by Pa Rock
Twilight Typist
My oldest grandchild, Boone, is nineteen today. He is finishing his freshman year of college and appears to be focused on the upcoming challenges of being a sophomore. He also has a job, and a car, and a girlfriend - all very necessary parts of being nineteen.
When I turned nineteen way back in 1967, I was also finishing my first year of college. My grades weren't as good as Boone's, though my social life was possibly better. I didn't have a car, but did possess a little Honda 50 motorbike that I used to tool around Springfield and get back and forth to my job - which was at a movie theatre. There was no girlfriend - Boone's grandfather was a late-bloomer.
Life was different back in 1967. For one thing the war in Vietnam was literally eating its way through American male youth, and those who didn't make the grade in college all to often became fodder for a "conflict" that was a world away and seemed to have no relevance to life in America. It wasn't the glorious global crusade that our fathers had rushed forward to enjoin.
Staying in college was a survival strategy in 1967.
Today Boone has lots of options, but I hope that he will focus on staying in school until he qualifies for a profession. Finding and holding a job today is much more difficult than it was back in my day.
The last time I heard from Boone he mentioned a possible educational venture to China this summer. I hope that he is able to follow through on that, or at least that he remains open to traveling and experiencing what the world has to offer. Soon after our nineteenth year responsibilities start to creep into our lives, and the opportunities that were once abundant begin disappearing.
And before you know what has happened, you're seventy and focused on blogging and mowing!
Grab life now, Boone - and enjoy it!
Much love - and a very happy nineteenth!
Twilight Typist
My oldest grandchild, Boone, is nineteen today. He is finishing his freshman year of college and appears to be focused on the upcoming challenges of being a sophomore. He also has a job, and a car, and a girlfriend - all very necessary parts of being nineteen.
When I turned nineteen way back in 1967, I was also finishing my first year of college. My grades weren't as good as Boone's, though my social life was possibly better. I didn't have a car, but did possess a little Honda 50 motorbike that I used to tool around Springfield and get back and forth to my job - which was at a movie theatre. There was no girlfriend - Boone's grandfather was a late-bloomer.
Life was different back in 1967. For one thing the war in Vietnam was literally eating its way through American male youth, and those who didn't make the grade in college all to often became fodder for a "conflict" that was a world away and seemed to have no relevance to life in America. It wasn't the glorious global crusade that our fathers had rushed forward to enjoin.
Staying in college was a survival strategy in 1967.
Today Boone has lots of options, but I hope that he will focus on staying in school until he qualifies for a profession. Finding and holding a job today is much more difficult than it was back in my day.
The last time I heard from Boone he mentioned a possible educational venture to China this summer. I hope that he is able to follow through on that, or at least that he remains open to traveling and experiencing what the world has to offer. Soon after our nineteenth year responsibilities start to creep into our lives, and the opportunities that were once abundant begin disappearing.
And before you know what has happened, you're seventy and focused on blogging and mowing!
Grab life now, Boone - and enjoy it!
Much love - and a very happy nineteenth!
No comments:
Post a Comment