Ylizavision

As my 50th birthday approaches I find myself reflecting about what I’ve experienced and seen during the course of my life. I think it can safely be said that I’ve lived during interesting times. The Vietnam war marked my early years, now the Iraq war marks my later ones. I remember, among other things: the Civil Rights movement; the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King; the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon; Jimmy Carter’s Playboy interview; the Oil Embargo of the 1970’s; the Iran Hostage Crisis; the Iran-Contra scandal…I lived through all of these events and have memories associated with them.

I grew up with a healthy respect for the working class. I received an excellent public education in a major American city, complete with art, music, gym and civics.

When I first graduated from high school, $12,000 a year was enough to maintain a family of four, complete with house, mortgage, dog. Ten years later, as a graduate student, I was struggling to survive on that much, as a single person with no dependents. Today, 30 years later, four times that much ($48,000) isn’t enough to sustain that family of four in many parts of the country.

I could go on, but I think this is enough to illustrate that I’ve seen much during my lifetime. It has shaped my perceptions, my values. This is the place from which I want to add my voice to the blogosphere. The opinions are mine, but hopefully they will be of some value to others.