Fetes Accomplis

I've only read the first sentence or two and already I am saying to myself "Yes, yes, this is true and it was a wonderful America." My family was somewhat privileged - my father a successful architect; not hugely rich but well-off enough for me to remember lovely nights with neighborhood outdoor cocktail parties. Ladies were slim and glowed and men were as they say, "men". Fine music, laughter, and great conversation. It was a lovely, safe time for a child to grow up and anyone, anyone that was a child in those times, from a well-to-do family or not, knew the breezy pleasures of being free to run across back yards, play hide and seek and sit out with the family for and cook burgers. What have we surrendered or squandered because of complaisance? Pray for America.

FTA: "Everybody goes to Twitter because everybody goes to Twitter." I can help responding given my visceral dislike of the platform, and I see the statement as not even close to the truth. Although the article was overall a pleasant read, I can't say that it evoked nostalgic feelings, even though I grew up more fortunate than most but not because of monetary wealth. My father was an accomplished warfighter and I grew up largely on Strategic Air Command bases in coastal and mid-America. Although base housing had fewer amenities than modern day inner city projects, everything was kept neat, clean, and well maintained and everyone maintained a high degree of good behavior. In other words, I grew up around civilized, patriotic, Americans who were God-fearing and full of love for our country and their countrymen. SAC bases were very safe, as tall, barbed wire-covered fences lined the perimeters and armed security police were constantly on patrol. Kids could sleep out in their common back yards with no fear of perverts or criminal gang violence. Neighbors watched out for one another and the schools taught the three Rs and real American history. The sobering part was that sometimes, when dad went TDY overseas, like the early deployments to Vietnam and bases in Thailand starting in the early '60s, he might not come home in one piece, if at all. Once a year we went to Texas to see extended family, most involved in farming and ranching. I feel as privileged as the author as I came up through the late 50s, 60s, and off to adulthood and on to my own military and educational experiences in the 70s but for vastly different reasons, and I wouldn't trade places with him even if I could.

#2 ditto , af brat .we played in german bunkers , french foxholes and always fled from ap’s ..just on gp .We stopped everything @ 17:00for flag lowering .Were kicked outta france by de gaulle ( spit) for our nukes( and macho tendencies) and had a hellova good time in the eiffel region . Dad evacuated the froggy boyz from Dien Ben Phu .and that was the start of US democrat hell . But we brats were the most egalitarian, close knit , color , rank blind pack of free range kids ever . Drank bier at gasthauses instead of lunch room stuff ,bummed cigarettes from troops , lived under military regs ( our Dads could have been sent CONUS because of our foolishness) and thrived as proud American citizens . Dodds? schools were muh but the world our classroom .

I was a teen in the 50s. I never saw a poodle skirt and was known as one of the best boppers in town. It's got a beat and you can dance to it. I give it an 8.

Growing up in Oklahoma in the 50’s - we ran barefoot through the woods chasing all sorts of critters, damned up the creek then blew it up with M80’s, rode horses, put pennies on the railroad tracks, carried our Daisy Red Riders like they were real Winchester’s, made corn cob pipes, had dirt clod fights (not much snow in OK), made rubber guns out scrap wood and old tire inner tubes, learned how to tear down and rebuild a Briggs and Stratton engine then mount it on a crude go cart, built tree houses, got chewed on and stung by just about every insect in the book and we all grew up healthy. Basically we spent most of our time outside either doing our mandatory chores or entertaining ourselves building things or figuring out how things worked. Looking back on it, none of us were well off but all of us were in the same boat so nobody noticed or cared - we were free to roam our world with not much supervision. It was a good time to grow up in. You should have been there.

Reading Taki’s articles is like basking in the sun after a cold winter. Thanks for posting.