Boomers Will Get This

 There were standard shift vehicles, phones attached to walls, and no remote control of televisions.  There were plastic bread bags inside boots, no permanent press shirts and people walked places.  And ... there was Alfred E Neuman.  Remember Mad magazine?  I read every single one I could get my hands on.  It was sort of a quiet rebellion. Can't imagine where I found them -- maybe at Al's Dairy Bar on Columbus Avenue (Corry PA people will get that).  

I cannot explain why some things pop into my head, but Alfred E Neuman suddenly dropped in the other day and I Googled him just to see his silly grin once again -- tooth missing and looking a lot like my neighbor Harrison -- at least as far as smile and attitude goes. Hard to believe that this "mascot' of Mad is now almost 70 years old.  "Good grief, Charlie Brown". Once again --- where did the time go?  Do you know/remember that he was even a write-in candidate for President one time? His relaxed "devil-may-care" attitude was somehow refreshing in the 50's and on for a long time. Maybe I wish I had some of that attitude these days. 

Anyway -- then this happened -- totally unrelated but not.  My son texted me a link to Oddly History on Instagram where they had posted photos of famous people when they were young. There were photos of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Abraham Lincoln, Hillary Clinton in hippy garb, JFK,  Stalin, and Teddy Roosevelt .  Now here's the thing -- I cannot see even a hint of today's Joe Biden in the young Joe Biden photo, but 10 year old JFK bears a striking, and I mean an uncannily striking, resemblance to Alfred E Neuman.  Seriously -- check it out.  I certainly do not mean any disrespect to JFK... but at age ten he could have been on the cover of Mad as Alfred's twin brother.  It's a chuckle of the day.

By the way -- the younger generation seems to have no idea of what I am talking about in the whole Alfred E Neuman and Mad thing. But then -- sometimes (often) I don't get what they are saying either.  So we are even.

Moments in Time

We have all had those moments that are so significant, so poignant, or perhaps so shocking that we will never forget where we were and what we were doing when we first learned what happened. 

• I was a Freshman in high school -- in English class -- when the principal announced over the PA system that JFK had been shot in Dallas. I was still in that classroom when it was announced that he had not survived. (1963)
• I was in the dining hall at college during final exam week of my Freshman year when I heard that Bobby Kennedy had been assassinated. (1968)
• I watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon while sitting on the floor in front of the family TV.  I was setting my hair in brush rollers when Armstrong took "...one giant leap for mankind". (1969)
• I was teaching senior high school English during the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and was told to keep the TV off in my classroom.  An administrator was standing outside my classroom and said to me, "Our country is under attack."  My response, "What are you saying?  No...!" (2001)

I guess what has me thinking about this phenomenon is that is it is thirty years ago today that the space shuttle "Challenger" blew up in front of all who were watching on televisions all over the world. It was a disaster that was to forever change the face of NASA and the space program in this country. Live on TV, I distinctly remember telling myself over and over that perhaps the astronauts could have survived. I was in total denial for some moments.  That's is how I tend to react at first -- almost without exception. I am very good at denial.

On the other side of the coin, I think it is important to realize that we all have personal memories of significant events that make only our own personal history books.  Fortunately for us it seems that the personal moments that stay with us can be happy ones as well. Strange how these "emotional memories" of both the good and not so good varieties pop up at the most unexpected times and replay in our minds. I am thankful for the happy ones...of which, it is important to remember, there are many. Let's try to hang onto and talk about the good as well as the horrific -- both are a part of the history of our lives.