I was a child in the 50's and a teenager during the 60's. My childhood, for the most part, resembled Mayberry RFD. It was a good time to be a little girl in a small town where everyone knew your name and your family.
My teenage years were filled with history making events. At the beginning of my freshman year in high school, integration became mandatory nation wide. While the rest of the United States was in turmoil, I think integration in our town happened fairly quietly. The only problems I remember were bomb threats the first couple of months of high school. Some unknown person would call the police or the principal and say 'bombs were planted in a student's locker or somewhere in the building." Of course such a statement required dismissal of school. The police were summoned to check out the buildings as soon as the students and teachers could be evacuated. For some reason these threats did not phase me at all. I was 13 and I never believed they were real threats. Today, I would view it completely different. I would take the threat serious. More than likely today, the threats would be real. However as a kid, I was simply glad to get out of school for any reason. September in Kentucky can be very hot without air conditioning. To me integration seemed like the right thing to do. Everyone should have the best life possible. I watched the marches, the beatings, the fighting and the police, from afar. I remember when Watts burned. It seemed like another world to me at that time. It was hard to grasp the reality other people lived in. It was so different from my small town life.
President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. I was still a freshman. I remember it happened on a Friday afternoon around 12:30. Our homeroom class had finished lunch and went to our next scheduled activity. I was sitting in English class when Mr. Phillips, our principal, opened the door and told us the President had been shot. School was dismissed. On Sunday morning between Sunday school and church services I walked down to my grandmother's house. We knew they were moving Lee Harvey Oswald to another location around noon. I did not want to miss any of the events. That day I saw my first murder. I watched as Jack Ruby stepped out of the crowd and gunned down Oswald. Mamamae, my grandmother, and I looked at each other. We could not believe what we had seen. That Sunday we did not go back to church. We were in shock and glued to the television. We had other fears to face.
Vietnam was always in the back of my generation's mind. It was 'our war'. We grew up watching it on the evening news. It was common knowledge a young man either went to college or he went to Vietnam. There was another option; the young man could go to Canada, most did not choose this option. Our class joke was, "So where are you spending your summer vacation? Probably in beautiful downtown Saigon!" We would laugh. At that time we were 17 or 18 and invincible. I had a lot of friends and all too soon a brother in law go to Vietnam. We all wrote letters and exchanged life stories. The young men I wrote to wanted to hear about home. They talked very little about the war. They wanted letters ...lots of letters and photos of girls, cars and home. I was very fortunate all of my friends and family made it home. Once home, they talked very little about the war.
All of this happened over 45 years ago. The world now does not resemble the world of my youth. People text more than they actually talk to other people face to face. For some people, the cellphone is now an extension of their hand. Some of my favorite friends, are folks I have never met in person but talk to on Facebook daily.
Most Americans have lost all faith in our political leaders. I know I have. I wouldn't stand in the sun for two hours to see any of them...much less hear them talk. I remember at one time believing in the President of the Untied States: when John Kennedy was the King and Jackie the Queen. I remember when we were allowed to believe in heroes. Not any more. Now we have 24 hour news agencies who make common knowledge all the sins and slip ups of everyone. This is probably a good move, however it leaves little room for heroes. The more I know about influential people...the better I like my dog...and my dog bites.
The movies and books of my youth are slowly in the process of becoming a jaded truth. There is a hint of truth in the mixture of fact and fiction. Movies like, "The Day the World Stood Still", "War of the Worlds, "Fail-Safe", "Soylent Green", "Independence Day", "The Stand," "The Terminator" series and the "Alien" series all deal with end of the world themes, dystopian times. In these stories the world has become ugly and barren and most of the enemies resemble bugs. Big huge alien bugs!!! I never could wrap my mind around this idea. The books and movies had me until they brought out the metal looking bugs...I could not buy into that crap. I wanted flesh and blood enemies...not flying razor blades. However, a lot of what was written is slowly coming true. Who would have thought 40 years ago parts of California would be running out of water? Who would have thought the Middle East would be the fire keg it is today? A good portion of the world, lives in utter chaos. The rest of the world sits quietly, watching it play out on the nightly news.
The other night on the news there was a story about a 'drone' flying around a person's home taking photos of the house. I looked close and it looked like a flying bug. My imagination uttered a squeamish 'oh crap...not bugs!! while my muse said, "Did you see that? I told you this would happen!!"
Sure enough drones are now fairly common. Anyone can buy one on the internet. Prices range from $40 to about $3,000 for the average person to purchase. The ones I have seen are not world war fighting machines or bombers like the military use. They have a flight time of about 20 minutes. However, I must admit...they have that 'bug look' down pat. If I saw this thing hovering over my home...I do believe I would shoot it down...just saying.
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