Believe me, back in 1967 when we listened to “When I’m 64” it barely occurred to us that we might actually be 64 one day. But here I am, and John Lennon and George Harrison never did make it to 64…
The 60’s were crazy times. Even with cities burning, massive antiwar protests, and people being assassinated, there was a strong feeling of optimism. There’s not much of that going around now these days. We probably will (eventually) have something like the Arab Spring here in the States. What comes after that is anyone’s guess. Things are looking grim in Egypt and worse than grim in Syria now. Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.
More and more I’m seeing that violent upheavals don’t always produce the desired result. Instead, they can also just cause more chaos. We are living in turbulent times. Will the center hold? I used to think that fears of the US splitting apart like the USSR were paranoid. Now I’m not so sure. Somehow we need to come together or things may surely fall apart.
I was a hippie (big surprise, huh?) and have no regrets, except that if I had to to it over there would be no white powders.
I always thought the Stones would just keep on rolling. And so they have. Yes, they look old, but Jagger is in better physical condition than 99% of the men on the planet and Keith Richard will outlive all of us. Doom and Gloom, their new song, reflects the moment, doesn’t it?