To me, these words, opening the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, sum up much of the 1960's. Of course, I was less of a Bible student than a musician, so the Byrds' cover of Pete Seeger's song, "Turn, Turn, Turn," gave me that most poignant vision of Biblical expressions concerning those times.

For those of us who lived through the turbulent days of 1968 in Lakewood, it was a time for coming of age.

In January of '68, an American spy ship, the Pueblo, was taken by North Korea. We sat riveted to our black and white TV sets as this drama developed. The Pueblo's commander, Lloyd Bucher, and his crew were taken prisoner by the North Koreans and ended up spending 11 months in captivity, being released in return for a promise that the U.S. would not spy on the North Koreans again. As winter became spring, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in April on the balcony of a Memphis motel, unleashing a wave of civil rights unrest that in some ways has continued on to this day.

It was also a year much like this one, when a United States President would be elected. President Lyndon Johnson had declined to run for another term. America's youth, troubled by the threat of young men being drafted, and concerned about an ongoing war in Vietnam with no exit strategy in sight, took to the streets in vigorous protests that, at times, turned violent. At the August 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, violent protests unfolded into mass arrests and injuries, as students clashed with police in scenes reminiscent of the civil rights struggles of the early '60's.

A third party candidate, George Wallace from Alabama, emerged to shake up the two-party system in this country. Republicans nominated Richard Nixon. Democrats struggled with several choices, including Edmund Muskie and Robert Kennedy. On the eve of his California primary victory, Robert Kennedy was tragically shot by a lone gunman. He died shortly afterwards, shocking the entire nation. Democrats finally settled on Hubert Humphrey as their candidate, but in November, Richard Nixon prevailed with his campaign promise of "peace with honor" in Vietnam.

On the international front, after a brief "Czech Spring"of freedom, Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia in a serious reassertion of Communist ideology and power. America began a long series of "peace talks" with Communist North Vietnam. American bombs fell on North Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi. North Vietnam's Tet offensive shocked Americans who were thinking that the war might be winding down. Americans were also further stunned to learn that U.S. soldiers had participated in a brutal massacre of Vietnamese civilians near a place called My Lai, in South Vietnam.

On the Ohio sports scene, the big local news was that the Cleveland Browns clinched the Eastern Conference with a decisive victory over Dallas, but were shut out in the NFL championship game with Baltimore. Cleveland baseball pitcher, Luis Tiant, struck out 19 batters in 10 innings in a spectacular game. Ohio State took the national college championship in football that year. Our own magnificent Lakewood Ranger football team took the LEL title, but lost to Shaw in the season's final game.

1968 would be the last TV year for the original "Batman" and "Star Trek" series. TV shows like "My Three Sons" and "Laugh-in" were watched, along with "Ironside" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." New shows for that year included "The Mod Squad" and "60 minutes."

Famous people stories included the marriage of the late President John F. Kennedy's widow, Jacqueline, to Aristotle Onassis. Actress Jayne Mansfield died in a tragic automobile accident.

Modern rock and pop music seemed to get more categorical in 1968, with the "bubble gum" sound intending to appeal to the young. A group called the Ohio Express did a tune called "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and the 1910 Fruitgum Company did "Simon Says." Mainstream pop hits included Simon and Garfunkel's soundtrack from "The Graduate" and Glen Campbell's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix."

Otis Redding aced a posthumous R&B hit with "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," recorded just three days before his 1967 death in a plane crash.

Top country hits included Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" album and Jeannie C. Riley's recording of "Harper Valley PTA."

For rock artists, 1968 was a time of album rock, including the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour," Cream's "Wheels of Fire," and Jimi Hendrix's "Axis, Bold as Love." The Doors' "Hello, I Love You" mixed with the Rascals' "People Got To Be Free" in the singles mix, as did the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and the Monkees' "I'm A Believer."

Our average annual wage around here was just under $7,000 back then. Gas was roughly 34 cents per gallon, coffee was about 70 cents a pound, and a first class stamp cost 6 cents. The average Lakewood home was going for around $20,000.

Let's go back and take a walk around Lakewood in 1968. If you were a teenaged guy, you might have a madras button-down shirt tucked into a pair of brown hopsack jeans, with white socks, wide "mod" belt, and penny loafers, each holding a bright Lincoln penny. If you were a teenaged girl, you might be wearing a skirt or dress with saddle shoes. Your lightly curled hair could be strapped into place with a wide headband, or might be set in a "beehive."

Let's start on Lakewood's east end, down on Detroit. As we pass Fairchild Chevrolet, we oogle and awe at the newly restyled Corvette in the window, barely noticing the Impalas, Novas, and Corvairs out in the lot. Nor do we pay much mind to Koepke's Mercedes cars, stately gracing the front window across the street. After all, we are teenagers, and those big, dignified beauties in no way match that 'Vette, at least to our young minds. Of course, Koepke once had a silver gull-wing Mercedes roadster in their show room, and that one did catch our eye!

As we come up to the downtown area, dozens of glittering shops greet us. There's Geiger's of course. Across the street at Warren, there's Bailey's, a full-service upscale department store. I'd gotten my first Beatles record there in 1963, and later, an autograph from the great Cleveland Brown, Paul Warfield. Of course, Melody Lane Records is right there too, having many of those hit records mentioned above.

There's Everden Jewelers over there, and Carson's dress shop too! There's Jackshaw Pontiac, Kelly's Donuts, and Walker Shoes, and of course Klanke's Funeral Parlor. Across from Geiger's, there's Keith Jewelers, where I established my first credit by buying a Bulova Accutron "electronic tuning fork" wrist watch for about $100 at $10 per week. That was a great deal of money, since a diamond engagement ring at Keith's could be had starting at $59.50. If we'd gone further down Detroit, we would surely have stopped at Miller's Dining Room for some delicious sticky buns!

As we walk up Warren to Madison, we pass the red brick Lakewood Fire Station, as well as the Lakewood Post Office and the Board of Education. We stop for a great burger and fries at Bearden's. Up on Madison, we see the Rexall Pharmacy and, going east, pass by D & M Gastown, Flowers of Joy, and Ferrar's Macaroni (makers of homemade frozen macaroni products). At Lakewood's east end, on Highland Avenue, we'd find the stately Union Carbide facility. If we'd gone west, we would have seen the slot-car racing place, MG motors, and the Usher Insurance Agency.

Although many of the above businesses are no longer around, several that were here in '68 still are. Geiger's is, for sure. A Bearden's still sits over in Rocky River. Fridrich Moving and Storage still moves and stores, and of course there's Mahall's restaurant and bowling alley, Educator's Music, and others, as well.

The motto for the LHS Class of '68 was "Ours the world to discover, to understand, and to improve." It remains for all of us to wonder just how much the class of '68 followed that motto. Of course, I was only a junior then...

The pulse of our city may, indeed, have changed its rhythm over the past 40 years, but its heart appears to remain strong and well, as those seasons continue to change in our lives.