4.
“I was born in 1950. As a kid, I remember that before we had vaccines for polio, classmates had to wear braces on their legs — big, heavy metal things. One died. Another died of Tuberculosis. I remember the height of segregation when my father (who was in the Air Force) was stationed in Panama City, Florida. Thankfully, I was taught it was wrong at home. Rigid gender roles were awful. I wanted a chemistry set like my brother’s, but I was a girl, so I didn’t get one, and I’m still salty about it. I came of age in the ’60s, and I lost classmates and friends to Vietnam. Are there things I miss about the ’50s?”
“Yes. But we also thought we were going to all die in a nuclear holocaust, and we had duck and cover drills in school. I miss penny candy, paper dolls, the big Hershey bar for 5 cents, Sugar Daddy caramel bars that would last a week. I miss toy irons that plugged in and heated to warm, so I could iron doll dresses made out of rayon. I miss playing outside until it gets dark. I miss every kid knowing every edible plant. But I don’t miss diseases that are now preventable, but killed people back then. I don’t miss thinking the world was going to end in an atomic bomb attack. I don’t miss segregation. But hey, at least I didn’t have to pay bills!”
