Here We Go Again…

The 50s were really a fun time for teenagers. They would gather after school at the local drug store refreshment counter and spend the next hour renewing their popularity.

One teen said she was taught how to write a check by her father… so, she went to the local restaurant for a Coca Cola and wrote a check for a dime. It became embarrassing, for she lived in a small town where everyone knew each other and the owner kept the check to show her dad.

Popular songs were enjoyed by all, like Ragg Mopp, Sam’s Song, and Music, Music, Music.

Crowds of teens would go walking cross town to go roller skating or attend a football game. When guys found themselves with drivers licenses and use of the family car, they walked less and drove more. Many things became possible. Unfortunately smoking became a habit for many teens, one that many have yet to overcome.

Talk at the dinner table became serious as dads wondered if they would be drafted into a new conflict. It had to do with the fact that North Korean forces invaded South Korea and captured Seoul. McArthur was appointed commander of the U.N. forces and we were again at war, recapturing Seoul.

The Atomic Energy Commission got permission to manufacture H-bombs.

At home, Senator McCarthy told President Truman that there are Communists aboard in the State Department, so another kind of battle was engaged at home.

The U.N. forces captured “Heartbreak Ridge, north of Yanguu, and armistice negotiations began at Panmunjon,” but failed.
About the same time, a law was made that the terms of a U.S. President would become a maximum of two terms.

Having served for years, General McArthur was relieved of his Far East command

It was 1953 when Elizabeth became Queen of England, following the death of her father, King George IV. Queen Elizabeth II, has successfully served her country for 67 years.

There were so many things that it would take a book to review all that happened in the 50s, but one of the special things was Hawaii becoming the 50th state of the United States in 1959.
On and on we go. The 60s began with presidential candidates, Democrat—Kennedy and Republican—Nixon, debating live on national television.

The first satellite, Tiros 1 was launched by the United States to transmit cloud cover images around the world.
As the United States broke off relations with Cuba, John Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States. The rest is history.In the mid 60s, Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first human heart transplant operation in Cape Town, South Africa.

Singer Garry Dorsey changed his name to Engelbert Humperdinck and gained world fame.
At about the same time women of the world had begun wearing mini-skirts.

In 1967, 700,000 people marched down Fifth Avenue in support of the soldiers fighting in Vietnam.
Now, in 2020, many of our Vietnam veterans are the senior residents of Veterans Nursing Homes, dearly regarded with many thanks for their serving in such a time of need.

The next chapters of Born Coping are filled with technologic findings and all the things we have worked for the last half century. Enough said for now.

I hope everyone enjoyed our wonderful Christmas season. Perhaps next year, 2021, will be a wonderful new year.

Kitty Maiden is a staff writer for Seniors Today.