Anniversary is reminder of a different world

Thirty-nine years ago my world was far different than it is now. It was a chilly April day and my soon-to-be husband and I were standing outside a church that neither of us had ever attended.

Finally, it was time to go in and go through the ceremony that joined us together. My young daughter walked me down the aisle. I handed her over to her grandmother and turned to the preacher. He performed a suitable rite and we said those two words, "I do", that officially and publically made us a team.

Two of our friends stood up with us. Now, one is exploring the afterlife, free of the cancer that claimed his body. The other is in Colorado, determined to walk/run 2,018 miles in 2018. Our parents are also gone on to whatever is next. We miss them all.

Hubby had a job as a chemist in Xenia, and I was a keypunch operator at Borden’s Dairy, just down the street from the house we rented. We were close to his parent’s home and visited often. We also visited my family frequently.

As the years went by there were several more jobs for each of us, along with several more homes. Friendships were made and abandoned with each change of workplace.

Along the way, my world changed. We had met at a sandwich shop called, “The Upper Krust.” Our co-workers were black or white, straight or gay. No people of Asian decent or Hispanics were to be found. It wasn’t that there was open discrimination against them, they were invisible or absent from that area at that time. I have been told that the sandwich shop closed long ago and the location is now a black nightclub. Being white in that area would no longer be safe. We haven’t been by there in decades.

When we first moved to Indiana I was taken aback because everybody I encountered was white and spoke with the same accent. I missed the variety of accents and colors of people. These days, Hispanics are more visible as they come to America in hopes of a better life.

In that long ago world the drugs of choice were marijuana, speed and maybe LSD. Unlike today’s illegal drugs, the older ones didn’t have much effect on non-users. Nobody was afraid of shopping cart handles, or other public places. No police officers suffered as a result of contact with lethal drugs.

Also in that world were plenty of shotguns and knives. Yet, there were no school shootings. If there was a problem the teachers stepped in and resolved it. If that didn’t work, then there was a fist fight after school that settled the matter. Now, the adults seem too afraid to intervene and parents are afraid to send their kids to school.

We were different, also. We were young and ready to take on the world. We believed in peace and rock and roll. Unfortunately, our generation was as hungry for war as any other. We sent our own sons and daughters to fight as often as our ancestors did. So much for peace.

We had boundless energy. We seldom collapsed in exhaustion after work. We were much thinner then and it seemed like everything was so much easier.

These days we are retired from our regular jobs. We are far too familiar with local hospitals and doctors. We creak when we stand up and groan when we have overdone it. We have also grown together. We share stupid jokes, like holding up a board and saying, “Used to be round.” It means nothing to anyone else but it always makes us laugh.

The world was different 39 years ago. Some parts of it are better. Many things are worse. But thanks to those two little words, “I do” we have gone through it together and are looking forward to the next 39.