sonora2sonoma

So I’m sitting watching a recording of the Beatles’ first performance on the Ed Sullivan show, posted online by a friend, when it dawns on me that I’m sitting in the same room in the same house I was in when I saw the performance live on the television way back in 1964. Things have changed a bit since then. John and George have gone on to the great recording studio in the sky, as have my parents, with whom I viewed the original broadcast. LBJ was president at the time and global warming was yet to enter the realm of public awareness.

In the intervening years, mankind achieved space travel, the foolishness of the hubris publicus created conditions favorable to a climate catastrophe, pushback from the civil rights legislation of the 60’s eventually eroded many of the protections afforded minorities as the electorate continued to demonstrate that a fool is born every second. Oh, and the average price of a cup of coffee rose from 35 cents in 1964 to somewhere between 2 and 3 dollars today.

To those who wish for some stability in their lives, some predictability even, or who hope conditions remain favorable for the maintenance of their particular circumstances, good luck! Everything from the changing seasons to midriff bulge to the expansion of the universe points to a different outcome, but, who knows? Of all the possible personality characteristics a person might evince, a positive outlook ranks among the best.

But amid all the changes, including the reduced acuity of my hearing, those boys from Liverpool sounded every bit as good on my Iphone as they did on the tube on that long ago evening when life seemed simpler and possibilities stretched beyond the horizon.