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Jim Magay |
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Paul Alony popped in yesterday. Paul who? Back in the day, Paul, a Worcester based optician, bought a small group of retail optical stores between Worcester and Springfield from the Meyerowitz Group and did really well. Paul liked to give back and was very active in an association called MARDO (Mass Assoc of Retail Dispensing Opticians) and he also helped form the Opticians Association of America.
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In time Paul tired of the retail business and sold off his stores and moved to Tel Aviv. That was 35 or so years ago, His hair has since turned grey but he is just as lean and keen as ever.
As a result of Paul’s impromptu visit, emails have been buzzing around between Rolf and Patt Sulzberger, a couple who mentored a lot of us young eye care providers in the Worcester area. Paul had kept in touch with them and shared their contact info in Florida with me. He also brought some pictures of early OAA meetings we attended as MARDO delegates. I can’t believe how young we were. It truly was an innocent era, pre 3rd party, pre chain stores, pre Wal Mart, Target, flat panel anything, no computers, prosperous newspapers. American Optical, Bausch & Lomb, Univis, and Shuron Continental were running strong. Providence, Attleboro, Rochester, and Southbridge housed a large percentage of the world’s frame manufacturing capacity.
And yet a look at the headlines from that long ago age and on the surface, maybe things haven’t changed too much. A look at the headlines from 1975 is revealing:
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Haldeman, Erlickman, Mitchell Convicted of Conspiracy
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President Ford Announces Recession Policy
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Saigon Falls to North Vietnamese, Thousands Flee By Boat
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Teamster Leader Jimmy Hoffa Disappear, Foul Play Suspected
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Patty Hearst Arrested By FBI
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Ford Escapes Shot Fired by Sara Jane Moore
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OPEC Increase Oil Prices 10%
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Unemployment reaches 8.9%, highest since 1941
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President Ford rejects Federal bail out of NYC
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CIA acknowledges plots to kill undesirable heads of state
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Died: Cannonball Adderly, Aristotle Onassis, Casey Stengel
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Archie Griffin (Ohio State) first player to win second Heisman Trophy
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VCR Betamax makes first appearance
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Disposable razor introduced
Basically nothing new under the sun (except the technology – Betamax, and disposable razors?) –
the same headlines are running today with different names, President Obama instead of President Ford, unemployment high, OPEC raising prices, political corruption, no bail out for NYC, CIA and assassination, etc.
Even so it did seem a much more innocent era. Nixon was gone, we were finally out of Vietnam, and you could buy cars from more American manufacturers – remember American Motors? In fact most of the products we bought were from America. Not out-sourced to Mexico, China, or any other country! Imagine that, American workers actually making the products we were buying.
Thanks for the memories Paul and Rolf.
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Jim Magay
jmagay@ziplink.net |
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