by Lee, Terry
Unfortunately, we, as a country, did little to break down the biases of the adamant opposition to the war versus the Vietnam veterans, who returned receiving less than a warm welcome. Tragically, PTSD ran rampant and is still a major issue today. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs in 2012, a person in the U.S. military (veteran or active) commits suicide every eighty minutes, totaling eighteen service people a day.
In 1968, the girls were fourteen, barely teenagers, when Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated only two months apart. Both were proponents of the Civil Rights Movement.
With the unrest of more troops being sent to Vietnam with no progress being made, a march of over 250,000 on November 19, 1969, gathered outside the Pentagon in a peaceful protest calling for the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam.
The number of protestors against the Vietnam War reflected in the music of the late sixties. Artists like Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, and Buffalo Springfield were among those who specifically wrote music protesting the United States’ involvement in Vietnam.
Besides the songs about war, musical artists of the ‘60s and early ‘70s wrote and sang songs that had “staying” power through the years. James Taylor, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Carole King, Janis Joplin—way too many to name—recorded songs then that are now termed “classics” in the music industry.
Motown also hit big about that time. The musical and business success of the mostly African-American groups, songwriters, and singers had a major influence, breaking down the barriers of segregation. African Americans were granted their deserved right as rock ‘n’ rollers and pop artists. Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Jackson Five, The Temptations, and Aretha Franklin, among others, all became well-known and loved artists of that era.
Of course, the Beatles, hitting American soil in 1963, changed rock and roll forever. To this day Frannie could still remember, but could not put into print, her dad’s comments about “those long hairs.” Her dad felt the upcoming generation was going to hell in a handbag. Interesting term, whatever it meant. Though, she later learned the phrase was a common assumption older generations had toward the young. However, each succeeding generation not only survived, but found a way to thrive.
Back in the mid-sixties, a Supreme Court ruling gave married couples the right to use birth control pills. Sadly, millions of unmarried women were denied the right. In 1968, Congressman George H. W. Bush sponsored a family planning bill, making the birth control pill more affordable for lower income women. And it wasn’t until 1972 that the Supreme Court legalized birth control for all citizens of this country, irrespective of their marital status.
In 1974, a woman was actually allowed to have a credit card issued in her own name. This took the term “we’ve come a long way baby” to a whole different level.
The introduction of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970 was a television breakthrough, portraying the first never-married career woman living an independent life as the central character. In 2007, Time Magazine labeled The Mary Tyler Moore Show as one of the “17 Shows That Changed TV.” The show characterized not only women, but grownups in general, having adult conversations with real issues.
The purpose of this little history lesson is to help explain growing up in the sixties and seventies for the Bad Ass Girls. Weekly allowances were mostly spent at record stores, purchasing 45’s or 33 LP albums to play endlessly on record players. If girls were lucky, they had parents or mentors who planted the idea of having a career by pursuing a college education.
There was fear. There was unrest. There was naiveté, yet an awakening of every layer of society. It was a hard time, yet many have fond memories of “those” days. The Bad Ass Girls came of age when so much change took place in the country. Years later they decided each decade they’d traveled through had its own share of pros and cons. And so they adapted; because really, what was the alternative? The BAGs went from watching three television stations to hundreds through cable providers and Direct TV, not to mention NetFlix. The plethora of different media outlets continuously spread every current event happening around the world.
Why these eight young women came together back on the ground floor of that freshman dormitory will probably never be fully understood. But for them, that’s okay. With their diverse personalities and different backgrounds, except for some hiccups through the years, they maintained that bond. To this day, the debacle continues over Carole King and James Taylor, but the lyrics remain the same. Whether Carole or James, The Bad Ass Girls, now the “Bad Ass Golden Girls,” hold the words close to their hearts…ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend. Ain’t it good to know…you’ve got a friend.
A phrase from Anna and the King often comes to mind….
It is always surprising how small a part of life is taken up with
meaningful moments. Most of them are over before they start.
Although they cast a light on the future and make the person
who originated them unforgettable....
Erik Erikson ended his “Eight Stages of Man” or in this case “Eight Stages of Woman,” targeted toward people sixty-five years of age until death. The Eighth Stage is titled “Maturity”.
Go figure….
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TERRY LEE, author of award winning Saving Gracie and Partly Sunny, has a long genetic lineage of writers in her family, although her official nudge didn’t surface until 2006. When it did, her passion sprouted, blossomed, and then BOOMED!
Terry, a native Houstonian, held a license as a chemical dependency counselor for over twenty years, and still holds a licensure in massage therapy. In 2004, Terry trained as a volunteer for Houston Hospice. "A life-changing training session I believe would benefit everyone," she quoted. "Contrary to popular belief, hospice is not about dying…it's about helping people live toward the end of their life.”
“When I write, I pull from what I know-real people, real life, and all the obstacles in between. My intent is to deliver stories with warmth, a bit of wisdom, and a mix of emotions intermingled with a touch of humor. I often find humor to be the elixir of life.”
Reviews are always helpful to an author. If you enjoyed Time Trials, Terry would greatly appreciate a short review at Amazon.com.
www.terry-lee.net
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