We lived in a small four room garden apartment when the 60′s began.  But my parents believed in partying.  Every month was cause for a celebration so New Years was a big one.  Usually they had large parties.  But I guess they decided to usher in a new decade with some of their closest friends.

My parents are in the third row.  It’s hard to recognize my Dad without the moustache he would grow in 69 and have for the rest of his life.  Oh if my parents only knew what the 60′s would wrought, they would have doubly celebrated!  The good, bad and the never talked about again.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to go from their culture to mine–sex, drugs and rock & roll

In lifetimes filled with great decades my mother said the 60′s was her favorite.  Because she finally felt grown-up! Two daughters who were too be teens in the 60′s.

They began traveling the world in the 60′s and never stopped.  If a country was open to Americans, they were there.

My parents began a small chain of stores in the 60′s.  One that specialized in clothes for the junior high set but was bought by all age groups.  My father being father to two daughters who were never satisfied with the clothes our mother bought us saw a need for this group to be catered to.  My mother just loved selling clothes.  Later we would go to Loehmann’s and the saleswomen would embrace her for when my mother was there they didn’t need to do their job.

My sister and I disliked the clothes in our family stores, and can still imitate our mother trying to give us more and more and more….

Though my father would deny it later we all loved the Kennedy family, and our world shook with the assassination.

But I have a friend who has been arguing for years that the decade really began with the Beatles arrival on American soil.  More and more I see his point.

My parents loved the changes, the 60′s brought,  in art, theater, movies.  Music–well 30 years later my father was still trying to understand the part it played in my life.  Though they loved the Simon Sisters (yes Carly), Simon & Garfunkle, and most of all the real Thanksgiving song, “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo.

We were a close family.  Though my father would have loved to go to school with me and be actively involved in all my life, he let me go to the 67 Moratorium in DC.  It was, I believe, the largest anti-war demonstration to date. I was a senior in high school then and had to take the bus with people from Great Neck.  We arrived back at 4 AM and my parents were there.  I believe they had been waiting since Midnight.

In retrospect it was the day my father ceded control of my life.  I thank him for that.  Giving your child the gift to make her own mistakes can’t be easy.  I always knew that.  And he was forever trying to take back his authority!

It wasn’t until 1976, another wonderful decade, that we were to have the grown up great relationship we both truly craved.

My mother?  She always knew that if you wanted your daughters to be your friends you had to let them fly.

I thank my parents for introducing me to all the arts, culture, great food and the world.  Today I choose to remember how wonderful they were.