The movie was probably "Gimme Shelter", addressing the killing at Altamont in 1969. I don't remember if it was on the news, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't. I saw the movie, but honestly? I can't remember much about it. I was never a Stones fan, and that solidified it.

Oh, I hope y'all go! You really need to investigate your roots, if you can!

I wrote the letter, standing exactly where John collapsed after being shot. How I wish I had a copy of it!

See...a lot of those protests, probably most, petered out or were just for show. Friends at northern universities would get really mad because a big group of protesters would block a campus building or cause classes to be canceled because of the danger. After a few days, the cops would clear them out and arrests would be made and it would be discovered that most of the protesters weren't even students there.

A lot of times, they were for ridiculous things, like "students shouldn't have required courses" or "this campus should immediately be replanted as a forest", etc., and the media bought into it and filmed it. Some turned out to be very dangerous; my husband's cousin was caught on the Kent State campus in the middle of those shootings.

However, I would say that there wasn't any more "dedication to the cause" than there is now. Most people weren't going to sacrifice their homes or lives to a cause any more than they do now. I know what it seems like! The media have recreated the 60s and 70s as romantic times when anything was possible and huge causes were followed and youth prevailed.

In reality: it was no different from life today.

What an incredible story!


I think the Occupy movement was most similar. People camped out in large areas and there was a lot of support for them. But I don't think the protests in the 60s changed anything at all either. We continued in Vietnam for years, segration and racism continued, etc.

That was not the experience in Detroit. The riots of '67 destroyed the city for decades.

When my daughter was living in D.C., we took a Big Bus Tour to be able to see all the highlights quickly in the very short time we had while I was helping her get settled there. At the end of a route, they had us disembark that bus and get on a different one after a 20 minute break or so. So we're sitting on a step at this hotel and I'm thinking "I've seen this place before, but I've never been to D.C. Why do I know this?" I saw there was a plaque on the wall so I went over to read it and it was the location of the Reagan assassination attempt. I had seen that video footage over and over that day and in the weeks that followed, so it was a familiar place to me.

I can't think of particular historic places in the US I'd like to go except maybe Gettysburg and Salem. There are so many places in the UK- like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, etc. I love all the castles and cathedrals in the UK.

Well said, PB. I couldn’t agree more. Facts!

So, I have that song on my phone in my iTunes, and now whenever it plays, I know I won’t listen to it the same way I always have, like a normal song I like on my iTunes. honeychile, your post is such an amazing story that I’ll always listen to that song differently. I can now say I chatted with the person that influenced parts of that song. Thank you for sharing that.

I think if I lived back then, I don’t know if I’d recognize the gradual changes, maybe with an exception of a few.

I missed this one. Yes, that’s it, honeychile. It was so sad that happened at what could have been a fun event. Oh, and I love The Stones. They’re one of my favorite bands of the 60s. :)

There is a public housing museum in Chicago. I’d love to see that, since I’ve read tons on the history (particularly in Chicago, too).

There Are No Children Here by Alex Koltowitz
Cabrini Green in Images and Words
High Risers by Ben Austen

Never heard about it, so I googled it. Sounds fascinating!

Carnation, when my brother got home from Vietnam, he took me to a Vietnam Veterans Against the War concert at Point State Park. While he & his wife were getting high, I wandered off and ended up behind the stage. Everyone was much too high to really protest, but it was a good concert! I met Peter Stookey and John Kay of Steppenwolf, who were just hanging around. They asked me my name, and I was so shy, I stuttered my name!

I’d like to see the MLK, Jr. National Historic Park, the African American History museum (again.. I’ve been), and I’d like to do some traveling around the south to see some of the plantations that are still standing. There’s also the barn that Emmett Till was beaten and killed in that I want to see.

Another trip I've taken was the John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour. If you're interested in the Lincoln Assassination, this is fascinating! It starts in the hotel/bar that Mary Surratt owned in Maryland, goes into DC to Ford's Theatre, The Peterson House (where Lincoln died), drives by the house where the plot to kill Lincoln was hatched (it's now a Chinese restaurant!), and heads back to Maryland & Virginia, following the route the JWB & David Herod took & the stops they made.

This is a bus tour and takes about 12 hours, with several stops & lunch. I was blessed to sit next to Michael W. Kauffman, who has written several books about the Assassination for much of the tour.

If you're interested, go to John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour, sponsored by the Surratt Society. FWIW, Mary Surratt was the first woman executed by the Federal Government for her role in the Assassination.

During my trip to Spain, I went to the Alhambra and Monasterio de San Jerónimo in Granada. I went to the San Antonio Cathedral in Frigliana. Then in Sevilla, I want to Real Alcazar and the Catedral de Sevilla. All absolutely incredible places! So beautifully architected and ornately decorated.