COLOR ME IMPRESSED.

       I was looking through some old college yearbooks a few days ago and I uncovered some very interesting achievements.  No, I'm not referring to grades or degrees or any of that paltry stuff.  I'm talking about 'goings on' in and around the Magic City. We have two colleges here but are most definitely not thought of as a college town.  Back in the day (1970-71 , to be exact),  I guess some things could actually considered BETTER.  Things that would actually excite ME if I had actually been alive to witness it.
     The first achievement was to somehow convince a group of talented musicians from Britain called Badfinger to play at one of the colleges' theaters; Petro Hall which holds upwards of 500 people.  These dudes were tight with Beatles, man!  They also wrote what I consider to be just about the best power pop song in the world called 'No Matter What.'  For you younger folks they also wrote the song "Baby Blue" that was featured in the last episode of "Breaking Bad."  They also had some of the worst luck of any band and two members would later commit suicide after many failed comeback attempts.
     The second achievement was getting Mort Sahl to come here for one of his 'commentaries.'  He was one of the most famous political comedians in the country.  But unlike Lenny Bruce, he didn't have a drug habit or try to shock the audience to get a point across. Sitting in on one of these mostly freeform discussions where the audience was allowed to ask questions and express their views must have been amazing.  And to think, it was all done in a civilized manner.  How DID they do it?  Again, for you younger folks, Mort Sahl would most likely be the precursor to someone like Jon Stewart or John Oliver.
    The third and final achievement was to get the one of the leaders of the burgeoning Women's Movement, Gloria Steinem to speak here.  I'm not going to try to even imagine how this all went down but it must have been something special.  As a male, I would probably be afraid of going to an event like this one out of fear of being tarred and feathered or some such thing even though I consider myself to be whatever the exact opposite of whatever a male chauvinist pig would be called.
     I went to college at the same place in the early 1990s.  By then, there was very little campus entertainment beyond a few plays or dances.  And this was BEFORE the internet!  The city had changed.  I believe it had become much more conservative.  I even had a boss at one of my first jobs tell me "this town cares little about culture....unless it's agriculture."  Today the town is changing again.  Will it be for the better?  Will I even be around to experience it?  And will anyone ever be impressed again?