11/19/08

Three Little Words

Tri-O's
Oddities, observations, and opinions
By Herb Kandel

Catching up with my reading took me to a July issue of the AARP Magazine (you know you've been a member much longer than you thought when you still keep the back issues). An article written by Abigail Thomas, who teaches memoir-writing seminars, piqued my curiosity when she wrote, “ Take any ten years of your life and reduce them to two pages. Every sentence has to be three words long …….you discover there’s nowhere to hide”. The gauntlet thus was tossed. This proved to be a challenge, however I wanted to expand this exercise to be more than a personal one. So how about chronicling social, cultural, and historical events from President 32 to President-elect 44? Hang on to your hats as the word trilogy rockets over 70 years.

“Socialist,” Limbaugh pounded. “No,” screamed Hannerty. “Never,” cried Boortz. “Impossible,” hissed Savage. “Yes,” said people. “Way to go.”
Dawn proved reliable. The sun rose. It was Wednesday. Nothing had happened. Yet, everything happened. Tuesday we voted. The world survived. History was made.
Many problems ahead. War in Iraq. Hostilities in Afghanistan. Iran rattles nukes. North Korea threatens. Economy in shambles. Dow-Jones in slide. Foreclosures still climbing. Healthcare getting sicker. Layoffs in industry. Bailouts proving uncertain. Chapter 11’s increase. Education grades flunked. Environmental issues abound. Global warming looms. Madonna seeks divorce. More clouds overhead?
Back we go.
Remember the 4o’s? We all survived. Nothing is 100%. There was offensiveness. The KKK flourished. Jim Crow thrived . Poll taxes collected. Father Coughlin ranted. Women’s workplace pigeonholed. Unequal pay common. Flu killed people. Polio was widespread. Hitler ruled Germany. The Holocaust raged. Dunkirk was evacuated. Churchill exuded confidence. Britain survived bombs. France folded quickly. Italy invaded Ethiopia. Lend-lease was born. Bundles for Britain. Blood, sweat, tears. Japan attacks Pearl. The draft passes. Losses in Pacific. Iwo flag raises. Victory at sea. Omaha Beach D-Day. The Russian winter. Nazi Germany falls. Celebrate V-E Day. Hiroshima gets radiation. Japan surrenders unconditionally. Cheer V-J Day. Shout Hallelujah, baby.! Better times coming.
Past is future.
FDR lifted spirits. Public works flourished. Infra-structure grew nationwide. Artists were sponsored. Financial institutions regulated. Farmers received subsidies. Social security enacted. Radio was king. “Happy Days” sung. Optimistic fireside chats. Faces smiled again. Plants assembled cars. Movies created stars. Joe Louis champ. Women donned pants. Jitterbug was born. Bing crooned tunes. Bob provided laughs. Kate Smith resonated. Dale Carnaegie influenced. Fred personified dancing. Ginger followed, backwards. No Third Term. No Fourth Term. Uncle Miltie wows.
Then came Korea.
38th Parallel drawn. Iron Curtain descends. Truman fires MacArthur. Truman beats Dewey. Birth of Israel. We like Ike. Berlin wall erected. Elvis rocks country. Joe weds Marilyn. LSD changes moods. Sputnik circles Earth. Brooklyn Dodgers move. Camelot in Washington. Cuban missal crises. JFK did Dallas. LBJ escalates “Nam. Britain’s Beatles beguile. Schoolhouse door blocked. Hippies love “Hair”. ‘68 took Martin. Sirhan shot Bobby. Armstrong on moon. Nixon “not crook”. Pet rocks patted. Roe verses Wade. Watergate emasculates President. Hula hoops twirl. Ford pardons Nixon. Iran’s Ayatollah returns. Long gas lines. Hostages defeat Carter. Reagan communicates effectively. Apple introduces Mac. “Just say, No”. Cold War ends. Berlin wall dismantled. Oklahoma City bombed. Horton beats Dukakis. Bush frees Kuwait. “No new taxes”. Clinton’s clout clinches. Intern causes impeachment. “Is” is not. Chads hang Gore. Court backs "W". 9/11 shakes nation. Iraq harbors WMD’s. “Mission Accomplished” unfurled. Katrina cripples Crescent. Oil prices soar. War still debilitates.
We’re here now.
New leadership steers. Today we hope. Smart leaders prevail. Things work out. Cookies will crumble. Change will come. One nation undivided. Prayers go out.
We all need.
Love is all.
Time flashed by. What a ride!
END
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