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A Child of the . . .

 


What was it like to grow up as a child in the 90s? How about the 1940’s? Thinking about a child growing up in each different decade, conjures up images in my mind. But that is all they are: images. I was a child in the 1960’s. I can tell you what it felt like to be growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, but what it felt like to me is not what the history books remember. History will tell you the 60’s was about the Viet Nam War, civil rights, and the space race. The 70’s was Disco and Watergate. I remember being aware of all of those things, but to me this era was about finding time to play with my friends, something I probably share with a child of any decade. It was about navigating the social intricacies of school.  It was about the Beatles, Three Dog Night, The Moody Blues, The Animals, Jefferson Airplane. It was Bullwinkle, the Wonderful World of Color, and Ed Sullivan.

There are things that a kid pays attention to that the grown-ups don’t. Then there are things the adults pay attention to that are not very important to the kids. The adults of my childhood were worried about nuclear war. We had fallout shelters in our schools. We may have even practiced what to do in a nuclear attack. Serious stuff. But for us kids? We knew about it, but we just went on with our lives. We had other priorities.

Every year there is a new crisis.

I have no idea what it was like to grow up in the 1990’s because I didn’t do that. I saw the 1990’s from my adult perspective. And kids growing up today? Adults are all worried about how divided the country is. Toxic politics. That has to affect the kids, right? Maybe not. Maybe kids just worry about what kids worry about. Maybe the world would be a better place if nobody ever grew up.

Star Liner

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