Classmates:
If you haven't already seen it, I would recommend that you watch the series 'Manhattan'. Although only small segments of the series take place in Oak Ridge and none of us had been born when these incidents occurred, it does give us an opportunity to truly appreciate the essence of our parents lives during that most remarkable time.
We may not have realized it then, but we came from a most unusual place. We thought it was normal that we often knew little about our father's job, that most of the houses looked alike, that street names began with the same letter as the avenues from which they originated, and that many of them were named after states.
Most of our parents came from far away and, unlike in most childhoods elsewhere at the time, most of us had no extended family. So, we became each others extended families. Our parents did their best to create a wonderful life for us and I'm convinced that we were incredibly lucky to grow up in such an environment that provided safety and nurturing, outdoor opportunities, world class public schools, and a proud cultural heritage.
It was a place where my parents came expecting to stay 6 months and ended up staying 65 years. For me, it will always be home, and as we look forward to this milestone year of our sendoff from the community, the nostalgia becomes ever more vivid.
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