History and the Class of '62

Red bud blooming at end of May in Crescent City

Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62.

There we were, the class of 1962 of Whitesboro Central School, knee deep in rock'n'roll and the beginnings of folk music.  The civil rights movement was well under way.

 The big news of John F. Kennedy's election was that he was the first catholic president. Little did we know what his legacy would really be. Most of us probably didn't even know who Mao was.

We,  the class of 1962, were born about the time that the attack on Pearl Harbor burst the bubble of American invulnerability and followed shortly thereafter, in the vast span of history, the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. 

We lived in the dawn of the space age when Sputnik was launched into orbit. Before that,  we were the first to watch TV - Howdy Doody, Dick Clark, Lone Ranger, Perry Como and George Jones, Ed Sullivan, and all other such legends.

We also tasted the first McDonald's hamburgers and fries. However, we did prefer Voss' Dairy (best burgers and ice cream and Rick was in our class) and then there was diner with the juke boxes at the end of the booths.

As we grew up, we experienced radical social changes. We lived the ambiguity of this time warp. Mothers increasingly had to go to work while we watched the very happy Cleaver and Nelson families act out their humorous crises. 

 There were no African Americans  in our school until one black boy and one girl enrolled in our senior year. At the same time, the barriers melted away between  Italians and Polish, as evidenced by  a guy at one end of the hall humorously yelling, "Hey wap wap!", only to then hear, "Hey pollack!" coming from the other direction. It was horrifying to hear, nevertheless. I well remember getting an "F" in speech for having the topic, "Racism in Oneida County!"

We hung out at the plaza, went to beach parties at Hinkley Lake, went skiing in Old Forge, skated at Flag Street playground,  never missed the Firemen's Field Days and carnivals, did the twist with Chubby Checker, swooned over Elvis,  and sneaked into drive-in movies to make out- just mentioning a few as the memories beginning to flood in like a tsunami on the horizon.

Our Senior skip day was a disaster. They were waiting for us with a vengeance. Ah, yes! Detention! My favorite hang out!

Now, I am on the crest of that tsunami which was only the beginning of an era of social upheaval. I am beginning to compare today's world with the world out of which we of the Class of 1962 were born and raised. 

How quickly my imagination shifts from  the tsunami of those radically changing times we lived, to the beauty of the red bud blooming in May in Florida, steeped as I am with the crises of the planet today. 

What else is there to remember?  What's different about today than when you were born and raised - the world into which our grandchildren and great grandchildren are coming in to experience?

Three Eclipses and Kharma

Just had a new moon full solar eclipse on May 20 which included an eclipse of  the black hole.

Today, June 4, 202 there's a full moon eclipse .

Then on June 5-6 there's a Venus eclipse, which happens only once in 100 years or so
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We all indeed are living in radically transformative times and here we are suspended between the new moon solar eclipse and full moon lunar eclipse and the Venus eclipse.

If you are one who is sensitive to these energies, you, as am I, have been experiencing some mighty powerful reflections.

I experience being called to proclaim the end of my own  kharmic albatross, that of experiencing myself as being an outsider. I am drawn to making some decisions to support a sense of belonging where I am and feeling happiness in my relationships.

Already, today, I ran into a few people I know, an unusual occurrence, even for such a small village with one major grocery store. I suppose this was just a coincidence, but nevertheless, the event was auspicious to me.

My niece, her husband, and son, came to visit last weekend. Their presence evoked pure bliss for they are such loving folks. I enjoyed being loved and loving them. My interpretation of the experience of their visit  is also auspicious.

It depends on where Venus is in your chart,as to what has an intensified possibility of happening.

Where it is in my astrological chart suggests that, the interpretation of the Venus eclipse is many new people coming into my life - from now on.

Astrology may or may not be a valid tool in today's world, even though it did lead the 3 Wise Men to the Manger once upon a time, it is nonetheless, does stimulate self-reflection.

 I am going to a conference in Italy where already 500 colleagues are registered. I'm sure I don't know all of them already, but can only imagine the high energy that will be present with so many who share a common purpose in one place.  And I really am looking forward to making some real time connections with names and faces of which I am familiar.

I am reconciled to traveling alone this time, sensing that I will meet new people and have conversations with them as I proceed, mindful of reflections present during this adventuresome journey.

 The sheer presence of these eclipses have inspired me to sense the reality of all the people existing in this community we call Planet Earth. I want to meet them all, problems and promises that they hold in their hearts. That is some challenge for an introvert such as I.

How have you experienced the call to change - maybe end karmic business - at this particular time of year where the energy of these eclipses have provided such an opportunity?