50 Years Ago

Before you just say, 'here he goes again...'...bear with me...the significance of 1969 was unbelievably a stronghold on our history here in the great US of A...FIFTY YEARS AGO!...it's hard to believe that it has been that long of time that has passed...my senior year in college...well, my first one...ha ha...here is a brief glimpse of what I am talking about...some of these thoughts are backed by some great photos...

The US landed a man on the moon...in a completion of the desires of Pres JFK, we continued on with his plan to have the mission done...NASA was huge in the 60's, and really, in the 70's too..."one small step..."...you must know that the advent of TV news was taking off...none of this 24 hours a day stuff...national news was 15 minutes, and after some of these events of '69, they expanded the time to 30 minutes...there were three that we all followed, CBS, NBC, and ABC...really...for you in one of the younger generations, people really didn't get into the telecast that much...until JFK was assassinated and then, it was forever watched...well, EVERYONE stood gazed at the TV screen as the walk on the moon happened...

The war in Vietnam was a struggle for the masses to understand...probably at it's height in this year...you have no IDEA of the fear of being drafted into the military...there were so many people that questioned why we were there...of course, the political jack asses told us 'the domino theory' of the Communists...let them take Vietnam, and they will walk on over to the mainland and take us over, too...something like that...50 YEARS AGO...one of the very hard parts of the battle, was that our soldiers did what they were TOLD...and when and if they returned, were spurned...now THAT is a tragedy...

The people took to the streets to protest the war...much like what Puerto Rico was doing just a few days ago...protesting their governor...and the political powers to be, fought back with their National Guard and the local Police...your Prez at the time?...oh my...none other than Richard Nixon...who was inaugurated in....yup, 1969...50 YEARS AGO...many of the great marches and gatherings were at the Nation's capitol, DC...as time wore on, there would be constant chants outside of the White House, too...reverberating thru the brain of Nixon...had to be eery, I reckon...and the reason for it...

The national news would be embedded in Vietnam...a surreal look at what was really going on there...as per example, Walter Cronkite, would do his report from the battle lines...and we would get a daily look at war...I don't have numbers for you, but concise to say that way too many lives were lost over this, which many have said, was a political debacle...

Frustrations abounded over the politicians that drove the war...young people banded together...and sure, out of it, came lots of protest via the route of the music...'something's happening here, what it is, ain't exactly clear'...Buffalo Springfield...with 2 of their members, they helped form a 'super' group that were a staple for the duration of the skirmish...Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young...we knew them as CSNY...there were so many others that came out to, like none better than Edwin Starr, 'War, huh, what is it good for'....

Which led to a rally of people to join together to escape the reality of the day...in a field in New York...which started like a small gig, that EXPLODED...the masses came...and came...the singers did, too...and what emerged was an event that has been treasured as an historical one...'Woodstock'...I have a classic vinyl of that...and it is great reality, kids...to hear that time in our lives...stand still, like we were there....ah, were you?...I have talked to many, who have said they were...ha ha...right...

For a flick idea of what this was all about...the time, 1969...you must see, or, resee (is this even a word?) the infamous 'Apocalypse Now'...

And then this...which has been remade and rekindled...the horrific killings of this small band of misfits...that did the following of the mastermind of...Charles Manson...there is a flick just release on it...yes, this happened in 1969...

Well, we are having a bit of nostalgia here...FIFTY YEARS AGO...I hope you enjoyed the read...