Western Center to Diamond Valley Lake. I had no idea how this would be—I used to go fishing at the lake when my fishing-crazy brother, Lewis, lived in town. I recalled nothing but a long, curvy rise from the Western Center up to the lake. The prospect of a workout and the view ought to be rewarding. I did once circle the entire lake on an earlier occasion—again, with John Carter—which took us hours to do some twenty-one miles or so. Spring would be best for this as wildflowers and birdlife are in profusion. Somehow, I talked another bicycling enthusiast, Brian Bailey, into a lake circuit.

We scheduled our ride on the day before Thanksgiving. It was perfect weather for bicycling and got no warmer than seventy degrees. Once, along the East Dam, I noticed a large bird of prey perched on a pole on my right. As I approached and examined it closely, I think that it was an osprey, curved beak, white and black striated tail feathers. It cried five times, then flew away, a bluegill clearly in its talons.

I was able to keep up with Brian by encouraging him to talk, which he did at length and for nearly two hours. The fact of the matter is that in order to do so, he necessarily slowed down. So, I could eventually pedal in at the end with head held high. In fact, I zoomed down the hill toward the Western Center, near where we had parked, in the lead. By Brian’s calculations, it took us less than two hours to cover the twenty-one odd miles—no more than 1:59:00, in fact. It depends upon you include the ride up from the parking lot at the Western Center. If not, then it was a 1:45:00 ride. One highlight was when we saw a hawk alight upon our arrival around a curve. We both stopped talking and examined it as it flew away. “Black shouldered hawk!” Brian exclaimed. I had never heard of one. I thought that red-tailed hawks were all that we had in the valley.

Although it is true that my legs were sore at the end, I suffered no ill effects from the ride, nor did my bike when I woke up on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, I did better as a sixty year old man than I had when I was in my thirties, which was the last time I had done it with John Carter.

Other possibilities: descent from Idyllwild. This is not for the faint of heart! My friend John Carter and I did it many years ago by driving up the hill with our bikes in the back of the truck. His wife Sue was in Idyllwild and had agreed to drive the truck back. Although it was a warm (ninety degrees) day, we didn’t mind, as the wind of our descent down the 74 Highway continually refreshed us. If I recall correctly, it was about forty-five minutes in total from the outskirts of the town to the outskirts of Hemet. Like some more experienced bicyclists that I had seen before, John’s helmet had a little, rear-view mirror affixed with which presumably he could view cars as they approached behind him. I prefer not to see cars that are about to mow me down. As it happened, however, we both made it safely down.

For the REALLY determined bicycle enthusiast, I recall that a man used to bicycle up Lamb Canyon to Beaumont—then down on a regular basis. I don’t hear of him doing so anymore, nor have I seen anyone whenever I have to leave town that way. But it sounds fun!

Recently, the State of California decided—against the protests of the Hemet City Council—to ‘improve’ Highway 74 (Florida Ave.) by installing cement islands–center dividers—in the middle of the road. The State apparently believes that since it is the proper custodian of highways in the state, that it may do whatever it wishes to the travel arteries where people live and breathe and commute. This brought traffic briefly to our valley —something with which we are unaccustomed. It also brought construction on Florida Ave and we valley denizens had to choose between waiting in traffic or else using side residential streets to find our way home, tired after an already long commute. However, there are now signs strewing the length of the project advertising in beautiful black and orange the following notice: One is a diamond shape with the profile of a bicycle, below it a smaller square entitled “Share the Road”. On the right side of both directions of traffic, from the intersection of Florida and Sanderson, all the way to Florida and the Ramona Expressway are stencils of bicycles every 100’ or so. Presumably, we bicyclists are encouraged by the State to use up the right lanes on both sides of the street to make our way toward whatever errand we have in mind. However, no bicyclists are there—not now, not before—maybe never, because . . . we aren’t stupid.

-Peter Putnam

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Or, “I found my thrill, on Mayberry Hill . . .”

Mayberry Hill is a good challenge for someone who wishes for a challenge—a challenge to your cardio-pulmonary level, to your inclination for bicycling, to your desire to speed down after a grueling ascent. At the top are spectacular views of the valley looking west. Directly below are orange groves. Around you are beautiful houses done in individualized architectural styles.

Ramona Expressway starts far away in Perris, but dead ends in Highway 74. I join it after a twelve-minute ride from my house. I find after turning left on the 74 a shrine to a dead man, just before I hit Seventh St. I stop. It is to ‘Bobby’. There is an oval shaped ring formed by half logs arranged in the ground. From the ring a cross rises, topped with a top hat. Many decorations accompany the shrine: a photograph of Bobby, and many ‘Happy Father’s Day’ wishes. Below the photo are white, Baroque style statues of angels and of Jesus. After I continue right onto Fairview, I ride for a minute and reach Mayberry.

Mayberry Hill looms up to the east and dominates the horizon. The incline increases as houses increase in beauty. Just as the challenge to those with fear of heights not to look down from a height, I prefer not to look up as I pedal up this hill—it is too intimidating. When you reach the aqueduct, you are about half way there. As I stand up and pedal, I see the orange grove on my right, a cinder block wall in ruins. Oddly, the split rail fence is intact! Masks lie discarded on the ground, like everywhere else—O, would that we could discard the governor’s edicts as well!

The first rest is about five minutes up. Upon accessing the Heights, there is a magnificent view from Rio Vista (Spanish for ‘River View’, except there is no river to see, unless I am mistaken. There is a San Jacinto River, and it does flow, albeit in a predetermined way, the residents of the valley presumably long ago having tired of unpredictable flooding); the second rise is another four minutes.

Now return! Nothing but wind in my hair on the winding road down. How fast? I don’t know exactly. I would guess thirty miles an hour. This may not seem like a lot, but try crashing at half that speed! Altogether from Fairview St. to the top: about twelve minutes; the sailing down Mayberry: about six minutes from the top all the way down. Total time from home and back: about seventy minutes. Now the good news: since I first wrote this, I improved my time to fifty-nine minutes!

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I’m goin’ to some place, I’ve never been before

I’m gonna leave this city, got to get away

I’m gonna leave this city, got to get away

All this fussin’ and fightin’ man, you know I sure can’t stay”, by Canned Heat

If you really want to get an ‘out in the country’ feeling, try this one!

I drive to Gibbel Rd. Via State St until it crosses Domenigoni Parkway—about seven miles from my house. In order to get my full forty-five-minute workout, I find that it is best to park in the dirt next to the little fenced in water building, or whatever it is, and begin there. It is seventy-five degrees at 8:45 AM in October, because in this valley, summer is stubborn and steadfast.

Just look east and psyche yourself out: you can and will get up this rise! It

isn’t anywhere near as hard as Mayberry Hill, Pachea Trail or Vista Del Valle. As you leave the trailer park behind, beautiful boulders predominate on your left. The large white flowers that grow in clumps are called Jimson Weed—poisonous! I see vacant areas where lots could contain a new house and wonder what it would be like to live there. On the right is a vast field, filled with sand through which grow stands of pink verbena. It took me ten minutes today to reach the first rise. As you make it to the top, the fun really begins, because a downhill begins and for once you begin coasting down.

For the next six minutes, enjoy the olive trees, the pepper trees and the valley live oaks lining the road. The California Family Life Center is there, a home for institutionalized juveniles. Soon enough, however, it is time to pay the piper—to stand up and pedal again. Mercifully, it is just four minutes before reaching a level area hidden in the middle of oaks and boulders. Today (10-29-20) I saw a doe trot by in the bushes to my right, in a dark glade. A California quail crosses in front of me, then another, but I know there are more: sure enough, one or two more hesitate as I labor my way up; most give up and fly to their right and away from me and the road; turkey vultures today, circling: I smell something dead This ends too soon and—stand up and pedal! You might think that a reprieve has arrived, but you would be wrong: ANOTHER ascent immediately confronts you—steep and exposed to sunlight. At the top are signs welcoming you to ‘Mission Heights’ and it brags further about gardening and fresh air. Keep your eyes on the lots at the top and you will soon be rewarded with a view of Diamond Valley Lake. At the top, there is an estate with rusting vintage cars parked off to my left, perhaps from the 1930s? Nearby horses look at me. Further, dogs bark and run alongside the fence that encloses them to let me know that things would not seem so well for me, if not for the fence.

The entire return trip passes swiftly because I also pass swiftly—that is, it is all downhill! How fast? Hard to tell—I doubt that I get up above thirty miles per hour, but when you are sitting on a bicycle seat on a two-wheeler, with all the wind zapping me in the face, my eyes start to water and, if not for my Maui Jim sunglasses, I would have a hard time seeing at all! Now then, go only as fast as you feel comfortable. I have never crashed at high speed, and I never wish to. It just may be that caution in the form of hand brakes is what has kept me from that painful hour. Just as I approach the last habited place before the crossroads of State St. And Domenigoni, a coyote ahead of me runs across the road and hides itself in the brush just above the park. Although I gaze as much as safely as possible as I pass by, I cannot see him.

Total today from the trailer park to the ‘No Trespassing’ Sign (Violators Will be Prosecuted) and back: forty-three minutes (today [10-5-20], however, it was 38:33!)

-Peter Putnam

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An elderly couple walks into my business—no, it’s not a bar and this is not a joke about an elderly couple walking into a bar—it is a true story. So, this elderly couple came to get their car washed. He opened the door for her, and they both walked to the cashier holding hands tenderly and lovingly. My wife looked at them with amazement and exclaimed, “Oh, how sweet!” Then she turned to me and said, “Look, my love, just like us. They are so cute.” I think I even saw a tear or two in her eyes.

Well, that’s how my wife sees us getting old together, showing affection, respect, and love. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that they were probably holding hands to keep each other walking upright. Their walk was so wobbly, that if they let go of each other, they would probably fall to their sides.

Fast forward to another time. Another elderly couple walks into my business. He was using a walker to support his…well…walk, while she was able to walk on her own. She opened the door and came in first. She didn’t hold the door open for him. He struggled to get inside and made his way—slowly—towards her. She encouraged him by shouting, “Come on. Hurry up. You are holding me up.” His reply was, “I am coming! I am coming!”

Once they made it to the register, after what may have been fifteen or so minutes, she paid and asked him if he had any cash for the tip. He said, “How in God’s name am I going to have some cash?! You are the one carrying a purse.” She left him standing there and walked out through the exit door. It took him a while to realize that she was gone, so he started his own exit. As he took his first step, he exclaimed, “Oh, I hate that woman!”

It’s a true story. I had to hold the door open for him. Once they were out of earshot, I busted out laughing. I looked at my wife, with a tear or two in my own eyes, and said, “Now, that is cute!”

Man, did I get in trouble for that.

What my wife didn’t understand is that while the first couple showed love and affection, the second couple displayed raw, unbridled passion. It must have taken them decades to build such intense feelings for each other. While it is nice to have the comfort of a loving, adoring spouse; it takes hard work to spend one’s life with someone that ignites so much fire inside. It is one thing to wake up with someone, smothered in a tender embrace. It is a totally different adventure to wake up smothered with a pillow on your face. The first couple can easily be classified as “boring”, but the second couple will make for a movie that I would love to watch.

In my wife’s own words, “You have to put up with my [s-word] and I have to put up with your [s-word].” All relationships require a lot of effort to make it work; some relationships require an absolute, deep commitment to make it last. It is easy when the two souls are cooperative, but it is absolute magic when two uncooperative souls go the distance, come hell or high water, through thick or thin, for better or for worse.

As we all know, for worse is more common than for better. It takes a real man (or woman) to make it through worse. My admiration goes to that hard-working individual, who ploughs ahead through all kinds of adversity, even if that adversity is from one’s very own spouse.

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“Teachers change the world, one child, at a time,” so the saying goes. If I go by the way teachers have changed my kids, then God help us all! Nobody said that the change has to be for the better; it could also be for the worse. My wife and I are seeing this worse unfold in front of our very own eyes and there’s no teacher in sight—literally. Zoom meetings don’t count.

There are two kinds of teachers, as I am sure most of you already know. There are those that are passionate about teaching and truly believe that they make a difference. Teaching is their calling, and they answer it with zest and conviction. My high school English teacher was one such teacher, Mr. Thomas McComas. He is the one who practically changed my life—for better. He taught me how to read properly, write effectively, and communicate well. I no longer forget any of his teaching thingamajigs.

My Math teacher was the other teacher who gave me an equally solid education. Sadly, I don’t remember his name, but I can calculate my senior citizen discount without a calculator at any car wash in town, thanks to his teachings. I may not remember the Quadratic Formula, whatever the heck that may be, but I can add my monthly bills without using a computer.

Between the two of them, I learned the three “Rs”—reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. Yes, there are no points for proper spelling, but they both helped me cover my basics of education and I will forever be thankful to them.

The other kind of teachers are those that never really wanted to become a teacher in the first place, but chose to become one because they failed in their original major of study, or couldn’t even decide what to study in the first place, and said, hey I’ll just become a teacher. These are the teachers that spend most of their class time showing videos, directing students to some websites to pass the time, use computer games as teaching devices, or just put a sheet on the projector and tell the students to copy it and study it on their own. They don’t teach; they just babysit. They keep the students entertained but students learn nothing. Students pass with flying colors because these teachers give them high marks just for being cooperative.

With my luck, these are the teachers that my kids end up with and I am the proud father of kids with diplomas but no education. A teacher has to know how to teach, not just know the subject matter and use digital templates as a substitute for teaching. Kids don’t learn from ink on paper, or pixels on a screen. They learn from an actual teacher. Someone who would know where they are stuck, what is causing the confusion, and how to clarify the subject for each kid using a technique that would fit that student’s understanding.

Now there is a third kind of teacher. This teacher has no face. This teacher has no soul. This teacher does not even have any training to be a teacher. It is nothing but a simulation, put together by people who may or may not know how to teach. The interface is two dimensional and bland. There is no interaction between the teacher and the students. There is no two-way communication. Just plain if-then-else choices made by people sitting in foreign lands, with zero understanding of a kid’s ability to learn from inanimate objects; with no way to hold a kid’s attention, especially those that have a deficit of attention in the first place.

Our politicians and teachers’ unions are using this pandemic as an excuse to carry out a huge social experiment. We, as the parents, and our kids, as the students, are the guinea pigs. Our kids sit at home, tied to their screens, while human teachers bombard them with meaningless assignments, just to keep them busy. Kids know how to cheat and get the answers to these assignments using the same technology being used as a substitute for the real teaching.

This is not teaching. Our kids are not learning. We, as a nation, are poorer for that. Our kids were already behind a large part of the world in education. Now, they’ll probably be at the bottom of the list. The best and the brightest minds will not be coming from amongst us. They’ll be coming from outside and there’s no wall we can build that will be big enough to change that.

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As I do not wish to hazard the automobile traffic between my garage in San Jacinto and the route up to Simpson Park, I load my bike in the Tundra and take Columbia St. almost until it ends at Stetson Ave. I take out the bike, cross Stetson and continue until I hit Crest, one of the lovelier streets in Hemet. It includes one of the largest live oaks in the valley in someone’s front yard. Woodpeckers jostle above with scrub jays and hawks.

Upon turning right at the sign (Simpson Park and arrow pointing), I speed down briefly. Then, housing tracts disappear, individual architecture is noticeable, roads are actually well paved. This first rise requires standing and pedaling above and past some beautiful houses for about seven minutes. There is now a three-minute happy time of level road, and I pedal in eighth gear. Just before Vista del Valle turns to the left, a cross stands, marking Brian’s passing. Brian lived forty-five years (from 1-22-75 to May 25, 2020, says the marker) and a little bicycle is set there to commemorate his life, also a sign “We Love You; We Miss You”, and now a large photograph. I don’t know the story otherwise. Offhand, I’d say that he died there on his bicycle.

If you are in any kind of shape to appreciate the lovely surroundings, despite the torture that you endured to get there, notice flocks of California quail; notice the foliage: cape blue plumbago, lantana, and bougainvillea. After this it is time to stand and pedal for about five minutes, before a brief, fairly level ride. Now the worst part: stand and pedal for about five minutes after I am already tired. Did I mention not to do this when the temperature is above eighty degrees? Although I have done this ride for about twenty-six years, even I had to get off once and walk the bike the last few feet (I think it was when I was out of shape and weighed perhaps twenty-five pounds more than I do now). I count twenty-two minutes from the beginning of the ascent to the top.

At the top about eight to ten cars usually are parked. From what I have seen their owners are either walking or mountain biking above the gate. The gate to Simpson Park is locked, perhaps rightly so, due to fire hazard. Beyond each house on my left and right is nothing but dry sage brush and weeds, which would go up quite quickly should anyone behave carelessly. I have pedaled beyond the gate in the past and it is a worthy challenge, including a hill that required my ‘tacking’ (for lack of a better term, I employ the nautical skill of moving left and right, rather than straight forward in order to make progress). In total, as I recall, it is another fifteen minutes from the gate to Simpson Park and the end of the road. Total from bottom to top is around thirty-five minutes of mostly climbing.

More enjoyable, of course, is sailing down! Sailing down from the gate takes about four minutes—depending, of course, on your daring-do! Today a car ahead of me on the 10-mph section was so slow that I began tailgating. Eventually, a man’s arm emerged from the driver’s window and waved me forward. I passed up the car and kept ahead until the last downhill part, when he showed me what a black Porsche SUV can do, should it choose to. I didn’t even know that Porsche’s came in SUV models! A large hawk alights on a telephone pole, as I cruise back to my truck. Probably NOT a red tail.

-Peter Putnam

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I wish I could publish a blank column today. As a 75-year-old white guy, it is hard to know what to say in response to racism and police violence toward black men and women.

For all my years as an adult, I have watched people struggle for justice and equality for black America, and yet racism still prevails. I remember the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the assassination of Martin Luther King. I remember marches, demonstrations and riots. I read commission reports and watched civil rights legislation be enacted.

Every time something bad happened, we were promised, “Solutions are coming. Things will get better.”

And yet, there is still great poverty and unemployment in the black neighborhoods. Black men are at risk when confronted by police. Schools for black children are inferior. Healthcare is lacking, and housing is substandard. Even decent grocery stores are rare. In some neighborhoods, it is easier to find a gun than fresh fruit.

Meanwhile, blacks have been the victims of disease, addictions and crime.

No wonder people are frustrated and angry.

Certainly, improvements have occurred, but it has been limited and slow. When you start at the one-yard line, a 20-yard pass does not get you a touchdown.

After all this time, things should be better. Schools should be better. Relations with police should be friendly. Jobs should be plentiful. Wages should be fair. Black businesses should be plentiful.

They are not.

At the same time, I have seen white backlash against rioting, busing and affirmative action. I have heard politicians play to white fears and bigotry. I have seen good people give up because of frustration, burnout and despair. The attention of others has simply moved on to other things.

Greater writers than I have decried racism and inequality, but all these words fade into empty space. My generation thought we could end the curse of racism. We did not.

We cheered for black athletes, we welcomed a few blacks to our schools and workplaces, but we live separate lives in our gated communities. Segregation is not the law; it is a choice. Even our churches are still segregated.

White America is blind to racism. It disregards the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination. It would rather focus on a few black rioters and criminals than on systemic racism that pervades our criminal justice system.

Real solutions require both conversion of hearts and structural change.

Yet churches are still more concerned about whom you sleep with than your racism. There is still fierce opposition to solutions that will help, like equal spending for schools in black neighborhoods, jobs for everyone who wants one, a $15 an hour minimum wage and universal access to good healthcare.

My generation failed to defeat racism. I hope the next can do better.

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS. Previously he was a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter (2015-17) and an associate editor (1978-85) and editor in chief (1998-2005) at America magazine. He was also a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University (1985-98 & 2006-15) where he wrote Archbishop, A Flock of Shepherds, and Inside the Vatican. Earlier he worked as a lobbyist for tax reform. He has a doctorate in political science from the University of California Berkeley. He entered the Jesuits in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1974 after receiving a M.Div from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

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Toward the end of 2007 we ran into a boomerang with the onset of a “Great Recession.”

From which we continued to recover when Donald J. Trump became president. It became fashionable to throw out the words, “Make America Great Again.” Words I distinctly remember from the late 1930’s in Germany. But we were America at its strongest now. Nothing like that could ever happen here. No way.

It seemed like a businessman in the White House was just the right thing. I also have not so fond memories of Herbert Hoover with “Prosperity is just around the corner.” What was just around the corner was the greatest Depression this country ever had.

We are now in the 21st century with the stock market reaching the clouds, but wait, let’s fill in the blank spaces.

We were retroing back to FDR and his “Happy Days Are Here Again,” or were they?

Socializing and popular fads

It seems we just can’t escape the British influence when it comes to togs, music and almost anything else having to do with British Royalty, Prince Harry (sort of the renegade Prince of the 21st century, married an American Actress setting of canons of explosive tabloid frenzies. It soon became obvious that this young couple didn’t show any interest in stodgy old English customs. Harry and his lovely Meghan Markle accepted their role as Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But it was only a formality. You knew immediately he was different when he said, “Just call me Harry.” They lived a life more like American rich kids, not seeming to find the kind of work set out for them to their liking. Young American teens, especially took to Meghan’s casual style of dress (some parents were already wondering whatever on earth would they take off or put on next).

Harry and Meghan conducted themselves like American High School brats with more money than they might know what to do with. Not just teenagers but adults with more common sense (we would hope), became somewhat hysterical with joy that the couple would choose to move to North America. The excitement isn’t over and you can bet we’re in for a resurgence of British styles and fashions for some time to come.

The Bigger We Are, The Harder Will Fall

And fall we have. At the turn of the century, we were so busy worrying about clothes, music and do-dads that most of us failed to notice that the Stock Market started to wobble between 2000 and 2002. During that time, one of the prime market sections, the S&P 500 suffered a 49% wipeout and three years later dipped another 56%. Overall that diminished American wealth some 20-trillion dollars, which ain’t five and dime money.

Get a Bucket, Bail the Boat – We’re Sinking

Break the law, got to Jail. “Hey dad, come bail me out of this stinking joint.”

In the early 21st century, when the automobile makers, banks, housing industry and mortgage companies crashed, they asked for another relative. “Call my Uncle Sam and tell him to come down here and bail us out.” Uncle Sam, i.e., the American taxpayers. It may not have happened in your community, but it did happen, and you paid part of the bill to bail them out. That’s just the way it is done and most poor suckers have no idea what happened to them, only that the government took another healthy slice of their hard-earned wages. Before it was all over, Uncle Sap (us) bore the brunt of close to $100 trillion dollars. Talk about grandchildren paying, how about triple grandchildren, after while stuff like that becomes real money.

Why are we so Afraid

Whether we like or admit it, we have grown into a country afraid of our own shadows. Fearful of the dark like the rat is scared of daylight. Afraid of Russia, Afraid of Chinas afraid of nature, afraid of the monsters we drive every day on super concrete highways. Afraid to let our children walk to school. Beware the guy behind the bushes. Just plain old unadulterated fear itself. Are those things what we are really afraid of, or are we simply afraid of ourselves? That’s become a working model for most of us in the 21st century. Maybe FDR was right when he made his famous speech of being afraid of fear in his first inaugural address in 1933.

Abraham Lincoln made us aware in a long-forgotten speech of 1838 when he sagely advised, that no foreign country across any ocean would destroy us. He said, in part, that the greatest danger “must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be the author and finisher. As a free people, “We must live through all time, or die by suicide.” Fear of one thing or another is the cause of most suicides. So will we stop fearing everything and face the future undaunted by such childishness and emerge again as the greatest nation on earth. We do not stand alone today. Our changing lifestyles has failed to recognize just how many competitors we have today, always willing to steal away our dignity and strength, lest we first give it up without standing up.

Why are Our Parents Copying our Styles

Back to a less somber lifestyle. Have you noticed how much you try to look more like your teenager than yourself? Remember when you told the kids to “act your age.” Isn’t it getting time to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Why am I trying to look like a teenager?” Never noticed, huh? When a teenager applies acne medication to his or her face, you notice how well it is working. “Well,” you say, “I’ll bet it will help me get rid of that zit next to my nose.” Or, “Bet that stuff they advertise for bags under the eyes and that flab under the chin would make me look years younger. It has become fashionable to look younger and younger even when you’re approaching seventy and eighty and god know how much older. It puts us in the dream world when we ogle at a lovely lady or handsome young athlete. Oh, how we dream, and now we will climb mounts of creams, etc., etc., to go back to those days when we were one of those young people even though it ends up being nothing more than kemtone and putty. We are not only afraid but we all too often fall into some kind of dreamland. No doubt those applications will help some, but you are still who you are so get used to it. It sounds like a bitter pill, but we’ve tried every pill in the drugstore, so why not an unwanted bitter one telling the truth about us. As I heard one dowager say, “But it is so trendy.”

Teenagers have such Bad Habits

Whoa there. A recent article in Best Life delineated 20 teenage bad habits that many adults have picked up or never let go of.

1. Munching on food all day and at dinner, you will say, “I simply don’t eat so much these days.

2. Biting your nails. We all do it so some degree, especially when we are nervous, but we alibi our way out when confronted. “Oh, I snagged them somewhere.”

3. Not flossing. Remember how you practically screamed at your kids for not flossing? Now, they’re doing just fine because you were on them about it. You don’t floss anymore. Too busy looking for uppers and lowers that don’t give you blisters.

4. Procrastinating. Remember when you were all over the kids to do their homework? Now many of your put off until next week that contract you need to sign or that appointment you should have kept. Excuse: “I simply had to much to do “or “I don’t like to be pressured.” Yeah.

5. Washing Dry-Clean Only clothes. “Son, I’ve told you a million times not to put that cashmere sweater in the dirty wash. It must be washed by hand,” so you say, “Oh, I’m sure this will wash,” as you stuff something into the washer that “feels washable,” but isn’t. Another one of your teenaged habits you still up to at 40.

6. Packing a lunch. You told your kid, “I don’t care if you rather eat fast food at lunch. My lunches are more nutritious.” Mother knows best? Maybe, but why do you feel embarrassed to take a nutritious lunch in a paper bag to the office every day? Oh, you’d instead grab a burger at the diner. So, instead of carrying a nutritious lunch in a bag, you’d rather carry it around the waist you try to hide with a double-breasted suit of caftan. Yeah.

7. “My goodness, will those girls ever stop gossiping on the phone all day?” What” How do you square that when you spend most of your afternoon about the girl who got pregnant and isn’t married. Probably doesn’t even know who the father is?” That little dinging you call a cell phone stays busy and very little of it is business as you leisure about in an air-conditioned home gabbing with Maisie down the street. Some change in styles or is it?

8. “You’ve got to learn how to save money or you will never grow up to amount to much.” So you dictate, but are you aware that the average American cannot come up with $400 cash in an emergency? There have been several recent studies on that. So don’t be surprised when your admonishes to your “spendthrift” teenagers fall on deaf ears.

9. TV binging. “Don’t you kids do anything but watch TV. It must get so boring.” So you can’t wait to get home from work to binge on Netflix and Prime. You think the kids are addicted to the Tube. While you sit, munch and binge, you are wasting a lot of time. Also, you may wonder, “Why am I getting so much flab?” It doesn’t take a Mensa to figure that one out.

10. Dirty dishes in the sink. “Oh, those lazy kids. I’ve told them a thousand times to clean up their dirty dishes. Was it the kids who brought cockroaches into the sink? Or was it the dinner dishes that, “I’ll wash them in the morning. I’m tired tonight.” You are not alone. You have a lot of company that aren’t anywhere near being the teenager you criticize.

The list goes on and on, but you get the gist. These things are part of our changing lifestyles, but we simply don’t catch on until we are so far down the road, and into some other gimmicky lifestyle.

Whatever Happened to the Grand Ole Opry?

Oh, it didn’t go away. As a matter of music ratings, it has once again become the rage, brought into the limelight by The American Music Awards. Grammy’s are as popular with 21st Century folks as the Oscars were in the 40’s and 50’s. Believe it or not, but it is so true. People who can’t remember a movie star’s name or what pictures they starred in can tell you all the details from the song-writer to the producer and performer in country music. It is very big in our current lifestyles because so many of us like to reminisce about the good old days down on the farm listening to WSM. Trust me folks, I grew up in a hollow and the days were not that “good ole.’ Outside wells, outhouses, wood stoves, oil lamps, Sears Roebuck Catalogs. No. But country music is back and it sounds almost like rock most of the time. Lifestyles are so retro these days.

What the Hell Happened

You’ve been waiting for it and now you’re gonna get it. The politicians have taken to hating each other for no good reason. Compromise is something you do with your kids when they tell you what their rights are. That is a never-ending negotiation and it seems that for the most part, the kids win because we are afraid of accusations (however untrue) from them that might stigmatize us for life. I had an elderly attorney tell me recently, “Rusty, I won’t even be in a room with my granddaughter unless another adult is present. Sad. School teachers are fearful of putting an arm around the shoulder of a distraught kindergartner. You think I’m joking? Fear. We are fearful of what someone might say and once it is said, right or wrong, there are those who will say, “Well, if there’s smoke there must be some kind of fire.” Changing lifestyles.

There are re-new laws that go into effect on January 1st of every year. Telling us what to do, when to do it and how to do it and they delineate the punishments in fines and incarcerations if we don’t comply. Pot is legal, but our prisons and jails are filled to the gills with addicts while the dealers and cartels go along their merry way sucking in more young and old into the dens and drugs inequity. They have expensive lawyers and they fight the system, doing whatever it takes to sustain their business, more or less telling the authorities to mind their own business. Every day you read about an elected official being charged with taking a bribe.

Our modern lifestyle hawks equality, but minorities and the poor know they are at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to any equality. Modern lifestyles. Some things are as modern at high buttoned shoes and carriages. We put on a show and everyone loves a show, so we ignore the inequities.

What Goes Around Comes Around

While we bicker over minuscule changes, we fail to see what is actually happening in the world, including the United States of America. Mother nature has a way of leveling the field when she feels she’s been mistreated too much. When she strikes back, and she always does, it is with the vengeance and anger of a riled King Cobra. Dust storms, cyclones, tornados, earthquakes and erupting volcanos. If it didn’t happen to us, so what? However, the time comes when we say, “Why us?” The scientists know why.

Case in point. In 1917-18 the Spanish flu (a product of nature) took us down a stroke and with it, some 25 to 50 million people died.

Sometime late last year and little virus crept out of somewhere (blame who you want but nobody guided it; it laid out its own road map and what a map it was). Remember back in January and February of this year? “Oh, it is just a few and will go away like magic.” Like magic, it traveled like Ali Baba on a cushion. Some say the jet stream carried it. Seems logical since it first appeared from East to West. After a short period, a few grew into a hundred and then a thousand and hundreds of thousands and we were simply caught with our masks and guards down. Remember the old butter slogan ‘” Don’t fool with mother nature?” We did, and our new lifestyle takes place not only in the hospitals, funeral homes and cemeteries but in every nook and cranny of our world. There is no escaping. Everybody is looking for a treatment or vaccine. Gotta save lives. And the powers that be continue on their way without even thinking that the real culprit is nature. That kind but wicked when it has to be, nature who has finally said enough. Face masks are in style of all colors, sizes and designs as are limited assembly and six-foot spaces between us. Maybe this is a lifestyle that will change us for the better. In that venue, I’m from Missouri. Show me. Wishing everybody the freedom that has been whisked away from us and hoping we really do change our way of living this time.

Just sayin’ rustystrait@gmail.com

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The nineties came in like a lamb and went out like a windstorm. Everything in our society seemed topsy-turvy. It was the decade of credit card mania, bigger homes, more expensive cars and extravagant spending. It was as though we were granted the right to “just charge it,” without any thought of how to pay for it. Bankruptcies increased as did divorce, child and spousal support. Step-fathers became more important than biological ones to children abandoned by fathers who married too young and couldn’t or didn’t want to deal with the responsibilities of family life.

The Unhealthy Practice of “Getting Even”

Leading into the nineties, television and movies became more realistically violent, as did a lot of popular music. Because of that, kids especially began to become desensitized to blood and gore. When disputes erupted, instead of a fistfight to settle the argument and making up the next day, more and more guns began to be employed by teenagers, especially young men, to settle arguments. Almost daily, newspapers and television headlined a new killing involving youth. It was the dawn of mass killings that permeate the media today and there seemed to be little to deter the trend. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 was neutered as some 30 states enacted right-to-carry gun laws. More guns in the home, meant better access to angry young men. Most folks shrugged their shoulders and saw it as a sign of the times. That is, until one of their own became perpetrators or victims.

A Cultural Divide

As the crusade for gay rights progressed, so did the right to traditional masculinity. Gymnasiums had a sudden increase in membership. Machismo prevailed as some men took to the woods to chant and beat on drums like wild men. However, the Christian right considered homosexuality a curse and abomination. Nonetheless, in a survey taken in 1998, the majority of Americans found same-sex relations acceptable. Bigotry and prejudice continued as violence and legal actions continued into the 21st century against gays.

A Religious Split

The Gen-exers had a different review of religion that had nothing to do with gender. Spiritualism in what became “New Age” became a mantra for many, unhappy with the strictness of orthodoxy. Individuality prevailed over longtime traditions. Belief in Biblical heaven and hell was questionable. It was a different form of Creation vs. Evolution. White Anglo-Saxons did not stand alone in what appeared to become a social revolution. Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, organized a Million Man March, in some ways mimicking Reverend Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington when close to a million African American men marched onto the Mall in D. C. to listen to speeches and sermons lauding the virtues of family and community responsibility. It was the largest assemblage of African Americans ever held.

Loosen up, Be Yourself

The age of self-realization in dress codes fell upon us. Men began trading ties and suits in the workplace as women took to slacks and denims in favor of dresses. Sneakers were popular over dress shoes and high heels. Work comfortably became code words for casual dress attire. Dress down Friday’s led to casual dress codes throughout offices across the country. Grunge music influenced young people to wear loose-fitting jeans, flannel shirts and T-shirts with designs that seemed alien to their parents. It was the advent of thrift stores and ragged jeans with holes and rips that often exposed nearly as much flesh than they covered. It was a special style designed to be non-conforming as they conformed to be non-conforming. The 21st-century hip-hop made its entry into the youth fashion world.

Some of these clothing fads became a tradition and added to the mix of non-conformity came along Ralph Lauren, Stone Island, Harrington jackets, Tommy Hilfiger sweaters, Guess, Hush Puppies shoes, Doc Martens boots and Aviator sunglasses.

By the late nineties, a Southeast Asian and Indian fashion became influential, not only in the United States but around the world. Some blamed it on the sixties and seventies’ influence of the Beatles and their mentor Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian guru who first met the Fab Four in 1967. He introduced them to Transcendental Meditation, which became part of the self-realization movement in the nineties.

Financial Spin and Whirl

Your 1990 hundred dollar bill would be worth $163.26 today. In 1990 an average house came at $123,000. By 1999 it would appreciated to $150,000 plus. The average income for a family of four in 1990 was $28,970. At the end of the decade, it was $40,819. A new car cost approximately $16,000. In 1999 that same vehicle would have cost $21,000. However, a gallon of gasoline was $1.34 in 1990 but down to $1.22 at the beginning of the 21st century.

Political Upheavals

The United States’ political situation was still traditionally a two-party system. George H. W. Bush was President, having succeeded Ronald Reagan in 1988. Such peaceful politics did not exist around the world. Boris Yeltsin became the first President of Russia and served as such until 2000. The current President, Vladimir Putin succeed him in 2000.

As the Soviet Union collapsed, East and West Germany were reunited. Operation Desert Storm pushed Iraqi Armed Forces out of Kuwait.

After 12 years of Republican control of the White House, in 1992, Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was elected President. Former branches of the Soviet Union declared their independence, including Bosnia, Herzegovina and Czechoslovakia became Czech Republic and Slovakia. Freedom from terror and tyranny were becoming a part of the revised history of Europe.

Kofi Annan became Secretary-General of the United Nations and Bill Clinton (after being impeached and acquitted) was re-elected President for a second term. Under Clinton, Madeline Albright became the first female Secretary of State.

Economic sanctions against South Africa placed by the United States and the European Economic Council forced the country to amend its constitution to eliminate White rule and accept a new multiracial constitution. As a result, all Black Political Leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were released from jail. In 1994 Mandela would become the first Black President of a Democratic South Africa.

The World of Music, Movies, Television and Cosmetics

American popular music took a sharp turn in the nineties. We were inundated with Grunge, Hip-Hop, Britpop, Psychobilly, Punk, Skater, Goth and Preppy. While their parents were still hung up on Elvis and the Beatles, their offspring were going off in every direction when it came to musical tastes. The most popular singers of the nineties were 4 to 1 in favor of the ladies. Mariah Carey was number one, followed by Janet Jackson, Madonna and Whitney Houston. Boys II to Men came in fifth.

Boys’ bands were generally popular. N’SYNC, New Kids on the Block, and All 4 One are examples. As to girl bands, Spice Girls, TLC and En Vogue were big. The Capris was the only Doo-Wops with a hit. Eminem’s “My Name Is” topped the Rap/Hip Hop Charts. “Murder She Wrote” by Chaka Demus & Pliers was the big Raggae hit. Vanilla Ice’s Ice Baby topped the one-hit wonders list. Achy Breaky Heart was the fad song of the decade. Billy Ray Cyrus soared like a spike in blood pressure, then dissolved into the dust of forgotten melodies. His daughter did better. This could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the gist.

The top ten male movie stars were: Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey and Sylvester Stallone.

Top ten female movie stars were: Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Meg Ryan, Demi Moore, Winona Ryder, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angelina Jolie.

The top ten movies: Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Schindler’s List, The Silence of the Lambs, Titanic, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Toy Story.

Do you remember the top ten television shows? If not, here they are: Seinfeld, Friends, The X-Files, The Simpsons, Law and Order, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, Saved By the Bell, Roseanne and Ellen.

Perhaps these would not have been your choices nor mine, but that’s what makes for so many differences in our personal selections.

Sports in the Nineties

For the second or third time, Baseball players went on a strike. As a result, when they came back to play, ball attendance dropped more than 20%. Fans were frustrated and angry. Somehow we always feel that they make enough money and are not grateful to their endearing public. Maybe. But the market dictates attendance. The players have families and as sports heroes they have their own tastes and desires as befits their status in the entertainment world. Never forget that sports entertain. Basketball players also decided to strike. To get even, the owners locked the players out in 1998, deciding that what’s good for the grunts is good for the elite.

It was mostly routine for football, hockey and tennis. The United States launched Major League Soccer which has thrived, as had soccer which is still moving toward competing with the NFL for their place in the sun.

They Go Hand in Hand

Medical science and technology made great strides in the nineties both individually and as partners. Thanks to computers both prospered. We saw the growth of the World Wide Web and Personal Computer PC. In 1991 WWW first made the web available for public consumption. Early users grew at the rate of 3500 a year. By the end of the decade, more than 295 million users were on the internet. Communication was becoming revolutionary.

Consequently, Medical Science turned to the internet to solve medical problems. Two advances have helped doctors take giant leaps into the future of medicine. Cloning gave us the ability to clone one animal from the cell of another. The first cloning produced Dolly from an ewe. In 1998 stem cells from human embryos created a storm of controversy. Although fundamentalists decried it as interfering in God’s work, it nevertheless found approval with the medical community as it became more evident how much it would assist in the cure and prevention of diseases that previously were killing us by the millions. Morality and social traditions were a bar in some social areas. But medical innovations were not to be denied in the search for a healthier nation. Genetic engineering was first tried on foods, helping them to resist herbicides and insecticides. By the end of the decade, some 100,000 acres were planted with soybean, Maize, Cotton and other vegetation. Because of that, more than 60% of food products on the grocery shelves included GM ingredients – and most folks never knew the difference.

In technology, Microsoft conquered the world with computers and computer programs. It has become as common to say Microsoft as it is motor vehicle. All of this technology brought mobile phones and the cell phones we use today, which not only provide communication but ready access to the world’s compiled knowledge we take for granted today.

The world waited and hoped. Waited for the last bell of the clock that introduced 01/01/2000. Happy 21st century. The hopes and dreams of a tired and war-torn world sought peace and prosperity, but mostly peace. Funny how the past has a way of turning out better in the future than it was at the time. There is an old saying that belongs to the military – or at least it used to. Perhaps it also belongs to all of us. It goes like this: “The only places that are good are those where we have been and where we are going. But this place sucks!” Just sayin… rustystrait@gmail.com

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STRAIT ON – AMERICA’S CHANGING LIFESTYLES

Hollywood Gives us a President

The 1980 presidential race, even with three major candidates, was a cakewalk for the former actor and Governor of California. Ronald Reagan was swept into the White House (garnering 489 electoral votes), with his “kitchen cabinet” in tow. He would undoubtedly be the most important Republican Administration since General Eisenhower. When Reagan took office for his first term, the country was in a quagmire of inflation and out of control interest rates. He hardly had a chance to get his feet on the ground when he was shot in the side, inches from his heart, in an attempted assassination.

Let’s Roll Up Our Sleeves and Get to Work

Not since Roosevelt’s New Deal had a president signed so many bills in the early months of his presidency, stimulating economic growth, curbing inflation, increasing employment and strengthening national defense. He overhauled the income tax code and inaugurated the Reagan Doctrine which gave aid and assistance to Communist insurgencies around the world. In one year, unemployment decreased and would continue to do so. Digging out of inflation was costly in the interim but profitable in the long run. Wages rose by 10% in 1980. The president was off to a good start.

What Happened to the Middle Class

There is much talk today about the declining middle class as though it is just suddenly became an issue. Not true. The so-called “Middle Class” had been declining for years. Post World War II through the Vietnam War era, we had the largest Middle Class in the history of the country. It has been decreasing ever since. The global competition had been eating away at American business profits. Business began in the seventies to shift to speculation, investing offshore and outsourcing labor and manufacturing where labor and production costs were less. So much for corporate patriotism.

Although Reagan had been a union leader throughout his film career, as president he continued to weaken the labor pool and began the spiral that has almost destroyed labor unions. His administration began the “union bashing” that continues today. He also froze the minimum wage level for a nine-year period, essentially cutting pay each year while inflation bit into lower-wage earners, while the salaries of corporate electives skyrocketed. Corporate Presidents were earning 30 times the salaries of their factory workers during his early years and by the time he left office, they were earning almost 130 times more as the big cats took larger slices of the profits. Employment in the manufacturing area fell twelve percent through the eighties.

How Does Our Garden Grow

One thing did grow. People. When Reagan became president our population was 226.5 million. The year he left office, it had grown to 248.7 million, many of whom lost their jobs to outsourcing and mechanization. Nevertheless, In 1980 4,400 taxpayers reported income more than $1,000,000. By 1987 35,000 Americans were earning more than a million dollars. When Reagan was elected, 13% of Americans were living below the poverty line. By 1988 it was still 13 percent.

Play it Again, Sam

Coming into the eighties, Americans had been besieged with unpleasant events: The Vietnam War, counterculture movements, Watergate and frustration with the condition of the country. Dreams were destroyed by inflation, high-interest rates and corruption in government. Crime was up. Youth were still seeking their own place in the American dream, which seemed to be dipping down into nightmarish expectations. Education was more important because the increase in technology required College Degrees, whereas a high school diploma had previously sufficed. Education was becoming more expensive to ordinary folks. Recreational money became tighter. Bars, films, designer apparel, records, fancy cars and other pleasure pursuits were sharply curtailed due to a lack of funds to indulge in such forms of entertainment. Pop culture took a dramatic turn. Madonna and Cyndi Lauper loomed high in teenage idols, especially among young girls. Bangles baubles and beads were in style, as were bright colors, spandex, hoop earrings, teased hair. Loud makeup and neon clothing became fashionable for both young girls and older women. Guys were into sweatpants, sweatshirts, denim jeans and jackets, wild colored thick, itchy sweaters and athletic shoes.

The Movie and Television Resurgence

The eighties was the decade of blockbuster films, with such epic productions as The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, all of which grossed millions of dollars at the box office. Sequels were quick to follow and just as box-office successes. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Revenge of the Nerds satisfied the middle teen set. The big three in television, CBS, ABC and NBC began to lose their grip on audiences as new innovations came into existence; MTV, ESPN, HBO, CNN & Nickelodeon were grabbing off large shares of the viewing audience. By 1990 what we used to get for free on television had a price and it has continued to grow; until today, it was not uncommon to pay $200 a month for TV, router and any number of extra charges to be entertained. Sadly, a pop icon’s death on December 8, 1980, left not only the country, but the world grieving. John Lennon exiting the Dakota Apartments in New York, was shot and killed by a disillusioned fan, Mark Chapman. The 1980’s brought us more heavy metal, new wave, hip-hop, rap, hair metal and other genres of music. Because of economics, musical stars contributed to lowering the cost for popular entertainment by participating in charity concerts; Band-Aid, We Are the World, Live Aid and Farm Aid concerts. Many pop stars peaked in the ’80s. Million seller albums, included: Michael Jackson presented “Beat it,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller.’ Madonna brought us “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl,” and “Crazy For You.” Prince gave us “Little Red Corvette,” “Delirious,” and the eternal “Purple Rain.” Then came Bono with “U Got the Look, “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” and dozens of other hits. He also became a great humanitarian, which gave him an adult audience. Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Queen, The Police, Rolling Stones (their popularity carried over from the sixties) and Whitney Houston.

Renewed careers: Paul McCartney, Cher, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. Compact discs (invented in the 1960’s) became commercially popular in the ’80s as did audio-cassettes, and Walkman – (the I-Pod of the eighties.) Yuppies replaced hippies.

The Bad Seeds

There were also some very stinky weeds growing in his administration, which sprung up due to his policies and those he allowed to ill-advise him. Mental Health deteriorated under Reagan as he slashed funding by 30%, which should not have come as a surprise since, as Governor of California, he closed the mental hospitals. He supported Islamic terrorists, gave them almost $5 billion dollars in taxpayer money and even invited them to the White House as “freedom fighters.” His deregulation of the banking industry brought about the failure of 747 financial institutions, including the Keating loan scandal, which involved five sitting senators. Using taxpayer money to finance elections. Over 20 high ranking EPA employees were removed from their positions, and some were imprisoned. A scheme to fix elections with taxpayer money became known as “Sewergate.” Reagan’s people and the CIA conspired with the Contra’s, during the Iran-Contra scandal to smuggle cocaine from South America into the United States, shielding drug smugglers from investigations. Top officials at the White House, including Oliver North, began to nurture the cocaine smuggling, funneling the proceeds to the Contra Army in Nicaragua. As part of the Iran-Contra scandal, the administration sold weapons to Iran to fund Contra terrorists in Nicaragua. As a result of our support of Contra terrorists, the Contras kidnaped and tortured civilians, raping women and executing civilians, including children. By the time it all ended 50,000 people died in the Contra killing spree.

Tell Me Something Good

To Reagan’s credit and our benefit, he never let up trying to end the Cold War that began when Harry S. Truman was president. Reagan’s legacy of finally shutting down the Cold War will always outshine his darker days. Prior to Gorbachev’s becoming the Soviet Premier, Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.” Gorbachev came to power during the early stages of Reagan’s second term. Thanks to the business of diplomacy with “Gorby,” Reagan managed what his six predecessors in the White House had attempted, but failed to do, establish a friendly relationship with a Soviet Dictator.

Nikita Kruschev’s “peaceful coexistence,” known as detente, was not Reagan’s idea of world peace. Much of what happened was initiated by Gorbachev who was determined to take his country into a radically different direction. Reagan understood the Soviet leader’s intentions and encouraged them because American interests would profit from such a change. Prior to their first meeting in Geneva, Reagan set up a plan to entice Gorbachev. He would look for areas of common interest to support Gorbachev’s reforms without being overbearing or insulting. He warned his party to “not rub Gorbachev’s nose” in any concessions he might make to us. Reagan was successful in convincing Gorbachev that the United States did not pose any threat to the Soviets. It was during that period when Reagan spoke those famous words to Gorbachev, “Trust but verify.”

In spite of advisors’ warning that there was “no potential benefit in negotiating anything with the Soviets,” Reagan took his own path. All of his meetings and communications were brought to fruition when Reagan addressed the Soviet leader head-on with, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall.” That set the stage for the Berlin Wall to come crashing down and a new American-Soviet era of diplomacy was set in motion and we stopped worrying about a war between Russia and the United States. The 80’s ended on a good note. Things were looking up. We were at peace with the world. How long would it last? Only the Future could know that. I’ll bet that many of you who survived those times have forgotten how close we came to nuclear conflict and how smoothly two world leaders made peace for their families and their countries.

The world slept better as George H. W. Bush took the oath of office in January 1989 as our 41st president.

Just sayin’ rustystrait@gmail.com

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