image borrowed from theinfiniterevolution.blogspot.com
Dime Comics
“The only way to make sense out of change is to
plunge into it, move with it, & join the dance.”
--Alan Watts.
Last Friday was the 14th anniversary of 9/11, & there were folks--
police & fire chiefs, generals, politicians & the like, on CNN, who
were very concerned about all the high school students that now had
to “learn” about the WTC, the 2000+ deaths, & the two other planes--
the one that hit the pentagon, & the other that the brave passengers
brought down in a Pennsylvania field. When I was a kid in the 50’s,
we all had to “learn” about the Holocaust & Pearl Harbor.
The stone fact is that Change is inexorable, like it or not, even though
we boomers still wax nostalgic about public phone booths, dial phones,
balloon tire bikes, shoe skates with keys, real steel in car bumpers,
muscle cars, B&W television with rabbit ears & test patterns after
midnight & only 13 channels, a time before JFK & MLK were assass-
inated, our anger at Nixon & the decade-long bloodbath in Viet Nam--
when we drove stick shift coupes & loved Ethyl--& most importantly
when comics were still a dime.
My grandfather saw the first
cars, planes, atomic bombs, tv sets
& computers in his lifetime.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at dVerse Poets "Poetics"
15 comments:
dude comics were 75 cents when I started collecting. You know every year I tell my students my 9-11 story. but I don't think they need it to understand how screwed up our world is. I do think the holocaust museum is one we should all see at least once to gain a bit of understanding .change is and I Def have nostalgia for some things. but expect change. hey Thor is a woman now. ha
Change is inevitable, which is the whole theme of mujo. As a friend of mine who used to do 12 step program, Nothing changes if Nothing changes. We have an excellent Holocaust museum here in Richmond. My father had cousins in the "old country" who disappeared into that genocide. My neighbor across the street barely made it out alive. My grandfather had relatives who went into those camps and are probably bones in a mass grave somewhere. so many changes! When I was a kid, comics were 10 cents and had ads for xray eyeglasses in them. So many changes in our lives and more to come. I wish Cokes still came in bottles and cost seven cents for one thing. Septembe4r 11 sure had an impact on us in many ways. I thank you so much for writing to this prompt and the thoughtful haibun you gave us.
Don't underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global movement, you need to have a core belief that what you contribute can fundamentally change the paradigm or way of thinking about problems.
~Leroy Hood
I watched the news that day when the first plane hit the tower...it was 2001, I was a senior in high school. Everything changed that day...leaving class after the bell rang. Nobody was talking...everyone in school was quite...thinking. It was a sad day for our nation and its people.
Incredible poem my friend. I love this poem.
I'm back from a hiatus...and I posted a new poem. Stop by.
Ha, Glenn, I remember all of those baby-boomer things that you mentioned. And yes, indeed, I am nostalgic about them too! Smiles. I loved the shoe skates with keys. Hard to fathom that kids in grade school through high school right now either were not born or were quite young when 9 / 11 took place. I'd like to be a little mouse in the classroom when that is taught in schools today. Yes, change is inevitable; and the price of comics continues to rise. We just have to go with the flow and welcome what is next!
I recall those times when comic books were all in rage and was the center of our entertainment ~ It must have been a milestone for your grandfather ~ Change is always coming every time ~
Ha. Thanks for the eye on the word count. I don't link in any more, so I dont have to follow the rules. Smiles.
I like how the poem progresses throughout to the end.. such an insightful piece :)
My understanding is that
toilet paper is only
about one hundred
years old..
the soft kind
at least..
wowsers
browsers
trousers
full of STUFF
then and now..
sMiLES.. FREE of STUFF..:)
PS.. Alan Watts.. is one cool dude..
smiles again.. and loved
your poem..:)
So true, and such changes to be nostalgic or sad for, but also those that we are happy to have seen. Change is also irreversible. We cannot change, we can only learn...
Yes, our grandparents had their own set of changes, big and small; as does the senior in high school. What I can't help thinking about is how it will be 15-20 years from now. What in the world will babies born then have to deal with...I am glad our children, though, have for the most part hitched on our wagon, appreciate our histories overlapping.
ie. I can go back to the early 40's with my exposure to movies my parents related to...it gets harder to relate to the silent movies of my grandparents' prime.. though if they experienced it I feel somehow identify with it....my granddaughter is turned on to my old music and movies as well..some music and movies, and yes, magazines and comic books will live forever...in a time capsule. Cool prose poetry.
I loved comic books when I was growing up...there were so many, from silly to serious. When I was in elementary school we had to "learn" to cover our heads and crouch under our desks to protect ourselves in case we were bombed, i.e. the Cuban missile crisis. I grew up in Florida which was not even 100 miles away from Cuba! I'm in awe of the changes that have occurred in my lifetime...in so many ways.
Thank you for the reminder to join the dance.
This was a fine cataloging of artifacts gone by. thanks for sharing it.
Those were the days, Glenn! One often thinks that one is lucky to be born during these times when many life changing events were witnessed. Yes, we're a privileged lot!
Hank
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