Turning 35: Reflections on Life Thus Far.

Well its official, I am now middle age. Looking back on 35 years I recall very little other than bits and pieces, fragments of events that have occurred. The mid 70's where my time. I recall travelling with my parents and the familiar roadside stops of the day such as gas stations such as Texaco, Shell, Diamond Shamrock. Familiar to travelers were the chains of hotels, their signs visible from miles. One of the most familiar being the Holiday Inn with its green glow and yellow arrow pointing towards a good nights rest, Best Western, Motel 6, and others that are still around today.

I can also recall historical moments, both glorious and tragic. On the bright side there was the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the breakdown of the Berlin Wall, and other amazing and wonderful events. however on the negative we also had the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, The Shuttle Challenger explosion and loss of the entire crew, the fatal crash and death of Princess Diana, and most memorably the destruction and utter loss of our sense of security as a country, with the destruction of the Twin Towers in the attacks of 911.

Looking through old issues of  National Geographic give glimpses of ads of the era. From cars to products, you could find a majority of these among the great stories and photos that captured the world we live in for posterity.  As I get older these are the things I recall fondly and when I happen to visit a antique shop or flea market and come across an item from what people refer to as "the good ol days", I am taken back to that time and slowly the familiar scenes and sights are brought back into focus. Thats what is commonly referred to as nostalgia.

Its amazing to see the advances from then till now in technology and business. The use and development of computers and communication devices that we now find indispensable  have also formed how the world has changed. The now fast paced world of business, where decisions can be made, implemented and carried out within seconds thanks to the Internet  has significantly changed how we work, live and play.  I have seen the breakdown of organization within the office and the halt of business when that technology malfunctions or shuts down.

Overall there have always been pros and cons, changes and advancements and events which bring us ever closer to either our own perfect society or utter downfall of humanity. With the strains on our alliances with our neighboring countries who we once stood strong with as allies and friends caused by the war in Iraq and the middle east countries we are now even more unsure of our nations continued safety.

Hopefully the next 35 years will not bring us deeper into conflict with our allies. Only time will tell what can happen and if the past 35 years have shown progress continues to happen and nothing we do will change that.
hopefully I'll be around to reflect on the next 30 years.