Happy New Year!! Its hard to believe that it is 2022 and it will be interesting to see what happens within the next 12 months. In the past couple of years I feel as if we have been on a long roller coaster ride, lots of ups and downs. Although I am not a fan of roller coasters (I am very afraid of heights), how many of history’s roller coaster rides have baby boomers witnessed and/or participated in. I am proud to say that I was part of history when I campaigned for Cleveland’s first Black mayor, Carl B. Stokes. I knocked on doors and handed out leaflets after school everyday. I was 12 years old but I believed I could make a difference (either my parents or grandparents followed me in their cars while I worked to show their support of my decision).
Baby boomers have witnessed and/or participated in several significant historical events, including the following:
- We survived the polio epidemic and the Covid-19 pandemic through vaccinations.
- We saw the beginning and ending of 3 of the longest U.S. wars: the Vietnam War (1961-1975), the Iraq War (2003-2011}, and the Afghanistan War (2001-2020).
- We saw three U.S. Presidents face impeachment: Nixon, Clinton and Trump.
- We lived through the assassinations of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Malcolm X.
- We sat through the Watergate hearings and the O. J. Simpson trial on tv.
- We witnessed the worst terrorist attack conducted on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001. America lost a total of 2,977 people that day and the World Trade Center in New York City (which was built in May, 1973).
- Honorable mentions: Kent State shootings, Moon landing, Beatlemania, and Woodstock
I could go on and on but the list is just too long. This generation has lived through and/or been a part of some major roller coaster rides through our country’s history and lived to tell the stories. I have no doubt that we will be ready for whatever 2022 brings.
I wish you and your families a safe, healthy and happy new year.
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