I was envious of my grandparents, who lived in the era of the 1860s to the 1940s. My paternal grandfather packed his bags and drove his family West in an early Ford from Kentucky to Arizona in the 1920s before the days of superhighways. He carved out a second career in Phoenix.
My maternal grandfather was born in 1865, and ran away from his home in Ohio at the age of 17 to become a stagecoach "shotgun" rider from Tombstone to Bisbee, and later a miner in New Mexico, Mexico, and Arizona. He was in the Tombstone area in the time of Wyatt Earp.
Those were tough and hardscrabble times in the West; I would love to visit that era, but living in it permanently would be a struggle. Men didn't live all that long (most only into their 50s), and things like the flu killed many thousands. Medical care was very primitive. Still, it was the era of Western expansion and must have been a vibrant time.
I lived through World War II and Korea as a boy (both were exciting times), and grew to manhood in the '50s, which I think was the best of times in modern years. Ike was in the White House, gas was 25 cents a gallon, the girls and cars were fantastic, the schools didn't try to re-write history and teach bravo sierra, and the drug problem was not at all prevalent like it is now. We were actually free to make our way in the world on our own terms without government control and interference in our daily lives. We respected our teachers and in later years, associated with many of them as our friends. There were some downsides for minorities, I must admit, but most of us had minority friends and accepted them as fellow travelers on the road of life.
I do feel for the kids growing up today. The obstacles placed in their paths to happiness are considerable. The country is not the same. I'm not sure I would want to live 100 years in the future here.
John
My maternal grandfather was born in 1865, and ran away from his home in Ohio at the age of 17 to become a stagecoach "shotgun" rider from Tombstone to Bisbee, and later a miner in New Mexico, Mexico, and Arizona. He was in the Tombstone area in the time of Wyatt Earp.
Those were tough and hardscrabble times in the West; I would love to visit that era, but living in it permanently would be a struggle. Men didn't live all that long (most only into their 50s), and things like the flu killed many thousands. Medical care was very primitive. Still, it was the era of Western expansion and must have been a vibrant time.
I lived through World War II and Korea as a boy (both were exciting times), and grew to manhood in the '50s, which I think was the best of times in modern years. Ike was in the White House, gas was 25 cents a gallon, the girls and cars were fantastic, the schools didn't try to re-write history and teach bravo sierra, and the drug problem was not at all prevalent like it is now. We were actually free to make our way in the world on our own terms without government control and interference in our daily lives. We respected our teachers and in later years, associated with many of them as our friends. There were some downsides for minorities, I must admit, but most of us had minority friends and accepted them as fellow travelers on the road of life.
I do feel for the kids growing up today. The obstacles placed in their paths to happiness are considerable. The country is not the same. I'm not sure I would want to live 100 years in the future here.
John
