Keepsakes and Memories

In Memory of Davy Jones and those whose music became a major part of our lives in the 1960s.

Okay, I admit it.  I miss the '60s.  Anybody who paid attention or grew up in that decade of mind-blowing changes has to miss at least something about it.  Me?  I miss it all, even though admitting it makes me old.

Music, politics, the entire culture of the country was changed by those under 30.  Fathers complained about long-haired musicians in bands, and mothers feared what their daughters were doing when not under their watchful eyes.

I was ripe for the influence of those who were changing history.  From mid-grade school to high school graduation, I was a child of the '60s and experienced those changes, firsthand.  In fifth grade and barely into the decade, I remember spending time on the playground at school, listening to music on a transistor radio that broadcast AM radio stations.  Everyone was amazed that a radio could fit in a shirt pocket.  Now, our phones do.  As for music, we can download it to those phones, computers (which used to fill several rooms), and players made especially for listening.

My parents bought our first color TV in 1964.  Even my grown kids still have trouble imagining a world of B&W TV.  In '64, TV shows were just beginning to switch to color.  Bonanza was one of the first, and oh, the color of the green, green grass against the bright blue sky were amazing to see in our living rooms.  It was almost like being at the movies.

It wasn't only technology that had begun to change, but our way of life was changing in huge ways.

• The Berlin Wall was built to keep East Berliners from traveling West
• Martin Luther King began his work to bring segregation to an end
• The Space Race took off like a rocket (pardon the pun) and gave us not only the first humans in space, but the first man on the moon.
• We watched in horror as our President was gunned down before our eyes on TV.
• James Bond aka 007 brought us into the world of spies via movies and a hunk of a hero. ;)
• The Beatles took over music and brought about the British Invasion.
• Woodstock created a gathering place for half a million people to enjoy life and music.
• The Kansas City Chiefs and the Greenbay Packers played what was to become the first SuperBowl.
• Sesame Street was born to entertain and teach our children via TV.

Music changed in big ways.  Rock & Roll, which has roots in the late 1940s and early 1950s, exploded in the 1960s.  From Chuck Berry to the Beach Boys to the Beatles, Rolling Stones and thousands of others, music was our voice.  We identified ourselves by the music we listened to.  If not for the early pioneers of rock & roll and those who followed, music would not be the voice of youth and conscience that it is today.  

As the decade of the '60s began to come to a close, PEACE was on the lips and minds of every American.  From sit-ins and protests against war and segregation to the music that said it all, the end of the '60s ushered in a new beginning for many.

Those of us who lived during those years have memories that will never be forgotten, whether it was the music, the movies, the TV shows, technology, sports or how we spent our after-school time.  If, like me, you have special things that will live forever in your hearts, feel free to share them.  I'm sure they'll spark memories for others.

While doing a little research on my favorite decade, I discovered The 60s Official Site, a (new for me) website that has it all.  But before taking a stroll through memories of the decade, watch Vibration of a Nation, a terrific video on the same site that's more than worth the 25 minutes to watch.

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die. ~ Paul Simon

What Do YOU Want For Christmas?

When I was a child, I was a huge Shirley Temple fan.  While her movies had been made before I was born, most of them played (and replayed) on TV when I was growing up.  I never failed to miss one, knew the words to the songs, and admit that it's impossible to choose my favorite among the many.  But one came to mind a few, and I tracked it down on YouTube (of course!).  So here's my gift to you in the season of giving.

May this Christmas bring you the peace of the season.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ask my daughters and they'll tell tales of Halloween when they were young.  One year there was a tornado warning issued as we were trick-or-treating.  Another was a total washout, thanks to rain and flooding, but we tried anyway--I'm still amazed that we weren't washed away.  Their costumes were never store-bought.  I made them all, sometimes from whatever was available.  That's the fun way.

Although there are a lot of years between my daughters' Halloweens and mine, many of my memories are just as clear and strong as theirs are.  My next door neighbors included 3 children, all older than me and all accustomed to keeping an eye on me.  They were more siblings to me than neighbors, and every Halloween for years and years, they took me trick-or-treating.


One of the most memorable times was when I was quite small.  It was late.  We finished most of our block and beyond and were headed home.  While we waited on the corner to cross the street to my house, two cars collided in front of us.  It was loud, it was scary, and I remember screaming, bringing most of the neighborhood outside.  A bit traumatic for a three-year-old.  (I'm 2nd from the left in the clown costume.  Oldest of the neighbors is the tall, pioneer in the back.)

Then there was the Halloween of the Witch.   My mother made my costume that year, as she nearly always did, and for some strange reason I chose to be a pilgrim.  With the dark grey dress and white apron, collar and hat, I also wore a wig--yellow hair, two braids, much like a Dutch girl.  By that time we'd moved on to tricking and treating in the surrounding blocks. We neighborhood kids spent a lot of time riding our bikes on the block north of us, around the "circle drive" where the street dead-ended after they built the big highway.  Except on Halloween this particular year, there was a witch sneaking around the side of one of the houses near there, cackling at us and scaring me to the point of screaming and running for home, as fast as I could.  By the time I arrived, I was crying and could barely explain to my dad about the scary witch.  The first thing he did was to ask where my hat and wig were.  In my haste to get away from the witch, I'd lost them.  Too scared to face the witch again, I begged my dad to go with me to find my missing costume pieces.  He did, but by the time we arrived near the witch's house, she was gone.  We retrieved my hat and wig and returned home.  But I'll never forget how scared I was that night.  The poor neighbor who'd dressed as the witch never did it again.

By the time I hit junior high and high school, my family had moved to a small town, where Halloween had become famous for trouble.  It didn't take long for the new grocery store owners to realize they needed to hide the cartons of eggs early in the day.  My senior year, I rode with my best friends as we drove around town, and for the rest of the winter, that car smelled of rotten eggs whenever the heater was turned on.  We never threw a single egg.  Bales of hay were "borrowed" from neighboring farms and dumped in the middle of the main street, making driving...interesting.  Smashed pumpkins (not the band) were often stolen and joined the hay bales in the street.  There were a few times when those bales were set on fire.  In years past, outhouses were tipped over.  By the time I was in high school, it became so bad that the sheriff deputies--some on horseback--came to town to try to keep the craziness within bounds. There were a couple of years that I participated as a crazy by riding in the back of a pickup truck and holding on for dear life.  Then there was the five feet deep hole ("Devil's Hole") I fell into while running in the dark...

Is it any wonder that I love Halloween?  And apparently my daughters do, too, because they still enjoy putting together and wearing costumes as they take their own families trick-or-treating.  Me?  I just sit back and enjoy my favorite holiday in peace and quiet, along with an appropriate movie or two.

Hope you and yours have a wonderful and non-scary Happy Halloween!!

In Memory of Jim Henson on His 75th Birthday

If you're not using Google Chrome, you're missing out on having fun today.  To the left is the Google Doodle that appears on the main page of the browser in honor of Jim Henson's birthday.  The doodle is interactive and took me completely by surprise a couple of times.  I'm still laughing!

I was just out of high school when Sesame Street premiered, so I missed a lot of the early Henson work.  By the time my first daughter was old enough to grasp TV, she not only watched Sesame Street, but she fell in love with Fraggle Rock.  So did I.  And now I've introduced it to my grandkids, who love it, too.

Instead of including a video, I'd rather leave this link to a fellow author's blog, where you'll find two very special videos she chose to honor Jim Henson.  I don't think Myrna Mackenzie will mind if I share. :)