(Mountains above the Valley of the Sun)
***
“Have you tried 22 tonight? I said 22. Leave it there.” — Rick, “Casablanca”
Whenever I change locations, I can feel my point of view migrating, sort of like a ball bouncing on a roulette wheel.
This week, in the warm dry Arizona air, I’m much more inclined to exhibit the attitudes of my demographic — the elderly — than that of my children or grandchildren back home. Spending time exclusively with people aged 70-95 reminds me just how much our world has changed over our lifetimes.
And how much it’s going to change after we’re gone.
And only people our age can really understand how that feels. We’ve lived through the post-World-War-Two conversion of this country from the depression to an economic powerhouse, the coming of TV, the political movements and cultural revolution of the 60s, wave after wave of social and political change since then, the coming of computers and the Internet and numerous other disruptive technologies, space travel, DNA capture, three pandemics (polio, AIDS and Covid) and the beginnings of climate change.
And so much more.
But for our demographic, our hearts are stuck way back there somewhere in the 50s or the 60s — for romantic reasons.
A certain nostalgia is inevitable at our ages, maybe because we can measure the stages of our lives in quarter-centuries now.
We also tremble for the future and are in some ways glad we will miss it.
The bottom line is we live very much in the present. That’s the one part of it all we have in common with everybody else.
THE LINKS:
Ukraine war: Heavy losses reported as battle for Bakhmut rages (BBC)
Russia suffering heavy losses in Bakhmut, Zelensky says (WP)
War in Ukraine Puts Centuries of Swiss Neutrality to the Test (NYT)
The Russia That Might Have Been (Foreign Affairs)
British Prime Minister Says China Presents ‘Epoch-Defining’ Challenge (WSJ)
The Age of Infinite Misinformation Has Arrived (Atlantic)
The Silicon Valley Bank Contagion Is Just Beginning (Wired)
US authorities launched emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to trigger a broader financial crisis. (Reuters)
Trump Grand Jury Moves Into Final Phase as Key Witnesses Testify (Daily Beast)
Fearing indictment, Trump changes his story in hush money mess (MSNBC)
Fox News braces for more turbulence as second defamation lawsuit advances (Guardian)
The Supreme Court Just Keeps Deciding It Should Be Even More Powerful (Atlantic)
ChatGPT blues: The coming generative AI gerrymandering of the American mind (The Hill)
How to Leverage ChatGPT to Unlock New Levels of Innovation (Entrepreneur)
Mark Zuckerberg takes on Elon Musk (Reuters)
Meta to Lay Off 10,000 More Employees, Mark Zuckerberg Says (Variety)
The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense (Foreign Policy)
U.S. government agencies may have been double billed for projects in Wuhan, China, records indicate; probe launched (CBS)
The Next Stage of COVID Is Starting Now (Atlantic)
Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ found in toilet paper around the world (Guardian)
Reversal in women's rights now a global emergency (CBS)
Somebody Should Do Something About All The Problems (The Onion)
LYRICS:
Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night)
Song by Ronnie Milsap
Songwriters: Mike Reid / Troy Harold Seals / Fredericke Parris
Close your eyes, baby
Follow my heart
Call on the memories
Here in the dark
We'll let the magic
Take us away
Back to the feelings
We shared when they played
In the still of the night
Hold me, darlin', hold me tight, oh
So real, so right
I'm lost in the fifties tonight
These precious hours
We know can't survive
But love's all that matters
While the past is alive
Now and for always
Till time disappears
We'll hold each other
Whenever we hear
In the still of the night
Hold me, darlin', hold me tight
So real, so right
I'm lost in the fifties tonight
So right
So real, so right
So real, so right
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