My friend Dominic — accomplished  filmmaker and animator —  just sent  me the link to the video below. I’m really stunned.

When we remember the past, we use our always selective memory to create a detailed, idiosyncratic picture.   What we sometimes forget is that there are also billions of other people of a certain age who are looking back and remembering the same period of time.

I remember 1969 as a year of excitement, anticipation, and incredible social turmoil.  I was starting my freshman year at UCLA, and still reeling from the previous year of assassinations and  political instability. It was the only time in my life that I wondered whether the social fabric was strong enough to keep society in one piece.

I had completely forgotten that, in the midst of all this social ferment, the television program below was one of the most highly rated on network television. It may be one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. 

Millions of people watched every week.  Who were these people? What were they thinking? Did they smile? Laugh? Were they eating fondue?