The Best Era in History to Live
Recently I watched the movie Midnight in Paris (2011). I’m not a Woody Allen junkie but this one fascinated me. The main character Gil, played by Owen Wilson, is an aspiring writer who admires the “Lost Generation” artists from 1920′s Paris. In the movie, Gil finds himself transported to that era where he meets artist greats like Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, Gertrud Stein, Pablo Picasso, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although a fiction story, it was amusing to get lost in the story of the Gil and it got me thinking.
What era would I have liked to live in?
There is much to consider in the question and answers can be surprisingly personal. I’ve asked this question many times to friends and you get a lot of different answers.
Women quite often bring up that era’s rights of women first. An old female friend of mine said that she wouldn’t want to live in any other era than now because women have never had so much opportunity. I never thought of that before she brought it up. My wife in particular always wishes she were in the Jane Austen Victorian Era with the beautiful dresses, chivalry, and beautiful dialogue (no pressure on me, huh). My mother is fascinated by the Tudors (yes the show as well) but never would have wanted to wear the suffocating dresses or have to deal with lack of modern medicine.
Most men I’ve quizzed seem to be fascinated by eras that represent the greatest adventure to them. If you were a baseball fan, perhaps it would be the 1920s and 1930s when Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig ruled the diamond. If you admired the military, they say World War II, The Civil War, or the Napoleonic Wars. My father has always been intrigued by his grandfather who lived from the 1880′s to 1980′s. His Grandpa Moberg was born during the “horse and buggy” age and lived until seeing a man on the moon.
And now my answer…
The Age of Exploration is a favorite of mine. But then I remember details about explorers like Magellan who despite technically not making it around the world (killed by Filipino natives), ironically got a GPS system named after him. The truth is, his story wasn’t much different from other explorers who either died in the middle of their journey fighting natives or from some terrible disease. I’ve also been fascinated by the Roman Empire or Ancient Greece and their gallant expansion battles, beautiful architecture, and lessons of government. Perhaps I read/watched a little too much of Julius Caesar and The Iliad. If I were to pick a favorite, I would pick The American Revolution. I imagine myself fighting for freedom with my distant relative, Vermont Minuteman Lt. Nathaniel Bowman Brown. It has always seemed to be a time period of great drama; to live on the frontier, fight for freedom, and form of a new way of life.
The truth is, as Midnight in Paris’ Gil points out, someone is going to be asked this question fifty years from now and possibly think that “the 2010′s” is the best era. We are never quite satisfied in the era we live are we? We look back to find solace and inspiration from other eras. I’m sure that ole Uncle Nate Brown looked back to The Renaissance and thought, “Man, that era was so much better than this 1770′s mess.”
What about you?
What is the best era in history to live?
The Meaning of Freedom: An Ethiopian, a Brit and a Yank Collide
Not long ago I attended a conference in Washington, D.C. I love that city. It is easy to be cynical about D.C. and see it as a town only full of politicians with lobbyist leeches there to influence them. I admit that I have been one of the cynics in the past. I want to change and here is why. What I like about DC is the same reason I enjoy parts of Nashville, New York, or Los Angeles. You will undoubtedly meet someone from another part of the world. Often I am called a pied piper so whenever I encounter someone from another culture, I am drawn to them to learn about their story.
I don’t recall who said these poignant lines but it goes like this:
Americans love to spend time and energy trying to understand who they are. They unfortunately spend so little time trying to understand who the world is.
My understanding became much clearer after I visited Washington DC and experienced the following:
Experience #1: At the conference, the thousands who attended share a similar political ideology. One thing that was evident was their passion for the “idea of America” and it surpassed a specific political ideology. Anyone with an open mind can respect that. I am a moderate conservative but their zeal resonated with me. My hope is that when the world looks at America, they see freedom as I witnessed at the conference.
Experience #2: I met a Scottish girl named Shona who is married to an American friend of mine, Nathan and has lived in the United States for the past couple years. I had lived and worked in Scotland in 2001 so we had plenty to discuss including politics, British and American culture, music, food, etc. I asked her what the current pulse of the British people was about America. She seemed to agree that it was very much like the quote above. I have been reading Tony Blair’s A Journey which provides an insightful political perspective on Anglo-American relations the past couple decades. Shona, Nathan, and I discussed in detail how we need to be more alert than ever before about protecting freedom. As Brits and Americans, it is a special responsibiltiy we bear. While we have not mastered it, we need to be a beacon of freedom and lead.
Experience #3: I met Sam Solomon from Ethiopia. Sam is a cab driver whom we spent an intriguing 45 minute ride from central Washington DC all the way to Dulles International Airport. He lives here legally, is married, and has four children. Sam wouldn’t stop smiling when talking about America. Sam said he still has family in Ethiopia but doesn’t see a reason to go back unless it is more free and things change. We discussed that not far from Ethiopia an uprising is happening in the Middle East driven primarily by citizens wanting a democratic process. America has given Sam the opportunity to start a business, raise a family safely, and live free. We all need to listen to the Sam Solomons living in America.
My lessons from these experiences:
Freedom and the democratic process is unmatched.
We should never stop seeking freedom or if necessary, fight for it.
What will be your living legacy at age 65?
On July 26th, my mother, Barrett Martin Schroeder turns 65. She may or may not want me mentioning this milestone in a blog but I am proud of her and thankful for those many years she has been in my life and impacted it. She represents a living legacy to both my sister Sarah and I. We are readers because of her. We try to be forgiving to others because she is of us. We have traveled so much because of her leading the way. We are educated because of her (and Dad). We are a close family because of her example. Yep, we even look a lot like her too. Both my sister and I have kids now so we feel that it’s our responsibility to continue on a living legacy and always tell her story. We love you mom and have a Happy Birthday. Here’s to many more ahead.
And yes, I’m sorry I threw a plastic chair at you when I was 5.
Me, Mom, Sarah, and Dad
Last year when my father turned 65, he sent out this letter to everyone and I hope you will enjoy it. He is the definition of “nostalgic” and loves looking back to figure out what “today” means. It’s no shock about why I love history as do they do too. I hope you enjoy as it is quite humorous. He is the “real” Dave Schroeder.
Some Thoughts on Turning 65
Sunday I celebrated my 65th birthday in Chicago with Barrett and our daughter Sarah. While I did not say anything to them, I kept on thinking “What was it like in 1944 and how can I explain it to my children and grandchildren?”
For the first 14 months of my existence, I live with my mother in the second floor apartment in South St. Louis. The apartment had a kitchen, bedroom and living room. The total square footage was about as big as most people’s family rooms today. We had a radio and a phone for communications. The phone was a “Party Line” which meant we shared the line with two or three other households. Today if you said Party Line your probably meant 1-800-GOT-SEXX.
We did not have a television for almost seven more years and that was a big box with a round black and white screen. No HI DEF. There was no Internet (I am a few years older than Al Gore), nor e-mail, Twitter or Facebook. We communicated by writing letters. I still have the one from my dad when he found out I was born. The reason he was not in my life for those 14 months was that he was in England waiting to be shipped to the Ardennes in Belgium to fight in the Battle of the Bulge that December where he was wounded just a month later. I recently asked a young man checking me out at an office supply store if he had heard of the Battle? He replied, “No, but I am going to study it next semester as I am taking “Ancient and Medieval History.”
I finally met my father in January of 1946. Instead of flying home from Europe in six or eight hours, he came home on a “Troop Ship” which took six to eight days and then had to take a train from New York to St. Louis which took another couple of days. Legend has it that I leaked all over his uniform. Those old diapers just don’t measure up to today’s Pampers.
When dad got home, we did not have a car and it took another year or two before they were available because of rationing. My Grandfather Moberg had a car. I figured he was rich. Dad took something called a trolley to work or we walked to shop at the neighborhood store right around the corner or took the trolley to Tower Grove Park.
We finally got a house in Webster in 1951. Three bedrooms, all brick for the whopping price of $15,000. We had to build on a garage a few years later with the help of my parent’s friends. It is amazing what you can get for a few cases of beer. But life was good and we were happy.
I was not happy when I had to repeat 1st grade. Since I started in the city school at midterm, when we moved to the county, I was a semester behind and could not read. Best thing that ever happened to me! I went form being the youngest kid in the class to the oldest and I learned how the read, write and do math. Little did we know at that time that our principal, Mr. Rose, was doing the dirty deed with Miss Bright my third grade teacher. It was a big scandal years later.
No need to cover the high school or college years or the forty-one years since then. Today I am married to my college sweetheart, Barrett, and we have been blessed with two wonderful and productive children, Sarah and David. They have continued blessing us with two grandchildren and another one on the way. Yesterday, we actually saw a Sonogram of the soon to come grandchild. Did we have those in 1944? (since then, she was born and doing well)
And to top things off, our children and their spouses gave me a Garman GPS for my birthday. Without it, I never could have found my way back from Chicago.
God bless all our relatives and many friends. It is amazing how fast 65 years can fly by. But I feel like I did thirty years ago other than a few aches and pains. I can live with that, as I have been blessed.
Age 65 is a lifetime away for Sarah and I but a lifetime of memories to build and share. We are already started.
Where do you see yourself at 65?
What do you see yourself doing?
Who is with you?
What do you see as your living legacy?
Share this blog
