9/11 - 21 Years Later

It was 21 years ago today when our world changed forever. In the initial aftermath of 9/11, we were left feeling shocked and frightened. We didn't quite understand what was happening. Nor did we know how extensive the attacks would be. 

As the day unfolded, we began to hear the stories about the tragedies and the heroics. It was quite hard hard to digest. So many emotions were running through us. I remember simply feeling numb. I was waiting to wake up from this nightmare. But as the day went on, as much as I tried to deny it, I was fully awake...

Today, we now have a generation of young adults who were too young to remember the impact of that infamous day. Many weren't even born yet. I assume that most of them are, at least,  aware of what happened. But there seems to be an emotional disconnect with them.

Amazingly, American pride has somehow become controversial among "Generation Z". Simply displaying your American flag can now generation calls of bias and divisiveness. What was once a source of unity has somehow been transformed into a political lightning rod. How did this happen?

Just this Friday, one of our local high schools canceled "Red, White & Blue Day" because too many people found it offensive. That's right, a display of American pride is now offensive to some Americans. The event was supposed to serve as celebration of American pride as well as a remembrance of the events of 9/11. It was scheduled to occur during the school's Friday night football game. It was ultimately changed to a Hawaiian themed night. I'm not really sure how Hawaii ties into a Friday night football game in Pasadena, Maryland. But there you have it.

The community immediately responded by organizing a makeshift parade of cars, trucks and motorcycles. Each proudly displaying American flags and other patriotic decorations. The assembly gathered at a large open lot and then proceeded to drive past the high school football field with horns a-blowin'. While some of the Hawaii crowd might have been annoyed, The First Amendment was on full display for them to witness....

I can't quite wrap my head around all of this. Even if the sight of anything that's red, white and blue does somehow bother you, why do you feel the need to cancel it for so many others? After all, this is America, a country where individual freedoms were once celebrated. But today, there's an immediate rush to shut down any opposing views. This cancel culture has to stop.

So many people, of all backgrounds, have fought and sacrificed to make America what it is today. And yes, it is great. I give the ultimate thanks to members of our military and the first responders who do so much unsung work that most people never know about. These are real American heroes.

The images of 9/11 still haunt me to this day. I will never forget how I felt. I fought back the tears when I toured Ground Zero several years later. The personal stories from the survivors were heartbreaking. But the resolve that America showed in the aftermath was extraordinary. While I hope that we never experience anything like it again, I wish there was a way to harness the emotion that we all felt on that day. 

Today, perhaps more than ever, we need to find a source of unity that brings us together as a country once again. We can certainly disagree. and we will. Who knows? Maybe we can find an amiable middle ground. But somewhere along the line, we need to find a way to once again celebrate the place we all call home. 

kw

Back in the Day - The Clothes

Every generation goes through various fashion trends. And inevitably, those things that you now think are so cool will become outdated and unfashionable...

Back in my day, the guys had it pretty easy. A few pair of Levi's blue jeans and a various array of T-shirts would round out about half of the male wardrobes. The T-shirts usually displayed a popular rock band or beer logo. A lone collared "golf-shirt" might be found in the back of a closet for that special occasion.

The classic rock look of the 70's eventually gave up some fashion leverage to the New Wave movement. This ushered in the preppy look of pop-top collars and pleated khakis. I guess this was about the time we were introduced "parachute pants". I never quite understood these. Were they actually made of parachutes? I don't know. They were essentially made of some kind of plastic/nylon material. In the summer, they acted as a sauna for your lower extremities. In the winter, they offered only an ultra-thin barrier between your legs and the outdoor elements. But amazingly, someone probably got very rich by marketing these things to the teen masses of the early 80's. Maybe it was the same guy who brought us the Pet Rock, who knows?

The 80's also ushered in the era of designer jeans. Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, and of course, Jordache found their way into the department stores where teenage girls eagerly lined up to buy them. Some of the guys bought them as well. I remember one of my good friends showing up for a pick-up football game wearing a pair of these things. I can't remember the exact brand name but they had this bold, decorative stitching design on both of the back pockets. My first reaction was, "You gotta be kidding me. Who the hell plays football in designer jeans?" But he insisted on joining the rest of us who were decked out in generic sweatpants. Every time the guy went up for a pass, I was waiting for the fashion paparazzi to jump out from behind a tree to capture the moment. 

And unlike the loose, saggy jeans of today, the jeans of my generation had to be worn skin tight. I can't imagine how many young men experienced sterility issues due to this. And the girls faced their own issues simply getting into their jeans. My pliers were always absent from my toolbox because my sisters would steal them. Why? Because their jeans were so tight, they couldn't zip them up the conventional way. So, they had to lay flat on their beds and use to the pliers to pull up on the zipper. Most of the girls from the 80's looked like they were poured into their jeans.

Somewhere around this time, the ripped jeans made their way \onto the scene. I remember seeing rock bands wearing them. The late, great Eddie Van Halen comes to mind. Before long, these methodically torn garments were readily available in all of the clothing stores. I never bought a pair of these. I always thought it was ridiculous to pay for a pair of jeans that were defective right off of the shelf. But amazingly, these things are still popular today.

I also remember seeing these oversized "balloon" pants. I don't even remember the name of them. A lot of the muscle-bound gym guys would wear them. They were often designed with zig-zag patterns and weird colors. A pair of gigantic clown shoes would have been the perfect accessory. They were absolutely ridiculous looking. Of course, I would never say this back then. Getting your ass kicked is bad enough. But getting your ass kicked by a guy in multi-colored balloon pants is too much for anyone to absorb. These pants were emphasized to nth-degree when MC Hammer hit the scene with his "Can't Touch This" video.

I believe it was also the 80's that introduced us to "leg warmers". Another item that I never quite understood. A leg warmer was basically a giant sock that covered a woman's lower leg. I'm not sure if their calves really needed an extra layer of warmth. But I guess you can never be too prepared.

For a brief period, neon-colored clothing became a trend. Although the colors were unflattering, they definitely made you stand out in a crowd. If you were going for the "late night road crew" look, this would do it for you.

Through it all, I've pretty much remained a traditionalist. Although the size has increased over the years, I still wear the standard Levi's jeans and assorted t-shirts. Fashion trends come and go but the basics never seem to go out of style.....

kw

Back in the Day - The Heat

As we wind down another summer here on the East Coast, we have definitely had our share of heat and humidity. Although you always expect summers to be hot, it's always a bit of a shock when you leave the comfort of an air-conditioned room and into the hot, damp oven of the outdoors.

Today, it's not uncommon to postpone activities due to the excessive heat. If a building's air conditioning system is broken, it almost always results in shutting things down and sending up the Bat Signal for the HVAC crew. This is especially true for schools...

Kids (and most adults) today have literally been conditioned for climate-controlled classrooms. And I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that. After all, we're in the United States of America in the 21st century. But when I was a young kid back in the 70's, air-conditioned classrooms were the exception and not rule. And somehow, I survived and I'm here to tell you about it.

Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't exactly pleasant sitting in a 90-degree classroom. I can remember sitting at my wooden desk with sweat rolling down the sides of my husky head. And this was before the teacher even mentioned anything about a pop quiz. By lunchtime, the classroom was transformed into a sea of perspiration-glazed desktops. And trust me, there was no one wiping these things down with any kind of disinfectant at the end of the day. I imagine that we had the auto-immune system of a cockroach by the time we got to the sixth grade.

If you were lucky enough, your teacher would bring a large oscillating fan into the room. It essentially blew warm air in your direction with every 90-degree turn. It didn't really cool you but at least it helped to control the sweat flow. I would sometimes find an excuse to get up from my desk and walk in front of the fan to get a bonus blast. Of course, if I stood in front of the fan too long, it would draw verbal ire from my classmates. And the teacher would intervene by saying, "Mr. Wilson, please take your seat!" 

When I went home after school. things didn't get a whole lot easier. You see, our house was not equipped with air conditioning either. The only salvation came in the form of an occasional breeze that made it's way through the open windows. We also had a damp cellar that would offer a temporary refuge. But the cobwebs and scurrying insects did not make it an ideal cooling place. I can also remember putting my head in the freezer to get a few seconds of relief.

Hardly anyone had central air conditioning in my neighborhood. However, many of my friends' homes were cooled with portable window AC units. Most of the houses in the neighborhood were small rowhomes. So, an average size window unit could do a decent job of cooling things down. I lobbied my Dad to go this route but he wouldn't bite. But he did eventually install an above-ground swimming pool in the back yard. This quickly became our go-to summertime refreshment source.

I would also spend a fair amount of time at the local library to keep cool. The Enoch Pratt Free Library was located just a couple of blocks from my home. They had a reading area with large comfortable chairs. I would find an interesting book or magazine and spend the next couple hours soaking in the climate-controlled air.

Catching a movie was also a way to cool off for a couple of hours. But, of course, going to the movie theater costs money. And money was tight back then. Although the movie itself wasn't too expensive (I almost always opted for the reduced-price matinee), the assortment of concessions could really put a dent in your wallet. As a husky boy, I just couldn't sit through a 2-hour movie without a sugary soft drink and a gigantic tub of buttered popcorn. I was fortunate to have a movie theater just a few blocks from my house. I went to see "Jaws" about a dozen times. Yes, it was a great movie. But the comfort of the movie theater was just as much of a lure.

Many of the neighborhood kids played baseball in the local Little League. You would sweat profusely while fielding your position in the summer sun. The sweat would act as a magnet for the infield dirt that would inevitably get kicked up. Gatorade wasn't a big thing bag then. So, the only salvation for your thirst was a warm Coca-Cola from the concession stand at the end of the game. And when you finally made it home to take a bath, the tub quickly took on the resemblance of an orange mud puddle. Even after draining the tub, the substantial amount of orange grit scattered the tub floor. You basically had to give the tub a bath when you were done. And then, before I even made it downstairs, I was already sweating profusely again! It was a never-ending cycle!

Trying to sleep in the summertime was also quite a challenge. Since heat naturally rises, the upstairs in my parent's house was always at least fifteen degrees warmer than the downstairs. I had a large window fan in my bedroom window. My parents tried to convince me that by running the fan in reverse, the warm air would be pulled out of the house. I would always try to argue that it was futile effort because we were essentially exchanging warm inside air for warm outside air. But they wouldn't buy it and I was left to sweat myself to sleep.

Air-conditioned cars were a real luxury back in the day as well. In most cases, the only "air conditioning" came in the form of warm air blowing through the dashboard vents. If you ever see an older car, you'll notice a series of slots between the hood and windshield. This is were the outside air entered for the "vent cooling".

Fast forward to modern day....

It's hard to imagine dealing with the heat in these situations anymore. Air conditioning is almost standard in every building and automobile. And even though I still fondly remember those hot days of my childhood, I have no desire to relive them. Stay cool, my friends. Stay cool...

kw