Observations — 1955, Old Order Failing, New World Just Ahead

James Dean

Winston Churchill resigned. Argentina tossed Juan Perón aside. The U.S. began their entanglement in Vietnam.  Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus.  Martin Luther King organized a boycott of the Montgomery Alabama bus system.  U.S. Supreme Court ordered school desegregation. Emmett Till was murdered. President Eisenhower had a heart attack. First televised presidential news conference aired. U.S. signed Panama Canal Treaty. Fiber Optics were developed. Anti-matter was discovered. First Atomic Sub was launched. Prednisone was created.  First music synthesizer was developed. Sony announced first transistor radio. The AFL and CIO merged.  Hurricane Diane killed 400 in U.S.  Hurricane Janet killed 500 in the Caribbean. Disneyland opened. “The Lawrence Welk” Show premiered on TV, as did “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” William Inge’s Bus Stop premiered on Broadway. The ACLU defended poet Allen Ginsberg’s Howl from obscenity charges. The Pulitzer Prize for drama went to Tennessee Williams for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.  The Pulitzer for Literature went to William Faulkner for A Fable.  The Mystery Writers of America gave Raymond Chandler its top prize for The Long Goodbye.  We also read Notes of A Native Son by James Baldwin, Pictures of A Gone World by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, The Recognitions by William Gaddis, A Charmed Life by Mary McCarthy, Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov, and A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor.  On The Waterfront swept the Academy Awards this year. We also watched Rebel Without A Cause, Marty, East of Eden, Bad Day At Black Rock, and Picnic.  We listened to “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by Perez Prado, “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets, “The Yellow Rose of Texas” by Mitch Miller, “Autumn Leaves” by Roger Williams, “Unchained Melody” by Les Baxter, “The Ballad of Davey Crocket” by Bill Hayes, “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” by the Four Aces, “Ain’t That A Shame” by Pat Boone, “Dance With Me Henry,” by Georgia Gibbs and “Sincerely” by the McGuire Sisters. Among the departed were James Dean, Theda Bara, Carmen Miranda, James Agee, Thomas Mann, Albert Einstein, Dale Carnegie, and Fred Allen.  Arrivals included Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner, Billy Bob Thornton, Willem Dafoe, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleason, Steve Jobs, Whoopi Goldberg and Kelsey Grammar.  If you were around, what were you doing during this year of the wood sheep?

Observation — 1955, Stage Set For New Leaders

President Dwight Eisenhower suffered a heart attack.  Winston Churchill resigned.   West Germany officially became a country.  The unions AFL and CIO became the ALF-CIO.  Unemployment was 5.5 percent. One of the longest-lived TV series, “Gunsmoke,” made its debut on CBS. In books, the best seller lists boasted some highbrow titles: James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son, Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Picture of a Gone World, Mary McCarthy’s A Charmed Life and Vladmir Nabokov’s controversial Lolita. On the Waterfront swept the Academy Awards.  It was also a big year for James Dean.  Both East of Eden and Rebel Without A Cause were released with praise.  Marty, The Trouble With Harry and Lady and the Tramp filled movie theaters in 1955.  People listened to “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets, “Maybellene’ by Chuck Berry and ‘Heart of Stone” by the Fontane Sisters.  The world lost Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Carmen Miranda and Charlie Parker.  In a coincidence too strange to make up, both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were born.  So were Whoopi Goldberg and John Grisham. If you were around, what were you doing during this year of the wood sheep?