220302 Sentinel, 50s and 60s

In many ways the fifties and sixties were the best years of my life.
During those years I felt I had the world at my fingertips.
I thought I could do anything and everything with a snap of my fingers. I had unlimited possibilities. I know now that I couldn’t possibly do so, but back then I did not know it was impossible. My life was a series of infatuations with young ladies, followed by breakups with those same ladies, sometimes by me, but mostly by them. That didn’t matter because I knew there was always a new one on the horizon. I remember every one of them and the order of each one in my progression.

Then in 1963 I found Joyce. She turned my world upside down. At the end of our 3rd date as I drove her home, I knew she was the one. She wasn’t as sure as I was in any way, shape or form. I met her in mid June and we were married in January of 1964. We set up housekeeping in a tiny efficiency half duplex in Millington, Tn. It had 2 rooms and a bath. Life was not easy, but she made it work. We had no TV, no phone, no money, not much of anything, but we made it work.

The sixties were an exciting time in my navy days. I learned a lot of new things and had a good time. Those years shaped my future. They weren’t all fun days, but the good outweighed the bad ones. Flying with an air crew was great! Going aboard an aircraft carrier was an unparalleled experience, seeing places I would never have seen otherwise was a high point in my life. Being an instructor was another great experience. Best of all was having my daughter born in 1967.

The seventies were no match for the sixties. They weren’t all bad, but there was more bad than good. These days come with an entirely different world than back then. I’m an elderly man, living alone since Joyce passed away and I miss her every day. My boyhood heroes have also passed away and are gone from me. Life is more difficult than before. Life is more complex than ever at a time when I am least able to cope with that. Life is still good and better than the only other alternative. I have my routine that gets me through the day and that is enough. My feeling today may be influenced by my exhaustion with the cold weather of winter, but spring is on the way and that I look forward to along with the warm days of summer. I am ready for that!