Quote Originally Posted by arnaew
we took off for France (en famille) in July as part of my 50th celebration year (yep, I celebrated the entire year! ).
Now that's my idea of a birthday celebration!

Not 50 yet (49 in July so catching up fast!)

I remember being sent home from kindergarten after the JFK assassination and the funeral being on every channel (all 3 of them.) Hearing my dad wake up my mom to tell her of RFK's assassination. Knowing when it was time to leave for school during the Viet Nam war when they announced the body count on the radio (always at 8:20 a.m. then on to Howard Cosell sports.)
Many of my classmates had older brothers who went to Viet Nam and none came home alive. One vivid memory from the seventh grade was of hearing that my best friend's brother had been blown up by a land mine. None of us could really grasp that.

Was a total spaz as far as athletics went (dad was a jock but apparently all of my siblings got that gene and it just passed me by!) but if we wanted to get anywhere we had to use our bikes or walk. We lived on a hill and all of us would go to the top and try to be the fastest getting to the bottom. We had a pool in my yard so we'd often spend afternoons there after riding (and only if an adult were present. Heaven help us if we broke that rule and none of the other parents on the street had any qualms about ratting out those who broke the rules.)

Didn't ride for the longest time (lack of time and the repeated thefts of various bikes, despite being locked) but took it up again a couple of years ago but on a limited basis, between classes, working & various community things I'd gotten involved with. Got into it a bit more after knee surgery last year when my surgeon suggested riding again (and swimming! just like when I was a kid) to strengthen the muscles around my knees. Now it's woven into the working, community things & the rest of my life stuff.