I have had a lot of time lately to think about a lot of things. When I was younger I used to think of the amazing things my grandparents witnessed in their lifetime. I am now at their stage and have been thinking about the times my generation has lived through. I was a war baby (1942) and remembered some of the rationing in those years. It was waste not, want not. That’s why a lot of seniors save everything. There might be another use for it someday (doesn’t matter what “it” was). After the war things were great for awhile everyone bought a car a symbol of our growing economy and life was good. Better cars, better trains and buses airlines expanded. I remember the TWA terminal at Idlewild Airport soon to be named JFK. And we had Korea, some more of our young men off to a faraway place to preserve peace. But left it a divided country. My generation lived through the polio epidemics before a vaccine was developed. And my generation had mumps and measles and chicken pox. All before vaccination was possible for them. Some of us did not make it through childhood. I think of the enormous strides made in medicine that were unthinkable when I was growing up.

The amazing technologies developed since the middle of the last century, from everyone having a telephone (land line at the time) to personal phones and the advancement in computer technology. I have been lucky to do a lot of traveling.

I have seen a president assassinated another removed from office.

I have lived to see a man land on the moon and rockets propelled to other planets to photograph the surface to further science. I have lived through the time of the Vietnam War and those very trying times and now also the never ending war in Afghanistan brought about by the attack on America on September 11, 2001. Such a scary time.

I have many, many fond memories. I am part of a large family. Thanks to John and Josephine and we share a lot of memorable occasions together. We all have children and some have grands and/or great grands. We are a large loving close family and I am the richer for it. I have been blessed.

And this current situation too will pass.