'60's Generation - Hip. Cool. Groovy.

I've become my father.

My father used to frame his opinions with small talk about the little things from his youth. He'd let anyone know that the root of our 1950's and '60's lifestyle had a direct link to some small event, idea, or innovation of the 1930s or '40s.

I didn't understand this obsession with little things from such a distant past. After all, he had lived the big things like the depression, coal mine disasters, and Omaha beach.

Now that a few decades have come and gone in my life, I understand. (rest of the story)

Too much of a good thing takes the "good" out of the "thing."

'60's generation "club members" understand what I mean. We've seen the evolution of everyday good things from simple and fulfilling to complex and empty. Examples are all around us…like television. (rest of the story)

We are, after all, just normal people.

Something dawned on me the other day. It wasn't a stroke of genius, or some deep insight that I could now share with the world. It was just an internal drawing of a line in the sand. Something inside of me said enough is enough! (rest of the story)

I had "fallen stars" in my eyes last night.

And, I didn't like it. More specifically I didn't like my joy killing viewpoint.

When did it happen? When did being the stand alone, all by yourself, nobody can touch you, win at all costs, star means winner designation, become the only measuring stick of success that matters? When did things change from "being about trying your best and hopefully winning" to "being about winning it all…all the time"? You know, if you don't win it all forever then you're destined to be a loser, a fallen star. (rest of the story)

It happens nearly everyday. It just takes the right emotional trigger.

Sometimes it's a news report. Sometimes it's that casual recognition of something different on a familiar piece of landscape. It can even be the five minute, 5 pm, drive to a convenience store for a loaf of bread. It can be a lot of things, but I always know what it means. (rest of the story)