I was often frightened by the nightly news. Mary Chapin Carpenter described it in “Stones in the Road”

When I was ten, my father held me on his shoulders above the crowd
To see a train draped in mourning pass slowly through our town
His widow kneeled with all their children at the sacred burial ground
And the TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down

I knew all the lyrics to this song in both English and Spanish, since they played both versions on the radio.  I did find it strange that the Captain never spoke (or sang) but that merely added to his mysterious appeal.  I love a man in a captain’s hat still.  And I still know all the words, not that that’s much of an accomplishment!

This the anthem of my teen years. Many memories cruzing the circle and blaring our music and avoiding the cops in town.

Saturday mornings were reserved for slurping sugar coated cereal and Scooby Do. My sister and I would sit comfortably together laughing and joking. Scooby Do will always remind me of simpler times.

This was it!!  The family of the future: space-age Lucy & Ricky.

American Girl Magazine

This is the first magazine I had a personal subscription to.  Well, I don’t know if it actually counts as a subscription, and thinking back, I probably could have been arrested for it.  I would simply fill out the card inside the magazine and select “bill me later.”  Then, when I got the bill and the magazines quit coming, I would get another card and put my sister’s name or a cousin’s name or a friend’s name.  The magazine streamed in steadily for at least 2 years.

I looked forward to these magazines each month.  It was my one opportunity to connect with girls my age who shared the same interests.  As I read these magazines, it seemed that everyone in the world was just like me, enjoying reading and writing and sharing our unique American experiences.