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?
