I have seen the Great Depression of the 1930s, World War II, the Beat Generation, the invention of the atomic bomb, the Korean War, fallout shelters, the McCarthy blacklistings, the assassinations of a president and of a great civil-rights leader, the Vietnam War and for 40 years, the Cold War with its ominous threat of a nuclear holocaust. I have also witnessed the invention of refrigerators and washing machines, the birth of television followed by color television, transistor radios, calculators, computers, and Americans walking on the moon.
Music is a most important part of most everyone's life regardless of the style.
I danced to the sounds of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and their peers in the swing era and then enjoyed this art form's evolution from blues to be-bop to rhythm and blues to rock and roll, with its many forms like bubble gum, disco, punk, heavy metal and rap. I also took pleasure in the many fads like platform shoes, Hula-Hoops, Frisbees, mood rings, pet rocks, Beanie Babies and the latest craze, Pok mon. There are many aspects to living a full life, but the one I would place on top is knowledge. I am referring to a well-rounded mind that appreciates humorous as well as serious knowledge about as many facets of life as possible. It doesn't matter if we use our knowledge to earn a higher income or that it is self-satisfying.