subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Nov 23 2009 
Breaking News:  State investigates mine blast  November 20, 2009 01:46 pm

Published: June 29, 2009 08:54 am    print this story  

Changes in the lifetimes of the class of ‘67

Carl Keith Greene

First, a correction for last week’s column. I referred to Luzon Bay in the Philippines. It should have been Manila Bay. I at least came close. Luzon is the largest of the Philippine Islands.

Monday night I had to do one of the jobs I’ve taken on myself that I dread. It’s not very rewarding, but I feel like I’m doing something special for my high school classmates.

One of my classmates died last week. I missed seeing the obituary. I try to check the Web sites of the local funeral homes often to see who has left this mortal coil, but I guess I was busy with other things last week.

So I missed it. I learned of it Monday night and e-mailed a copy of the obituary to the London High grads that are on my list and posted it on Facebook.

I think the London High class of ‘67 had maybe 92 students. We’ve lost in the past 42 years maybe ten students. I have a list somewhere but can’t find it. I’ll add Larry when I can and have to delete one classmate whom we thought was dead but isn’t.

My generation has experienced some of the most historical moments in the nation. Of course every generation probably feels that way.

But we, as 19- and 20-year-olds saw in grainy black and white on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon.

You know, that’s kind of like being a native American and watching the Mayflower dropping anchor at Plymouth and seeing the pioneers come ashore.

We have, though, seen perhaps the greatest movement into the world of intellectual technology. The fact that with one note I can reach perhaps fifty or sixty friends with word that one of our own has died amazes me even now.

Oh, how the world has changed since Flag Day 1949.

Last week I wrote of the marvel of AM radio, how it was once the only way to disseminate information and entertainment to hundreds of thousands of people at once.

Today, there are so many ways to contact and communicate that we are often boggled by which method to use.

So here we are, the class of ‘67, witnesses to modernity.

In our lifetime, the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Thunderbird and the Lexus were invented.

Dippin’ Dots hit the market. Computers came into their glory. Movie houses that play many shows at once have been developed.

Men have walked on the moon and unmanned vehicles have explored Mars.

We’ve gone though modern miracles and we’ve gone through some of the worst periods of this nation.

We’ve witnessed the assassination of a president, a presidential candidate, a leader in the war for equality and the merciless killings of people who were of a different color.

Also in our lifetime, we have seen 19 military incidents in which at least one American soldier died, totalling more than 83,000. And they still die.

But it’s been that way in this nation’s beginning when it wasn’t even a nation.

I suspect that our parents had the hope after World War II ended that we would see no more wars, no more hatred, no more combat.

Seems that they were wrong. I sure wish they had been right.

Carl Keith Greene is a writer for the Times-Tribune. He can be reached at cgreene@thetimestribune.com

print this story  

Photos


Carl Keith Greene / (Click for larger image)



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

2/BR Mobile Home for Rent
2/BR Located in Gray $350/mo + $350/Dep 528-3308 or 526-1939...>MORE

Help Wanted
More Than a Living, It’s a Life
Christian Care Communities has openings for the following positions.

Dir
...>MORE

Office Position
Office position
Computer and Office experience required.
Reply to P.O. Box 360 Corbin, KY 40702
...>MORE

Help Wanted
ACCOUNTANT
position open – experience needed in
accounting, payroll, Excel and Quickbooks. Send
resu
...>MORE

Window Installers
Champion Window has an immediate opening for window installers. Must have experience and an eye for detail. Must have ow...>MORE

Help Wanted
Redi Mart is on the move and we want you to share in our bright future!

Come Grow With Us
We’re expandin
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Rentals & Sales

House & Mobile Home For Rent
4/BR House $500/mo + $500/Dep. Also 2/BR Mobile Home $350/mo + $350 Dep Good Clean Condition 549-9741...>MORE

House For Sale
114 15th St. Corbin, 2/BR, 1/BA, Basement, $68,500
606-521-2016
...>MORE

Apartments for Rent
2/BR, Corbin city limits, all appliances , $475/mo + $475/Dep 1 yr. lease Call Larry 606-224-0064...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index