Going strong since 1961!
Friday, September 9 marks 61 years of perfect living as the husband of Karen Ann Lesher Young. That’s 22,265 days without a single disagreement.
Somebody asked if this was a big anniversary? I said, At our age, every anniversary is a big one.
So, there we were in 1961 just a couple of kids without a care in the world just wanting to get married. (I think we just wanted to go on a honeymoon.) Today, we’d probably live together until we were 32, when we’d finally decide the test drive was over and it’s time to get married and move forward. Back in the day the thought never crossed our minds.
1961. Sputnik. Who remembers that? It was a big deal then. It was the beginning of the Space Age. For today’s young people it’s ancient history. Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? We were on the verge of a nuclear meltdown with Russia. Nothing's changed on that front. And, is the Peace Corps really 61-years-old?
Who can believe that Tracy Young Bins is 59 and her little brother, Denny Young, is right behind her at 56? Oh how those two kids have enriched our lives. We talk with them every day right up to this moment. And, let us not overlook their combined four offspring - Halle, 26; Carly, 23; and the grand twins, Izzy and Jake, 15. These kids live in a whole new world. If you weren’t a young adult in 1961, you don’t really grasp how fast things have changed. And, the rate of change is doing nothing but getting faster. Go with the flow or make room for somebody else. Am I the only old guy who is tech-challenged?
Back in the dark ages we dumped quarters into pay phones for 3-minute long distance calls - best completed after 11 p.m. or on Sundays, when the rates were lower. Now your cell phone lets you talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE and you can see each other while you do it. An internet? The word wasn’t even coined in 1961.
We think there’s a lot of violence now, and there is, but in 1961 we were entering an era when guns would cut down two Kennedy brothers and Malcolm X, and put George Wallace in a wheelchair. Who knew?
I caught a real break all those years ago when a friend fixed me up on a blind date with the one who would be my life partner. I wouldn’t trade the last 61 years for 61 gazillion dollars. We are a team. We continue to do all kinds of things together. While many have fallen by the wayside through those years, we stand tall in our relationship. It’s been a great ride all the way.
Thank you, Karen. The fact that we continue as a team all these years later says it all. Happy 61st. But, who’s counting?
On to the future. Whatever it holds, we’ll do it together.
In the meantime, stop telling me to pick up my socks. I’ll do that when I’m good and ready.
DY: In Just a Few Words is a blog that comes out when something needs to be said or every Tuesday - whichever comes first. Davis Young is a communications professional who adds 50+ years of experience and perspective to issues of the day. His emphasis in DY: In Just a Few Words will be humor (a touch of sarcasm here, a pinch of facetiousness there...). Once in a while, he will touch on something a bit more serious - but hopefully not too deep or depressing.
This blog is a product of DY Author & Speaker LLC. Feel free to quote content with attribution. Respond. Agree. Disagree. Share the content with your friends. Heck - even invite him as a speaker for your group! Enjoy!