Thoughts and Experiences of a 20th century man, just what you wanted to read, ramblings of a outdated individual. Well basically I hope not to ramble on but to inform you and enlighten you. I call myself a 20th century man because that is when I did most of living, formulating who I was and where I belong in this world. I was comfortable in the 20th century and I miss it. This century seems to belong to another generation, or another culture, at times I feel like in another country, or someplace foreign to me. This century doesn’t have the feel of the last century, the problems seem more intense and coming at you faster than ever. Maybe its the constant bombardment of information, or the urgency that our electronic devices brings with them. Gotta have it now, Gotta have it now, seems to be the mantra of the new generation. There is no time to reflect on where we been or where it is that we are going. In my estimation, the new century, is a not a place for the laid back person of the last generation. It is time of constantly being introduced to new things, new thoughts, new people, new languages, new words, new way of doing things and a time of turmoil.
We of the last century, sometimes called baby boomers, were more laid back, doing things our way, and always challenging the system.
We started our life with people of the 19th century and their thoughts, values, traditions, their technology and ways. Our grandparents and great-grandparents talked of crossing the frontier on horseback, seeing a car or airplane for the first time. They talked of historical people they admired or hated or of events of their time. For the most part, we really interested, in the old stories, in fact we always made time to just sit and talked. My values and ideas were sprouted in those times, watching Hopalong Cassidy or Sky King on the black and white television, where the good guy always won and was of good morals. I am of the time when I could go hiking and find artifacts of the settling of the old west, a time when the valley I live in was wide open farm land and the air was so clean. I was of time when everything seem to have its natural predictable place and would always be there. Any little bit of change was news to all of us, not like today when everyday brings changes to our lives. I am a 20th century modern man and that’s what I am going to write about our modern times.
I am so lucky to live in this day and age, I am a free American of Mexican descent, a History major that has studied the past extensively and I know how lucky I am to life in this time. Even twenty to thirty years earlier I would probably not had the freedoms and opportunities that I am privilege to have. In the future, I am sure will not be as stable as these last few decades have been. We are in for a lot of political uncertainties, shortages of all kinds that will make life hard or some changes that will restrict our freedom. Even today I feel I was more free
in the Sixties and Seventies than in this century. The world seems more crowded, lots more tension, strangers in our neighborhoods and a bunch of new laws and restrictions. In the last century, we chose how we were going act or do things, the governments were not so intrusive as they are now. I believe that there are rules for many things that we did back then because there was a lot less of us.
So as a man of the 20th century, I welcome you to read My Thoughts and Experiences, my poetry, and my essays. Enjoy and like Popeye says, “I yam what I yam and thats all that I yam.”
