Interviews

 Janet Moore

When John F. Kennedy was killed, Janet was around 12 or 13 years old. She states that there was a feeling of insecurity when that happened. It was very difficult to imagine JFK being killed. She also says that there were a lot of protests aimed at the Vietnam War. There were a lot of kids her age who were drafted into the military to fight the war. It was devastating for the guys who were forced to go. Janet states that a lot of men tried to stay in school. They had to have at least 18 units to not be sent out to the Vietnam War. She knew a few Hippies during the Hippie Counter Culture Movement and the few she knew were her friends. She explained that the Hippies did many drugs. She expressed that woman burned their bras to make a statement of freedom and that they all wanted to be treated equally in society. She expressed that she was never prejudiced against African Americans or anyone else for that matter, but that she did not appreciate people who were jerks towards the African Americans.

Rahul Thacker

 Rahul was from India. He went to England to get medical training and, eventually, his MD degree. He then came to the US, got his MD and became Chief of Staff of Surgery in a 110 doctor hospital. He did not relate to the US issues of the day. He did recognize that the US had a magnificent opporturnity but he did not get involved in the politics. That, in and of itself, is signifcant, because there were many people who choose not to be involved nor have an opinion. They simply did what was necessary to acheive their goals with as little political distraction as possible. The US provided such a safe haven, by his standards. His goal and focus was the medical profession and being a surgeon, which he did accomplish. Going to the UK, then the US was simply part of what was necessary to acheive his goals. He is retired in the US now. 

Elliot Wassarman

During the early 60s, Elliot lived in Spain. He has graduated from three different colleges and in 1969 he got his doctorate. He and his friends were very worried about getting drafted into the Vietnam War. This was when they were in their 20's. Elliot was very fortunate because he was in school during the Vietnam War, but It was very hard for him to see his friends drafted into the war where some were either injured or killed in action. He states that this was a war in which we did not belong. When he heard about John F. Kennedy's death, it was very upsetting. He was at work that day, and everyone stopped what they were doing and just went home. He spent the next few days at home watching the news of what had happened to JFK. It was a big shock to everyone, and he remembers that everyone was crying alot. He also mentioned Martin Luther King Jr. and his senseless assassination. He said that he and his friends always believed that everyone deserves to be treated with respect, no matter who they are or what they believe; race or religion or sexual orientation shouldn't matter. 

Randy Hulce

He was born in 1950. The Korean War was the news grabbing war of that time, although he was too young to remember. He noticed as he went through school in a bedroom community of Southern California, that everyone was caucasian. One girl in his elementary school was black. Adopted she was, and quite an anomaly. He thought her to be cute and never saw any racist attitudes directed towards her. He can say that he did find racism moronic. It makes no sense and he finds judgemental racist people to be the embodiment of the term "stupid". He had the privelege of living the hippy era. For the first time in many generations, women were freeing themselves from the archetypes imposed upon them from the past, he said. They burned their bras and demanded equality. Our puritanical culture made this "European" look seem outrageous and he loved it. It was a time that may never be duplicated, he thinks. One could have sex without fear of pregnancy, disease (at least nothing that could not be cured with a shot of penicillin) or guilt. One could have as many partners as they wanted...amazing. Sex was "free" and open. No guilt, another shocking slap in the face of Puritanical Judeo Christian thought. Expanding consciousness led to a new style of drug use. LSD was promoted as a chemical that allowed one to look into other dimensions. This was revolutionary stuff. Unfortuately, he could never find where this was happening. He did look, however, he told me. Politically, he saw the dream die when members of our culture chose to destroy our more open minded leaders, JFK and MLK. It was a devastating time. He saw the "red neck" racist demon raise it's ugly head. He was an exceptional student ready for college. He feared being drafted into the military to fight in Vietnam. He felt that if he went, he would die soon or become a cold hearted killer. He saw what he perceived as the lies of President Johnson. Vice President Spiro Agnew was the hack who insulted everyones intelligence on behalf of President Nixon. As a group, they arrogently murdered a huge number of innocent people for no reasonable cause. Mr. Hulce, to this day, does not trust the governement.

Joe Sovella

He thinks that he was warped by the craziness of the 60's and 70's. He says this because as events unfold today, he sees a duplication of the behaviors that remind him that nothing really changes. He was nearly drafted into the Vietnam War. As a college student, his lottery number nearly came up. I asked about the lottery and learned that every birthday had a pinpong ball number associated with it. There were 365 pinpong balls with a 1950 birthday written on each. The balls were drawn out of a tumbler. Joe's birthday came out number 235. That first year, 212 and under were drafted. Joe was terrified thinking that of every male born in 1950, 2/3 were drafted. He felt the war was based on lies. It turns out, he was correct but at the time he felt that he was considered "unpatriotic" and a disgrace. He finished college and went on to establish his own business, earning several patents in the process.