Just recently, I have taken an interest in history. I think it is because people ask me about it all the time. They figure I was there, and maybe they are right about that. I was born during Franklin Roosevelt's first term. I grew up during the second world war and have witnessed the beginnings of space exploration, the development of the airline industry, the computer revolution, and the dawn of the age of transistors. The population of the world has doubled more than once during my lifetime. I can remember when Jupiter had only 11 known moons. Nobody really knew what Mars was like. I was there when sulfa was the current wonder drug, and all cars rode on bias ply tires with inner tubes. Jet airplanes were only a dream when I began reading airplane books. Most airplanes had two wings on each side. I was 17 before I saw a television set. I can remember when a few stores got air conditioning and people never dreamed that homes would someday have that luxury. I remember the first time I ever rode in a car with an automatic shift. When I started school, a trolly was the fastest way to get from point A to point B in Nashville. In those days, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and Roy Acuff were on the radio. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and William Boyd were my favorite movie stars. When I began teaching, schools were still in the process of switching from black slate chalkboards to green fiber chalk boards. I retired before the white boards came into use. I used to show 16mm movies to my classes. Some of them were black and white. Speaking of black and white, I didn't have an intergrated class until the second year of my teaching career. Then there was one little black girl in my first period class. She was an excellent student and was immediately accepted by the other students. I can remember being very relieved about that. I taught 20 years before I ever had an air-conditioned classroom. I installed a window unit myself, or it would have been even longer. In those days, you could find the principal's office by walking around the school until you found air-conditioner.I can remember the first time I ever saw a four-lane highway, and my first ride in an elevator. I was in high school before I saw an esculator. When I was in college, less than half of the students had cars. Almost nobody had a bicycle. I got my first bike when I was 13. It had fat tires, a coaster brake and only one speed. It cost $49 and I paid for it with a paper route. But that's all history.
Howard