PLYMOUTH — Although we really didn’t realize it at the time, we were fortunate to be growing up in the ’60s because so much change was occurring all around us.
And, for the most part, it was for the better, I might add.
The ’60s changed us — the world changed — the politics, social mores, fashion, hairstyles, and, of course, the music.
Authority was being challenged, real change was effected, and the way we lived was altered forever.
Now, we also did see the beginnings of the breakdown of the family unit — fast food took us away from the home dinner table, moms and dads both worked, two and three cars were in driveways, divorce rates climbed, and media grew and grew to the point where the line of privacy was not just crossed, it was erased.
One good thing is that patriotism remained strong in the U.S.
Since spring has sprung, I decided to dust off the Wayback Machine and take a trip back to the era when just about everything changed. Some will say the 60s marked the beginning of the decline of the country and the world, but, hey, we are still here, and that has to count for something.
With all that was going on back then, the one thing that lives within us is the music — we will forever contend that the music of the 1960s and 1970s was, and always will be, the best there ever was.
For instance, in 1967, The Byrds recorded an album, “Younger Than Yesterday,” and the best song on that album was “My Back Pages.”
I can still see Roger McGuinn playing that awesome yellow Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, David Crosby’s voice, and that music — oh, that music.
The Byrds really did change music, as Crosby accurately said, taking it from the days of “ooh, ooh baby, I love you,” to great music with “meaningful lyrics.”
It can not be refuted that the music of the 1960s and early 1970s was, in fact, the best ever. Any Boomer will tell you that — well, because it is true.
The Byrds sang this refrain:
“Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”
It speaks to the old saying, “I wish I knew then what I know now.”
Really? Would that be a good thing? I’m not so sure. Knowing must be learned through experience, and we were all experiencing a lot back then.
I contend that the ’60s happened because they had to happen. We had to get away from the rigidity and bias of the world to allow for our own development, and, for the most part, it has worked.
But it was not sustainable — it may have gone too far. We seem to have become too uncontrolled and too self-empowered.
Like it or not, we really do need to stay within the lines of reasonableness. We can’t just do things because we think it’s OK. Our actions, just like in the ’60s, can have consequences.
Here in 2026, we really do need to get back to liking each other again, respecting each other, listening to each other, and being allowed to express ourselves without fear of intimidation or blatant dismissal.
I have said this before: whatever opinions are out there, one side cannot be correct all the time. The reality is that by listening and exchanging ideas, the process can and should produce the best resolutions to any problem.
The fact is that since 1968, our Wyoming Valley West class members have had several reunions, and we have gotten to know each other quite well, and — surprise! — we have found we really do like each other, and many of us have become close friends.
But we have had to learn about each other in reverse — where we grew up, where we went to college, what jobs we’ve had, who we married, how many children and grandchildren, and on and on and on. It’s been an unconventional method of getting to know our high school classmates, and, as a nontraditional process that it has been, it has also been very effective.
We did not have enough time to meet most of our 692 classmates, let alone really get to establish lasting friendships that would follow our high school daze — yes, that is spelled correctly.
For many years following graduation, as we journeyed through our particular lives, we would meet people we went to high school with, but never knew it. Some have become friends, and that process of learning about each other is conducted after the fact, instead of while all those life experiences were happening.
But again, we have adjusted, and we have progressed. We share a lot of the same experiences. In 1968, the country and the world were undergoing historic changes. The Vietnam War was at its peak. Two great leaders — Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. — were assassinated. Student protests on college campuses were violent. President Lyndon Johnson said he had enough and declined a run for re-election.
We heard that great music when it first came out. We danced to those songs. We remember all the words.
We were just kids. In 1967-68, it all changed for us.
And for the world.