Born in 1955

If you were born in 1955, you were born into the year rock and roll announced itself to the world. Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" shot to number one, and the beat that shook out of the radio was different from anything the parents recognized. Disneyland opened in July in Anaheim, California, and Walt's voice on TV gave it the air of a genuine miracle.

The Salk polio vaccine was declared safe and effective in April, and the collective relief was staggering—no more summers of terror, no more iron lungs, no more keeping kids out of the swimming pool. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in December, and the Civil Rights movement found a new gear. James Dean burned across movie screens in *Rebel Without a Cause* and was killed in his Porsche the same year, creating instant legend.

The tail fins on the new Chevys and Chryslers were growing almost comically large, like automotive science fiction. McDonald's opened its first Ray Kroc franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. A new color TV was coming down in price, and *The $64,000 Question* was the most-watched show in America.

Teenagers were combing their hair into ducktails, girls were wearing poodle skirts and saddle shoes to the sock hop, and the whole country felt like it was revving at a very high rpm, not quite sure where it was heading but certain it would get there fast.