1943 ~ the world was a different place ~ 1961 Poem

Poem - Class of '61 - Poem Adapted from a work by Kenneth J. Ellison Reviewed by: Russell Dowden, Jr. Class of '61 I want to go back to having fun, My high school class of '61. I'm tired of work and feeling old, I miss fun times and rock 'n roll. That time of rhythm and blues, Poodle skirts and blue suede shoes, When daydreams easily set sail, I miss the sweetie in a ponytail. Boys turning up collars on coats, Hamburgers and root-beer floats, Giggling girls in sweaters tight, Late night fun by bright moonlight. I miss those little bouts with Dad, Begging for money he never had, To take my sweetheart on a date, And pleading, please, to stay out late. Coming home from a drive-in show, Always parking where lovers go, Listening to the radios latest hits, Then home before Dad threw a fit. Secret meets in the halls of school, Breaking the teachers rigid rules, Sitting in class trying to look smart, As I write my gal's name in a heart. High school bands and ball games, Boys on the bus sharing girls names, Cute cheerleaders and school dances, Torrid young lovers and short romances. Precious memories flood my mind, If I could just go back in time, Back to what I recall as fun, My old high school class of '61!

HEY, WASN'T THIS US ?            A little house with two bedrooms, One bathroom and one car on the street. A mower that you had to push To make the grass look neat. In the kitchen on the wall We only had one phone, And no need for recording things, Someone was always home. We only had a living room Where we would congregate, Unless it was at mealtime In the kitchen where we ate. We had no need for family rooms Or extra rooms to dine. When meeting as a family Those two rooms would work out fine. We only had one TV set And channels maybe two, But always there was one of them With something worth the view. For snacks we had potato chips That tasted like a chip. And if you wanted flavor There was Lipton's onion dip. Store-bought snacks were rare because My mother liked to cook And nothing can compare to snacks In Betty Crocker's book. Weekends were for family trips Or staying home to play. We all did things together -- Even go to church to pray. When we did our weekend trips Depending on the weather, No one stayed at home because We liked to be together. Sometimes we would separate To do things on our own, But we knew where the others were Without our own cell phone. Then there were the movies With your favorite movie star, And nothing can compare To watching movies in your car. Then there were the picnics At the peak of summer season, Pack a lunch and find some trees And never need a reason. Get a baseball game together With all the friends you know, Have real action playing ball -- And no game video. Remember when the doctor Used to be the family friend, And didn't need insurance Or a lawyer to defend? The way that he took care of you Or what he had to do, Because he took an oath and strived To do the best for you. Remember going to the store And shopping casually, And when you went to pay for it You used your own money? Nothing that you had to swipe Or punch in some amount, And remember when the cashier person Had to really count? The milkman used to go From door to door, And it was just a few cents more Than going to the store. There was a time when mailed letters Came right to your door, Without a lot of junk mail ads Sent out by every store. The mailman knew each house by name And knew where it was sent; There were not loads of mail addressed To "present occupant." There was a time when just one glance Was all that it would take, And you would know the kind of car, the model and the make. They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile; they were streamlined, white walls, fins and really had some style.   One time the music that you played whenever you would jive, was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five. The record player had a post to keep them all in line and then the records would drop down and play one at a time. Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today and always we were striving, trying for a better way. Oh, the simple life we lived still  (sent to Sharon by Bill Todd's wife, 2013)

 Created by Philipp Lenssen, posted ~ if you want to read about another year, go to this site

In 1943, the world was a different place.

There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo.

In 1943, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was A Guy Named Joe. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.

Remember, that was before there were DVDs. Heck, even before there was VHS. People were indeed watching movies in the cinema, and not downloading them online. Imagine the packed seats, the laughter, the excitement, the novelty. And mostly all of that without 3D computer effects.

In the year 1943, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time wasThe Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it?

In 1943... American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. The drugs Vicodin and Lortab are made in Germany. Rome is bombed by the Allies for the first time in the war. The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky is instituted in the USSR. The Merrie Melodies animated short Falling Hare, one of the only shorts with Bugs getting out-smarted, is released in the United States. The Colossus computer is invented by the British to break German encryption. Jacques-Yves Cousteau co-invents, with Emile Gagnan, the first commercially successful open circuit type of scuba diving equipment, the Aqua-lung.

That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.

The Nobel prize for physics went to Otto Stern from the United States for his contribution to the development of the molecular ray method and his discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?

The 1940s were indeed a special decade. World War II continued, affecting people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The post war world encouraged decolonization, new states and governments emerged, while others declared independence, often not without bloodshed. The dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published, picturing a totalitarian Big Brother regime controllings its citizens. The NATO gets established. Iceland declares independence Denmark. Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party is victorious in the Chinese Civil War. Mathematics sees the invention of cryptography. Ballistic missiles are created.

Do you remember the movie that was all the rage when you were 15?The Young Lions. Do you still remember the songs playing on the radio when you were 15? Maybe it was All I Have To Do Is Dream by Everly Brothers. Were you in love? Who were you in love with, do you remember?

In 1943, 15 years earlier, a long time ago, the year when you were born, the song White Christmas by Bing Crosby topped the US charts. Do you know the lyrics? Do you know the tune? Sing along.

The sun is shining
The grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway.
I've never seen such a day
In Beverly Hills LA.
But it's December the 24th
And I am longing to be up North.
...

There's a kid outside, shouting, playing. It doesn't care about time. It doesn't know about time. It shouts and it plays and thinks time is forever. You were once that kid.

When you were 9, the movie Jack and the Beanstalk was playing.

Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards? The technology available today would have blown your mind in 1943. Do you know what was invented in the year you were born? The Aqua-Lung.

I am the son of a grassland farmer
Western Oklahoma 1943
I always felt grateful to live in the land of the free
...

That's from the song Let Us Begin by John Denver.

In 1943, a new character entered the world of comic books: Chip 'n Dale. Bang! Boom! But that's just fiction, right? In the real world, in 1943, Eric Idle was born. And Mick Jagger. Robert De Niro, too. And you, of course. Everyone an individual. Everyone special. Everyone taking a different path through life.
It's 2011.

The world is a different place.

What path have you taken?