Everybody else is doing it.
So here's my take on the most signifigent milestones of the 20th century.
December 1903 - Orville and WilburWright went to North Carolina and figured out how
to fly. (It's amazing how well I can remember things that happened 30 years before I was
born.) The airplane is the single most defining invention of this century. Not only had
days of travel been reduced to hours, but they proved that gasoline engines were
extremely versatile power plants.

1909 - Abraham Lincoln replaced the Indian on the US cent, proving to America that the
Indian was a much better looking fellow. For collectors, this change started the slow
steady increase in the value of Indian Head penny collections and gave them an excuse to
buy a new penny book.

1914 - The World War (aka WWI) began. It was a horse and buggy war. By 1918 it had
progressed into a mechanized war. Aviation, for example, underwent accelerated
development. In those days, wars tended to advance technology. Nowadays, wars tend
to produce mostly bodies and rubble.

1934 - Douglas Aircraft Company designed the DC3. Production started in 1936. The
Ford Trimotor became the largest bird on the endangered species list. The DC3 was fast
and reliable. It became the first airplane to actually make money in passenger service. It
was also a great cargo plane. It must have been a dandy, because 60 year-old DC3's are
still flying all over the world.

1936 Toyota decided to build and sell cars. There were no plans to export them to North
America. This made it possible for American Industry to continue selling 1930's cars
well into the 1950's.

1936 The Cushman Motor Company put a one-horsepower pump engine on a
motorscooter frame and started a revolution in cheap transportation. Not fast, not
comfortable, not safe, but cheap.


1939 Germany decided it was time for another World War. Nobody had the courage to
say, "Adolph, you're making one big mistake." Aviation went from biplane to jet.
Weapons went from the '03 Springfield to the M1 Garand. Horses disappeared
completely and Jeeps whined over the world. Cushman went from two horsepower to
four. At sea, rivited iron was replaced by welded steel. Bombs went from 2000 pound
block-busters to bombs that vaporized cities. Germany went from a nation to a shambles.
Maybe some of this is progress.

1941 Japan made a wrong decision. They thought it was easier to defeat America than to
just buy it. Some people used the "big mistake" line but nobody listened. The war
delayed the television industry about 10 years. It did pretty much the same for the Toyota
takeover of the auto industry. Even the parcel by parcel buyout of American real estate
took a nasty setback, but things are getting back on track.

1942 - A rich lady in our town bought a Bendix automatic washer. When she ran it, it
danced all over the kitcher. So she sold it to my father, cheap. He had to bolt it to the
floor, but we were the only people in town who had an automatic washer all through
WWII.

1945 - Piaggio began producing the Vespa motor scooter and ever since then, all Italians
have been born with two wheels.

1946 - Catapiller, who builds bulldozers, had a great year making sales to bombed out
cities in Europe and Asia.

1946 - I bought my first bicycle and the world has never been the same.

1946 - We got our first telephone. You took the receiver off the hook and held to your
ear and some nasal woman said. "Number, please." The neighbors all came in to see it.

1947 - Henry J. Kaiser set out to revolutionalize the auto industry. He failed to hire any
Japanese, German or Italian engineers, but at least he tried. Kaiser automobiles were
produced into the mid 1950's

Aug. 1949 - A hurricane with wind gusts to 165 mph beat the heck out of the central
Florida coast. This fact has nothing to do with the fact that I got my drivers license in the
same month and year while living on the central Florida coast. I know it sounds fishy,
but there is absolutely no connection.

1950 - We had squandered a half century and the definition of the word "computer" was
still "a person who does calculations."

1951 - My family moved from Florida to Tennessee, forcing me to leave behind two
bicycles, a girl friend, the beach, my school, and some cohorts. I still miss those
bicycles.

1951 - Some North Koreans decide to take over South Korea. It didn't work.

1952 - Ford Motor Company decided to introduce the 1952 Ford, saying "If we're going
to make a 1952 Ford, this is the best year to do it." Most of them came with a 1932
model flat-head V8, but a few had a 223 cubic inch in-line six that was a new design.
Their reasoning was that some people might want a car with six cylinders.

1953 - I graduated from West High School in Nashville. I remember the principal saying,
"We want to get you out of here before you turn 20."

1953 - In the fall, I decided that since I hadn't saved enough money to buy a car, I might
as well go to college. Besides, a car wouldn't keep me out of the Army.

1955 - Chevrolet made a car that worked.

1958 - Ford Motor Company decided to produce the 1958 Ford. The less said about this,
the better.

1958 - I took a cruise to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Southwestern Oklahoma has never been the
same. I don't think it ever was. In fact, I think I understand why Geronimo took a header
off that cliff. He was one smart Indian but he never had his picture on a penny.

1959 - Jet airliners began zooming all over the world. Two male figures in dark suits
appeared on Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina. They seemed to be leaping into the air
and giving each other high-fives. The National Park service denied knowing who they
were and also discounted the high-five story, because, as they said, "High-fives haven't
been invented yet."

1960 - This was the decade of the Hippies. The less said about this, the better.

1966 - Two thirds of a century shot and most folks still haven't seen a computer. The
VCR hasn't even been invented yet. Nobody eats microwave popcorn. When are we
going to get this century into high gear?

1970 - Hippies are still around, but most of them are on Broadway, appearing in Hair.

1978 - I bought my first Subaru. After I drove it home, I went out back and threw rocks
at my Maverick.

1981 - Somebody asked me is I'd like to see their new Apple. I said I wasn't hungry.

1983 - I saw my first Apple IIE. Not impressed.

1984 - I bought my first pickup truck. The less said about this the better. Oh, what the
heck. It was blue.

1985 Chrysler Corperation decided to build a 1985 Dodge. The less said about this, the
better.

1992 - I retired from teaching. I remember the principal saying, "We want to get you out
of here before you start falling apart."

1993 - Boyhood dream becomes a reality. I bought my first Cushman. It had 4
horsepower and plenty of rust. It was new in 1947, but it took a while to save the
money. Two years later, it looked and ran great. I was broke again.

1997 - Boyhood dream becomes a reality. We went to Washington, our 50th state. Yes, I
know Hawaii is our 50th state, but Washington was MY 50th state.

2000 - no data. Something went wrong. Everything crashed. We have disappeared.
Oh well, it was just a century. There will be another one along in a minute.