It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
18262 Days 438288 Hours or One Half Century
page: 111
share:
I was born 50 years ago today, and I can't believe how fast this time has passed. I still feel (and according to some, act) like a child, but my body
no longer has the strength and endurance that it once had. My attitudes and behaviors have changed, sometimes based on environment, sometimes through
willpower. One thing that has remained with me since a very early age has been my fascination with stuff above my head, both literally and
figuratively: Astronomy, Aeronautics, UFO's, and the space program. Man had not yet set foot on the Moon in January 1969, but was well on the way to
achieving that incredible feat. I do not remember the first Apollo mission, but I have a very vague and foggy memory of watching a later mission in
the recreation room in the basement of Queen Anne United Methodist Church.
A few years later, my fascination with UFO's began. At about age 5 or 6, Mom took me down to the Seattle Center for some sort of event (Bumbershoot?). Next to the International Fountain, a large camouflage-covered military truck had been parked and was the centerpiece for a UFO exhibit. I wish I knew the details and background of this truck and exhibit, but I've never been able to find anything regarding it anywhere. I do remember getting my hand stamped with the letters UFO before entering the truck and seeing the interior exhibits, and I remember being a brat when Mom told me it was time to go.
The 70's were happy times, LEGOs, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, Close Encounters of the Third kind, and limitless engergy to run and play. I also began my lifelong interest in computers and video games.
The 80's were pretty good, too. I lived in (what was then) West Germany for several years, travelled Europe, got my first PC (Atari 800), and my first girlfriend. Family life became complicated, though, because I was rebellious and began questioning everything. I also stopped going to church, and ran away from home at age 16.
The 90's were stressful and went by too quickly. I became "responsible", hard-working, and a tax-payer. I continued to be increasingly addicted to technology, but my fascination with UFO's had been mostly dormant until Roswell became a household word. Mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and I help take care of her.
2000 until now: 9/11 and the passing of my mother set the stage during the first part of the new millennium. I had never lost someone close to me, and the pain I experienced was unbearable and would not go away. I became fascinated with death, dying, and the possibility of an afterlife. My interest in the paranormal began to increase and I began to spend a lot of time reading about conspiracy theories. My health has been precarious since I was a teen, but physical pain became a constant issue and keeping my mind on other things became necessary.
In 2010 or 2011 I found ATS, then became a member in 2012. Rarely a day goes by where my waking moments aren't spent reading the latest posts. ATS has been great therapy, an educational tool, and a way to socialize with people that share some of my interests.
I hope that I might be able to post here again in exactly 50 years to give an updated overview of my life. Our time here is precious and limited, we should not waste it!
A few years later, my fascination with UFO's began. At about age 5 or 6, Mom took me down to the Seattle Center for some sort of event (Bumbershoot?). Next to the International Fountain, a large camouflage-covered military truck had been parked and was the centerpiece for a UFO exhibit. I wish I knew the details and background of this truck and exhibit, but I've never been able to find anything regarding it anywhere. I do remember getting my hand stamped with the letters UFO before entering the truck and seeing the interior exhibits, and I remember being a brat when Mom told me it was time to go.
The 70's were happy times, LEGOs, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, Close Encounters of the Third kind, and limitless engergy to run and play. I also began my lifelong interest in computers and video games.
The 80's were pretty good, too. I lived in (what was then) West Germany for several years, travelled Europe, got my first PC (Atari 800), and my first girlfriend. Family life became complicated, though, because I was rebellious and began questioning everything. I also stopped going to church, and ran away from home at age 16.
The 90's were stressful and went by too quickly. I became "responsible", hard-working, and a tax-payer. I continued to be increasingly addicted to technology, but my fascination with UFO's had been mostly dormant until Roswell became a household word. Mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and I help take care of her.
2000 until now: 9/11 and the passing of my mother set the stage during the first part of the new millennium. I had never lost someone close to me, and the pain I experienced was unbearable and would not go away. I became fascinated with death, dying, and the possibility of an afterlife. My interest in the paranormal began to increase and I began to spend a lot of time reading about conspiracy theories. My health has been precarious since I was a teen, but physical pain became a constant issue and keeping my mind on other things became necessary.
In 2010 or 2011 I found ATS, then became a member in 2012. Rarely a day goes by where my waking moments aren't spent reading the latest posts. ATS has been great therapy, an educational tool, and a way to socialize with people that share some of my interests.
I hope that I might be able to post here again in exactly 50 years to give an updated overview of my life. Our time here is precious and limited, we should not waste it!
edit on 192019 by seattlerat because: (no reason given)
Happy Birthday!
Life goes slowly when you're living it day to day and then suddenly 20 years is gone and you're wondering where the years went. Seems like last week that my kids were little and starting Kindergarten and now they are 18, 20 and the oldest will be 30 this month. Last time I looked I was 32, newly married and starting a new family. Now I'm 54 and the kids are grown and making their own lives.
Bittersweet to say the least.
Life goes slowly when you're living it day to day and then suddenly 20 years is gone and you're wondering where the years went. Seems like last week that my kids were little and starting Kindergarten and now they are 18, 20 and the oldest will be 30 this month. Last time I looked I was 32, newly married and starting a new family. Now I'm 54 and the kids are grown and making their own lives.
Bittersweet to say the least.
Living in my early 30's now and this is good perspective.
Last I checked I was still mid 20's- There was still hope and plans.
the plans are still there, but they've gotten dull and foggy.
The hope left at some point... now I'm just looking at these pay stubs wondering how many hours a week I'm expected to support people who retired, knowing full well that I'll never see my own mandated part of that agreement.
Last I checked I was still mid 20's- There was still hope and plans.
the plans are still there, but they've gotten dull and foggy.
The hope left at some point... now I'm just looking at these pay stubs wondering how many hours a week I'm expected to support people who retired, knowing full well that I'll never see my own mandated part of that agreement.
new topics
-
Of course it was DEI
Dissecting Disinformation: 10 hours ago
top topics
-
Of course it was DEI
Dissecting Disinformation: 10 hours ago, 6 flags -
2nd Day Thanksgiving!...(leftovers!!)
General Chit Chat: 12 hours ago, 3 flags
11