What's Your Favorite Decade?

     We've all been around for a while, most of us since the 1950s, some of us from the 1940s. Times have certainly changed, for the country and the world -- and for ourselves as well.

     I need to credit Apache Dug for the idea of this post. He recently wrote a post on Bob Newhart and along the way mentioned that he loves the 1970s, or more precisely he said, "for me, the '70s are gold."

     Personally, the '70s was not my favorite decade. Okay, there were some great TV shows like All in the Family and Roots . . . and Bob Newhart. But otherwise, honestly, there was also Vietnam, Watergate, gas lines . . . bellbottoms and bad music.

     So my question is: If you had to pick a favorite decade in your lifetime, which one would it be?  I  know, I know, we're probably supposed to say our favorite decade is one that's yet to come, the 2020s. But c'mon. For us? Realistically? Besides, the decade hasn't exactly started out so well.

     So looking back, we've all seen some good times and bad times. I sometimes think that the best time in my own life was when I was in junior high (now known as middle school ... don't ask me why they changed the name). I remember those days fondly. I had a great group of friends. My family lived in a nice house in a great neighborhood. I even got my first girlfriend. They were innocent times for me, before my brother got sick, before we had to move to a new town where I didn't know anyone, before I felt the slings and arrows of high school.

     But my favorite decade, I think, was the 1990s. I was doing well at work, getting promotions and making good money. My wife and I were getting along (we got divorced in the following decade). We had a nice house, and I worked close to home, so I didn't have a long commute and I was able to watch my kids grow up -- I went to a lot of their swim meets, tennis matches, school concerts, class plays. 

     The world was also safe in the 1990s. The Cold War was over; freedom rang out in Europe. There was peace at home. There was no violence in the streets (a few exceptions like Rodney King, but nothing like the '60s, or 2020 for that matter). There was relative peace in the world (with a few exceptions like Bosnia, but even Afghanistan was relatively quiet).

     I recently read that the last time the polls showed a majority of Americans thought our country was "headed in the right direction" was in the 1990s -- for several years under President Clinton. Since then the only time a majority thought things were going right was for a brief time under President Bush after 9/11. Ever after, it's all been all downhill.

     Back in the 1990s people seemed more civilized, less polarized. They weren't as nasty and hateful. Or so it seems to me anyway. And then there's the capper. The '70s had Newhart, true. But the '90s had Seinfeld. As well as The X-Files, The Simpsons, Twin Peaks, the list goes on. And movies like Fargo, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park.

     One last thing. Today in 2021 we pay $148.50 a month for Medicare Part B. Back in 1991 the Part B monthly premium was a $29.90. Wouldn't you like to pay $29.90 again? So if the 2020s turn out anything like the 1990s, I'd be okay with that!