Boomer Journey…

We are a generation in denial. It has been said repeatedly by boomers that 60 is the new 40. I beg to differ. I will be 69 in March and I am positive 60 is not 40. I’ve been 40 and I have been 60, and I am positive 40 was better. I did things at 40 that I would never tackle at 68. With each passing decade, our minds and bodies deliver a fresh message for the next decade in the form of aches and pains and tasks we’re wise enough never to try again.

We are not 40 anymore.

I think of things I used to do at 40 – like climbing on top of the roof of an old house 30 feet in the air and never thinking a thing about it. What is it about 68 that makes me terrified of heights? I suppose we break easier at 68 than we do at 40 though a 30-foot fall would have killed us at 40.

And – what is it about that morning constitution after coffee that just isn’t the same? As a man, you are reminded “Operation Golden Flow” is a lot more sluggish than it was at 40. We sit there for a time waiting to finish. Better do a PSA test along with that dehumanizing cavity check digital rectal exam just make sure.

My doctor said, “Oh no worries, I have small fingers…” as though that would make it easier.

Adding insult to injury is Number Two. Takes a lot more energy to do it at 68, which reminds me to take Meta Mucil each morning. More importantly, does it even work? On the upside, you can develop six-pack abs this way if you forget.

The elements of old age sneak up on us in osmosis form one day, one week, one birthday at a time. One rule of law holds true – with each landmark birthday at 50, 60, 70, and so on, we begin to feel changes in our mental and physical state. Fifty is surely the gateway to old age. I have to laugh at those who – at 60 – refuse to acknowledge they have entered senior citizen status at IHOP.

Probably the biggest insult of all is memory. I can remember superficial nothingness from 60 years ago, yet I cannot remember the name of a friend I’ve known since the Disco Era. Someone explain that to me – and if only I could remember what they said in a phone call this morning.

I suppose you could call Mother Nature cruel – however, she knows exactly what she’s doing. Old age is one of the few fair things in life – if you’ve lived this long, you are among survivors – those smart enough to have made it through the 1960s and ’70s. Some of us didn’t survive. I hear my fellow Hoosiers lamenting old age and wonder what the issue really is. Old age is reserved for survivors – those of us who managed to survive the foolishness of our youth.

Old age is to be treasured.

Those of you who read Boomer Journey are endlessly reminded of childhood Christmases whenever you hear holiday music from back in the day or catch the refreshing aroma of woodsmoke or a live Christmas tree. That’s how it still is for me more than a half-century later.

I can never resist donning “The Andy Williams Christmas Album” or the “Great Songs of Christmas,” the latter available from Goodyear tire dealerships in the 1960s. These wonderful vinyl record albums, and dozens of others, take us back to our childhoods when Santa was very real and out there on a cold winter night. It was the rare magical combination of darkness and imagination.

It was all about faith and belief in what we couldn’t see or touch.

Childhood was all about imagination – the freedom to escape to an imaginary world no one knew about but us. It was a nice escape until adulthood arrived and life was never the same. Some of us never segued into adulthood. I will admit to you I’ve never really grown up. I like to close my eyes and escape to the world of imagination – my own little world – which keeps me sane. Dunno about you, but I find it a place where I feel very much at peace.

I think we all need a little bit of that.

Imagination can range from retreating from life for time by yourself, perhaps on a cold winter night on the patio bundled up, taking in the sweet holiday smell of woodsmoke, or listening to the quiet -save for that ringing in our ears. If it is a snowy night, you cannot hear a thing – just wonderful silence and a great sense of peace as snowflakes brush your face and settle to the firmament.

As I have grown older, I’ve found our memories are our greatest escape. Put on the sweet, wonderful holiday music of your past and drift peacefully into a wonderful memory. Though I have a vintage Magnavox stereo console in my office that was my mother’s, I instead listen to traditional holiday music on YouTube or Google Home to enjoy the same music we did as kids. Technology has passed that classic Maggie up – yet it remains an integral part of those childhood Christmas memories.

Whatever holiday tradition you celebrate – be it Christmas, Chanukah, or any number of other religious beliefs from around the world, as long as you are sharing the memories and the happiness, that’s all that matters friends. Let us all be accepting of one another’s traditions and beliefs. Be safe and comfortable this holiday season.

Always remember to give.

Ford’s Sporty Mustang fun car changed the way we perceived automobiles 60 years ago. Instead of boring economy cars, Ford’s Vice President and Ford Division General Manager, Lee Iacocca, concluded transportation didn’t have to be boring. He also saw a hot market coming for affordable sporty automobiles. Sporty didn’t have to be expensive. Instead – it would be a mass market ride.

Iacocca’s enormous challenge was building an affordable sporty car for a buck a pound. Several concepts were examined, with only one concept meeting the objective – the Falcon/Comet platform, which paved the path to Mustang. Ford product planners, engineers, manufacturing people, and marketing gurus had 18 months to get Mustang to market.

It was the summer of 1962.

Iacocca staged a design competition from three Ford corporate studios – Advanced, Lincoln-Mercury, and the Ford Division studio. All were expected to roll out their vision of what the Sporty Ford Car should be. On a warm August morning in 1962, each brought their concepts to the Ford Design courtyard. One stood out – the sporty Ford “Cougar” clay concept conceived by Gale Halderman, Dave Ash, and design boss Joseph Oros. All departments went to work developing what would become Ford Mustang. This meant working day and night around the clock, seven days a week, for a timely rollout at the New York World’s Fair in April of 1964.

The Sporty Ford Car project known as “T-5” was something everyone wanted to be a part of. The raw excitement of something totally new – a youth market car conceived specifically for baby boomers coming of age. However, the Mustang became something even more – buyers of every age bought Mustangs – even if they didn’t need a second or third car. People bought Mustangs for reasons they couldn’t fathom just to say they had one. The elderly bought Mustangs to feel young again. Ford called it a “youth movement…”

I’ve had the good fortune of living the Mustang life for more than 50 years. It has been a good run for me. My passion for automobiles became a career as an automotive writer and historian. I was handed my dream shot with an up and coming publisher specializing in niche automotive enthusiast markets such as muscle cars, hot rods, classic cars, and more specifically – the Mustang.

The result has been never being bored going to work each day. What I have learned from this experience has been to always pursue what you love doing. If you can make a lot of money doing it, all the more reason to do it. I have not become wealthy as an automotive journalist; however, I’ve earned a comfortable living doing so and managed to meet people who’ve become friends and extended family. And now – it is time to expand my writing experience and look to the next chapter of a life spanning nearly 69 years. I would like to invite you to come along.

As Mustang’s 60th year winds down and the seventh decade lay ahead, what about your dreams and that next chapter? What will you do next?

I was chatting with a friend recently when the subject turned to our mutual lives. Like most discussions like this, we lamented our lives, frustrations, and also our blessings. Thankful for the love of friends and family – but also whining about the things that were getting us down.

My friend, who was about to turn 60, offered wisdom and perspective – suggesting we imagine ourselves in a rocker chair at age 85 recognizing our good fortune and also our regrets. Then – he suggested asking what we would do differently given the chance. Life doesn’t allow us to go back and change what has already happened – but it does allow us to mold a healthier future.

That said – what would you do differently?

That prompted me to look at my own life and – if I could – what would I change? What would you change? Some of us are in positions where any major change to our lives would be impossible. Perhaps you’re in a bad marriage and stone broke, with zero options because it takes enormous cash reserves to change direction at any age. My mother always used to say even a bad marriage becomes a habit – a comfortable rut – or perhaps an uncomfortable rut. You want to make changes but haven’t the foggiest idea of how to get there.

You may be very much alone – stuck in a different kind of rut. Perhaps you’re in a multi-generational household with grown kids and grandkids with an intense desire to get away from them and have a life of your own. Few things are more discouraging than being on the tail end of a hook and ladder firetruck with someone at the wheel in front who is headed in an entirely different direction.

Doesn’t bode well for a healthy life.

Some of you will say you’re too old to tackle a major change in life. It can get scary. The unknown always is. Depression, loneliness, health issues, financial woes, and a host of other issues can inhibit change. Seems all so impossible, doesn’t it?

But – it isn’t.

Real change comes from an overwhelming and burning passion to change. You have to feel it and envision it deep in your soul, then chart a plan. And, by the way – you’ve got to really want it. Not everyone close to you will appreciate it. You may lose friends and family along the way who don’t share your vision.

Again – how are you going to feel in that rocking chair at 85?

I’ve learned from wise people it is best to find ourselves in the company of positive people – people who can infuse healthy thinking into our lives and be our champions. They want what is best for us and won’t discourage us from trying. They will put us first and cheer us on. I will tell you I was raised by good people who taught me the importance of responsibility and giving generously to others. Yet – with the best of intentions, enveloped me with negativity. I was discouraged from trying anything new and different. I was also raised never to think of myself but only of others.

Putting others first is a noble gesture and it is important to maintaining healthy relationships, however, you must also take care of your own needs before you can be of any value to others. Recognizing your own needs and wants makes you emotionally strong enough to be of service to others. What I’ve always needed to practice and haven’t has been balance – giving generously to others while never forgetting my own dreams, needs, and wants.

So, what about that?

If you forsake your own dreams, wants, and needs, you become bitter and resentful – someone no one will want to be around. If you’ve spent most of your life serving others, have you also taken care of yourself?

We are in a low spot in American history – a nation divided and decidedly lost. We still haven’t found a way to work together for the common good.

I’ll say it again – Country First…

Oh sure – we’ve been here before. We couldn’t have been more divided than we were during the American Civil War 161 years ago. No American war was more deadly than the war between the states with 1.2 million dead. This makes the American Civil War the deadliest to date. Not all were killed in combat, but also from disease, and those who died in captivity.

All this chatter about “civil war” in these unsettled times is spoken by those who don’t understand the cost of civil war. It gets darned bloody and people die. Were you able to ask anyone who participated in the Civil War what it was like and what it accomplished, they would likely tell you it wasn’t worth what it cost in human toll. America learned from the Civil War to work hard at peacefully settling our differences.

We still have a long way to go because the Civil War’s cost and toll are long forgotten. However, we still understand the cost of war in our war dead and wounded in 2024. All the wars foreign and domestic since 1776 plus World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and undoubtedly conflicts now in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The war-wounded walk among us. They can cite for you what combat is like – if they can even talk about it.

It seems mankind can’t find a way to live together peacefully with an eye on love and respect for others. Egos start wars as do simple differences of opinion and misunderstandings. The late George Carlin, a great satirist and comedian, spoke of America’s history of war. He defined us as a war-loving nation. Our very economy has thrived on it and so has our desire for world dominance.

I will say this cautiously. Well-grounded women make better leaders and this has been proven continuously around the world. We’ve missed two opportunities to elect women in recent times. Not everyone will agree with this and that’s okay. Women – who give life – are less inclined to start wars. They are less interested in having huge amounts of real estate. They’re more interested in peace than men who perpetually want more land and power – and will do anything to have it.

It’s an ego thing…

Personally, I am more interested in perpetual peace. Not everyone will get along and there will always be differences of opinion. However, self-control is more in order – knowing how to contain anger and frustration. I will tell you I am not a patient person. Self-control comes from cognitive therapy and practicing what you learn from it. It is more easily learned than practiced. Add to that the personalities of some 7 billion human lives and it becomes complex.

The United States of America remains the experiment of the Great Society. We still have much to learn. It is how we fly out of this current atmosphere of unrest that will determine where we are a century from now. I have faith in our young to work harder at this “work in progress” than we have to date. We’ve made progress – but still have a long way to go. Once we find a way to put country and democracy first, we will become the promised land again.

Thanksgiving is an American tradition – friends and family, celebrating our good fortune and even our bad – and enjoying an autumn day filled with football games, feeling warm and cozy, bellying up to the table, and that food coma to follow.

It is a time of swearing off of diets and enjoying the meal.

We’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving since the 1600s by some estimates. Others will tell you we started celebrating in 1863. In any case, Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks for all our blessings. It is just a good practice. As a rule, I give thanks every day for my blessings large and small.

A typical Thanksgiving dinner consists of a time-proven menu dating back to New England harvest celebrations – turkey (naturally), potatoes in all forms, squash, cranberries, primarily pumpkin pie, and more. Every part of the United States celebrates with different foods and customs. What has long been customary isn’t so customary anymore. Such is life in the world’s melting pot with all of our different cultures and beliefs. The key word is acceptance.

Thanksgiving is also a time of giving to those less fortunate – charitable organizations, a troubled neighbor, a friend in need, local food banks and homeless institutions – the list goes on. I make it a habit of donating to charitable organizations like the Red Cross, St. Judes, Veterans organizations, food banks for the hungry, and more finances permitting. It feels good to serve others.

Young people have come up with something known as “Friendsgiving…” to celebrate friends giving to each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect and love. Without respect, there cannot be love. I will cite you an example. My 16-year-old son just hosted a “Friendsgiving” celebration here at the house with a terrific group of friends from his high school marching band. It was a wonderful time with laughter, hugs, and celebration.

We tend to rag on young people – however – there’s really nothing to worry about. These were responsible 16–18-year-olds having a wonderful time in one another’s company. When it was over, they cleaned up the place and loaded a trash bag. They collectively thanked us for the hospitality and drove away quietly. They didn’t burn the place down. What’s more, their manners were impeccable.

Our future is in capable hands.

“Friendgiving” should become a tradition celebrated across the land regardless of how divided we have become. In the end, we must remember we’re each here for a short time and must find a path to peace and civility. Our very survival counts on it. What’s more, it just feels good.

In the decidedly confusing era we are currently living in, do you ever feel like your head is on backwards? Do you feel like a dinosaur? I am sure you will agree we grew up in an entirely different time – the sharp contrast between the 1960s and 2024.

The world has changed significantly over the last 60 years and boomers have had a front-row seat for most of it. Baby Boomers have been a transitional generation where we were raised by two generations that witnessed the birth of powered flight with dope and fabric flying machines to jets to rockets to the Moon and beyond. We’ve seen it all. Those who raised us – our parents and grandparents – grew up with dirt streets and outhouses – then – evolving into a new era of indoor plumbing and hot asphalt streets and marveling at the result.

Boomers came of age with carburetors and having to hand-wash dishes – then – automatic dishwashers, electronic fuel injection, and self-driving cars. Do you remember vintage Bell telephones that actually had a bell and cathode ray tube televisions with glass screens – then – living in the new age of cell phones and digital video communications? The cell phone? Didn’t Mannix and Rockford have those while running around catching the bad guys in their classic muscle cars? You can see the person you’re conversing with today – like the futuristic Jetsons did in the 1960s.

These are all terrific advances in civilization that have made our lives better. At the same time, we’ve witnessed a pronounced decay in civilization – the absence of common decency and an increase in self-absorption. We’re just not nice to each other anymore. Greed over giving. Self-absorption instead of a collective spirit of giving and sharing. The filtration and editing our thoughts before speaking instead of the obnoxiousness and freedom to say whatever is on our minds no matter how rude and insulting it might be today. I dated someone long ago who believed you were better off hearing the brutal truth than getting soft soap. I suspect she has grown old alone.

Hard to know who to blame for this culture shift in America. Maybe no one is to blame. Perhaps it has been a fluid transition from mutual respect to the complete and total absence of it for others. Dunno about you – but I don’t like it. It leaves me wondering what society will be like in a decade.

In the past decade, we’ve evolved from an atmosphere of mutual respect (until proven otherwise) to routinely insulting others, especially in social media. In social media, there’s no face to connect with the name so why bother with mutual respect when you can get away with rude and insulting – saying things you’d never say to someone’s face. We have all kinds of courage at a keyboard.

Personally, I like conveying a positive message where possible in social media. Not everyone does and I have my moments I become unhinged. Social media has replaced community – sitting around a bar, restaurant or community gathering spot where we spoke face to face. To me, social media isn’t community, but instead a faceless environment and recklessness where we are missing the boat and that all-important pastime of really connecting with others.

In the unsettled times we are currently in, we reflect upon the legacy and assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) sixty-one years ago on November 22, 1963. It was a horrific loss followed by his brother Bobby’s assassination five years later in June of 1968. Two horrific losses in a single decade accompanied by the murder of Dr., Martin Luther King that year. It becomes impossible to get your mind around these shocking events of the 1960s.

Do you ever find yourself asking “What if the Kennedy brothers had lived?”

I think of this all the time in light of the leadership challenges we’ve experienced since the 1960s. Seems we’ve lost our way in recent times and people are voting their wallets instead of the country. The brothers Kennedy understood duty to country. They lived it. They served the People. Both served during World War II.

The Greatest Generation…

John Kennedy was a Harvard graduate in 1940 followed by joining the U.S Navel Reserve in 1941. Thrust into World War II, he commanded PT boats in the Pacific and managed to survive the sinking of PT-109. He managed to rescue fellow sailors from PT-109 which made him an immediate war hero. He suffered serious injuries as a result yet managed to survive to serve in the House of Representatives from 1947-53 – and later in the U.S. Senate from 1953-60 when he was elected to the Presidency. He went up against the likes of incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon (later President in 1968) with the first ever televised debate in which he performed very well followed by a narrow presidential win in 1960 that put him in The White House.

President John F. Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency at age 46 and certainly in uncertain times during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. In a frightening turn of events in 1962, the United States became precariously close to nuclear war a short time into the JFK presidency. Kennedy was tough tested by threatening times that put our country in great danger in when nuclear weapons were placed on Cuban soil 100 miles from the U.S. coastline – which became a heated standoff with the Soviet Union. The Cuban missile crisis was the greatest test of the Kennedy years. The missiles were removed yet tensions with the Soviet Union remained.

I firmly believe it was President Kennedy’s words at Rice University in September of 1962 that served as the rocket fuel and inspiration that got us to the Moon – “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” 

NASA was listening…

We all watched the Gemini and Apollo missions with great anticipation. There was the unspeakable loss of three NASA Apollo 1 astronauts on the launch pad in 1967 – a heartbreaking setback for our journey to the Moon. Discouraged, but never deterred, NASA and the country continued on with great tenacity with Apollo 8 orbiting the Moon at Christmastime in 1968 – and Neil Armstrong’s immortal words in July 1969 – “The Eagle has landed…”

Apollo 1’s tragic loss was not in vain… We shouldered on and honored JFK’s vision.

It was a chilly fall day in November of 1963. I was in second grade and had just moved to Laurel, Maryland with my family. We had just returned to class after lunch period and recess when school was abruptly cancelled for the day and the busses lined up. At the age of seven, I had no idea why we were being discharged from school. In fact, I welcomed the early dismissal. At such a tender age, I couldn’t grasp the severity of what had just happened.

My school bus rolled up to the corner of our apartment complex and I headed home. Everyone was crying and I had no idea what the emotion was all about. I walked into the apartment and my mother was sitting there in tears. I glanced at our Philco console TV and the news explained itself. Our newly elected president was dead – shot by an assassin from a sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository in the heart of Dallas. There was much to be learned.

Within hours of this announcement, the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was booked and charged with the assassination of President Kennedy. In those days, there was mostly live TV – with the rest done on film or on newly conceived video tape. You were able to see the news as it happened – unedited. Oswald was shot to death by nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, on live TV during a police transfer in the basement of the Dallas Police headquarters.

We will likely never know the motivation behind the two-prong assassinations of the Kennedy brothers. We will forever wonder how different the world might have been had they both lived to see the 1970s. What we do know is – their agenda was always country first – with a great legacy of service.

We hear a lot of chatter from baby boomers, yet we don’t hear much from the generation that followed us – GEN X. Seems GEN Xers are to some degree in crisis. They are the “Tweeners” between boomers and the Millennials.

Forgotten and really feeling it.

Generation X is those born from 1965-1980 – some 15 years akin to 18 years of baby boomers. They were born right after us. Like us a decade ago, they are in mid-life wondering what to do with the rest of their lives. They’ve raised their kids, taken care of their parents; built careers, or wished they had, and spent a lifetime serving others. They are also facing retirement or are jobless wondering what’s next and how to survive. It is a tough time to be a GEN Xer.

I believe GEN X women have it harder than GEN X men or perhaps they each struggle in entirely different ways. Because they are women, they’ve always had to be all things to all people. They’ve gotten the lion’s share of household duties, child-rearing, civic activities, and volunteer work. They’ve had it all on their shoulders.

This is not to say GEN X men aren’t having a tough go of it too. I see the biggest problem for men is unemployment at mid-life faced with the challenging option of what to do next. I have a friend, an accomplished engineer, age 60, who was recently laid off from a supplier to the auto industry. He’s in shock, wondering how to reinvent himself and hanging on. I was in the same spot in 2011 at age 56 laid off from a publishing company I had been with for 20 years. Investors stepped in and my long-standing career went up in smoke. I chose to continue doing what I had been doing for 30 years. I stayed with it at the suggestion of a long-time mentor of mine. I still write.

Baby Boomers have already passed mid-life. We are 60+ and in denial. We deny being “old” people yet that is exactly where we are – old… When we were 20-30, we thought of those in their sixties – our parents and elders – as “old” and there’s no denying it. It is what and where we are and that’s okay. There’s a lot to be said for not having a choice. A lot of our fellow Hoosiers didn’t. They are gone from this world.

GEN Xers are still in mid-life and struggling with where they fit in generational history. They’re not old and they are surely not young anymore. Seems GEN Xers have lost their own identity as people – a generation lost. They’ve put in the time and done the grind yet wonder what they have to show for it. The result is depression, loneliness, and that age-old obligation to those to whom they are responsible – family, close friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

I’ve found GEN Xers struggle with the same issues baby boomers did in mid-life – burnout from work overload, waning self-confidence, feeling like they’ve missed the cruise ship of happiness, and wondering what happened to their dreams. There’s a lot of self-reflection that comes with mid-life.

So, what to do?

Now is the time to chart a fresh course toward what you want to do with the rest of your life. Not enough of us have. Boomers and GEN Xers never really saved or planned for retirement because it was always way off in the future. We never gave it enough thought. Retirement doesn’t have to mean broke. It can mean a new chapter where you do things you’ve always dreamed of doing. Take what you love doing and earn a living doing it.

You may have put your own dreams aside for the good of the marriage or family and are wondering what happened. Putting your marriage and family first is never a bad thing. You’ve done what you were supposed to do. But now it is time for you. It is time for the things you’ve always wanted to do despite putting yourself aside for so long. This applies mostly for women but can also apply for men.

If you are in your fifties, you have time to put a renewed life together to achieve a better quality of life. For some of you, it can mean moving on. To move on, be ready for the emotional aspects of ending a long-term marriage and charting a new, yet frightening unknown path. Perhaps it is time for the two of you to rediscover each other and chart a fresh path of togetherness.

Where there is breath – there is hope.

Talk about a belly laugh? These classic sitcoms were timeless in their execution and have endured for generations. The question is – will the masses be laughing 50 years from now? I just completed a streaming marathon of “I Love Lucy” – 180 30-minute episodes from 1951-57.

Who could resist and it would be perfect for a rainy afternoon?

Maybe it’s the era in which we grew up, but I consider “I Love Lucy” a great comedy, with the quintessential chemistry of great actors, writers, and direction. We’re still laughing 74 years later. Yet, my 16-year-old son doesn’t see the humor in it. He walks into the family room, glances at the flat screen, and heads upstairs to his gaming. No use for the old sitcoms. Ironically, my late grandfather, born in 1894, didn’t see the humor in “I Love Lucy” either. He refused to watch it.

“I Love Lucy” was the most-watched television show in four of its six seasons – an enviable record for any television sitcom. Moreover, it was the first show to end its run in 1957 at the top of the Nielson ratings. It would endure for generations – syndicated in dozens of languages worldwide and remains popular in the United States with an audience of 40 million annually.

We still love Lucy.

“The Honeymooners” was another example of comic genius – just 39 episodes – that we cannot get enough of. Jackie Gleason was an actor/comedian/composer who could do anything. When I was single-digit age, I couldn’t get enough of “The Jackie Gleason Show” every Saturday night on CBS in the 1960s. We’d rally around a black and white Philco console, watch, and laugh hysterically. Gleason and his many and varied characters kept us entertained.

Aside from the obvious entertainment value of these classic sitcoms, I believe baby boomers long for a simpler, kinder time that goes with these comedies. We fondly remember a time before our innocence and common decency were lost. Ironically, the times weren’t so simple or easy even in the best of times. The Korean War raged a world away when Lucy debuted. The anti-communist McCarthy hearings that ruined lives were in full swing. Lucy and Desi were trying to hang onto what was left of their marriage off-camera. America was headed into some of the most turbulent years in memory – the assassination of an American president and later his brother Bobby. Dr. Martin Luther King was shot to death that same year – 1968. The anti-war riots. Troubled times.

The classic television we’re so taken with was pure fantasy produced on sound stages and studio backlots. It was make-believe – an escape from reality and never a sampling of what society was at the time. Beyond the fantasy of backlots and sound stages were racial issues and prejudice, the haves and the have-nots, the draft, the Cold War, and a whole lot of other sociological issues that kept society on edge. Like the here and now – a lot of uncertainty.

What these classic sitcoms did do for us was give us a nice escape from our problems. Turn off the news, pull down the blinds, dim the lights, and take a mental vacation via great comedy.