Do you have any Christmas traditions? she asked me as I settled into the chair for my (traditional) pre-Christmas haircut. As with all of my tonsorial events during the year, it would be an ultimately vain attempt to bring neatness to my naturally shaggy crown. But, it was a few days before the holiday, and it's traditional for me to do this.
Yes, of course, we see a Christmas show, have get-togethers with family and friends, decorate with a tree, all that sort of stuff -- I answered her question, wanting to be friendly, but also not wanting to prolong my time in the chair (getting a haircut never has been one of my favorite activities) and besides, this was my introduction to this particular stylist (is that the right way to name her job?) so I wasn't sure where the conversation was going.
But I decided to take a plunge into the unknown,
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Thursday, December 18, 2014
If you had asked me to predict these events, I would have missed all of them
Here are five significant social-political events that were talked about in the 1970s and 1980s, mostly as far-out, idealistic possibilities. If someone had asked me "Which of these do you think will happen in your lifetime, or in the next 50 years?" I would have answered "Anything's possible, but I don't think I'll see any of these happen." At this point, four out of five have taken place, and there's still time for that last one.
Let's pick the year 1980. That was thirty-four years ago. It was a decade-and-a-half after the height of the Civil Rights movement and consequent legislation, as well as the Voting Rights Act, but also the Watts riots and other civil conflicts. The Cold War was in an icy phase, and the economy didn't look so hot. But, for me personally it was a good year--no details, just take my word for it--and I was optimistic about the future, so if I'd been asked about the likelihood of any of these five things happening by the year 2030 you might reasonably think that my response for at least some of them would have been an enthusiastic "yes, of course that'll happen!"
Let's pick the year 1980. That was thirty-four years ago. It was a decade-and-a-half after the height of the Civil Rights movement and consequent legislation, as well as the Voting Rights Act, but also the Watts riots and other civil conflicts. The Cold War was in an icy phase, and the economy didn't look so hot. But, for me personally it was a good year--no details, just take my word for it--and I was optimistic about the future, so if I'd been asked about the likelihood of any of these five things happening by the year 2030 you might reasonably think that my response for at least some of them would have been an enthusiastic "yes, of course that'll happen!"
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