The grand traditions of Sundays have changed immeasurably over the past 30 years, of course: church attendance has fallen; few muster the necessary enthusiasm for a full roast dinner; and where once shops stood shuttered, now they are open for trade much as on any other day.
The number of people in the region living in absolute poverty has fallen, fewer children are dying before their fifth birthday, more boys and girls are in the classroom and better laws and policies to protect children, especially on trafficking, are in place.
Gerald Ford had been President for less than a year; Saigon had fallen a few weeks earlier; Barack Obama was thirteen.
Recalling the moments after Rhys's shooting, Mr Flewitt said: "Rhys Jones was lying on the ground where he had fallen a few minutes earlier.
He bought a treadmill four years ago, after he had fallen a few times on icy roads, injuring himself so badly he could not train at all while he healed.
A foot of snow had fallen a few days earlier, and it hadn't set up hard yet, so the pulks sank instead of glided, and the pulling was tough.
The two explained that earlier in the day a branch had fallen a few hundred feet from them and that park workers had cautioned them to stay in the open as much as possible.
In scanning his previous notes, I quickly learned that he had a history of cancer that had metastasized to his brain, requiring surgery, and had fallen a few months earlier, resulting in a bleed in his head.
In fact, the trustees and president were dismissed by the State Board of Regents after enrollment had fallen to fewer than 4,000 students from 10,000 in 1990.
Debris had fallen from a few buildings, city officials said.
