I’ve been
rummaging through my writing files again and came across a folder titled “An
Ordinary Woman.” It’s the title of a memoir I thought I’d write someday.
In among
some notebook journal pages, I found a timeline I’d constructed while working
at The Arizona Republic’s news library. The entries are in no particular order,
but each one must have resonated with me in some way.
Do these
people, songs, stage/screen and events seem familiar to you as well? If you were
born in 1945 most probably do. What would you add/delete to make this record
jive with your own personal lifetime?
My timeline
begins in 1946 when I would have been one year old and ends the year I turned eleven
in 1956.
1946
Annie Get Your Gun and Brigadoon
Doin’ What Comes Naturally, Tenderly, Zip a dee doo
dah
1947
Dead
Sea Scrolls discovered
The
Diary of Anne Frank published
Henry
Ford dies, Al Capone dies
Flying
saucers reported in the United States
1948
Harry
S. Truman elected President of the United States
All
I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, Buttons and Bows
Orville
Wright dies, Babe Ruth dies
First
Porsche 356
Prince
Charles, Prince of Wales born
Military
Draft in the United States begins (1948-1973)
1949
1984
by George Orwell published
USSR
tests atomic bomb
Cortisone
discovered
I Love Those Dear Hearts and Gentle People, Diamonds Are a
Girl’s Best Friend,
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
1950
If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’dve Baked a Cake, Rag Mop, A
Bushel and a Peck, Good Night Irene, Music! Music! Music!
1951
Rosenbergs
sentenced for espionage
The
African Queen, A Streetcar Named Desire
Hello Young Lovers, Getting to Know You, Shrimp Boats,
In the
Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening
1952
The Old Man and the Sea by Hemmingway, East of Eden by Steinbeck, The
Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain, The Revised Standard Bible
This is Cinerama, High Noon (Gary Cooper & Grace Kelly)
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Jambalaya, Your Cheatin’
Heart
Rocky Marciano wins world heavy-weight boxing title
Yankees win World Series over the Dodgers
1953
Rosenbergs
executed
From
Here to Eternity, The Robe
(most films now in Cinemascope)
How
Much is That Doggie in the Window, I Believe,
I Love Paris
Yankees
win World Series for 5th straight time
1954
Yankees
win World Series Again
Dr. Jonas E. Salk, United States developer of the anti-polio
serum
starts inoculating schoolchildren in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mister
Sandman, Three Coins in a Fountain, Hey There
Lord
of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
1955
Yellow Rose of Texas, Davy Crockett, Rock Around the Clock,
Sixteen Tons
Dorothy Hodgkin discovers liver extract (Vitamin B-12) for
treating pernicious anemia.
Albert Einstein dies
Sugar Ray Robinson wins World Boxing Title
Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series
1956
Rock
& Roll dancing in vogue
Blue
Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Que Sera Sera
Around
the World in 80 days
Unfortunately I don’t remember and
cannot find my source for all these facts. I’m sure I managed to scribble these
down on company time, which would explain the random order and selection of the
entries. None the less, each one has a note of the familiar to me.
Memory Lane remains a nice place to
stroll when the gift of a quiet bit of time falls in your lap. Thanks for
taking this walk with me.
