1Young people in 1959 were on the verge of an exciting decade of their lives and of American history. The news of the world included music and singers, rumors of wars, changes in religion, and space travel. What would it mean to young people? How will they negotiate their world? What did it mean to be young? And, at the end, several characters reflect on their youth and their place in the world. People often ask me when I am retiring. I may be old enough to retire, but as written in Sirach "Hold fast to your duty. busy yourself with it, grow old while doing your task." In a way, this summarizes my wife and my attitudes toward work, home, writing and publishing, activities in our Church, and being with our children and grandchildren.