This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Moon Landing, Woodstock and my High School celebration. In 1969, the most important event of the three to me was my graduation. The 50^th Class Reunion will be held this coming weekend in my hometown of Worthington.

Although I am not attending, I can honestly say that there is nobody that I wouldn’t be glad to see. We were lucky to have a class of good people. We all played the roles that our peers determined for us, and it seemed to work pretty well. Even though we all left the nest and were able to redefine ourselves, I’ll miss seeing people fall into their old roles. Everyone will be trying to recognize each other through Mother Nature’s make-up job.

More than being lucky to be part of this class, I am extremely grateful to be part of this time in History. I couldn’t have asked for a better time to be alive. David and I both agree, that, though it sucks getting old, we’re at least getting old at a good time.

Our parents were coming off surviving the greatest war in history and just wanted a normal life. Home with a yard, two kids (unless if you were Catholic) a car and a good job. Ward and June Cleaver were poster children for what everyone wanted to be. Most women didn’t wear dresses with full skirts and high heels at home, or white gloves and hats to go grocery shopping, but there were some that did.

As unimaginable as it seems now, we didn’t lock our doors when we left the house. We would leave the front door and all the windows open at night for “air conditioning”. The only security that we had was the hook lock on the screen door. What seemed the norm back then would be considered “asking to be robbed and murdered” today.

In the late 50’s we were there when Rock and Roll was rockin’ and rollin’ across the radio airways and in jukeboxes. We learned the current fashion trends and dance moves by watching American Bandstand every Saturday. If we went out that night, we left the folks at home watching Perry Mason and Gunsmoke.

We spent a lot of time on the phones with our friends, but unlike today, we would have to hang up to go to the bathroom…nobody had a cord that long. And a baked potato was a luxury because it took so long to bake.

And then there were the 60’s and 70’s. That was a remarkable time to be able to say, “I was there”. You didn’t have to be in the movement to know it was happening. Seeing music and hearing colors was available as well as smoke filled rooms with tie dyed sheets hanging on the wall. There are many of us that can dispel the “fake news” that taking LSD would result in babies with one eye and a tail, a fact my oldest child is also grateful for.

The music, the psychedelics and the hippie movement were much more than just entertainment…it was a cultural change. The fights were for peace, and racial integration. The songs were filled with love, hope and battle cries for peace. Songs like “What’s That Sound”, “Eve of Destruction” and “Crystal Blue Persuasion” are as relevant today as they were back then. If we had not stopped off at Woodstock on the way to Washington DC…we could have made even more of an impact on the culture of government. It’s now up to our spawn to fight to regain the inroads we did achieve that are being destroyed by the present administration.

The 80’s and 90’s gave us adulthood, responsibilities and accepting the fact that in order to survive successfully, we would all have to embrace the establishment we fought  so hard against. It’s difficult to “never trust anyone over 30” when you’re nearing your 40^th birthday!

In the 21^st century we have moved into a world we could never have imagined. We now have in our lives items that we only thought were available to the Jetsons. Everything is instant and not everyone has embraced technology and the “cloud”. The members of our generation will be the last that can live the life they’ve created without all the new-fangled devices… but we all know it can be done…because it was “in our day”.

So, when my classmates get together this weekend, I hope they look at the other old people there and smile, knowing we all shared some remarkable times. We are growing old together at an extraordinary period in history.  Behind those smiles, you should see a glimmer of appreciation that we were on this ride together…and what a ride!

To the class of ’69, I’m glad we all had tickets!!

In the light of the recent mass shootings, I am reprinting my post from June 19, 2017. Sadly, two years later…and nothing has changed! DDWS

Gun control is an issue that truly challenges my sense of logic. I do not understand how so many people have legal access to weapons and go on to commit murder. The vetting system must be very similar to the one used to select Trump’s administration and cabinet.

I am not opposed to gun ownership for hunting that is legalized. The “hunter and gatherer” instinct is one that I really appreciate in those individuals that still feel the call. My favorite uncle was a Game Warden in the Black Hills of SD. He had a gun for every season.

He never used a semi-automatic rifle when hunting Bambi’s dad, and he never quieted Thumper with a gun that had a silencer. He entered the “hunt” with an appropriate weapon for hunting the “in season” prey. His favorite part was hunting on “their turf” and absorbing the nature around him. It was as fair a fight as he could create.

As a true hunter, his goal was to bring home the venison and he did, which we all enjoyed…in many forms…for a very long time.

I would never want to take this experience from anyone. Think about it. If we didn’t kill the deer, we’d be watching “Planet of the Elk”.

His job was that of an “Animal & Nature Cop”.  His responsibility was protecting endangered plants, sites and animals. I’m thinkin’ we should add Human Beings to that “Endangered Species List”.

As for self-defense, I again just believe we must re-evaluate not eliminate this “right” and reason to own a gun. When the authors of the Second Amendment in The Bill of Rights wrote it, they were in a different time and a different world. Face it, if you need a semi-automatic weapon to protect your home, you should probably move. In today’s world, they may have qualified which “arms” you could own and required you to take the CLEE test before issuing you a license.

CLEE is an anagram for Compassion, Logic, Education and Experience. It’s a test that is conceptually mine, and still needs creation and legislation.  I believe if someone scores 80% or above in at least 3 of these categories, they’ll probably be approved.

The Education and Experience segments are questions specific to whatever it is that you are getting a license for. (ex: Do you know how to use a gun? and, What have you done with guns before?). The Compassion and Logic are general human nature questions (ex: Do you value human life? and, Why is is bad to hurt other people?).

The way the world is going, we may need this test for drivers licenses too.

This makes sense to me more than whatever the system is now. I don’t want to take people’s gun rights away, I just want the right people to get them.

I know my concept has an ice cube’s chance in Hell to ever  materialize under Trump. Face it, if there’d been a CLEE test for “presidential candidates” he would’ve scored low, if at all, in all categories.  Regardless, , he still would have gone on to get elected…while we waited for him to release his test results.