In 1966, I was 25 years old and Time Magazine named my generation -- the men and women of 25 and under -- as Man of the Year. They said that my generation loomed larger than all the promises of science or technology and it would become the majority in charge. Citizens of 25 and under in 1966 outnumbered their elders; by 1970, there were 100 million of us. Today, we are all 65 and not quite ready to retire.

In 1969, Middle Americans became Man of the Year and I was one of them. Call them the Middle Class. The lower middle class, including blue-collar workers, service employees and farm workers, numbered 40 million. Many of the 20 million elderly citizens, frequently living on fixed incomes, were considered Middle American. So were a substantial portion of the 36 million white-collar workers. Middle Americans represented almost half the U.S. population. It was more than income level -- all Americans share some Middle American beliefs -- we are at the center of the American dream.

In 1982, the Man of the Year was the computer and my new IBM XT replaced my trusty IBM Selectric typewriter (I loved that machine). 80 percent of Americans expected that in the near future, home computers would be as commonplace as television or dishwashers. Although they saw the dangers of unemployment and dehumanization, majorities felt that the computer revolution would ultimately raise production and therefore living standards and improve the quality of education.