Now that 2005 has arrived, the Clarence Central High School Class of 1973 (for the most part) starts to turn 50.

Which prompts the question, what was life like way back in 1955? Or, as the kids probably call it, 'The Stone Age'?

After a little research and a bit of hindsight, the year in a nutshell emerges:

Comings (born in 1955): Bill Gates, Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner, Eddie Van Halen, Olga Korbut, Whoopi Goldberg.

Goings (died in 1955): Albert Einstein, Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges, (I�ve always wanted to put those two names in the same list), Carmen Miranda, Charlie Parker.

Our demographic: baby boomer. You�ll be hearing it for the rest of your life. Chances are that your father served in the military, quite possibly in World War II. When he was done with the Nazis and the Japanese, this member of the 'Greatest Generation' (thank you, Tom Brokaw) got married, found a house, and started a family. Chances are good he went to college along the way, thanks to the G.I. Bill. And that family may have fled to something called the suburbs, which started growing like crazy after 1945. The baby boomers� sheer numbers were vast, leading to events such as new school construction and a vast new economic market to be tapped down the road. And at some point, they are expected to strain the health care and social security systems.

Our President: We liked Ike. Dwight Eisenhower certainly was one of the most popular Americans in the 20th century. He led the nation to victory in the war in Europe, and historians say he was an able commander-in-chief back home. Eisenhower was so popular, in fact, that he was the only Republican to win the Presidency from 1932 to 1968. In case you are wondering what happened to Presidential politics after that, consider the words of President Johnson. After signing the Civil Rights Act in the mid-Sixties, he said he thought the Democrats had lost the South forever because of the stroke of a pen. Since then, the only Democratic presidential candidates elected have been Southerners.