my life experince
Nov. 17th, 2016 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
curmugeonI'm a "boomer". I was born in 1947. I first attended school in 1955-56. I remember the "I like Like" buttons. I remember when coins had silver in them. My parents built their first house. I remember riding in my dad's 1940 Chevy coupe. I remember penny candy and cokes for a dime. I remember when made in Japan was junk by another name. I remember my uncle Doug and his Crosley he drove, one of America's first small cars.
I remember the move to California. My first exposure to racial segregation was in Baltimore Maryland. I remember seeing segregation at its ugliest in Meridian Mississippi. I saw another form of racism in Texas. I saw it again in California. At twelve I clearly understood what I saw and knew it was wrong.
In California I recall my first smoggy day. It was a thick brown fog. Your lungs hurt. Your eyes burned. I will never let us go back to that.
As a family we drove back to Maine a few years later (1961). It seemed so backward. Driving cross country was in my blood. In 1969 I drove coast to coast. I was in the military and was deploying to Europe. I visited Maine. I visited my relatives. I flew down to New York. I missed Woodstock by a matter of days. The first day of Woodstock I was at JFK airport. The second day I was drinking a pilsner in a sidewalk cafe in Berlin.
I returned to the United States in January of 1972. I flew on to Los Angeles. It was a day with the Santana winds blowing, it was 80 degrees. I was home. I was back driving my VW bug. I went to the beach the next day.
I have lived through various transitions of our government. I met Nixon. I met LBJ. I met Kennedy. I hated Reagan even when he was governor. I once liked Republicans. I even once voted Republican. I liked Governor Deukmrjian. I was his neighbor.
I have lived in Haight Ashbury. I lived in Berlin Germany. I lived in Franklin Maine. I lived in Orange California. I lived in Long Beach California. I now live in Anza. I have been many places. I've met many people. I've been a hippy. I am a veteran. I have travelled the blue highways of America. I have been middle class with a home in the suburbs, two nice cars in the garage and membership in a private lake club. I remember filing taxes on me and my wife's income and bring shocked at seeing six figures as adjusted gross income. I was union for over twenty years. Those were good years. I walked my first picket line with my dad. I walked many more times as a union brother.
I've demonstrated against a few wars. I marched against the Vietnam war as a veteran. I marched against the Iraq war both one and two. I've marched for civil rights. As we enter a new era I see myself in the street again. I'll march for equality. I'll march for justice. I'll march to protest what Trump plans to do to Social Security. I'll march for clean air and clean water.
I need to get a new gas mask. I need my ear plugs. I need to remember how we made crude body armor we wore under our sweatshirts. We used to pack a bottle of vinegar and a linen napkim to ward off test gas. I'll pack my nomex glove to pick up and throw back year gas cannisters. Got to pack my pocket Constitution and be ready to write the national lawyers guild phone number on my forearm. I'm almost 69 years old. I fought for my country to defend it against enemies both foreign and domestic. I took that oath. I am still willing to fight for freedom and justice. I will not go quietly.
I remember the move to California. My first exposure to racial segregation was in Baltimore Maryland. I remember seeing segregation at its ugliest in Meridian Mississippi. I saw another form of racism in Texas. I saw it again in California. At twelve I clearly understood what I saw and knew it was wrong.
In California I recall my first smoggy day. It was a thick brown fog. Your lungs hurt. Your eyes burned. I will never let us go back to that.
As a family we drove back to Maine a few years later (1961). It seemed so backward. Driving cross country was in my blood. In 1969 I drove coast to coast. I was in the military and was deploying to Europe. I visited Maine. I visited my relatives. I flew down to New York. I missed Woodstock by a matter of days. The first day of Woodstock I was at JFK airport. The second day I was drinking a pilsner in a sidewalk cafe in Berlin.
I returned to the United States in January of 1972. I flew on to Los Angeles. It was a day with the Santana winds blowing, it was 80 degrees. I was home. I was back driving my VW bug. I went to the beach the next day.
I have lived through various transitions of our government. I met Nixon. I met LBJ. I met Kennedy. I hated Reagan even when he was governor. I once liked Republicans. I even once voted Republican. I liked Governor Deukmrjian. I was his neighbor.
I have lived in Haight Ashbury. I lived in Berlin Germany. I lived in Franklin Maine. I lived in Orange California. I lived in Long Beach California. I now live in Anza. I have been many places. I've met many people. I've been a hippy. I am a veteran. I have travelled the blue highways of America. I have been middle class with a home in the suburbs, two nice cars in the garage and membership in a private lake club. I remember filing taxes on me and my wife's income and bring shocked at seeing six figures as adjusted gross income. I was union for over twenty years. Those were good years. I walked my first picket line with my dad. I walked many more times as a union brother.
I've demonstrated against a few wars. I marched against the Vietnam war as a veteran. I marched against the Iraq war both one and two. I've marched for civil rights. As we enter a new era I see myself in the street again. I'll march for equality. I'll march for justice. I'll march to protest what Trump plans to do to Social Security. I'll march for clean air and clean water.
I need to get a new gas mask. I need my ear plugs. I need to remember how we made crude body armor we wore under our sweatshirts. We used to pack a bottle of vinegar and a linen napkim to ward off test gas. I'll pack my nomex glove to pick up and throw back year gas cannisters. Got to pack my pocket Constitution and be ready to write the national lawyers guild phone number on my forearm. I'm almost 69 years old. I fought for my country to defend it against enemies both foreign and domestic. I took that oath. I am still willing to fight for freedom and justice. I will not go quietly.
