Lifestyles

     Suits and ties gave way to jeans.  Father didn’t always know what was best.  Greased hair and leather changed to long hair and beads.  Gangs surfaced and Hell’s Angels and West Side Story were topics in the media.  We were reminded to register for the draft.  Annette, Fabian and Elvis entered our theaters.  Then in a blink, things changed, British music filled the air waves, and wild fashions became a statement.  We completely changed the way we talked, dressed, acted and lived..

     Ed Sullivan, who treated you to Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Wayne Newton now introduced the Beatles.  Coffee houses and folk music flourished.  College students fought for independence of thought; Civil Rights became a major topic.  Schools  became integrated.   Gays and lesbians opened closets; draft cards and bras were burned.  Your friends died in a foreign country.   You had to start picking sides on issues, that reached farther, than what side of the tracks you were born on. 

     Did you spend hot summer nights in clubs watching yet undiscovered garage bands?  Did you trade in your cuffed pants for bell-bottoms?  Remember how your t-shirts became tye-dyed, your hair grew, your skirts shortened and your hi-fi got louder.  Free-love ruled, because tomorrow you might die.

     These are hard thoughts for the youth of today to understand.  Share the thoughts, the fear and the apprehension you felt.  We need your support and your collected items.  Don't let those items fade and deteriorate, when they can educate youth, and preserve that  fabulous decade, for all.

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