From The Beginning

I was among the last generation of little boys that had to wear dress pants and dress shoes to school, all little boys had to. All little girls wore dresses. Tennis shoes were for gym class only. We were taught to pay respect to all adults because they were in charge, and we were taught to respect authority. There were two worlds then, the world of childhood and the world of adulthood. The auspices of childhood were protected and governed by the countenance of adulthood. Then overnight, it all seemed to change. I do not know whether it actually changed that fast or I just suddenly became aware of it – but it changed. Soon, there would only be one world.


Even though I was only a child I was peculiarly fascinated with both current and past events. It was an unusual awareness that has persisted to this day. World and national events were my forte – baseball was not. I never walked by a newscast.

I was too young to remember the Kennedy assassination; I was only two years old. There are other events that I do remember. I stood dumfounded at the television when a tornado tore through Belvedere Illinois on April 21, 1967, less than twenty miles from where we lived. In 1968 Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated months apart. I can remember my parents and grandparents ranting on about the Democratic National Convention riots in Chicago. This too was close to home; we lived less than a hundred miles from there. The 1960’s would turn out to be “the decade of assassinations and riots”. Even as children we could feel the pall of fear and uncertainty permeating the air. It seemed the whole world was unraveling.

My mother called me into the house on a warm July day in 1969 to watch what would become known as “One giant leap for mankind”. For some reason I protested at first saying, “Why do I have to watch that?” She responded by saying, “Because it is history, and you are going to watch it.” I am glad she did. That Apollo mission was launched four days earlier on July 16, my birthday.

I remember seeing the hippies on the nightly news smoking pot on camera in defiance of 'the system' and 'the Man.' Formality was officially out; they were dancing naked at Woodstock.

I remember Charles Manson’s glassy eyed glare being shown on the news in 1970 during one of the most sensational trials of the century. I also remember the shootings at Kent State. Most of all, I remember the horrifying images of the Vietnam War. They were being shown on the news night after night. Names like Saigon, Da Nang, and Hanoi were words that you heard every day. And yes, I thought the world would stop when the Beatles broke up. This is an exert from, Of Rage and Silence, by Timothy Lee.

After I witnessed the moon landing my life was never the same. I became a hopeless news junkie. Despite the ongoing war, I no longer saw televsion as the enemy. I came running in every night to watch Walter Cronkite with his seemingly unerrable tenure. He seemed to me to have a presence about him that was more Presidential like - than typical newsman. Years later I would come to realize he carried as much influence.
 When I was 14 years old I was often begging my mother to drop me off in downtown Rockford, so I could go to the Winnebago County Recorders office or the Library. I was a natural born researcher. I hated questions because I could never leave them unanswered. Many years later I find myself much the same. I am antagonized by a lack of understanding. I realize that most do not share my enthusiasm for knowledge, news, current events, or perhaps any of the things that I am interested in. That is one reason for this blog , I know there are others. It is my hope to share my opinions about what is going on in our world today, and also to have you share yours. By this means we all win because we all learn.

My life has not been perfect or even what most would consider "sucessful". I struggled as a youth and a young adult with emotional problems. This was due to being raised in a violent alcoholic home. My life was much more centered on survival than it was just being a child. Because of this I spent much of my time dwelling on self pitty and looking for a way out of a world that I tried hoplessly to understand. My grades as a student suffered along with the rest of me. In no time, I found myself following in my fathers footsteps. I will be sharing my story online here for those who still suffer and those who have been afflicted by a less than ideal past. When I went through these things they were considered the 'exception' to a normal family life. Now, in todays society what I went through is now becoming the new norm. This is another reason for this blog. In addition, there will be short articles about local history for those who live in Winnebago County or surrounding area. Till next time, take care and stay tuned.