At SUNY New Paltz Professor Brownstein opened his international relations class with “We live in interesting times.” I know the origins of the quote have been debated. That’s a debate that will likely go on long after we are gone. Not here to discuss its origins. Don’t care. But before I go further. Let me apologize to Lew. That’s Professor Brownstein. I took several of his courses. Before he offered the quote, he would say, “Good morning, I am Lew and that’s I how to expect to be addressed.”
As for living in interesting times, everyone can say that. We certainly do. I am going to skip discussing some of the things that happened when I was very young or a pre-teen, i.e. Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis, Son of Sam, the gas lines of the ‘70s, Reggie’s three homers on three pitches (I surely remember that), the NYC blackout, July 13-14, 1977, John Lennon’s murder and Thurman Munson’s plane crash. Certainly, I remember the last two items and still think about them. I remember them all. As a little kid, I made some interesting statements or gestures about a few. Yes, there were more things. Much more. Hopefully, your vaulted aisles of memory have been stirred. These interesting times have changed our society and the way we live. Things changed perhaps for the better. Or, perhaps for the worse.
Let’s jump to the early to mid-80s. That was a great time. We had the best music to name a few — the Cure, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, the Psychedelic Furs, the Smiths, and U2. We had oversized Benetton and Champion sweatshirts and OP (Ocean Pacific) clothes. And we had AIDS.
I remember the last year of I.S. 34, Totten Intermediate School, Tottenville, Staten Island, and freshman year of Tottenville High School, Huguenot, Staten Island during this time. People were scared. People talked. Thank G-d there was no social media then. We see how good and damaging it can be. I remember students, teachers, and other school personnel gossiping about which teacher or pupil contracted AIDS.
There were letters sent home to our parents saying the school was safe. Similar announcements were made over the public address system. School walkouts were planned. Some occurred. I stayed in school. The only way I was ever allowed to stay home was when the school was closed by the city.
In the aftermath, we saw increased marketing for condom use. Of course, this was a dilemma. Religious reasons and the topic of safe sex education caused the predicament of what we could and couldn’t say. We saw be faithful and abstinence campaigns. There were underground support groups. People whispered when talking about this disease. Unfortunately, AIDS still exists and is still killing too many people. Thankfully there is far greater awareness and better treatment.
And although not enough, more people are being safer.
Then came 9/11. Yes, I am aware of many things that happened in between, i.e. the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, an assassination attempt on President Reagan, Chernobyl, the Challenger Explosion, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, the First Intifada, glasnost and perestroika, the Iran-Contra Affair, Just Say No and Operation Desert Storm. The list goes on and on.
Most of us remember the devastating 9/11 attack. I remember the changes it brought — Enhanced airport security. Same for doing something as simple as entering a Broadway theater, the Guggenheim, Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium and many other venues. We adopted many protocols the Israelis have nearly always had in place.
I was at my dad’s house in Plant City, Fl when it happened. My return flight was delayed for a few days. I remember coming back to Staten Island, NY. The island lost so many people. My mom picked me up at the former Newark Airport. We went to my favorite pizza place. The place was usually lively. It was empty. The few customers and employees had drawn faces. This was everywhere. People were being friendlier to each other than usual.
Let’s jump to Covid-19. We are living through it. I hope we all live. I have had one or two social distance friend hangouts. Our buildings are next to each other. We stood outside on opposite sides of the street, he and his kids on top of the block and me on the bottom. For five minutes we screamed at each other and went back to our residences.
What changes will it bring? Will my 10-year-old nephew never know what’s it like to jump on the train and go to the city? Will he and all of us have to wear masks? How will we go to movies, etc.?
BTW, I know many great things happened during the decades I discussed. Many have changed the way we live and helped save lives. So not to be a total downer, here I go, the artificial heart, barcodes, MRIs, fiber optics, the personal computer, the original Star Wars and several Yankee World Championships (we need many more) and lots more.
What will the next decades bring? Likely they will bring more of the same — disasters and great inventions. Togetherness and fights. In many ways, all will become commercial successes.
We’ve seen great music and theater, as well as new medical treatments coming out of many of the listed and other events. We’ve donated to the “One Campaign,” watched “Rent,” heard “Biko,” “Red Rain, ” “Russians” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
No questions these are great works. But let’s see us be more proactive to stop the next virus from taking hold and eradicating the current ones. Or to quote U2, we will be running to stand still. We probably always have.
Other posts can be viewed at:
“Pandemic Watch: Dressing during the Covid-19 pandemic,”
“Pandemic Watch: Yes, it is Monday,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/pandemic-watch-yes-it-is-monday
“How skills I learned as a teen in the scouts help during the Covid-19 pandemic, “
“How the Covid-19 pandemic causes us to rethink old habits,”
“Traveling on public transit and being outside during the Covid-19 pandemic,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/traveling-on-public-transit-and-being-outside-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
“Grocery shopping during Covid-19. Or anytime,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/28/grocery-shopping-during-covid-19-or-anytime
“I want to help restaurants during the pandemic. But…,”
“Masks and gloves,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/30/608
“Trashy Parks,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/trashy-parks
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