Imagine: Instead of hearing about people talk about the decay and crime of the 1970s and '80s, you could have the thrill of experiencing it yourself. Except, you have a gun, and can pretend to be Charles Bronson in Death Wish (released in 1974), or Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver (1976).
Some of you not old enough to remember those times may have seen those movies. Or Midnight Cowboy (1969, the 1st film to go out of its way to show that New York City was going downhill, hard). Or De Niro's big breakthrough film, Mean Streets (1973). Or the gaudy gang picture The Warriors (1979). Or the TV "nostalgia" pieces Life On Mars (set in New York in 1973) or The Bronx Is Burning (based on a book about New York in 1977).
You're on your own, unless you can form alliances. And then you hear bottles clink together, and, "Warriors! Come out to play-ay!"
These were the good guys in that movie.
This movie I'm imagining wouldn't be Westworld. It would be Lowereastsideworld. And you wouldn't have Sipowicz and Simone to clean up Alphabet City and make it safe for you. You wouldn't have Cagney and Lacey. Hell, you wouldn't even have Harris and Wojo from Barney Miller.
"The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight?" Heck, Barney
and the boys of The Old One Two hardly ever needed their guns.
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Somebody once said that Nostalgia was a longing for a time that you didn't think was so great the first time around.
In 1966, when the Baltimore Orioles were about to play in their 1st World Series (they won), they found the longest-serving team employee, who had been there when the minor league version of the Orioles had been winning Pennants in the 1920s and again in 1944. He knew the difference between the majors and the minors, the glorious present and the glorious past. He told them, "Don't ask me about 'the good old days.' They weren't even terrible."
You tend to think that your youth was a simpler time, because "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
The 2016 election campaign was a battle between those who wanted Hillary Clinton, thinking she would bring back the time of her husband Bill's Presidency, with its peace and prosperity, forgetting the turmoil of the 1990s; and those who wanted Donald Trump, thinking he would "Make America great again," drawing us back to a time when no one questioned that America was great, and making others wonder exactly when that was, and coming up with answers like, "When people knew their place, and anybody who wasn't white, Christian, straight or native-born were barely seen, and women were absolutely never heard."
It's the same in every generation:
1992: Bill Clinton was elected by people who wanted to bring back the promise of John F. Kennedy's early 1960s.
1980: Ronald Reagan, and before him...
1968: Richard Nixon, by people who wanted to bring back the Dwight D. Eisenhower 1950s.
1960: John F. Kennedy, by people who wanted to bring back the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, but without all the Depression, the Dust Bowl, the racism and the war clouds.
1952: Eisenhower, by people who wanted to bring back the Roaring Twenties of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
1932: FDR, by people who wanted to bring back the promise of the Woodrow Wilson years of the 1910s.
1920: Harding by people who wanted to "Return to Normalcy," bringing back the "full dinner pail" of William McKinley at the turn of the 20th Century.
And so on.
It doesn't work that way. True, in the 1960s and '70s, the Baby Boomers could have their "free love" without worrying about AIDS; but my generation didn't have to worry about the draft, and could visit Mississippi without worrying about the Ku Klux Klan.
Although, the way bigots have been emboldened by Trump, it's no longer particularly safe anywhere for a nonwhite person, is it?
The 1950s wasn't all Happy Days. The show itself acknowledged this with an episode in which Fonzie and Al went to Alabama in 1962. An episode that aired in 1982, but I never saw it until 2017.
As Bill Maher put it, "The Fifties weren't that great if you were black, or gay, or a woman, which is why Little Richard was always screaming."
Every era has its benefits, and every era has its difficulties. When my nieces grow up and have children, they'll say, "Mommy, you had it easy. You didn't have to worry about aliens taking all our jobs." (Not illegal aliens... aliens.)
And they can say, "At least you have phones that really are smart, and a President who's a human being. We had junky phones that didn't work half the time, and we had Trump!"
*
Hours until the New York Red Bulls play again: 11, tonight, at 7:00 PM, home to arch-rival D.C. United.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. They play the Philadelphia Union at Chester on Sunday, October 21. They do not play New York City FC or the New England Revolution again in the regular season. A meeting with City or Philly is possible in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and DCU and the Revs still have a chance to qualify.
Days until Arsenal play again: 7, this coming Sunday, at 8:30 AM New York time, away to Welsh club Cardiff City. They finally got their 1st win under new manager Unai Emery yesterday, beating West Ham United 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 6, this coming Saturday, at 12:00 noon, home to Texas State University.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 12, on Friday, September 7, away to Piscataway. Under 2 weeks.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 12, on Friday, September 7, a "friendly" against Brazil, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 23, on Tuesday night, September 18, at Yankee Stadium II. A little over 3 weeks. Not that it matters.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play another competitive game: 41, on Saturday, October 6, against the Edmonton Oilers, at... Scandinavium, an arena in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, part of the NHL Global Series. Under 6 weeks. The Mulberry Street Marauders will warm up for it on October 1, with an exhibition game in Berne, Switzerland; while the Oilers will visit Cologne, Germany on October 3.
Days until the New Jersey Devils' home opener: 46, on Thursday night, October 11, against the Stanley Cup holders, the Washington Capitals. Boy, there's words you never thought you'd read!
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 55, on Saturday afternoon, October 20, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 1st game against the New York Islanders, a.k.a. the Fish Sticks, will be on Saturday night, November 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.
Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 72, on November 6. A little over 10 weeks.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 83, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 88, on Thursday, November 22. Under 3 months.
Days until the next North London Derby: 98, on Sunday, December 2, at the Emirates Stadium. It had been set for December 1, but was moved due to Arsenal once again being stuck playing Europa League games on Thursday nights. No more "Thursday is Spursday" jokes for us Gooners.
Days until a Democratic Congress can convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 130, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little over 4 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 150, on January 23, 2019. A little under 5 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 285, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little over 9 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.
Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 307, on June 29, 2019. A little over 10 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 479, on December 18, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little under 16 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 514, on January 22, 2020. A little under a year and a half, or a little under 17 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 698, on July 24, 2020. Under 2 years, or a little under 23 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 800, on November 3, 2020. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 26 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 878, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little under 29 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,258, on February 4, 2022. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little over 41 months.
Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,548, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 1/2 years, or under 51 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
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