK Assassination, "hot line" instituted between Washington and Moscow The year I became a teenager, a whole country learning the meaning of angst. The President was shot, killed, dead, leaving behind a widow, two children, and a nation that would forever mourn its lost shot at Camelot. I remember sitting in the school gymnasium, my knees hurting from hard wood floors, the tears flowing down my cheeks and echoed on every one of three hundred other faces. That year, a black man had the courage to say, “I have a dream.” Even as a white boy learned that sometimes dreams can die. I become a teenager, and though I don’t know the word “angst” yet, my poetry is livid with it. (1964) - The Civil Rights Act of 1964, "watusi" and "frug" danced in Discotheques, Beatles arrive in America, The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution leads to Vietnam War My first true love, Brigitte Maria – a virginal princess that will shape my view of women for 30 years – and write my first love poem. At 14, I discovered my True Love, a first-generation Dutch girl named Bridget “Kita” Maria. The twist was two years old, dead, replaced by the watusi and frug, as four long-haired Brits, calling themselves Beatles, arrived in America. Kita had long brown hair, freckles, no chest, and was a mythic virginal princess that would shape my view of women for the next thirty years. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that year would soon lead to the Vietnam War, but I was busy learning to write poems of love. (1965) - Malcom X assassinated, Watts riots, troops increased in Vietnam and anti-war protests increase, bell-bottom trousers and long haired boys Was I really only 15 when Bridget said goodbye? Malcom X was assassinated, the great Watts riots blazed both figuratively and literally, and increased troops in Vietnam spurred increased anti-war protests. Our romance lasted a year, encompassed a single hesitant kiss, and built a friendship that would last long after we both married others. Like other teens, I wore bell-bottom trousers and shoulder-length hair, as my poetry mourned the loss of love. After Brigitte (a romance that encompassed a single kiss and a friendship that would last another five years), I discover girls with a vengence. Debbie, Linda, Jan (oh, Jan!), Mary Anne, Theresa, Connie… (1966) - Escalation in Vietnam, Walt Disney dies, mini-skirts, Timothy Leary's LSD ushers in drug use I discover the secret to popularity – only to be tricked into “going steady” with Diana. Life is so cruel! But little red-haired Diana soon introduces me to Sharon – and my life will never be the same again. Sweet 16 saw ... (1967) - Vietnam war continues to escalate, worst race riots ever, three astronauts killed in Apollo launch pad fire I lose my virginity, find myself married, and quit school. My first job, my first apartment. (1968) - Tet offensive launched, Martin Luther King assassinated, Robert Kennedy assassinated, Richard Nixon defeats Humphrey and George Wallace for Presidency, student unrest, My daughter is born in February. By November my wife has left me for the first time. (1969) - Edward Kennedy involved at Chappaquiddick, My Lai massacre, Charles Manson's cult murders Sharon Tate, Woodstock. My marriage shattered, in danger of being drafted, I join the Marines. And discover death. (1970) - Nixon launches "incursion" into Cambodia, students killed in shootings at Kent State, voting age at 18 (1971) - war protests continue with the Mayday march, school busing for racial desegregation ruled constitutional, Amtrak and the US Postal Service formed, Apollo 14 lands on the moon Home on leave, I spend some time with my daughter. And, inadvertently, with my wife. The Vietnam war all but over, I get an early out and return home. A lurid, passionate romance with Carol is ended when I meet Sharon again – and discover she is pregnant. Becky is born soon after. (1972) - Senate passes SALT treaty and Equal Rights Amendment, George Wallace shot, Haiphong harbor mined I return to school, quickly followed by my first college courses. I rediscover poetry. I attend classes early mornings, sleep in the afternoon, watch the kids while Sharon works in the evening, then put in 60 hours a week on the graveyard shift. (1973) - The Watergate scandal explodes, Vietnam peace accords signed, Roe vs. Wade abortion decision, Americans seek nostalgia with movies like "American Graffiti" and TV show "The Waltons", O.J. Simpson sets NFL rushing record, Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs (1974) -Impeachment proceedings against Nixon, Nixon resigns, Patricia Hearst and SLO rob bank (1975) - James Hoffa disappears, school bussing for racial balance begins, Karen Ann Quinlin taken off respirator, Patty Hearst captured. Annette in 1975 ... (1976) - The U.S. Bicentennial celebrated, Jimmy Carter defeats President Ford to become President, Alex Haley's “Roots” published, Concorde initiates first supersonic commercial flight, Detroit stops building convertibles. (1977) - President Carter pardons Vietnam draft resisters, movie “Star Wars” released, the "King" Elvis Presley dies, Space Shuttle Enterprise makes 1st free flight (1978) - Jim Jones and followers die in Guyana (1979) - Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the "Duke" John Wayne dies, Iran takes American hostages, federal bailout of Chrysler (1980) - Soviets invade Afghanistan, aborted Iranian hostage rescue mission, eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state, Ronald Reagan elected president, "Who Shot J.R." episode airs, John Lennon shot and killed (1981) - Iranian hostage crisis ends as President Reagan assumes office, MTV videos, IBM introduces the personal computer (1982) - seven die from cyanide laced Tylenol capsules, first space shuttle flight, first artificial heart (1983) - US invades Grenada, cable TV and video tape players take off, final episode of M*A*S*H, the Cabbage Patch Doll, holiday named for Martin Luther King Jr. (1984) - US Marines withdraw from Lebanon, Ronald Reagan reelected, AIDS virus identified, first planet detected outside this solar system (1985) - Reagan imposes sanctions on South Africa for apartheid, the Titanic is located, Rock Hudson dies of AIDS, Christa McAuliffe chosen to be first teacher on a space shuttle mission, Coke backtracks and retains Coca-Cola classic (1986) - The Challenger Accident, Iran-Contra affair exposed, Robert Penn Warren becomes official Poet Laureate of US, Congress names Rose the US flower, genetic engineered organisms, Hand Across America (1987) - musical Les Miserables arrives from England, Rev. Jimmy Baker is resigns his ministry in shame, the worst stock crash in history of the Wall Street (1988) - George Bush is elected President, "Phantom of the Opera" leads comeback of Broadway Theater, FAX machines take off, Tele-evangelist Jimmy Swaggart follows the lead of Jimmy Bakker and is caught up in moral scandal, Hyper-markets like Wal-mart and K-mart become the rage. (1989) - Cold War ends, Supreme Court OKs Flag burning, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Batman follows Superman to the Big Screen (1990) - Iraq invades Kuwait and President Bush sends troops to the Persian Gulf, President "Read My Lips, No New Taxes" Bush raises taxes, "Rap" music is condemned in Florida by Tipper Gore (1991) - Operation Desert Storm, four LA police accused of beating black motorist Rodney King, mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer confesses, basketball star Ervin "Magic" Johnson announces he is HIV positive (1992) - William Clinton is elected President, Johnny Carson retires, Dan Quayle takes on "Murphy Brown", boxer Mike Tyson convicted of rape. (1993) - Terrorist bombing of New York City's World Trade Center, "don't ask, don't tell" policy for homosexuals in the US military, home computers and the "internet" take off (1994) - O. J. Simpson accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole, Susan Smith drowns her own children and blames a fictional black carjacker, Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, Jeffrey Dahmer is murdered in prison, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dies. (1995) - O. J. Simpson Trial, Oklahoma City bombing (1996) - Ted Kaczynski arrested as the Unabomber, 7 year old Jessica Dubroff dies in attempt to set a age record for flying cross-country, Clinton's Whitewater scandal and the OJ Simpson legal battles continue, William Clinton re-elected (1997) - America mourns the loss of Princess Diana and Mother Theresa, El Nino, the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep, NASAs Pathfinder explores Mars and sends back incredible photos, Grandmaster Gary Kasparov lost a chess match to a computer (1998) - President Clinton's affair with Whitehouse intern Monica Lewinski is exposed, El Nino continues its destructive ways as fierce weather wreaks havoc in many places including Central America and China, Asian economies falter, John Glenn returns to space onboard the Shuttle Discovery, even as crime continues to drop nationwide several student shootings occur at schools around the countryavailability of the impotence drug Viagra raises the hopes of millions (1999) - |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
Desert Storm Wacco Texas Jim Jones and the People's Temple Hank Erron Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...opps..hehe wull the Beatles... |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
whoa Ron, excellent, butcha forgot Roy Rogers....sheeesh? Just kidding, your mind is amazing. Thanks |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
That's interesting, Ron. This thread reminded me of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire Though I don't recall most of what happens in this song, it's a very interesting piece. |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
I had hoped...so won't repeat... What Ron said. Especially to his personal life [but yet...  ]I was born 12/51. As to history, I would add 1950's President Eisenhower... The music from the '50's The fact that in 1958...I knew I wanted to write.... the Musketeers... the music from the '60's The fact that in the early '60's, I knew I had to grow up to write well...and with some interest...to others. 1969 - landing on the moon.... Walt Disney...my other "dad"... the passing of John Wayne...one of my first heros the passing of Jimmy Stewart...the man who could have been my dad... transition of cars from gas hogs at $.25/gallon ... black and white to color and beyond... the internet age... ~*~ I won't add my personal life...it's rather boring... well, no, not boring, to me.... so you'll see those reminisces...like elderberry wine... in poetry. Ron? I'm just shaking my head... ~*~ still talking here... what has my mother-in-law, at the age of 96 years, 9 months and a few days... I'll get her input this Saturday [or before] and fill you in. But I think you can guess. Except for Ron's life? LOL...everything since the buggy and team. Lee? If I get brave, I may recount some personal stuff. What a GREAT thread.... Thank you. [This message has been edited by Sunshine (08-31-2005 08:27 PM).] |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
Aw Ron.. I had to scroll halfway down to get to my birth year  hahaha But yeah.. I think it's discouraging for us younger kids.. it just keeps getting worse.. Love's a lovely lad |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Lovebug... don't let it be scary - I remember having to "duck and cover" just in case... It takes the strengths of the youth to make living to an old age worthwhile...  |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
well the future aint what it used to be Erica... but it's always been getting worse -- just ask anybody.. I think it was John Lennon who said 'life is what happens when you're making other plans'. I think the most amazing shift of events that have occured in my lifetime was living under the constant threat of a rain of missiles from the Soviets -- to the Berlin wall coming down... things used to be worse... things used to be better. Don't let any of it stop you from seizing the day though.. the sun always rises. |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
ah... Karilea -- great minds |
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Local Rebel Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-21
Posts 5767Southern Abstentia |
hey Ron... you missed something... 1999... PIP created... |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
LeeJ, this is a wonderful thread. I was born in 1951, too, Karilea & Ron, so I'm pretty much agreeing with everything you put....'cept I think it was when I was 5 that I discovered I liked boys....my first boyfriend I met when I took skating lessons at the local rink. His name was Dale Evans.....'course, I'll never forget that name because....Roy Rogers was really my first true love. Or, maybe it was his horse....Silver...lol. It's only half over folks....we've got a few more decades to go and I cannot fathom the changes that will occur. For one, I think that in our lifetimes, we will see a "scotty beam me up machine." Have a friend that works in research in that area, and believe it or not, they are making progress ... 'course I know no details...very hush hush. Thinking back, I think it was that era of bomb shelters, assassinations and then Nixon's resignation, that had the most effect on me at the time. It is amazing how resilient this nation truly is. |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Jo...Trigger was Roy's horse...and Dale Evans' horse was Buttermilk. Lone Ranger's horse was Silver...remember? Hi, Ho, Silver, AWAY!!!  And Reb? Yep, you DO have a great mind! |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
deleted [This message has been edited by LeeJ (09-01-2005 10:18 AM).] |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Lee: quote: Sunshine: quote:  |
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
Hugs you...talk about two great minds...huh?  |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
LOL...that, or two great magnets! |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Literally off the top of my head & in no order whatsoever: Cell phones Andrew Ivan Katrina Mars Probe Starbucks Wal-Mart PT Cruiser Steroids in sports Atari Nintendo Fall of Berlin Wall The Inner Child Reaganomics Greenspan Garth Brooks Rocky Horror Picture Show AIDS 9/11 Anime Whitewater Mike Tyson Desert Storm Boy Bands Microsoft Windows Reality TV The Internet The War on Terror Kurt Cobain Courtney Love Space Shuttle Columbia Star Wars Star Wars Stephen King Y2K Dot-com Hybrids Monica Lewinski IBM Apple Microsoft O.J. Simpson Rodney King Sandra Day O’Connor LA Riots Teri Shivo Dolly (cloned sheep) MP3 VCR DVD Microwave Jesse Ventura Schwarzenegger |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Yep. That names a few, Christopher-son |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Gas Shortages $3.00 + price of gas Regular -> Unleaded Great Quake of ‘89 Oakland Fires The Pinto (thank God they don’t make it anymore!) NHL Strike Enron Laci Peterson Scott Peterson Cassette Tapes CD’s Beta-Max (heh) Pac-Man Dan Quayle Ross Perot Colin Powell Florida Voting Scandal Jurassic Park Schindler’s List “Wardrobe Malfunctions” Michael Jackson (volumes there…) |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
In 1954 - I was old enough to be aware of money, and knew what "a quarter" could get you... in 1954...things were like this: House: $22,000 Average income: $3,960 Ford car: $1548-$2415 Milk: $.92 Gas: $.21 Bread $.17 Postage stamp: $.03 Swiss Cheese: $ .69 lb. American Cheese: $.55 lb. T-Bone steak : $.95 lb. Del Monte Catsup (2) 14.oz bottles: $.25 Post Grape Nuts cereal - 10 .oz pkg: $.19 Clorox Bleach - 1/2 gal.: $.19 20 gallon gas water heater $75. Semi-automatic Kenmore washer: $154.95 |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Funny... a Ford's still only worth that much.  |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
Aw Chris, I don't remember a day in my life without a Wal-Mart. I don't want to :P Fun times for all Love's a lovely lad |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant The DaVinci Code Forrest Gump Thelma & Louise Bennifer Pope Benedict The Patriot Act Princess Diana Survivor American Idol Paris Hilton Michael Eisner Funny how so many of the things I remember are more in relation to popular media than anything truly "important." |
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littlewing Member Rara Avis
since 2003-03-02
Posts 9655New York |
what stands out for me most was The Challenger exploding and that first hit on 9/11. |
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Essorant Member Elite
since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada |
Democracy. (Not something new. But something relevant to every generation of our lives. Our lives would lack many rights and freedoms and many of the things we enjoy without the protection of Democracy) |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Hey, how come no one mentioned, American Bandstand? |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
LOL...because we were waiting for you, sweetheart! |
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Nightshade
since 2001-08-31
Posts 13962just out of reach |
Disposable diapers - coming after my daughter was potty trained thankyou very much  Hope this doesn't offend anyone .. but .. BELTLESS feminine hygiene products - coming after my high school years, thankyou very much |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
Sunshine.....lol....that's right....Trigger. Can't believe I forgot that. Yes, Silver....the Lone Ranger...every girl's hero. My, my....guess I had a senior moment there....hey, well, I am entitled! hehehe....jo |
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Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666California |
Rubic's Cube |
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Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666California |
I was just reading back through this thread and it struck me odd that no one mentioned Chernobyl. |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
and....this will date me, but I remember the iceman. Then there were drive in movies, running boards on cars, skate keys. I'll think of more...be back later. |
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Paul Wilson
since 2002-07-07
Posts 4711United States |
A cure for Polio found Finding your shoes after Friday night sock hops Fast Food Joints AM & FM Radio ~~To share my poems with you is to share my heart with you~~ |
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Jamie Member Elite
since 2000-06-26
Posts 3168Blue Heaven |
how about what we haven't seen? it always seems like a cure for a certain disease is 'just around the corner'-- yet we seem to be finding more new diseases than we are cures for the old ones. Suffering from a cold at the present time and joining the list of conspiracy theorists on there being way too much money made treating colds to ever offer a cure---lol something more than lip service being done to combat child abuse ( and domestic violence in general) etc etc etc etc |
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latearrival Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499Florida |
"This will date me, but I remember the iceman. Then there were drive in movies, running boards on cars, skate keys. I'll think of more...be back later." Martie, Really? Hard to believe this of you.You are much too young. Now me... I remember all of those and also the Ford car my Dad had that had not only running boards but a Rumble Seat in back. Also the beautiful hood ornaments. Not only the ice man but the bakery man, Jack, who drove for Duncan’s, the Rag Man Fruit and Vegetable Man, and of course the Milk Man. And Paul, thanks for the Polio cure. I was going to add that one. best to all. martyjo |
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Not A Poet Member Elite
since 1999-11-03
Posts 3885Oklahoma, USA |
I still have 2 cars with running boards  but no rumble seat. |
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icebox Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383in the shadows |
Christopher, I think your statement 'Funny how so many of the things I remember are more in relation to popular media than anything truly "important." ' is the most telling of all I have read on this thread. Societies are best shaped and controlled by fear. In the last 25 years the Media in the West, and especially in the USA, increasingly have decided upon, clarified and promoted the fears held in common by our society. We respond to our macro-environment and structure our personal micro-environments in response to these intentionally crafted pre-packaged beliefs. Pick any popular belief held in common today by a majority of Americans, then trace it back to its sources. Mark the individual fears. Observe the changes; what was bad might now be good and what was good might now be bad. Who told us as a society which was which and for how long? The Media. The Media in this country has birthed and nurtured all our sacred cows since the catalytic events of 1989. Those few here who know me, know I am older than most others here. I am even older than Ron. I guess that makes me older than dirt! *grin* Do I remember gasoline at $0.21 a gallon? Hell! I PUMPED gasoline at $0.06 a gallon as my first paid job. In my second job, I sold cigarettes (unfiltered) at $0.05 a pack, filtered cigarettes (for people about whom we wondered) were $0.08 a pack). Smoking then was believed to be good for a person. Credit for life’s daily essentials was a bad thing to need; an individual’s daily business was done with cash. When I was nine years old I met a Civil War veteran; he shook my hand, looked at me with the oldest eyes I had up to then ever seen and told me to be sure I learned to use a reliable gun and never learn to play the bugle. It took me decades to understand the part about the bugle. Oddly, I later in life was told something similar by a man who fought in the Irish Easter Uprising; he told me to learn to use a gun and always wear a hat. Last night, I listened to a “Newsperson” tell me how ashamed as a country we should be that a grandmother used a gun to shoot an intruder. After all, as he laid out the story, there was no way she could know that the large man who broke into her house at 1:00AM might have meant her any harm. The emphasized point of his story was that "the growing and dangerous Cult of Self-defense has to be stopped." It has been a curious quirk in this life that I was involved in or present at many of the defining moments of the second half of the 20th century. (Curious for me anyway.) Many already have been listed above; some remain in that murky place that will escape historians and as the participants die off will fade from reality. For a long time, it seemed to me, that things changed but real change was never substantive. Americans were taught to live in fear of annihilation with little warning, and yet taught paradoxically to hold dearly the value of survival at any cost. So what changed in my view? Why do I think there really was a catalytic changed in Western society? In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. Having begun in the summer of ‘61 as a barbed wire barricade, it had evolved into a massive construction that cut almost 200 roads and connected 160 vacated buildings with very real walls made of reinforced asbestos concrete. For a time the Wall and related events gave the Media a training ground on which to sharpen its skills. Hollywood cranked out numerous spy movies with Berlin as the setting or at least as a major geographic locale. In the summer of ‘63 a Media savvy President used it to sharpen his image for his up coming re-election campaign. A quarter century later it was a crumbling, though still effective, antique. In the summer of ‘87 a different even more Media savvy President, aided by the enormous financial burden of the April ‘86 nuclear reactor “accident” at Chernobyl was inexorably pushing the Soviet Union over the edge of a fiscal abyss, and told its Premier to tear down the Wall. In Reality, East Germany was already bankrupt and could not afford to repair and maintain the Wall. In February of ‘89, the last fatal escape attempt occurred and in November of ‘89 the guards simply gave up, opened the gates and joined in the party. What does this all have to do with the Media and the change in Western society? The Media processed it all for us. Talking heads told us what to think, to believe, to ignore. For decades, we had lived in daily fear of “the other side,” “the Communist Menace,” “the Three Minute Warning,” “Nuclear War,” “the Iron Curtain,” “Nuclear Winter,” “The Evil Empire,” and our defined enemies lived with similar terrors crafted from our shadows by their own governments. Suddenly it all seemed to come down to a brilliantly focused single point of awareness; then just as suddenly, it was gone. We had lost our single most hardened and focused fear. Societies are most easily controlled by fear. Prior to 1989, little use was made by the Media of some of today’s most common NEWS words: crisis, catastrophe and cataclysm. Plague was a word mostly used by historians. Disaster was reserved for rare events like the Johnstown Flood. After 1989, these words and their close relatives in the superlative clan became everyday food for the monsters of fear that can grow within us all. Almost every news story makes use of one or more of them in telling us why we have to live in fear. Want to check it out? Pick any hot-button issue; then, count the adjectives. |
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Ringo
since 2003-02-20
Posts 3684Saluting with misty eyes |
Something that parents have had to endure (in varying degrees of grace) that border- for my opinion- on the catastrophic are: Barney Teletubbies Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Care Bears Strawberry Shortcake Pokemon Digimon Rugtrats Out of the Box etc... Things that we put our parents through: Romper Room Captain Kangaroo New Zoo Revue Zot Tennessee Tuxedo (and his pals) Dudley Dooright etc... Musically: Beatlemania The Stones at Altamont The KISS Contraversy (sp?) Hair Bands Haavy Metal (and its various off-shoots) The various festivals (US, Ozzfest, Woodstock, Monterrey, etc) Disco Punk (real and the new crapola) Movies: Star Wars (ad infinitum) Harry Potter Die Hard (1-4) Death Wish (1-4) Friday the 13th (ad infinitum) Nightmare on Elm Street (and its many sequals) Star Trek (and its too many sequals) TV: Star Trek (original, TNG, DS9, etc) Dynasty Beverly Hills 90210 All In The Family (and its off-shoots) M*A*S*H The Munsters "Famous people cartoons" (Abbot and Costello, The Jackson 5, The Osmonds, etc) etc... I'll make my own mistakes and sweet success |
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Courage2Survive Junior Member
since 2005-11-15
Posts 32 |
WE survived Britney Spears, there is quite a bit of damage yet to be repaired. <3 Heart 2 Heart <3 |
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