Songs bring back memories

The other day while working out, my attention was suddenly focused on an oldie/goldie, “Donna”, that brought into my memory the picture of a lowly junior boy falling in love for the first time with a popular senior girl who miraculously made a place in her heart for him - me - if only temporarily.

It’s strange how things were going on in the world that were even more important than that cataclysmic event. For example, at the same time there was a leader coming to the fore that was in the process of beginning the battle to overthrow an authoritarian and corrupt dictator. He had caught the attention of our leaders and we were supporting his effort which would culminate in his coming to power to much acclaim from our politicians a couple of years later. His name was Fidel Castro.

In September of a few years later, twins were added to our family, and as you can well imagine changed many things with their presence in our family including educational and vocational direction for Dad. That was certainly a life-changer having both immediate and long-lasting consequences. But it was only a couple of months later that all our lives were swung off course when our President was assassinated and we were headed into a war which produced more casualties than WWII, more deaths than Korea, and a national schism which many think is the fore runner of our present political quagmire.

My parents knew exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard of Pearl Harbor. I know where I was and what I was about when I heard of JFK’s demise. My children will have such a memory of some calamity, large and small, that affected their lives, and my grandchildren will no doubt begin the process of judging time through tragedies such as 9/11, the official onset of the “age of terrorism” for the U.S., though in our family it serves as the follow up to the twins’ birthday.

All of this goes to prove that our lives hold few giant occurrences that dominate our recollections. For the most part, our reminiscences concern how our emotions have been moved to highs and lows by events that we could actually influence in some way. So, pardon me, and may my wonderful life partner forgive me for one last sigh... oh Donna.