How Rock Music Ruined this Country

Rock and Roll Music helped to turn me into a Lunatic.
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My Dad always loved music, although he could not hold a note to save his own skin. He had these old 78's, mostly Gospel Music, which he loved dearly. This type of music conveys a great deal of expression; it has "soul".
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My dad would work on some project in the garage, often with the radio blasting some kiind of country and hillbillie music, which I found to be dumb and abominable. Sometimes they would play some Johnny  Cash, which we both agreed upon. I love Johnny Cash, and still do. I still love my Dad, and he passed away some twety years ago.
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One of my first albums ever was "Meet the Beatles". I think this came out in 1964. Even my parents knew who the Beatles were, as they had been watched on the Ed Sullivan show, and had proven to be very successful entertainers. Later we discovered they were probably musical geniuses, too.
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I think that the sixties might have been the Golden Age of Television, which also helped to change everything.
The had variety shows, like the Ed Sullivan show, and the Red Skelton show. But they also had shows like the Smothers Brothers, and Laugh In, which were quite different in their natures.
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Growing up, I watched all these shows on television. We did not have much, but we always seemed to have some crappy black and white TV that worked pretty good. We of course did not have cable, or color TV, or any way to record these shows. You sat there and watched them in the Moment, or you would be penalized and would have to wait six months for the re-runs in case you missed anything.
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Some of the best shows that I can remember were the Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction. I loved the Man from Uncle, although the Girl from Uncle was a real stinker! Get Smart was a great show, and so was Hogan's Heroes. These are all shows I remember watching as a kid.
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My parents naturally hated the Beatles. My Dad thought they were just a bunch of Sissy Boys, and would have nothing to do with them. My Mom could actuallly care less about the whole thing. My Mom liked to read books, and still does. This is a bad habit I later acquired too, and has plagued me for the rest of my life.
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I spent the next forty years buying books, storing them in a makeshift library,  in order to remember quickly what I have read in the past. That way I can see the path my thinking has taken me, and can pull down a book from the shelf for a reference, if I need to.
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I did not buy much else, except for stocks. I became a very successful trader over time, and right now I have accumulated some wealth. I really do not own anything that is of any value - I am reminded of the Eastern line of thought which states that "That which you hold holds you." I do not need that kind of heavy magnetism bearing down on me. When I return to Portland I will sell some books that I no longer need, and will donate others to the Public Library for a tax write-off. I will either sell or give away my crappy furniture. I will keep all my carpentry and gardening tools, and a couple of good ladders and my bicycles. I will travel light, and the move will be very efficient. I have no need to haul a ton of junk half way around the country!
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Rock and Roll Music changed everything in the United States. Young men and women were growing their hair long, smoked marijuana, and walked around nearly naked all summer, playing their stupid bongos and going to peace rallies. This all amounted to a lot of fun, and the government naturally could not allow this. Names were written down secretly, and these filthy hippie nests had to be broken up. Us versus them.
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Meanwhile, the entire country was becoming polarized over the Viet Nam war.  Blame it on this infernal Rock Music, or blame it on Television, or both. Rock and Roll Music supplied the back ground noise to all of this confusion.
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My own story turned pretty good. When I turned 18 they had just gotten rid of the draft (Yay!) and legally I could drink like hell and get snockered with all my friends from high school. My friends were all growing their hair longer, and so was I. Our adult lives stretched before us, full of wonderment and promise. We were all lucky enough to have been born into this age of changee, a maelstrom of it right in front of us. Life was going to be interesting. And it was.
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Mr. Charming