Monday, August 13, 2012
[1818 - Lucy Stone, abolitionist, suffragist, born in West Brookfield, Massachusetts]
[1860 - Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Mosey), sharpshooter, frontierswoman, born in Drake County, Ohio]
[1895 - Bert Lahr (Irving Lahrheim), actor, born in New York City]
[1899 - Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, director, born in London, England]
[1902 - (John) Regis Toomey, actor, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]
[1908 - Gene Raymond (Raymond Guion), actor, born in New York City]
[1912 - Ben Hogan, golf champion, born in Stephenville, Texas]
[1920 - Neville Brand, actor, born in Griswold, Iowa]
[1930 - Don Ho (Donald Tai Loy Ho), singer, born in Honolulu, Hawaii]
[1951 - Daniel Grayling 'Dan' Fogelberg, singer, songwriter, born in Peoria, Illinois]
The popularity of oversize vehicles was no surprise to some of us; they conjured images of war and aggression, guaranteed to boost the testosterone level of any red-blooded American male (or female). That these overweight, oversized, inappropriate vehicles are without any redeeming social value further appealed to the seemingly insatiable public appetite for pornography. The very impracticality of these behemoths made them even more desirable as symbols of wealth and conspicuous consumption. What if they guzzle mass quantities of gas made from foreign oil? Anyone who can afford to purchase one of these adult toys could afford to fill its oversize belly, even at more than four dollars per gallon of gas. As I drive my armored truck uptown, I say to all you lesser creatures: "Get the hell out of my way, or I will crush you like one of those monster trucks does.
My kids are safe inside even as I put yours at risk." Powerful stuff until the wheels fall off a Hummer in a Carl's Jr. drive-through, exposing the nude emperor behind the wheel.
Contrast the Hummer with the humble jeep, which became popular with a small segment of the US public following World War II. The jeep was a low cost, no-frills, practical vehicle suitable for off-road and farm use. It was open, tough, simple to maintain, and became a workhorse on many ranches and farms. When you took your jeep to town, the only statement you were making was that you valued its toughness and practicality. The wheels of the Jeep hardly ever fell off, although they were known to take their toll on your knuckles because of those damn hubs. There were no Carl's Jrs. and no drive-throughs back in those days, and obesity had yet to become a national epidemic.
William's Whimsical Words:
We knew that the wheels were about to come off our culture; we just didn't know when.
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