Today marks the beginning of my 60th trip around the Sun. I have kind of mixed feelings about it. When I turned 50, I knew I had more years behind me than I had ahead of me, and it had struck me profoundly at that point. But I put it in the back of my mind, and now I am 60. I've been through a lot of history in my life, watched things change sometimes very drastically. I've survived things that others have not. but I'm not going to talk about that today. Instead I'm going to talk about historic events that I've witnessed, been part of. I remember watching the moon landing and the moonwalk with my brothers and my parents in front of the color TV set. We had one of those which was a major thing in those days. It was big heavy and cumbersome, and had speakers on either side. There was also a record player in the top.
I have had many injuries and falls, I was hit in the head with a baseball bat after my brothers told me I couldn't play baseball cuz I was a girl. I remember distinctly saying that I could play baseball or rather girls can too play baseball. So when my older brother Tom was at bat I ran right into his bat flying backwards onto the ground blood fountain pouring from my head. Screaming bloody murder my mom running outside scooping me up, putting me in the purple station wagon with her friend in the backseat holding me with a towel pressed to my head. Mom breaking speed limit laws and going through every red light to get me to Riverside Methodist hospital. the hospital where I was born. I forgot to mention that it was snowing on my birthday, a fact mom would tell me a lot. It was gone by the time I was actually born in the evening. Getting back to the baseball bat, I had 12 stitches put in my head in the shape of an x.
I was born with lazy eye otherwise known as amblyopia. I had surgery on that to correct it, the eye patch didn't work.
I was shoved off of jungle gym by my brother's friend from next door, and had to go to the circus the next day in a stroller at 6. Growing up with the name like Wooley, I was bullied quite a lot. The song wooly bully I hated, and Wooley Swamp was another one that I really didn't care for. Also Mammoth was used to taunt me, even though I was very skinny as a kid.
I once dislocated my knee being shoved off the back of bleachers at a football game in high school, I was in the marching band and getting ready for halftime when the accident occurred.
We once went to a Columbus clippers baseball game at Cooper stadium. When dad had us sit where most foul balls were hit, I told him that I was going to be hit by a baseball. and couldn't we sit somewhere else, he didn't believe me. 3 minutes later I was hit by a baseball, and I didn't even get the bloody ball. the guy two seats down got it.
I was on a Ohio State student bus when the Challenger exploded, it was one of the first, "Where were you when..." this event happened.
And I never thought there would be anything as bad as 9/11. That was another event that I knew exactly where I was when I heard the first plane hit. I had dropped him off at work, and I worked at MediCare at that point, and so I was on 270 heading to South Park place where we had our office. Going around 270 at 65 mph hearing the news stating the first Tower had been hit. I actually had heard of small plane sitting the towers before, and I thought it was just another small plane. Then a guy was talking about it, and he suddenly screamed oh my God another plane is going to hit the other trade center! It was then I knew, we were under attack! I screamed, totally uncontrollably trembling scared beyond all rational thought. Though i don't know where the thought that I needed to get under control, or I would wreck the car... finally let me get under control and get to work. I walked in and I talked to the lobby receptionist, I asked if she heard what happened and she hadn't. The rest of the day we were in shock just going through the motions. Some folks had portable tv mini sets. We watched whenever we could. Afew days later we had a bomb scare. A delivery from an air conditioning company, called Air Force 1, was dropped off at the building. So we evacuated the building. It's how they changed the way we received deliveries.
Oklahoma City was another event that rocked our nation, plus many others that have happened since.
I delivered newspapers in the blizzard of 78. I had the best time ever because I thought it was great fun. the drifts were up to my waist, and I founded through them breaking my path. My dad had to get help pushing his car out of a drift. The neighbors came out in had already pushed him out when I arrived to help.
We moved from my childhood home to Hilliard Ohio in 1979. Where I graduated from high school in 1983. yes I'm a first year gen xer. My parents were born in 1924 that was my mom, and my dad was born in 1930. They have both passed away now. So I'm glad that they're not around to see what's happening in our country. they would be terrified, and I am too ... but I'm also not as terrified as I could be. I'm passed menopause, so they can't affect my bodily autonomy in that manner. I've never had children, I've never been married. I've come to the conclusion, that was for the best because they are trying to make it more difficult for women to vote. I've never had a name change.
2023 was a difficult year, I had a work injury to my right shoulder, a couple of different other injuries. Two hospital stays, and my gallbladder out; closing out the year with covid for the third time.
There have been many other events big and small that I have lived through. I've seen people I admire pass away, and outlived a lot of them.
I used to love horses with every fiber of my being. It was painful to the point that I made a promise to myself, that I would always have that love. That I would disown myself, to which has come to pass. Sure I still love horses, but don't have to be around them anymore. She is petulantly stomping her foot still!
First year Gen X unite!
Happy Birthday to us all!
