The 1960s, up to age 15 for me, was a time of expanding world events but my own exposure was limited, so I have chosen to include those that were either television moments for me or particular personal memories. They’re all pretty self-explanatory!

Neil Armstrong’s moon walk and the sound of his voice had us all glued to our TVs. The first heart transplant was the start of advances we hadn’t dreamed possible. Birth control pills and silicone breast implants weren’t personal items, haha! But the news was captivating for us all.

Canada’s 100-year birthday was so exciting. The stylized maple leaf was everywhere! Winnipeg hosted the Pan-Am Games that year and we had tickets for some of it, notably swimming and gymnastics.

I loved the Beatles. We all loved the Beatles! I wasn’t a big fan of the Rolling Stones’ music but sure enjoyed their antics! The Beach Boys were my go-to band on lengthy car rides when I was older. And the rock opera “Tommy”? It was incredible – I watched it on film in those days but had the opportunity to take my son to see a stage performance many, many years later… and it was just as incredible then.

During one of her visits to Calgary, my grandmother took me to see the Sound of Music – I was 10 years old. It was the first time I saw a movie in a theatre! As life would have it, though, I remember nothing of the theatre experience; instead I have a clear image of wandering the shopping mall with her afterwards, then slicing my finger on some store shelf and bleeding everywhere – Nan had to buy bandaids… sigh.

Oh, the Grinch. The world still loves the Grinch. I was old enough to realize that cartoons were for younger kids by the time these ones came out, but I had younger siblings and would join them on Saturday mornings to enjoy them all.

Elephant pants! These showed up around Grade 8… mine were grey… and I loved, loved, loved them!

Mini skirts, maxi skirts, bell bottoms and flared pants all showed up in the late 60s but they weren’t part of my personal existence until I hit high school a couple of years later… and boy oh boy, did they ever become important then!