50

50, that sounds ominous. It is a big number that's for sure. Half a Century and as I look back at all the changes and how far we have come since I was born on this day in 1958 it seems extraordinary. I can remember when the year 2000 sounded like it was in the far, far, distant future and would never arrive and here it is 2008, almost 2009. We have come a long way from 1958. We have fought several wars, and the world has grown, not in land mass, but in countries and people. The Soviet Union split and the Berlin Wall fell. We put men on the moon and a space station in outer space. Society has begun to fall into a moral decline that is speeding toward an explosive end and the world is heading, or should I say spiraling into what may be a great depression.
As I look back on my life I think of things that stand out. Seeing Elvis in concert, his passing, traveling to many places as a military dependent and as an adult, marriage, raising two boys, earning my bachelors and my masters degrees in education. I also look at the inventions that have come about during my life time, desktop and then laptop computers, cell phones, CD's, video cameras, microwaves, iPods, iPhones, and many others too numerous to count. We added two states to our country and made changes in our government. It will be interesting to see where we are 50 years from today.
We have gone away from and returned to many things as a society, aprons were the thing of our grandmother's generation and now they are becoming the thing of our children's generation. We have come full circle in many ways, with many things.
It is interesting what can change in 10 years time, but even more so when you look at a greater span of time, like half a century. I want to reflect more on this period of time and change in my life and our world's life as I look back over these last 50 years of my life and look forward to the next 50.