“Cause the summer’s here, and the time is ripe for fighting in the street, boy.

While having been recorded in 1968, which has stood the test of time as America’s most volatile year in terms of violence, divisive politics, and cultural chaos, 2023 may turn out to be more extraordinary.

The trouble is, the music of 2023 cannot even come close to the variety and quality many of us were able to enjoy in 1968.

Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio indeed!

I got my first job in the city (New York City for you out-of-towners) in June of 1968.

Working in the mailroom with black, Puerto Rican, and Jewish guys convinced me of the value of integration. Our eclectic group depended on one another, and when I first started working, I had all the support and instruction I needed to do my job. Because it was to everyone’s benefit that I learned all that I had to do as quickly as possible, everyone was willing to share their knowledge.

I also learned other life skills.

We would go out to lunch on Fridays, and we either went to the Orange Room (Nedick’s in Grand Central Station) or the Umbrella Room (The Dirty Water Hot Dog Vendor on the corner.) Paydays allowed us to go a little more upscale, and we frequently went to the Blarney Stone for a roast beef sandwich and a couple of cold beers.

There was some friction, however.

One day there was a debate about who was the better singer, Aretha or Dionne Warwick?

Now, I liked them both, but I had the sense to stay out of that one. Actually, it was one of the funniest times in the mailroom.

It was hard to believe that the outside world was exploding around us.

The Tet Offensive in the early part of the year, the Assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, and President Johnson withdrawing his candidacy for re-election appeared to set the whole nation on edge with no consensus on how to proceed.

Sound familiar?

I really don’t think 2023 will turn out like 1968. Despite all the rhetoric, I can’t accept that our democracy is in so much peril of destruction. I hope I haven’t overestimated the American intellect and the rationality of our political leaders (this may be quite an assumption to make). Still, I do hope justice and real patriotism will out.

I just wish we had better music today!