Graduation Day. 1968

Still 13 years old. Suffering cognitive dissonance.
Not the first, nor, sadly, the last time. That summer was
a Master's level education. By summer's end I was a full-blown cynic,
incognito DFH, honorary peacenik and pseudo-activist.

Chicago! To an "L" rat, it was a unique experience.
Fully awakened and fully aware. So much going on.
Where to be? What to be? Which side was I on?
Put those critical thinking skills drilled into us by the
Ursaline order to work.

Heady times. Much to process. Much to sort.
Chaos can be cool. Order can be brutal.
What's really real?

I made my choice.

25 years, 40 years, 45 years should lend a perspective to people and events. It can also spark unfair comparisons. As we pine today and remember, pay close attention to the words used to catalog an era of which whole generations have no first hand knowledge and most others their own filters.

I can't help but think that if everybody had been an "L" rat in the Summer of 68, we'd be living in a very different world.