I have nothing but the utmost respect for McCain and his history, but I’m starting to believe the right and left *snickers* over the past decades that our Senate is where old white guys go to die. These seats shouldn’t be Pope-like For Life. We have the same problem in the House too. Probably on your City Council and HOA Board too ? I digress….
Johnny Mac was a pilot, it’s the elitest of the elite in the military. My husband was too in Vietnam til he saw the death and POW tolls, so he said F**k this Sh*t and served his second tour as a grunt. His reward for surviving that tour, being a CACO/Recruiter for Southern Calfornia in the early-mid 70’s. But hey, he was a New England surfer dude and grabbed that spot. It was Annette and Frankie on the beach, til….we grew up.
I remember, as a young mom by then, “Frankie” being awoken in the middle of the night to notify families in his area, that their son was NOT on the list of the POW’s being released the next day. Nixon wouldn’t release the list until every MIA was accounted for and families notified. While we celebrated the lucky guys, we were also comforting the those who weren’t, with their families. Craptastic media never covered these stories either in the post-war Vietnam era.
I hate that our nation’s kids and government’s .edu’s are forgetting history. What triggered this rant ? My (composite relative), who’s a freshman in college now, was bragging on FB about her professor assigning a “stupid” where were you on 9-11 essay. “how the f**k should I know, I was in first grade”. Really? Pearl Harbor happened 5 years before I was even born, and I respect that date. So sad for these kids.
Stealth Magnolia 
Seasons of Love …
My childhood tragic moment was the Challenger. I remember the day even now. I was not in one of the classes that saw it live, but ended up sitting in a class room where the TV was dragged in so we could see the live coverage. They must not have given in to the concept of shielding and coddling kids from important events.
OMG Challenger. I put my kindergartener on the bus, then came home to get ready for my minimum wage job at the veterinary clinic for the afternoon shift, turned on the news while I was getting ready and saw the explosion. I couldn’t move, it was January 1986, the first day I was returning to work after 10 years as a SAHM. I’ll never forget that either 😦
The Challenger wasn’t my first tragic moment. But it was one of the most memorable. My first tragic moment – the realization that the worldreally was a dangerous place, was when JFK was assassinated. I was in college. In the bathroom in the student union when a girl came in crying that “the president was shot”. It was during our campus elections so no one actually knew who she was talking about until we went to the small lounge where there was a crowd gathering around the tv. I didn’t go to classes – no one did. I stayed glued to the tv until it was dark and we had to clear out and go home.
It is sad, really, that history has so little meaning for so many young people. My son teaches middle school (goddess bless him – it is a tough time for kids and their teachers as well) and he is steeped in the meanings of history and passes those along to his students. He hasn’t lost one yet. They all fight to get into his classes – and their parents flock to his conferences with gratitude and praise.
Lucky students. Your son will be a memorable teacher. 😀
I guess JFK, Challenger and 9-11 are the only events I remember the day vividly. I read an article once saying that phenom is related to a form of PTSD.
You read correctly about 9/11 and PTSD. A therapist,where I work, and I both have talked about the effects of 9/11 on even the heathiest people we work with. A whole constellation of symptoms (r/t PTSD) were on full display in the aftermath – some had them for years. So in addition to our own experiences of the event (9/11), the clients we met with were nearly psychotic over the attacks. (We referred to the effects on us as secondary PTSD.) It was a really hard time for everyone – especially for the most fragile among us.
Thanks for this post. My 3yo gd, whom I call “boss of the world”, is just strong willed and self involved enough to be that relative when she reaches that stage. I’m her standby anchor of safety and security, and I know anything I say she relies on, so I feel the need to write something about a few important dates in my history.
Such as Dec 7, 1941. My memories of gathering around the radio (yes) and listening to that developing tragedy shaped much of my life, and I need to share that history with her. Yes, she’ll make up her own mind, but this way she’ll have a better sense of her roots.
So thanks.