The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.
John Lennon
watch the video/remix - Cherry Blossom Girl - bottom
The End of the Innocence
I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to be a single 30 year old in the U.K. in 1965. Zero friends. Looking into her oval mirror and wondering what it would be like to BE one of them, you know - younger, prettier girls who they fall in love with. Like Paul McCartney’s girlfriend/lover. Making out in a darkened nightclub booth with Mick Jagger or Alain Delon.
The thought stirring shivers … still alone. Dreaming.
circa 1944 - Dad - G.J. (Jim) LaMarche (center)
Black & White - Hayley Mills
Mom left Dad in 1966, with a bigger picture in mind and it was devastating to this 10 year old, whilst simultaneously watching the world modulate. There were remnants of a world war still lingering; a dusty aftermath. Woodstock Ontario was very conservative/still is - an unwavering intransigence that persists 70 years later even in those in their 20's/30's now. In the 60's half liked it way better before this wave of liberalism changed everything. Long hair on boys and girls wearing short skirts and speaking their minds? Mom was 32 - in the prime of her life, before she moved out and took us kids too. Dad was toxic, damaged. Out to prove something to those who didn’t care. Men back then just had certain expectations, especially on their wives. A duty to comply. That said, most men got what they wanted. Submission.
Movies, music and attitudes were changing. A quantum shift. OK. Hayley? She killed it. That informed androgyny about to blossom into a beautiful woman. She was older but we were one in the same. Gender was irrelevant other than an overwhelming attraction to the opposite sex. Sexuality was abundantly heterosexual. That said, homosexuality was a hidden non issue to anyone under 30 - like it didn’t matter. Hidden only because those who didn't subscribe to the times saw them as freaks. Puberty was just a word that I had no clue about but the rumblings of something big was right around the corner. A feeling.
The Beatles - Ed Sullivan Show - February 09, 1964
Relevance
On Sunday February 09/64 at 8:02pm it all rotated. It was like everything just got that bit brighter and sharper on my screen; that 12 inch black & white portable TV in my Dad’s office on 980 Sloane Street where I saw the Beatles for the first time. Not just a 'fad' either. It was frikkin' epic! Adults/parents are like, what’s this nonsense? - while everyone under 30 was on fire; sensing an eruption that would transform everything for the better. A permanence that defied established norms brought to us by four mop-tops from Liverpool.
So it was 1965 that I would like to suggest that the world actually changed. Rubber Soul. Vietnam war, the voting rights act, an awakening in America’s youth. A distinct marker or separation between US & THEM, when all of a sudden, people started thinking differently. A new polarization between Conservatives and Liberals; the old way versus the new way that lasted for decades. Older conservative thinkers were 'squares' contrasting the more circular movement of progressive minds, younger/hipper. There was a growing anxiety amongst stoic thinkers that one may just eclipse the other that continues to this day.
I mean I’d heard ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘She Loves You’ on the radio but seeing them perform live on TV was earth shattering. Mom was stuck in the middle. In a rut of a relationship with a man who wanted her to keep quiet and stay put, and a tsunami of liberation launched by those younger and more alive. Relevance. It makes total sense to me now why she had to step out and make a life for herself. The word suffocation comes to mind. Life is about more than being the good wife who looks and acts accordingly.
A Hard Day’s Night then HELP was a must see on the big screen followed by 'To Sir With Love' where high school white girls fall in love with their black teacher played by Sidney Poitier was a massive blockbuster that transcended the boundaries of race and tolerance, elevating everyone’s awareness while pissing off millions of sceptics determined to preserve their way of life - threatened by change. Becoming open to new ideas was the hallmark of a new humanity focussing on equality, diversity and acceptance for a growing population embracing peace.
Hayley Mills
Epilogue:
The struggle continues. The tug of war in a push-pull entanglement of opinions and values. Some new, some old and all still gasping for air.
I often think of her and wonder what it was like back then. That spark of inspiration that carried her forward into the unknown, knowing it was something she had to do despite the obvious setbacks. In a new world full of possibilities. Jumping. Taking the plunge.
