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1957


Subdeacon Joe

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1957, the year I started high school.

 

Three years later I was in college.

 

Three years after that I had my own TV show.  

 

Two years on down the road I graduated from college and I was an Army officer and with a wife. 

 

One year beyond that I was living on Okinawa with my wife and son.  Soon I was a Commanding Officer and was shortly promoted to Captain .

 

1968 put me in Vietnam.

 

In 1969, just twelve years after this narrative began, we were on the moon, I was teaching school, we were the people in this movie, living "The American Dream", owning two cars, had a TV, clothes dryer, and all the rest of the marvels of science

 

And, as the old slogan said, "Time Marches On". 

 

Sometime it seems like only a few days ago, other times it seems so far back I can't believe it.

 

The last 80 years have seen the rise of the US to the greatest power on earth, with the most productive people ever with the greatest individual wealth of any nation, and freedoms that most of the planet has never known.

 

I'm glad I was there to see it..... and I'm glad that I will not likely live to see it all torn down.

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America lived through six years of World War II?

 

I count three years and nine months.

 

And why, when they do one of these nostalgic pieces, no matter what the year is, gasoline was only $0.25 a gallon? When I started driving, in 1971, gasoline was $0.18. and frequently gas wars would bring it down to a dime.

 

A QUARTER??? That was outrageously expensive.

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12 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Started in '39, ended in '45.  
 

True but we didn't enter it until after Pearl Harbor. Dec 7, 1941 so I have to agree with Alpo on this one.

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9 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

In 1957 I was a twinkle in my Dad’s eye...caused by dust, I am sure. 

 

I was was born in 1961. 

You young whipper snapper!!:P

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18 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

True but we didn't enter it until after Pearl Harbor. Dec 7, 1941 so I have to agree with Alpo on this one.

 

We lived through it like the rest of the world. We supplied everything for the war effort long before we were drawn into the actual conflict.

 

Whole units of aircraft and pilots were involved in voluntary action and support. Our shipping was under constant attack, almost from the very START of hostilities!!

 

It wasn’t official, but we were involved almost from the first shot fired.

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2 hours ago, Alpo said:

America lived through six years of World War II?

 

I count three years and nine months.

 

And why, when they do one of these nostalgic pieces, no matter what the year is, gasoline was only $0.25 a gallon? When I started driving, in 1971, gasoline was $0.18. and frequently gas wars would bring it down to a dime.

 

A QUARTER??? That was outrageously expensive.

If you only count declared war you're right, but if you only count declared wars we weren't in a war in Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and a host of other places either.

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2 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

 

We lived through it like the rest of the world. We supplied everything for the war effort long before we were drawn into the actual conflict.

 

Whole units of aircraft and pilots were involved in voluntary action and support. Our shipping was under constant attack, almost from the very START of hostilities!!

 

It wasn’t official, but we were involved almost from the first shot fired.

 

Exactly my thoughts, thank you.  

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I turned six in '57.  Still remember going outside to look up at the night sky to see if I could spot Sputnik.  

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In 1957 I started kindergarten.  Earlier this year I went back to the old neighborhood and saw that my old elementary school that was turned into a day care center was eventually torn down.  I used to walk to school there and no, it wasn't 3 miles uphill each way.

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Lessee, in 1957 I was 4 years old and we were living in Torrance, CA where dad was a Navy project officer at North American Aviation. That year my mom gave him a Lionel train set that I now have and still set up around the Christmas tree every year. Late that year, we moved to Wash. D.C. where dad was assigned to PAX River NAS.

 

We traveled x-country (before interstate hwys) in the family car -- a '56 Pontiac Star Chief, colors and everything just like the one below, 'cept it had 4" whitewalls.

 

1956-pontiac-star-chief-4-door-catalina-

1956-pontiac-star-chief-4-door-catalina-

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Mebbe it's because some of us now have grandchildren the same age we were then. I'm not wistful or starry-eyed about it like in the video, but it's hard to look at my g-kids and not think of the way things were over 60 years ago. Adding on, I was learning then that what was on TV was BS as I didn't know anyone who lived like those on the tube. 

 

Presently, I'm having some wonderful conversations and going thru pics with my 92-year old mom about how things were when she was a kid. Fascinating.

 

 

 

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