Edith Shain was 91 years old when she died peacefully last week in her home in Los Angeles. You knew her as the woman in the iconic black-and-white photo of a jubilant soldier kissing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day. The snapshot tells an American tale of a war ending, and an entire generation of people coupling up -- creating the suburbs, a solid middle-class and a stupendous baby boom.
What strikes me about the photo is that they really knew how to end wars back then. For example: They used to end wars ... back then. There was a global conflict followed by a resolution. Beginning. Middle. End. Done. Birthrate skyrockets.
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