As a member of the Baby Boomer generation the first adjectives in my vocabulary were big, large,
tall, just like the skyline of my native New York City. During my formative years of the 1960s, my
adjective list grew to include huge, gigantic, expansive, tremendous, as did my view of the world.
Prominent in my developing memory book were universal events occurring close to home and far away
including Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech,” the 1964-65 World’s Fair in nearby Flushing
Meadow, Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk more than 200,000 miles away, and the monumental media
milestones that developed almost daily especially the bold images of the Vietnam War brought to our
living room each night in living color from the other side of the globe. And of course we cannot forget
those huge automobiles that didn’t fit in the narrow garages of our homes built for returning World War
II veterans. Throughout
the 1970s I was taught to
think large, aim for the
stars and bigger is always
better. Following the
tune of this drummer I
chose to attend the
largest Catholic high
school in the US and then
one of the largest
universities in New York
City; it was positioned
that through these
choices I would be better
primed to land that big
job, be well prepared for
life in the big city and be
able to navigate the new
global world with ease.
By Max Mordecai - via Wikimedia Commons
It’s a small world, afterall
So with all this conditioning, learning and exposure to a value system based on the concept of “large,”
why is it that I am still able to close my eyes and be transported back to the UNICEF message of the
1964 World’s Fair to those v isions and sounds of “It’s a Small World Afterall?” We are constantly
reminded that part of daily living (large) in the 21st Century includes use of so many innovative
solutions, most that fit in the palm of the hand. Why do we become almost paralyzed when they are
not in our palm or within hand’s reach? What is this fascination with small things that are so
important, even crucial to life in this large world? Is this a new concept or an example of history
repeating itself?
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THE CONE - ISSUE #5 - SUMMER 2015