Damn. Thanks to one of those ubiquitous click-bait Facebook posts, rather than work on what I was supposed to work on, I realized that I have lived in seven decades, two centuries and two millennia.
And that led to this mental list of stuff that’s risen to the top:
I have seen 11 presidents, one who was a marginal actor. Cars with fins. The invention of buckles on ski boots and step-in bindings. Color photography and television. The invention and use of vaccines. The discovery of DNA and computers.
I saw Julia Child, Star Trek, All in the Family and Laugh In. The rise and fall of LSD and STP. Bakelite to bluetooth. Coors to crafts. Reefer Madness to reefer happy hours and coupons.
I’ve seen the closing and opening of Cuba. Donald Trump as the leading GOP candidate for president. My predecessors would think I was making that up, right up until this summer. I’ve seen peace fail miserably in the places where it’s needed most.
I saw Luke discover the truth about his father. The death of Flannery O’Connor and Golda Meir. I pulled Gs in an F-16. I’ve puked in every ocean. I met and snagged the girl of my dreams, an artist, and we raised a remarkable kid who can sing and laughs at my jokes.
I watched Pat Schroeder cry, presidential candidate John Kerry quote me while yelling at a town meeting, a few elected officials threaten to punch me and thousands upon thousands call, show up and write to wish me dead, unemployed or expunged from the planet. I’ve seen a black man elected president of the United States. Twice.
I saw Pluto and Shakespeare’s Beatrice in Boulder, three times. I got caught in a tornado and rode it out under a bush. Shot at as a reporter while standing next to a trash can by a drunk who didn’t know I was there. I slept in an alley in Argentina and drank melted volcano water in the arctic circle.
I shot my brother in the chest with a BB gun when he said I didn’t have the nerve to do it. He was wrong. I’ve seen gay friends die of AIDS, and I’ve seen a whole new generation of gays and lesbians relish their nascent equality.
I ate black forest torte in the Black Forest and unbelievable things off of every street cart in every country I ever made it to. I ate everything. Everything.
I’ve met the most amazing friends, each one indelibly leaving things in my head that I cherish. I’ve always dug in the dirt with my bare hands, sometimes growing phenomenal tomatoes and beets, but more often intrepid weeds. I’ve never gotten enough sleep, including today. And I’ve always hated being told, “no.” I’ve lived in a place and a time where I could develop such an amazing dislike for “no.” We really are the luckiest generation.
And it’s only Tuesday.
I hear you Dave. I remember the Kennedy Assassination, Viet Nam, the fall of LBJ and my first Corvette at age 13. I remember cruising South Broadway through Englewood and Littleton in my buddies 409 Impala and another buddies 62 Chevy Corvette Roadster and gas was 25 cents a gallon. Loved those Corvettes.
It took me 74 years but I’ve arrived. I love my C5 LS1, 6 on the floor and 400 horses under the hood. She flies like the wind and yes it’s only Tuesday. Can’t wait for tomorrow. Ain’t life grand!
with ya dave!
And with all of your living, you still have no clue, a real waste.
What an exciting life you’ve led. I’ve “been there with ya” for some of it – should write my own memories. Being “near 70” now can’t be beat! Thanks for sharing, Dave!
Although a few years your senior, I do remember and relish the simpler and safer times. I enjoyed working on and polishing my ’65 Ford Mustang, and cruising the town. The first car I drove was a ’62 Pontiac Tempest … a real lemon.