1967

My mother-in-law said recently that she wouldn’t want to bring a child into the world today, what with all the school shootings and whatnot. She probably wasn’t aware of it at the time (being all of 22), but the year she brought her firstborn into the world wasn’t exactly a peaceful one. Here’s a list of some of the goings-on in 1967 (not all of them bad):

• January 12 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with the intent of future resuscitation. [“Yeah, baby!”]
  
• February 14 – “Respect” is released by Aretha Franklin.
  
• March 7 – Jimmy Hoffa begins his 8-year sentence for attempting to bribe a jury.
  
• April 28 – In Houston, Texas, Muhammad Ali refuses military service.
  
• May 1 – Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas.
  
• June 1 – The Beatles release “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
  
• July 23 – 12th Street Riot: In Detroit, Michigan, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street (43 killed, 342 injured and 1,400 buildings burned).
  
• August 30 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
  
• September 17 – Jim Morrison and The Doors defy CBS censors on The Ed Sullivan Show, when Morrison sings the word "higher" from their #1 hit Light My Fire, despite having been asked not to.
  
• October 17 – The musical “Hair” premieres Off-Broadway.
  
• November 21 – Vietnam War: United States General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: “I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing.”
  
• December 15 – The Silver Bridge over the Ohio River in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, collapses (46 dead). It has been linked to the so-called Mothman mystery.

And of course, the most important event in 1967, on April 28, was the birth of my beloved. Happy 40th, darlin’. Hard to believe you were but a lad of 25 when we met. Hope living with me all these years hasn't aged you too much.

(Damn, I'm married to a 40-year-old guy. How did this happen?)