Interview with a historian

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Interview with a historian
David Brown is your average middle-aged man. He sits quietly in the library near the history shelf with a cup of coffee as he pours over n old tome. The coffee remains untouched as he reads, frozen in his world, like a mannequin. This is how I first saw him, reading without a care in the world. He is very shy and can barely look at you as he speaks. David keeps cracking his knuckles and shuffling his feet. It takes several meetings before he finally agrees to a proper conversation about his life and interests.
Born in the 70s’ with the hippie fashion at a close, David regrets missing out the excitement of the 60s. He hates having to pour over books about the Vietnam War rather than witnessing it firsthand. He barely remembers the Soviet war or any of the other wars in Africa or the Middle East. His interest in history seems to have grown after watching television with his father, another ardent historian who made notes while sitting in front of the television set. “He would keep telling me, these notes will be gold one day boy, the whole world will want to know.” His father would relegate instances of the wars as they ended. David says he would point towards pictures and show
David remembers his mother participating in the women’s’ protests for equal rights and also remembers his own participation as a child for African American equal civil rights. He remembers his mother listening to the radio when Martin Luther King was assassinated. The tears on his mother’s face still haunt him. “He was her idol; she looked up to him like she did to no one else.” David also recalls the riots that broke out after King’s death. He claims it to be mayhem. “I was a little child but the repercussions of the event are instilled in my mind forever.”
It wasn’t just political events that shook the world during David’s life. He thinks of The Beatles and their music. This revolutionary band is responsible for changing the style of music all over the world. He remembers their songs and wanting to visit their concerts. It seems to be one his biggest regrets to be unable to see them perform live. John Lennon’s death shook the world and David. “It seemed like one of the world’s biggest legends had died.” His love for John Lennon arose from the passion with which the musician wrote his music. It was impossible to understand why anyone would kill this man. His music is one that inspired an entire generation into loving peace and serenity. But this loss was replaced by Michael Jackson and the introduction of Thriller. “Of course Michael Jackson was not the same thing. His music was different but this man introduced music that was heard and appreciated by white and black listeners.” According to David, music is a binding force that not only brings together different classes of people but was soon the uniting bond for races and ethnicities.
The Cold War was also fought during David’s life. He remembers the fear and terror that spread throughout the world as both superpowers came at par to fight each other. “It was more a ...