As a young boy, I learned that the Earth was round. Not that great of a revelation in the 60's, but back then I thought people were square. Everyone around me had an idea about how things (usually me) should be. I can still remember people fascinated with the moon landing - we stopped school to watch it in class. Everyone wanted to be an astronaut, so math and science HAD to be learned. People became fascinated with race integration in school - and since I lived in Alabama (starting in 2nd grade - 1969) we were seeing "different" kids come to school. I can still remember laughing with Winston Miller - he did not seem so different to me. But going to his house was not allowed - "good" folks just did not do that. Someone actually told me that is was forbidden - "says so - right there in the Bible", I remember school work stopping so we could watch President Nixon's resignation - in a Democrat controlled Alabama - many were happy. All around me people were talking about learning history and laws, as if knowing that made a difference in whether you told the truth as President. As I got a little older - I noticed these other "group" of people - GIRLS. Their hair was usually longer and fluffier (I mean really big - but it was the 70's), they smelled better than the boys did, although a couple of them were not always dressed in the latest trends. I still remember being told that "those" girls were not "proper" and I should stay away - besides they were poor and weren't like me. Well I knew poor - I lived in a nicer part of town but in a very small house. I had little to eat and helped raise money for food by raking yards - so I could relate to those girls. Plus - them not being "proper" sounded really cool to a 13 year old boy~! I still remember one girl - her smile - her gentle voice and when we parted that summer - she remained "proper: Shocking isn't it!!!
Today I am much older and hopefully wiser. I never did learn much science - I caught a little math over the years (mostly business oriented). Race is of no concern to me - but how one views it causes me much consternation. I have read the Bible many times - still searching for the forbidden verse the "right" people say is in there - must be a different "version". I like history - studied it all my life. As my high school classmates (and not just from my Alabama High School) reach 50 - I wonder how much we have learned from it and how often we will distort it to fit our version of what we think are the Constitutional laws. Alabama is not a Democrat State anymore - and I suppose people have changed their allegiance - and they now seem genuinely happy about that fall too. Poor is a far distant memory for me - although I force myself to remember where I came from and will not look down on those who are still there - knowing how it feels. As for "proper" - well I have known a few that were - and perhaps more than I should have that weren't - yet life still goes on.
After all these years - the Earth is still round and people are still square......but I do OK -----------------------------I suppose some things "took"
