Watching the news can be a bit, make that a whole lot, depressing. I know there is lots of good going on in the world, but it is not often reported. Good news doesn’t sell. We of a certain age often refer to the “good old days” when things were simpler and crime wasn’t as rampant.
Was that really the case, though? What went on in the good old days that made them good? I decided to do some research into 1951, the year I was born, to see if we were better off. What was going on in the world? In entertainment? In books? Here are some of the things I found.
- United States government began nuclear bomb testing at a test site in Nevada. (And look at where we are today.)
- The first direct-dial coast to coast telephone call was made. (I wonder if anyone back then imagined we would be carrying phones around in our pockets today.)
- The popular television show “I Love Lucy” premieres on CBS. (I admit that I did enjoy watching this.)
- Development of Birth Control Pill. (Changed the lives of so many.)
- The popular film “The Day the Earth Stood Still” debuts. (Still one of my favorite sci-fi films.)
- The Disney film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland debuts in theaters. (Can’t go wrong with the early Disney films.)
- First Color Television Pictures broadcast from Empire State Building. (It would be years until we got our first color TV.)
- The first commercial computer, UNIVAC, is put into use at the U.S. Census Bureau. (Imagine the size and weight and here I sit with a computer on my lap.)
- The very first Pan American Games begin during February and were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Let’s showcase the talented athletes in the Americas.)
- J.D. Salinger’s coming of age story, The Catcher in the Rye is published by Little, Brown and Company in New York City. (Yes, I have read it.)
What was going on in your good old days? Were things better then? I will let it up to you to decide.
arjeha 
I like the open-ended inquiry feel of this post. How you “leave it up” to us to decide. I also like your parenthetical narrations and wonderings about each fact.
I guess it is all in how we perceive things. Different ways for different people.
Great questions you pose, particularly wondering about our perception of what the good old days might have consisted of.
I wonder if our good old days were someone else’s nightmare days.
I love your list. I was born in 1953, so similar timeframe. When I was a kid, many around 9 or 10, we lived in Wisconsin and most of our relatives lived in Seattle. We would them twice a year at a prearranged time and we would pass the phone around so everyone got to talk. Very different today! And, I’m also a fan of The Day the Earth Stood Still – great movie.
I remember how we would wait around the phone for my aunt to call from NYC.
I loved your post! I was born in 1952 so I appreciated everything on your list. Ralph and I sometimes reminisce about the good old days. I am still hooked in music of the 60’s and am not sure that social media has been a good development or a not-so-good development. But L believe we should operate in the present. Stay in the moment. Notice. Note. Breathe courage and beauty into the life we have.
Lynne, I agree with you about the music. My go to music is Broadway or the oldies station. Of course, the oldies they play now are from the early 2000’s. Yikes! Yes, we live in the present and should operate in it. The present has so much to offer.
I was born in 1952. A few things in my “good old days” memories… the soda fountain at the drugstore, Trick or Treat where you knew your neighbors and got special treats like homemade popcorn balls or your own favorite candy bar (because your neighbor knew you well enough to know your favorite), going downtown to see special animated Christmas displays in the department store windows…
Yes, the soda fountain. All those ice cream sodas!