I grew up in Alabama. A couple of years ago, I happened to talk with an African American woman with whom I'd graduated high school in 1970. Most of our lives prior to then, we'd attended racially segregated schools. In our recent conversation, we waxed warmly about how much better the quality of life seemed when we were growing up. Mind you, I know she wasn't talking in broad socio-economic terms, but I still thought it was a striking illustration of the power of nostalgia.