1963

Viewing Life from Different Perspectives

1963 started out with a US Postage rate hike, when a first class stamp rose from 4 to 5 cents. Alabama saw George C. Wallace sworn in as the state governor with a speech that declared "..segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!". NBA basketball was not segregated; Wilt "the stilt" Chamberlain was a star. Both Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle signed $100,000. contracts with their teams: the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees. In August, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his now famous "I have a dream speech". President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. was assassinated in November.

1963 was a busy year. Kennedy spoke about segregation calling it "morally wrong", while Wallace was busy ordering State Police to prevent black students from enrolling in white schools and universities. This caused the Federal government to issue an injunction to stop the practice. The USA and Russia were embroiled in a Cold War. It was agreed upon that the use of nuclear weapons was MAD, acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction of planet earth. Kennedy proposed a joint US and Soviet moon voyage after the Soviets missed their moon landing. Major League baseball introduced fans to the Alou brothers, Matty, Felipe and Jesus; Elston Howard was the first black player to receive an American League Most Value Player award.

Television in 1963 was still seen in black and white on small screens. If it were not for music, I probably would have stayed in my bedroom reading, rather than joining dad to watch the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights. New on the pop scene was a 13 year old harmonica playing blind kid called "Little Stevie Wonder" who scored a hit with a tune called "Fingertips". 1963 saw the start of what was called "The British Invasion" with these strange "mop-heads" called the Beatles. Bob Dylan created some controversy by walking off the set of the Ed Sullivan Show and would later croon "the time's they are a' changing". A favorite garage band tune, "Louie, Louie" was considered obscene by radio DJs and U.S. teens probably did not notice that the Supreme Court ruled against reading of Bible verses public schools.