Musings, by Bill ...
I am struck by the sheer length of this one human life, and, being a history buff, the number of significant historical events that her life encompassed. If we define US History as having started on July 4, 1776, then her life encompassed a full 42% of American history. She saw 17 different people serving in the office of President of the United States.
When she was 23 days old, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated touching off World War I.
When she was six, the 19th amendment to the constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. It is incredible to me that my Grandmother could not vote when my mother was born.
She was 15 when the stock market crashed, touching off the Great Depression.
She was 27 and pregnant with her second child when Pearl Harbor was bombed. D-Day was the day after her 30th birthday. She was 31 and pregnant with her third child when Hiroshima was bombed.
Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union when she was 43, JFK was assassinated when she was 49, and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon when she was 55. Mt. St. Helens erupted when she was 66.
She was 75 when the Berlin wall came down. She had been 47 when they started building it.
And, of course, she was 87 on 9/11/2001.
Every time someone dies, a set of memories dies as well and events that seemed contemporary become merely the fodder for scholars of history. I love you, Mom.
