Happy Birthday to Me 2009

In 1954:  RCA manufactured the first color TV set with a12″ screen priced at $1,000.  The Supreme Court ordered all schools to be integrated.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.27 points closing at an all-time high of 382.74 since 1929.  The average income was $4,000 per year and gas cost 29 cents per gallon.

1960 – 6 years old
I was in kindergarten happily watching plants grow from seed, finger painting, and playing jacks at recess followed by a nap.

In 1960:  John F Kennedy elected President.  Black students staged a sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina to protest segregated seating at the establishment.  The first studies linking cigarette smoking with heart disease were undertaken.  And the first oral contraceptives became available to the public.  The average income was $5,600 per year and gas cost 25 cents per gallon.

1965 – 11 years old
My family moved about 10 miles to a another all-white Chicago suburb during the middle of 5th grade.  I was upset, yet made new friends rapidly.  I wore the shortest mini-skirts as puberty began.

In 1965:  Hypertext introduced for linking on the Internet.  Conflict in Vietnam worsened while anti-war movements increased.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lead a civil rights march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery.  Mary Quant designed the Mini Skirt.  The Grateful Dead with lead guitarist Jerry Garcia played their first concert, in San Francisco.  The average income was $6,400 per year and gas cost 31 cents per gallon.

1970 – Sweet 16
The sweet part is debatable, just ask my parents.  It was time for me to rebel, especially against anybody over 30.  There was so much in the world to explore and I wanted to do it all at once.

In 1972:  President Richard Nixon reelected and the Watergate burglary committed.  The first E-Mail program invented.  The last United States ground units left Vietnam.  Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 1003.16 marking the first time in history to cross the 1000 mark.  Intel introduced the 8008 microchip.  Ms. magazine began publication.  The film-less electronic camera patented.  The Marine Mammal Protection Act signed into law along with the Equal Rights Amendment which provided for legal equality of the sexes.  The average income was $12,000 per year and gas cost 55 cents per gallon.

1980 – June bride
At 26 I married a man with two children and became an instant Mom.  The following year we moved to Washington and eventually settled in Tonasket for almost 10 years where I raised a family and operated a Craft Store.

In 1980:  The United States boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow.  John Lennon assassinated.  Ronald Regan elected President.  Mount Saint Helens erupted (I later worked there).  Bill Gates licensed MS-DOS to IBM.  WordPerfect 1.0 introduced.  Chrysler, Ford and General Motors experienced the largest losses ever sustained by any U.S. corporations.  The average income was $19,000 and gas cost $1.20 per gallon.

1992 – 38 year-old college student
After separating from my husband I decided to get serious about school so finally took the general study 101s to add to the hundreds of miscellaneous credits I’d accumulated.  Graduated with a BS in Environmental Education & Mass Communication then continued my studies working as a Park Ranger.

In 1992:  President Bush apologized for raising taxes after pledging not to.  Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Works released.  Bill Clinton elected President.  DNA Fingerprinting invented.  The Earth Summit held in Brazil where the US refused to sign The United Nation convention on Climate Change and Biological Diversity.  Space Shuttle Endeavor’s maiden voyage successful.  The average income was $30,000 and gas cost $1.05 per gallon.

2003 – Traveling gypsy

2009
Berta and I went to lunch.

Happy Birthday to Me! 

I’m still processing all this.