In the course of history, there's probably nothing very significant about 50 years, but to me, there are many things that make 1968 a year to treat in a perspective look back.
The capture of USS Pueblo by North Korea, The Tet Offensive, The assassination of Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Act, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the first Boeing 747 entering airline service, Black Power protests at the Summer Olympics, riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, the first orbit of the moon by U. S. spacecraft, and a country torn with the wounds and unrest of the Viet Nam War. And, the list does on.
But, my personal reflection only holds a fleeting glimpse of any of these events. As Kenny Rogers noted in lyrics: "It wasn't me that started that old crazy asian war, but I was bound to go and do my patriotic chore". You see, I was otherwise occupied by the events in my personal life.
I started the year as a naive 20 year-old boy and ended as a 21 year-old man. I began the year with a move to Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco and ended watching Bob Hope on Hill 881 in DaNang, RVN. There was a dizzying array of events that shaped me and still have some effect 50 years later.
In trying to make some sense of where the world has gone and how we got to a 70 year-old reflecting on the passage of time, I will offer my thoughts as 2018 unfolds in a considerably different - and definitely equally challenging time.
Ten Images From 1968
The capture of USS Pueblo by North Korea, The Tet Offensive, The assassination of Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Act, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the first Boeing 747 entering airline service, Black Power protests at the Summer Olympics, riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, the first orbit of the moon by U. S. spacecraft, and a country torn with the wounds and unrest of the Viet Nam War. And, the list does on.
But, my personal reflection only holds a fleeting glimpse of any of these events. As Kenny Rogers noted in lyrics: "It wasn't me that started that old crazy asian war, but I was bound to go and do my patriotic chore". You see, I was otherwise occupied by the events in my personal life.
I started the year as a naive 20 year-old boy and ended as a 21 year-old man. I began the year with a move to Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco and ended watching Bob Hope on Hill 881 in DaNang, RVN. There was a dizzying array of events that shaped me and still have some effect 50 years later.
In trying to make some sense of where the world has gone and how we got to a 70 year-old reflecting on the passage of time, I will offer my thoughts as 2018 unfolds in a considerably different - and definitely equally challenging time.
Ten Images From 1968
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