Join author, Grace Augustine, as she takes a look back at the last 7 decades #History #HappyNewYear @mallidalli

A Brand New Decade

By Grace Augustine

January 1^st marks the beginning of a new decade. Can you believe it? Some of us have been around long enough to see almost 7 decades! I know to others that is mind boggling but think of what has happened in these past 70 years.

Here in the U.S., The 1950’s brought us “The Baby Boom”, saw the beginning of the Korean War, gave us Charles Schultz’s comic strip Peanuts, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, RCA colored televisions, and the first sighting of an UFO.

The 60’s was a time of upheaval in nearly all areas of America. Growing pains, riots, discriminations, the Vietnam War. There were sit-ins, love-ins, Woodstock. The Beatles and other British rock bands became overnight sensations in the USA. The death of our beloved President Kennedy.

So much happened in the 1970’s it’s hard to sum it all up. The Beatles broke up. The Ohio National Guard open fired on a peaceful demonstration at the campus of Kent State. Jimi Hendricks, Pablo Picasso, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Janis Joplin die. Amtrak train service began at Union Station in Chicago. Walt Disney World officially opened. Arcade games were invented. Television program M*A*S*H began in 1972. HBO premiered as the first premium cable television channel. The New York World Trade Center’s Twin Towers were officially opened. There are so many other things that happened it would take pages to discuss.

The 1980’s: Shadowed by the Iran hostage crisis and ending with the symbolic fall of communism with the destruction of the Berlin Wall. There was a plethora of environmental, political and cultural events that shaped this decade. America was infatuated with the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. We saw a mass exodus from Cuba, the volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s (and I was only 30 minutes away from it), CNN began broadcasting 24 hour news reporting, PacMan fever hit. The death of John Lennon rocked the country. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court.

The 1990’s:  The saga of President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski held television hostage. Kurt Cobain died. Wars break out all of the globe and the US becomes a major player in the wars in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Seinfeld was the iconic television program of the decade. Johnny Carson bid farewell to his time on The Tonight Show. Social media and internet were more widely used, as were cell phones.

The 2000’s: Stock market crashes, recession, financial scandals, anti-trust cases, and world-wide disasters plagued this decade. The Y2K scare took weeks to fix. Microsoft released Windows 2000, the bridge to XP. Intel releases the Pentium III processor. Apple releases OS X. Hewlett Packard and Compaq agree to a merger. The majority of this decade was internet/world wide web centered.

The 2010’s: Google leaves China. The launch of the iPhone4. Twitch, Spotify, and Netflix become household words. Steve Jobs dies. Facebook purchases Instagram. Adobe commits to the “cloud”. Edward Snowden reveals NSA’s PRISM project. The signing of the Paris Climate accord. Donald Trump is elected President of the U.S. Amazon buys Whole Foods. Wildfires rage in California. Spotify gets into Podcasting.

So, there you have it 7 decades of information. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see what 2020 brings.

Dalgaard Castle

By Grace Augustine

Dalgaard Castle stood proud among modern homes as a reminder of the battles of yesterday. Centuries ago, the bloodiest of wars between the Fire Dragon Guard and the Ice Dragons, who ruled Taydaryn, destroyed much land, homes, and lives—including the Queen’s husband, Amarice.

Brenna Dalgaard, the elder daughter of Queen Isara and King Consort Amarice, lived in two worlds. She loved her small Norwegian home, but also loved her thriving designer clothing business in Chicago. Brenna traveled home as much as her life would allow.

Tirdon, Assistant to the Prime Minister of Taydaryn, continues to support and uphold the laws of the kingdom and aide in any way possible. Amarice had faith in him to place him in this position with the command of keeping an eye on his elder daughter, Brenna.

Tirdon and Brenna have danced around each other their entire lives. A mis-fortunate accident brings the two closer than either thought possible. Will an ancient secret split them forever or bring their love for each other out of the shadows?

*Adult content. Not for ages under 18.

Pick up your copy of

Dalgaard Castle 

Amazon

Grace Augustine

Internationally known author, Grace Augustine, was born in Shelby, Montana and grew up in Cut Bank, Montana (dubbed as The Coldest Spot in the Nation). Her work career has taken her from title and abstracting to administrative assistant church work to co-owning a small town weekly newspaper to her current profession as a floral designer.

Grace thinks of herself as a "Jill" of most trades and is not afraid to learn new things. "If you can't learn something new each day, there's something wrong," she says.

The ideas for her Acorn Hills series stem from her growing up years as well as the issues she has had to overcome along the way. "I've developed a new romance category...for the over 50 crowd...I'm calling it the salt and pepper genre. My books deal with real life issues, overcoming adversity, maintaining a positive outlook, and so much more. Just because we are 50 yrs old or older doesn't mean that life stops. We all still want attention and affection and adventure! We want to experience all life has to offer. We use our age as wisdom to share with those around us. We are sexual, sensual, and sensible," Grace explains.

Augustine was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in July of 2003. Her thoughts on that "It may slow me down, but if I can at all do it, I will. Sitting and feeling sorry for yourself isn't the answer...living your life with an open, joy-filled heart is."

Grace loves to hear from readers, you can find her: Website • Facebook • Edits With A Touch Of Grace • Twitter.