75 Years of Living in Interesting Times
Today is my birthday, and it's a major birthday, with three quarters of a century under my belt. Those years have reflected the old Chinese curse, now that I think back on them.
I was born a week before the Hiroshima bomb was dropped, while my father was still serving in the USAAF in Italy and Northern Africa. He didn't see me for three months. Since then, there has been the Korean War, The Vietnam War, The Cold War, Two middle eastern wars and a few skirmishes. I spent four years in the USAF during the Vietnam war. Interesting.
I have participated in a number of movements. The Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Rights Movement, the Reproductive Choice Movement, and the LGBTQ Rights movement. Interesting.
When I was born, Harry Truman was still President. Since then there have been good Presidents and bad Presidents. When I came of age, JFK was assassinated. I've seen a President resign in shame. I've seen our first Black President get elected. Now, we have Donald J. Trump, who will stand for re-election while I am 75 years old. I have voted in every election since I was 21 years old. Interesting.
I have survived the Polio scare, during my childhood, and have been vaccinated against numerous diseases. I almost died from viral encephalitis in 1991. Now, I am looking at a global viral pandemic and hoping there will be a vaccination for that while I'm still alive. Interesting.
I stopped working at W-2 jobs in 1974, and have done many different things since then, all working for myself. Looking back, I can see how much of a challenge that has been, but I wouldn't change my choices one bit. It has been interesting, to say the least, if not particularly lucrative.
In 2020, I am hoping for more interesting years. My parents, who are now 96 years old, are still alive, so there is hope for a couple of more decades for me to observe the interesting world around me.
May We All Live in Interesting Times!
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Your wisdom and experiences (and advice) are always a welcome pleasure to read and to think about.
and the best new birth year 
May we all live in interesting times, but with periods of calm, peace and boredom-- We are past due for the latter after this nightmare.
I almost died as a child from an allergic reaction to our world's first true "miracle drug"-- penicillin. So, perhaps it taught me to take the good with the bad... 
