The 60’s Music Video
“It’s not the 60’s no more.” In fact, it is anything but the time we grew up in. This Bad Seeds music is not the music we performed in the 1960’s, but it addresses how good we had it and perhaps didn’t know it.
Our 1966 McGregor High School annual is dedicated to Mickey Graham who died suddenly and tragically [and for no apparent reason] in a late night automobile accident on October 30, 1965.
That was 50+ years ago and I remember it vividly. Some say because of that accident I’m still “not right” after 50 years, and there is some truth to that. Mickey’s death “paralyzed me” for many years and literally changed my life, changed my career path, and affected all my personal relationships.
Looking back, the 1960’s were very “challenging” times and most of us were ill-prepared to understand or cope with the world events, the regional conflicts, and social and economic changes simultaneously. Perhaps someone {back then} may have mentioned helpful and healing information, but I did not hear anything from anyone that made me feel any better at the time.
Back then, the prevailing advice [even for emotional issues] was “rub some dirt on it and get back in the game,” or the inevitable “just forget about it.” [Always easier said than done].
From listening to others it seems almost everyone has a tragic story about the passing of classmates. It is a continuing part of our oral and printed history, but very often the important lessons and truths are lost to time [especially as we get older].
For me, the emotional pressure of Mickey’s death was compounded by my knowledge that “it could have perhaps should have been me – too.” They call it survivors guilt now, but back then it was just feeling dazed, confused, and perhaps powerless to speak about it.
I believe serving in the military was the inadvertent turning point where I began to “balance” the negative effects of tragic death. I’m not good at keeping that balance, especially when dealing with the most recent deaths of our close friends and classmates.
Understanding [and hopefully accepting] that after a tragic death “absolutely nothing will ever be the same again” is an introductory key to emotional healing. We honor our friends and classmates by recognizing their passing as the “life-changing event” it certainly is, and realizing that their death might be the life-changing opportunity we need to motivate us to “do better” as individuals.