1964

What a year!  1964 was a real humdinger and ground-breaker in retrospect, and did a respectable job of adding its two cents (which we actually still used back then) to the weave of our social fabric.

For instance, there were several notable events that played out during ’64.  Innsbruck, Austria hosted the Winter Olympics for the first time.  That was the year that timing to the hundredth of a second was introduced into Alpine Skiing events and also the first Olympics that had the host country light the torch from Olympia in Greece—a tradition still honoured today.  Canada won a Gold, a Silver, and a Bronze medal at the Games.  Remember those days?

Back then, the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics were always held during the same year, and 1964’s Summer Olympics were precedent setting because they were held in an Asian country for the first time ever.  The Tokyo Games premiered the use of fiberglass poles in Pole Vaulting, and were the last Games to hold their track and field events on a black cinder track.  Not only was Volleyball added as an event, but Women’s Volleyball was the first ever women’s team event to make an appearance in the Olympics.  This was also the first time that the Games were telecast internationally—prior Games needed to be filmed and the tapes immediately flown to various countries for broadcast.  Canada walked away with a Gold, two Silvers, and a Bronze.

Also that year, the World’s Fair opened in New York and admission for adults was $2.00.  There were several fascinating products presented during the Fair and several caught on with the masses.  8-track tapes made their official debut, and Ford used the Fair as the forum to introduce their newest car.  They called it the Mustang!

Elsewhere, a well-established ink and glue company from Massachusetts took note of the growing public interest in markers and, with the help of some celebrity endorsers such as Johnny Carson and Jack Parr, the Sanford Ink Company released the first pen-style permanent marker in 1964, calling it The Sharpie.  And it’s taken 60 years for those early purchasers to get the stain out of their livingroom drapes or the hardwood floors in the playroom.

After a decades of passionate civil rights activism and leadership, the great Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in October of 1964, for his work combating racial inequality through non-violence.  There have never been prizes of any sort handed out for racism.  Anywhere.  Ever.     

It was during 1964 that the Italian Government finally threw their hands up and asked the world for help in keeping the Tower in Pisa from falling over.  The ground it had been built on was too soft from the get-go and the Tower started to lean as soon as the weight of the second floor had been added during construction in the 12^th century.  And yet, they kept building!  Once the opportunity was tabled, everyone seems to have taken a run at solving the dilemma, but it wasn’t until May 2008 that there had been enough duct tape applied to finally stop the Tower’s slow and continual tipping for the first time in its history.  They think it will be good for another 200 years at this point.  By then it will be someone else’s problem.

In Canada, 1964 brought in the birth of Social Insurance Numbers and by June 6.3 million of them had been issued.  Employers are only legally able to hire those Canadians who have a SIN (?  Guess that’s all of us!!!) so once a young person was old enough to get a job, we all applied for a number of our own.  Some people memorize their numbers immediately and the rest of us get to look at our juvenile signatures on the card every time our SIN is asked for.

The Beatles made their first foray into Canada in August of 1964, with a show at Vancouver’s open-air Empire Stadium.  It blew UP in true Beatles fashion.  They played 11 songs (starting with “Twist and Shout” and ending with “Long Tall Sally”) that no one could hear over the screaming and then headed straight back to the airport to fly to LA for their next show.

Meanwhile, over in Hamilton, the first ever Tim Horton Donuts opened at the corner of Ottawa St N and Dunsmure.  The building was renovated through the years and then replaced with a new one entirely but there’s still a Tim’s at that corner 60 years later.  That tracks, doesn’t it? 

Nutella was introduced to our palates in 1964, as was Diet Pepsi (when Pepsi decided to compete with Tab from Coca-Cola), and we were all caught off guard by the invention of Pop-tarts. Pastries in the toaster? Who could have imagined that?  Lucky Charms also showed up in 1964, and that was also the year that Paul Faraci from Winnipeg invented and started selling Pizza Pops.  I kid you not.  Canadian. 

At the movies, people were watching Mary Poppins, Gold Finger, and A Hard Day’s Night—all considered classics these days.

It was in February that the G.I. Joe action figure was released, and boys and men everywhere were finally encouraged to play with dolls—without having their macho masculinity questioned.  Although, since “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em Robots” was released later that year by Marx Toys, they could also punch the head off a robot for fun. And wear Brut, the newest cologne for men.  60 years old.  Just suggesting it might be time. 

And 1964 welcomed a generation of fashionable, talented, and fabulous people.  Ron Sexsmith, Colin James, Diana Krall, Keanu Reeves, Lisa LaFlamme, Prince Edward the Duke of Edinburgh (14^th in line for the throne), Lenny Kravitz, Dan Brown the writer, Boris Johnson (pick your own category for him), Eddie Vedder, Sandra Bullock, and Dave, my dentist.  It was also the year that my cherished friends Jody, Kathy, and Carol were born, so the standard was set pretty high.

And it was in 1964—60 years ago yesterday, as a matter of fact—that I was fortunate enough to breeze into this beautiful and curious world, to be immediately put up for adoption, and go on from that rocky start to be raised, supported, guided, and treasured by my awe-inspiring adoptive parents.  60 years have gone by both quickly and at times, achingly slow, but from this glorious viewpoint on the top of a great heap of experiences, I can look back at my life’s collection of wins and losses while at the same time looking forward in anticipation to what the next 60 years will introduce me to!  Join in when you can!   

Oh, and apparently Doug Ford was also born in ’64, but we didn’t know him or anything.