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Crappy Old Books of November: Look to the Past’s Horizon

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We have a vivid notion, though confused, of what happened yesterday, for the headlines are still fresh in our personal memories; what happened many years ago is neatly analyzed and schemed into a formal doctrine by the standard histories. But the life-time of our fathers has usually been to us neither history nor experience.

From The United States Since 1865 (1932) [my emphasis]

I came across that about a month ago. (Greater context is here.) It’s a thought that has been bumping into a couple of other thoughts and an experience or two in my hollow little head for a few weeks. I know very little about the times of the life-time of my father.

No. I don’t mean his personal life history, or the history of the Great Depression into which he was born. And I don’t mean I know nothing. Of course I can rattle off a list of presidents’ names; I know who Watson and Crick, and John, Paul, George and Ringo were/are; and I remember when I was first allowed to wear a “pants-dress” to school. And so on with television and Viet Nam and  cars with cruise-control.

What I do not know is what people were thinking during that period of my father’s life– the period during which I was growing up.

To that end,* I am pleased to announce that I have chosen– really!!– a crappy old book for the November installment of Crappy Old Books of the Months.

Fanfare please… .

Horizon: A Magazine of the Arts

horizon covers

*More on how Horizon connects with what people were thinking coming up soon.

2 Responses

  1. Being your progeny, this makes me think about my own understanding of the times I was born into – and to some extent the times my husband was born into as he was around 8 years before I decided to come along. What were the 80s and 90s like for an adult? I know what they were like from my perspective, but can’t imaging them from any other. What were the 70s really like? In my mind the 70s must have looked like a scratched technicolor film reel about a corrupt cop – Everything in real life must have looked exactly like Serpico or Chinatown looks on film. But I know that’s not right. What were the 70s really like?

  2. I recently came across a few items Mama re-gifted me– items from high school. Brought back some memories. I was in middle- and high school, and then college in the ’70s. I cannot tell what they were like, only that I was Lori Moss’ friend when her parents gave her that little teeny MGMidget and that was fun. And we walked to school in 5′ of snow up hill both ways– except when we missed the bus and Grandpa Bobby left work to come pick up up. That’s about all I can say about the ’70s except that it WAS NOT like the ’70s Show.

    Also– there was Latin. And trig. And the Paris Peace talks. Oh! And still on regular television there was a yearly showing of the Wizard of Oz. And Cinderella with real people. And Gone with the WInd would come through in theaters.

    Fun times.

    P.S. Quite happy you made the decision to “come along.”

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