Avalanche

"Avalanche" represents how hard and fast this girl, indeed the world, grows up. Life will never again be safe and predictable. Without warning, sex, race, war, crime, and drugs tumble into the culture's consciousness. Nothing will be the same. Survival itself is a challenge.

This is a book work of fiction, but it is inspired by a true story. It is the story of my nineteenth year, when everything seemed new to me. It was confusing and exciting-and not just for me-but also for the world. It was 1966, which for most many of us alive at the time, was the year everything changed.

In a way, the story starts when I am eight years old. That's when my mother took me to see a big ice show in Washington, D.C. It was very strange, but at that moment I knew I was meant to be on the ice and not in the audience. It was more than five years before I had the opportunity to put on figure skates and wobble across a real piece of ice, indoors or out. But when I did, I thought to myself, "I'm happy now. I can die happy."

If you are a baby boomers, you will recognize most of this story. We were then a large and powerful group. ,Changing changing everything by our sheer numbers. We were creative and brave. We are outnumbered now. Many of our friends have breathed their last. We are constantly saying goodbye to friends we loved. The newer generations have the attention God bless the younger generations. They have the attention now. They have an entirely different experience set of joys and sorrows. Many of the references in this book will be lost on them. Some will be curious about what our time was like. Some will be busy making creating their own time. Either way, I hope you enjoy these memories.