What Goes Around...

I'm a nostalgia nut. Last night I looked at old family photos for over an hour. I pour over each edition of Reminisce magazine at the library. I could spend days looking through old magazines. I even made a replica 1961 calendar to hang on my wall (the days of 1961 match up with 2006).

I recently came across several U.S. News magazines from 1978-'80. Looking through them, I forgot that I was reading 27-year old material. For example:

May 28, 1979:

• - America's gasoline hysteria is unmatched in most foreign lands, where drivers live with costly oil.
• - Congress considers "windfall profits" tax on big oil.
• - Why more families are caught up in a "buy now, pay later" spree. (The shaky pyramid of consumer debt)
• - Why the U.S. is falling behind in development of new products and technology.
• - Iran: Expectations were high that ouster of the Shah would bring better life to all. But broken promises are turning hope into bitterness.

May 12, 1980:

• Secretary of State comments: Military Force -"I hope we've learned that allowing ourselves to get involved in a guerrilla war with a small country on the other side of the world is a misuse of military power - if it is not any moral failure on our part." Middle East - "We must back Israel's demand for defensible borders."
• U.S. Military Ailing - Too much turbulence, too few men, too little equipment.
• New products designed to solve energy crisis - 1. Recover methane gas from landfills. 2. Produce gas from sawdust. 3. Use clock-controlled thermostats. 4. Use lift force of wind to produce electricity. 5. Motorless household garbage disposal. 6. Insulated window shades. 7. Hydrogen-powered cars.
• Top honors at the World Fair for Technology Exchange went to the inventor of U-Form, an insulated, prefabricated panel that, when filled with concrete, shapes the complete outer wall of a building.

I've seen set-back thermostats, wind-powered generators, and insulated window shades since 1980, but I don't think I've ever seen a U-Form panel. Have you?