Changes since My Birth

Growing up and even recently I have heard from those older than I tell me about how much things have changed over their life time. So I decided to look at  just what has changed since my birth in 1959. I could write reams on the advances in health care, automobiles and technology.  So I have picked out a few items that I feel are important to mention in the space of this blog entry.

What was going on 54 years ago? At the start of  my birth year, Television programs included "Rawhide", "Bonanza" and "The Twilight Zone", movies included "Some Like it Hot", "Ben Hurr" and "North by Northwest". Alaska is admitted to the union and becomes the 49th state and Hawaii is admitted to the Union and became the 50th State. The Boeing 707 Jet Airliner comes into service and little girls love the Barbie Dolls made by Mattel. Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba.

Since 1959 we have seen a lot of develops and tragedy. The St. Lawrence Seaway was official completed and links the Great Lakes to the rest of the world.  The last musical from Rodgers and Hammerstein “The Sound of Music” opens on Broadway. The charted plan transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper goes down in an Iowa snowstorm, killing all four occupants on board. The tragedy is later termed “The Day the Music Died” popularized in Don McLean’s song “American Pie”.

The Microchip and the computer modem were developed in the USA.

The first kidney transplant was in 1963. The first heart transplant was performed in 1967. The first artificial heart was installed in 1982. The first heart and lung transplant was performed in 1987.

The laser was invented in 1960. In 1964 it was used in eye surgery for the first time.

Meanwhile the invention of fiber optics in the 1950s made possible the development of endoscopes in the 1960s.

The 1960's were years of unrest in America over the Vietnam War.  We saw the start of the hippie movement.  It was a time of awakening, a time of rethinking old methods, and the computer was becoming a part of this new world.  Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL) was developed by a team drawn from several computer manufacturers and the Pentagon. Thomas Kurtz and John Kemeny created BASIC, an easy-to-learn programming language, for their students at Dartmouth College. The first industrial robot was built in 1962.

Cuban Missile Crisis On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy instituted”quarantine" on the shipment of offensive missiles to Cuba from the Soviet Union. He also warned Soviet Union that the launching of any missile from Cuba against nations in the Western Hemisphere would bring about U.S. nuclear retaliation on the Soviet Union. A negotiated settlement was achieved in a few days.

Hewlett-Packard entered the general purpose computer business with its HP-2115 for computation, offering a computational power formerly found only in much larger computers. The Apollo Guidance Computer made its debut orbiting the Earth on Apollo 7.   AT&T Bell Laboratories programmers Kenneth Thompson and Dennis Ritchie developed the UNIX operating system on a spare DEC minicomputer. Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the Moon; Internet (ARPA) goes online.

The first pocket calculator was sold in 1971.

Evacuation from Vietnam. On April 3, 1975, President Ford reported U.S. naval vessels, helicopters, and Marines had been sent to assist in evacuation of refugees and US nationals from Vietnam. South Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, President Ford reported that a force of 70 evacuation helicopters and 865 Marines had evacuated about 1,400 U.S. citizens and 5,500 third country nationals and South Vietnamese from landing zones in and around the U.S. Embassy, Saigon and Tan Son Nhut Airport.

Treatment for infertility also improved in the late 20th century. The first test tube baby was born in 1978.

In 1980, the medical field was able to have Smallpox eradicated and in 1981, Scientists identify AIDS

 

In 1989 we experienced the Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe

We went from 0 computers in the home to 311 million in less than 30 years.

Now as I stated in the beginning of the blog entry, this is only a fraction of what we have experienced and the advances that have been made in the past 54 years. I can’t wait to see just how far we will progress in the next 54 years.

Keep Dancin’ Larry B.

 

Family, Friends and a Year of Changes

As the year draws to a close, it is time to reflect on the past year and how very important our family and friends have been in our lives.  I am sure most of us are still in a stupor from our Christmas feast.  It was during our feast that I got to thinking about how 2011 had been a year of many changes for Paul and I.

I started the year in a new/old position after 20 years with Intracorp, the company was sold to GENEX Services at the end fo 2010. So although I am still doing the same job, it was all new with a new employer. The year has been a challenge learning how to do the same job under new policies and proceedures. I do have to state that my new immediate boss has been nothing but accepting and supportive in this year of transition.

I also started a new website www.LineDanceNews.com and also became the host site for Stella Cabeca's website.  Just taking my passion for dancing to a new level.

Paul met a milestone this year and after 30 years retired from the US Postal Service. He has been making a nice adjustment to the life as a retired person.

Then the most dramatic change came the last quarter of the year when we decided it was now time to make the move to Tennessee to be closer to both our families especially my Father. It then all happen very quickly with us selling the house in Florida.  So after 40 years for Paul and 20 years for myself in Florida, we relocted to Clarksville, Tennessee.

So this Holiday season, we got to spend with our families and not our our Florida friends. For me it was a very special holiday getting to spend it with my Father and sister afte 20 years. I know my Mom was smiling down at us, happy that her family was back together again.

I have to admit it was strange at first since for the past years, it was our Florida family that had made our holiday season so enjoyable and memorable.

We  tend to take many things in our life for granted and sometimes neglect to express or show our true feelings for those immediately around us in our daily lives. Being from a farming family, family gatherings with lots of good food, good fun and camaraderie were what was important throughout the year. It was during these family gatherings that you caught on family and nurtured the bond that makes us all family in one way or another.

Paul  and I come from very different family backgrounds but the one common thread was that family was the most important aspect of our daily lives growing up. The weekly or Monthly family gatherings that included everyone from Grandparents to cousins. The feeling of having that common denominator that made you whole and who you are today. 

The old saying you can pick your friends but not your family  is so true. Yet we have friends in our lives that we consider family and have the bond that comes with family.  Knowing they will be there for you in your time of need and support you in whatever venture you undertake. 

So as 2011 draws to an end, We know that our choices were the right ones for Paul and I. Our Florida Friends will always be a part of our lives but now is the time for us to spend with our Family. 2012 is going to be a good year, now we get to show our Florida Family the area I grew up in and around.