60 years – what a difference it makes…

~ Ellie

How far the road of life takes us in 60 years!

In 1964 I was 18 and messing around on guitar with folk songs and protest songs – unsure whether to follow the path of Joan Baez or Bob Dylan. (I was unaware at the time that they were actually a romantic item for a while! Just shows you what we missed without social-media gossip!)

(Here’s me some years later, but with the same gorgeous little Martin I got in 1967.)

My fingers hurt when I play now, too infrequently. (My Martin is long gone. 😕) Let’s face it, 1964 was six decades ago! My family still had a black-and-white TV back then, pulling in maybe 5 channels; the internet hadn’t been born yet. (On October 29, 1969, computers at Stanford and UCLA connected for the first time.) Stores here in Quebec had to be closed on Sundays; the Beatles had just killed it on the Ed Sullivan show; and on and on. It was a different world for most of us back then – simpler. We lived in a cocoon, unless we diligently read newspapers.

And look at what’s happening now in 2024 – news publications on paper are slowly disappearing! Wages and prices have escalated through the roof. In 1967 the first apartment my then-husband and I rented cost us around $95 per month for a one-bedroom. That same apartment now is about 15 times that, i.e. around $1400… and would probably go for much more if it was in a nicer neighbourhood.

A heckuva lot changes in any 60-year period. Let’s take the year my mom’s parents sailed to Quebec from Eastern Europe: 1905. They were only in their teens. Just imagine the ups and downs they lived through from then until 1965: Radio! Airplanes! Automobiles! Refrigerators! Washing machines! Devices to make living easier inside the home and out. And then the dark side: World War I. The Great Depression. World War II. The assassination of President Kennedy.

“Salesman demonstrating an electric refrigerator” Library of Congress CC0 1.0

We can see that in any 60-year period, huge changes take place. I am so curious about what the future holds… What will life be like in 2084 for our progeny? One can only hope for great improvements, e.g. an end to strife and conflicts. May kindness and sanity prevail. 🤞🤞🤞

14 thoughts on “60 years – what a difference it makes…”

    1. Thanks Matthew! It was actually a onesie jumpsuit! Not too practical when the bathroom beckoned! 😬😅 Yes, the future…🤞🏼🤞🤞🏽🤞🏻🤞🏾☮️☮️☮️

      Like

      Reply

  3. I am three years younger than you, but I miss those innocent times. People were more trusting back then because mainly we dealt with nice folks. No sense of entitlement, no public meltdowns, no political cults (gee, I wonder what that’s in reference to?) Hee hee!!

    We had respect for each other, no backstabbing, no scams, etc. I miss the “good old days”.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I still have my 1964 acoustic Gibson – my father bought it for me. Haven’t played in a long time, but I did finally have the broken headstock repaired (at Broken Headstock – they did a phenomenal job on it).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment