Where were you in the summer of ’66?

All week long The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City” has been playing in my head. No, the back of my neck hasn’t gotten “dirty and gritty” because, luckily, I have air conditioning. Fifty years ago when the song hit number one I didn’t, though.

The summer of 1966 was a very sad time for me. My dad died on Aug. 18th and I felt as if I had lost my best friend. He was the only person who knew that I was going to have his first grandchild in seven months.

But life continued and the average income was $6,900. I am sure my young husband and I made much less. Gasoline cost a whole 32 cents a gallon and I imagine we complained about the price even then.

“Dark Shadows” kept day-time television viewers riveted to the screen. “Batman” kept us entertained in the evening. “Mr. Ed” aired for the very last time. “Dr. Zhivago” hit the big screen and every woman fell in love with Omar Sharif.

In 1966, Pampers created the first disposable diaper just in time for my developing family. Color TVs became more popular as they became more reasonable to afford.

The summer of ’66 was particularly significant because the United States Supreme Court ruled on Miranda v Arizona. From that point on, all suspects have to be advised of their rights by the police before they can be questioned.

The news was filled with the horror of Charles Whitman killing 14 and injuring 32 from the top of the University of Texas tower. He had previously killed his wife and mother. I remember how unusual that was back then. Now it seems to happen more and more often.

It’s hard to believe, but the summer of 1966 was the last time the Beatles ever appeared live together when they ended their U.S. tour in San Francisco. Grace Slick performed live for the first time with Jefferson Airplane.

Anti-Vietnam protests began to gather a lot of attention. More than 200,000 people around the world united to protest the war. Polls showed only 49 percent of the population supported our action in Vietnam. We had 500,000 troops there.

The Black Panther Party was formed in Oakland, California, to monitor and challenge police brutality. Gosh, can you believe that 50 years later we are still talking about Black Lives Matter?

In 1966, nearly every woman under 30 wore a mini-skirt at one time or another. Keep in mind, back then a mini-skirt was about half way down the thigh. Today’s teensy little skirts that barely cover the tush would never have been tolerated 50 years ago.

I did not wear a mini-skirt in 1966. Maternity outfits did not offer that feature.

Sis Bowman can be reached at eebowman@columbus.rr.com.