His name is/was Ken. We were in the Class of '70 in a small college. I haven't seen him since graduation

[marble falls]

1. We've all had "after this, I just don't know" moments. But most of us have muddled through in at least some degree. ...

... I'd rather be living now than then. There were some mighty screwed up shit in the twentieth century: wars, economic crashes, crooked Presidents surrounded by crooks, a President who segregated the Army after WWI and brought about Jim Crow, race riots that killed hundreds, times when entire black populations were forced out of towns literally overnight (my own town and several neighboring towns did it, put blacks on the train by force and sent them to Austin, all sort of disease and plagues, gangsters ran rampant, atomic weapons were used, and on and on and on.

I'd much rather be around now than then, and your grandchildren will do alright, just like we did in spite of our grandparents despairing over our futures. We'll get through this and we have to fight.