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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Saturday, January 1, 2011

♫These Are The Good Old Days♪♫

I was born a poor, black tenant farmer .  No, that isn't right...  I was born in the 50s.  See, I can say "the 50s"  and everyone can understand the impact of that:  born in the throes of Korea, the McCarthy Era, poodle skirts, American Bandstand, I'd be on the cusp of understanding all of these; wouldn't come to really know them until much later.  Then there were the 60s -- a fantastic time to be alive:  in my teens by then and experiencing JD Salinger, Joseph Heller, and George Orwell and waiting for the predictions of 1984 to be proven or not.  Then came the 70s, 80s, and 90s, each significant, and each  branding the nuances and history of the particular decade.

Yesterday a bloggerfriend mentioned the passing of yet another decade and it hit me!   We've just experienced the 0s and now we're into the 11s.  Just doesn't have the same ring, the same impact, does it?  It seems the first 19 years of each century are nebulous and without a clear name.   Do we have to wait until 2020 to ameliorate this tragic condition?

I think part of the reason I'm having trouble even recognizing the past 10 years as a decade is because we haven't 'characterized' them --there's no clear name.  (Well, actually there's probably more to that -- I still can't get used to being in this new century and yet when I say '1970' it seems to me like ancient times, but this is my problem.) 

So where do we go from here?  Any ideas?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I like to think of this decades as the teens... yes, we are living our teens once again and my only hope is that I don't start getting pimples once again!

Di

Linda Reeder said...

Well, I think we have to be wordy and say "the first decade of the tewnty-first century", and now we are in the teens?
Anyway, The first decade will unfortunately be the 9/11 decade and it's aftermath, owned mostly by the Bush Administrating, marked by war and economic and natural disasters, ending with some hope.
I can only wish for the fulfillment of hope in the 'teens'. Will it be the problem solving decade? I hope so. I would love for us to have some things figured out by the twenties!
Happy New Year. Hope is still alive.

Linda said...

I agree with you. I've been in limbo the last ten years and don't see that changing in the coming ten. Interesting.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I loved this decade --more than any other I can EVER remember... You know why, Kathy???? It was 2001 that I met George --and my life has been glorious ever since... I can never remember a better 10 yrs. in my entire life---although I loved having my babies --and enjoying them as they grew. BUT--my life truly began when George came into it...

Happy 2011 to YOU.
Hugs,
Betsy

Purple Flowers said...

Like you, I wasn't thinking about it as the end of a decade. Wow. Now what?

Mage said...

Oh, I don't know.....1-1-11 has a certain ring to it. :)

Seriously, Happy New Year. :)

Tracy said...

Golly, I didn't think of it as the end of a decade either...ummm, maybe the decade of 'Toppling' ...toppling economy, toppling jobs, toppling, homes as in foreclosures...
I'll have to think on that one...

Cobalt Violet said...

Yes, I am with Maggie ... 1-1-11! A new beginning!

Yes the first decade is strange of a century but lets go with Snappy Di and call this one the teens! I like it. I know it's not the 60s (which I was born in) but the teens maybe have a little rebel in them ... a little bit of the invincible "I can do anything" spirit. As long as we keep ourselves in some sort of check with it and don't let our egos run amok!

Happy New Year Kathy!

Cheryl said...

I didn't think of it as a new decade either. How come no one said? I had to find out here? Well, you are a teacher. What did we call the last 10 years? Where have I been? I think I like the teens idea. Happy NY!

Sally Wessely said...

I didn't think about this being the beginning of a new decade until I read your blog entry. Time and its passing is a concept that sometimes boggles my mind. Thanks for your perspective on this.

Yes, 1-11-11, a new beginning...

Sally Wessely said...

(I hope I'm not making a double post here. I pressed something and lost my comment.) Just in case I am repeating myself, let me just say that I really enjoyed the thoughts that your post prompted in my mind. Here's to 1-11-11 and a new beginning...

George said...

I don't think in terms of decades. I guess that's because I have enough problems living day by day. And then I'm still having problems with the century. Is this two thousand eleven or twenty eleven?

Lena said...

Hmmm, I hadn't thought about these past ten as a decade either. And it is unusual that the media didn't make a big deal out of it. I think these last 10 could be called the Y2k decade and now we are moving into the teens.

I am impressed that u thought of this!

I am looking forward to stopping by here this year. I admire you and so enjoy your posts!

jane said...

thanks for that little walk down memory lane. wishing you a wonderful 2011 dear kathy!
xxx

Gilly said...

Well, in the UK the first ten years of this millenium have been designated "The Naughties".

I'll let you know what the great minds come up with for the next ten years!

Rick Rockhill said...

Funny you should post this topic. I had a similar conversation with someone yesterday, and suggested we refer to this decade as "the Tens" but what perhaps starting in 2013 we just revert to the "Teens" Ahh very frustrating indeed.

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

I like Gilly's designation of the last ten years as The Naughties. I think the next ten should be called the teens 'cause I want to be in my teens again.

Bilbo said...

I was feeling old enough, and then you had to go and do this. Thanks. Oh, well...at least I'm still on the right side of the turf.

Seth M. Ward said...

I can honestly say there isn't much I want to remember from the 2000 to 2010.

I guess it all got off to a sour note when my father passed away in 2000.

I'm just glad it's over.

I really liked this post. Probably one of your best IMO.