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Something that a local gossip sheet, the Whistleblower, wrote in the Cincinnati area. Attribution was made as "one of our readers." Edited for length. Wish I could give credit where credit is due on this one.

"...Those of us born in the mid-70s were not supposed to experience a great America. The tone of the times was decidedly downcast, with oil embargoes, resource shortages, inflation, failing to achieve victory in Vietnam, and Watergate hanging over our heads. New cars were not symbols of power and confidence, like the Mustangs and Chargers were shortly before. Instead, the finest minds in Detroit were producing monuments to mediocrity such as Pintos and Darts. It didn't get much better as the decade progressed. We endured stagflation, malaise, hostages in Iran, and disco....

Ronald Reagan changed all of that for us. It is fortunate that we in our late 20s and early 30s do not remember much of the years that preceded his presidency. By the time we were really paying attention, he had straightened things out. The Soviets were crumbling, energy was affordable, and our economy had received an optimistic shot in the arm that propelled our parents to provide for us at a level even greater than before.

On a personal note, I recall one summer Saturday afternoon in 1984. I was all of 10 years old, watching a ballgame with my father. A Chrysler commercial came on TV, the slogan of which was "The Pride is Back, Born in America." Despite the fact that he owned a rather poorly-made specimen of a Chrysler Corporation product, seeing the patriotic themes contained within this commercial prompted my father to turn to me and remark that "one day you will realize how fortunate you are to be living in this country." How many parents were saying that to their children in 1979?

In retrospect, so many people of my age took him for granted. He's the first President we really remember. He stood up to our enemies and offered comfort when tragedy struck. That's what Presidents do. We didn't know that he did it so well.

So many of us took our parents for granted as we were growing up. That is not unique to our generation. What is unique is that we had a great President in our midst who did so much to improve our lives and our future. May we always cherish that memory."