Well, here I am, y’all — a couple weeks into yet another trip around the sun. Yes, yes, your old pal PK is getting, well, old. Fifty-five rings around this tree, yo.

So this fossil did some digging on the year 1968, the year when a wee little Pats came to be, as it were. And I unearthed some interesting tidbits about earth — er, well our little corner of it, anyway.

Did you know that in 1968:

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Truth in Lending Act and the 1968 Civil Rights Act into law. That’ what I’m talking about.

The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged, and created America’s sixth-largest corporation and the nation’s largest transportation company.

General Motors manufactured its 100 millionth automobile, an Oldsmobile called the “Toronado.” Can’t say I see any of those cruising around these days?

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was officially dedicated, and the Golden Gate Bridge began to collect tolls, but only in the southbound direction. Northern travelers, delight!

The Boston Celtics were the NBA champs, the Detroit Tigers won the World Series and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup.

New York City’s Madison Square Garden closed. Built in 1925, it was once the home of the New York Rangers hockey team and the New York Knicks basketball team, and also hosted numerous boxing matches, the annual Millrose Games (that’s track and field for anyone like me who didn’t know), as well as various other concerts and events, natch.

Joe Medwick, Goose Goslin, and Kiki Cuyler were all inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I feel as a fan of the boys of summer, I should recognize at least one of these names? I got nothing. Gulp.

Everyone’s favorite NFL coach Vince Lombardi stepped down as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

At the 40th Academy Awards, “In the Heat of the Night” won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Film Editing, while at the 20th Primetime Emmy Awards, “Get Smart” (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series and “Mission: Impossible” (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

The Motion Picture Association of America adopted the current film-rating system.

The oldest and most-watched news magazine on television — “60 Minutes” — premiered on CBS.

The acclaimed children’s show, “Mister Rogers,” debuted on NET (now PBS).

My year also saw the conception of bean bag chairs, Hunt’s Snack Packs, Pringles, Steak-umms (those thinly sliced steak-ish thingys), Tic Tacs, and Ziploc bags.

On behalf on 1968 babies everywhere, you’re welcome, America.

Other companies and brands founded in the year 1968 include Calvin Klein, Casey’s, Countrywide Financial, Crabtree & Evelyn, Entercom, Intel, the North Face, Red Lobster, Rent-A-Wreck, and TransUnion.

At the 41st Scripps National Spelling Bee, 14-year-old Robert L. Walters of Russell, Kansas, correctly spelled the word “abalone.” To be clear, he spelled abalone all alone. Hee!

And finally, Barry Sanders, Celine Dion, Gary Coleman, Gillian Anderson, Kenny Chesney, Lisa Marie Presley and Rachael Ray were all born. As was your (hopefully) favorite columnist.

Happy travelling around the sun this week, all!

• Kimerer is an Aries with a horrible memory, sense of direction, and mathematic ability — but a hugely grateful heart that is typical filled with lots of love and laughs. Contact her at pkimerer@zoominternet.net