I Remember the 60's (kinda)

Me

  I was born in July 1961, around the same time as the first season of "madmen" supposedly takes place. Seems almost unreal that when I came home from the hospital, John F. Kennedy was president only a few months, Marilyn Monroe was still alive (nice segue, huh?) & the Vietnam War was just heating up. Men wore skinny suits and skinny ties & the pre-hippy generation was probably in tie-dye training.



The keepers of the gate

One of my first actual memories is about 1966. It was my first day of kindergarten and I did not want to leave my mother as we approached the schoolyard gates. She assured me (as she always did) that everything would be ok as the nuns pried me from the safety of her arms & marched us into the cafeteria. (I would later find out that's what it was, but at that moment in time I thought it was just one tremendous classroom with a huge kitchen in it).

They made us all stand in one large group, as 2 teachers walked in and said they would start calling out the names of the children that would be in each of their classes.

Not so bad I remember thinking, as the kind-looking older teacher began calling names & herding those kids away from the group. When she was done, she marched them off down the hall and the second teacher, Mrs. Snow (no kidding - seriously that was her name) began calling her classes' names. The palms of my hands started sweating as the group got smaller and smaller and I was still standing there -  holding my brand new little book bag (which contained all the kindergarten essentials - pens, pencils, erasers, a folder, some loose leaf paper, and of course, some cookies - just in case I couldn't make it to lunch).


The 60's were all about skinny suits &

ties. (but not always skinny bodies)

Mrs Snow called out the last name on her list and began walking the group out of the cafeteria. I felt my eyes filling with tears and my face and ears burning as the group walked out the door. I was still standing at attention, just as I was told to do, but no one was there. This was not the way it was supposed to be. This wasn't what I was expecting. 

Just when I thought I was totally lost & not knowing what to do next, Mrs. Snow came running back in & grabbed my hand. "I'm so sorry I didn't realize you were still standing there" she said.  (ok maybe I don't remember her exact words, but they were definitely something to that effect)  I do remember her giving me a hug & walking me back to the classroom with all the other kids.  I don't remember the rest of that day, but when my mother came to pick me up, I'm sure I was full of stories of the great day I had.

So why all the rambling about this day so early on in my life?

Because over 40 years later, there are still times in my life when things happen and I get that feeling of  "this was not the way it was supposed to be" or "this wasn't what I was expecting". That totally lost feeling comes back. Not often, and sometimes only for a millisecond, but for that millisecond I sometimes feel like that little boy standing at attention waiting for his name to be called.

But one way or another, whether I like it or not - things always work out. Just like it did that day with Mrs. Snow.