There’s more on all that later, but first a lighter note.<\/span><\/p>\n In 1993 I started a tradition of listening to Alice’s Restaurant<\/em> every Thanksgiving. \u00a0It has nothing to do with eating turkey or getting together with family. \u00a0Instead it has everything to do with my favorite college football team playing its hated arch-rival. Back in 1993 that favorite college football team won its first national title. And it just so happened that for<\/em> that Thanksgiving weekend I had to drive up to Jacksonville. (My late wife Karen was working as a traveling sales lady for a church directory<\/a>\u00a0company.) <\/em>\u00a0It also just so happened that was when my team played the hated arch-rival that stood as a final obstacle to the title game.<\/p>\n And that’s when I heard the full rendition – on the radio, of Alice’s Restaurant<\/em> – for the first time in years.\u00a0 And as it happened, 1988 was also when I met<\/em><\/strong> the woman who became my first wife. \u00a0It also turned out that 1988 was when I started getting serious on making a ritual sacrifice<\/em> for my team. \u00a0(Doing things to help them win. \u00a0See also\u00a0sublimation<\/a>\u00a0– referring to my former hobby.)<\/em><\/p>\n So anyway, at the end of 1988 I drove home from a Christmas vacation in Yankee-land. \u00a0Coming through Gainesville, I heard the full rendition of Alice’s Restaurant for the first time since the 1960s.<\/strong><\/em> \u00a0(When I also saw the singularly-depressing\u00a0movie of the same name<\/a>.<\/em>)<\/p>\n There followed five years of\u00a0close, but no cigar<\/a>\u00a0for my favorite team, from 1988 to 1992.<\/p>\n But it was different in 1993. \u00a0For Thanksgiving that year I drove north\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>– not south – when I heard the song. \u00a0For another thing, in 1993 my radio played the song not once, but twice<\/em><\/strong>. \u00a0The result was that my team won its first national title. \u00a0And<\/em>\u00a0the last big test before the title game itself was playing and beating my team’s hated arch-rival, on that Thanksgiving weekend of 1993.<\/p>\n So again – ever since then, since 1993 – I’ve done my best to listen to Alice’s Restaurant<\/em> every Thanksgiving weekend.\u00a0 And if that all seems weird, see Was Moses the first to say \u201cit\u2019s only weird if it doesn\u2019t work<\/a>? \u00a0But getting back to those “Good Old Days of Yesteryear<\/a>.”\u00a0For one thing, Alice’s Restaurant<\/a><\/span> reminds us that – for many folks – those good old days<\/em> weren’t so good. As in\u00a0the song itself was “notable as a satirical, first-person account of 1960s counterculture<\/a>.” I’m not sure if we have that kind of counterculture<\/em> today. \u00a0(Unless you count “liberals,” as Fox News does.<\/em>) \u00a0But back in 1967 we sure had one. In Arlo’s case – and to many young men of the time – the “opposition” was to the Vietnam war. \u00a0And as Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0also noted:<\/p>\n The ironic punch line of the story is that, in the words of Guthrie, “I’m sittin’ here on the Group W bench ’cause you want to know if I’m moral enough to join the Army – burn women, kids, houses and villages – after bein’ a litterbug.” \u00a0The final part of the song is an encouragement for the listeners to sing along, to resist the draft<\/a>, and to end war.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Unfortunately we haven’t ended war<\/em><\/strong> yet. \u00a0(We still have plenty of those to go around<\/em>.) On the plus side, today’s young men no longer have to worry about the Draft. (Which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your viewpoint.)<\/em>\u00a0 All of which reminds me of a conversation I overheard on a flight out to Salt Lake City a summer or two ago.<\/p>\n I forgot exactly how he put it – and there’s more in the notes below – but his words literally blew my mind<\/a>.\u00a0 (To borrow an old idiom from the 1960s.)<\/em><\/p>\n Or to put it in the words of Alice’s Restaurant<\/em>, his recollection of the ’60s\u00a0fit in precisely with the definition of massacree<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0 (The term Arlo used in the full, original title of the song.<\/em>)\u00a0 The term itself -as used in the song and\/or title – refers to “an event so wildly and improbably and baroquely messed up that the results are almost impossible to believe.”)<\/p>\n Which is how I reacted to this particular bigmouth.\u00a0 It was only later – after the drive home from the airport, and while enjoying one of Utah’s famed 3.2 beers – that I started to remember some of the things that were going on back in the ’60’s.\u00a0 Race riots.\u00a0 Assassinations.\u00a0 The war in Vietnam.\u00a0 Draft dodging.\u00a0 Draft resistance. The upshot being that while some great music came from the era – including Alice’s Restaurant<\/em> – the decade itself was not<\/em><\/strong> fun to live through.<\/p>\n And in a big way, the 1960’s are still with us. Then there’s the old saying:\u00a0 “If you stand on the bank of\u00a0the river long enough, you’ll see the bodies of your enemies floating by<\/a>.” Which could be another way of saying Arlo did a reprise<\/a>? (S<\/em>ee Arlo Guthrie Returns to ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ 50 Years Later<\/a>.) In it, Arlo’s voice was deeper and more mellow. \u00a0On the other hand, at times he seemed to “overplay his hand.” (To add some drama that seemed a bit forced, which sometimes afflicts us older folk.\u00a0 On the other hand, the original had the spontaneity of youth.)<\/em><\/p>\n But the big news was his account of visiting the Jimmy Carter White House.<\/p>\n In 1977, Guthrie got invited to the Carter Inauguration. (Which he figured would be pretty much the only time he’d get<\/em> such an invitation.) Here’s what happened next.<\/p>\n Chip Carter (the president’s son)\u00a0advised Guthrie that they had found a copy of the ALICE’S RESTAURANT album\u00a0in Richard Nixon’s record library. \u00a0Guthrie …\u00a0found that interesting [but] didn’t think much about it until years later,\u00a0when Nixon died and there was all this talk about the 18.5-minute gap in the\u00a0former president’s tape collection. \u00a0At which point, it occurred to Arlo that\u00a0“Alice’s Restaurant” also clocked in at 18.5 minutes!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n See “Alice’s Restaurant” and Watergate<\/a>. \u00a0(See also the note below on Carter pardoning the Vietnam era “draft dodgers.”)<\/em>\u00a0 So one<\/em><\/strong> point of all this rambling is that Arlo Guthrie turned a patently absurd situation into a timeless classic.\u00a0 (And a Thanksgiving tradition to many.) <\/em>But there’s another point.\u00a0 People who “wax poetic” on the Good Old Days <\/em><\/strong>usually forget what it was like actually living then.\u00a0 See for example On American History, \u201cpatched and piebald<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Nothing was clear, inevitable, or even comprehensible… \u00a0 The real drama of the American Revolution \u2026 was its inherent messiness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And that’s not to mention the \u201cfractious disputes and hysterical rhetoric of [those] contentious nation-builders.\u201d The upshot? Fractious disputes and hysterical rhetoric seem to have been with us in the past, and remain with us “even to this day.” Or as John Adams put it, “as it is now, ever was, and ever will be, world without end.”<\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n For details about what happened to the original “Alice’s Restaurant,” see\u00a0Wikipedia<\/a>, and\/or\u00a0The original Alice’s Restaurant – Review of Theresa’s Stockbridge Cafe<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Re: church directories. Aside from the link given, other directory companies today include Church Directories & Family Portraits – Lifetouch<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Barksdale Church Directories<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0 In 1993, the company provided one “free” full-color photograph to each family. The sales staff – who came to the church a week or two after the photographers – earned their commission by selling extra copies and\/or photographs.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Re: “Counterculture.” \u00a0That’s a “subculture<\/a> whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, often in opposition to mainstream cultural mores<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p>\n The Ethan Bronner quotes – listed below – are from his 1989 book, Battle for Justice \u00a0How the Bork Nomination Shook America<\/strong>. \u00a0(Anchor Books, published by Doubleday, at pages 249-50.) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Lower East Side – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0The caption: \u00a0“‘Cliff Dwellers<\/a>‘ by Bellows, depicting the Lower East Side as its in the early 20th Century” (sic<\/a><\/em>):<\/em><\/p>\n In Cliff Dwellers, George Bellows<\/a>\u00a0captures the colorful crowd on New York City\u2019s Lower East Side<\/a>. \u00a0It appears to be a hot summer day. \u00a0People spill out of tenement buildings onto the streets, stoops, and fire escapes. \u00a0Laundry flaps overhead and a street vendor hawks his goods from his pushcart in the midst of all the traffic. \u00a0In the background, a trolley car heads toward Vesey Street.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For more on Alice’s Restaurant, see\u00a0The Story Behind \u2018Alice\u2019s Restaurant\u2018: the 50-Year-Old\u00a0Song\u00a0that Is Forever Young<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Arlo Guthrie Looks Back on 50 Years of \u2018Alice\u2019s Restaurant<\/a><\/em>,’\u00a050 things about Arlo Guthrie\u2019s \u2018Alice\u2019s Restaurant<\/a>,’ and\u00a0Arlo Guthrie Returns to \u2018Alice\u2019s Restaurant\u2018 50 Years Later<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n Re: the draft. \u00a0See\u00a0Vietnam War Draft<\/a>,\u00a0Draft lottery (1969) – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>, and content.time.com\/time… article\/0,28804,186225<\/a>, regarding President Jimmy Carter’s pardoning the “Vietnam war draft dodgers” in 1977. \u00a0Other articles of interest include\u00a0Was Trump a ‘draft dodger’? | PunditFact – PolitiFact<\/a><\/em>, and\u00a0How I Got Out of the Vietnam Draft – And Why That Still Matters<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n And finally, here’s a portion of the post where I started going off on a tangent<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n (Beginning with the sentence, “Unfortunately we haven\u2019t ended war yet…”)<\/em><\/p>\n Unfortunately we haven\u2019t ended war yet. \u00a0On the other hand, today\u2019s young people no longer have to worry about the Draft. \u00a0(Which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your viewpoint.) \u00a0That \u201cphasing out\u201d started in 1969 with the\u00a0Draft\u00a0Lottery<\/a>:<\/p>\n In the late 1960s, President Nixon established a commission to recommend the best ways to raise military manpower, to keep the draft or<\/strong> to institute a volunteer army<\/a>. \u00a0After much debate \u2026 it was decided that an all-volunteer force was affordable, feasible, and would enhance the nation\u2019s security\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And that\u2019s what we\u2019ve had ever since. \u00a0But Wikipedia also noted that the 1970s<\/em><\/strong> \u201cwere a time of turmoil in the United States, beginning with the Civil Rights Movement.\u201d \u00a0Further, the draft lottery \u201conly encouraged resentment of the Vietnam war\u201d \u2013 and the draft \u2013 and \u201cstrengthened<\/em> <\/strong>the anti-war movement<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0Which brings up a conversation I heard a summer or two ago.<\/p>\n I was flying out to Salt Lake City. \u00a0In the row right behind me, the older guy in the window seat was\u00a0pontificating<\/a>. \u00a0(Actually he was about my age. \u00a0The subject of his pontification \u2013 to the young man \u201ccaptive audience\u201d in the next seat \u2013 was how great things used to be \u2013 in the 1960s.<\/p>\n But what he said<\/em> fit in precisely with the definition of massacree<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Arlo used in the full, original title of Alice\u2019s Restaurant. \u00a0(Meaning \u201can event so wildly and improbably and baroquely messed up that the results are almost impossible to believe.\u201d) \u00a0<\/em>Or respond to in a timely manner.<\/p>\n It was only later \u2013 after the drive from the airport and the comfort of one Utah\u2019s famed 3.2 beers \u2013 that I fully started to remember why<\/em><\/strong> the ’60s and ’70s weren\u2019t so great. \u00a0Or more precisely, what exactly happened<\/em> during those years of turmoil.<\/p>\n As Ethan Bronner noted, \u201cIn the 1960s much changed,\u201d beginning with the U.S. Supreme Court. Court rulings began protecting the private possession of obscene materials (for example). \u00a0The Court did so under the theory that the right to receive information and ideas \u2013 \u201cregardless of their social worth\u201d \u2013 is fundamental to a free society.<\/p>\n But to many others, \u201cthe sixties were where America went wrong.\u201d \u00a0To them, the government existed<\/em> to make value choices. \u00a0To them, allowing such \u201cfree speech\u201d as the 1978\u00a0March on Skokie (Ill.)<\/a>\u00a0led to feelings of \u201cpowerlessness and alienation of many Americans:\u201d<\/p>\n Citizens\u2019 efforts to take control of their lives and environments were further undercut by the growing power of courts and bureaucracies. \u00a0No wonder so many Americans dropped out of the political process\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which could bring up the term\u00a0Kafkaesque<\/a>. \u00a0Illustrated by \u201cKafkaesque bureaucracies,\u201d the term means something marked \u201cby a senseless<\/a>, disorienting<\/a>, often\u00a0menacing<\/a> complexity<\/a>,\u201d and\/or \u201cby surreal<\/a> distortion<\/a> and often a sense of impending danger<\/a>…\u201d<\/p>\n Like I said, that’s where I started going off on a tangent<\/a>, last night, as I tried to finish this post in time to be relevant to Thanksgiving weekend, 2015.<\/p>\n The point being that alienation, anxiety, guilt and absurdity<\/em> seem to have been with us – as Adams noted – now and forever, “world without end.”<\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * December 2, 2015 – Every year around this time I do my best to listen to Alice’s Restaurant. (The “musical monologue by singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie,” released in 1967.)\u00a0 When it first came out – in 1967 – the war in Vietnam was at its height. Then there was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2679"}],"version-history":[{"count":132,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21559,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679\/revisions\/21559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Bigmouth.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/en\/f\/f3\/Bigmouth.jpg\")
There was an old\u00a0bigmouth<\/a>\u00a0– about my age actually – sitting in the seat behind me.\u00a0 He proceeded to “pontificate” to the young man next to him about the 1960s, and how much better<\/em><\/strong> they were than today.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/dd\/Bellows_CliffDwellers.jpg\/1024px-Bellows_CliffDwellers.jpg\")
New York’s Lower East Side<\/a><\/em>\u00a0“in the early 20th Century…”<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/d\/d1\/Student_Vietnam_War_protesters.JPG\")
The original original post had photo – seen at left – courtesy of Draft evasion – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>. My lead caption: “Potential \u201cdraft dodgers\u201d \u2013 before the Draft lottery<\/a>\u00a0of 1969.” \u00a0<\/em>The full Wikipedia caption, “U.S. anti-Vietnam War<\/a> protesters at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison<\/a>. \u00a0A placard to the right reads ‘Use your head – not your draft card.'”<\/em><\/p>\nI forget exactly how this\u00a0bigmouth<\/a>\u00a0put it, in his unchallenged opinion.<\/p>\n![\"Black-and-white](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d3\/Franz_Kafka_1917.jpg\/220px-Franz_Kafka_1917.jpg\")
And one final note, Franz Kafka<\/a> – who’s name gave rise to the term “Kafkaesque” – died in 1924, at the age of 41.\u00a0 He was noted for writings that explored “themes of alienation<\/a>, existential anxiety<\/a>, guilt<\/a>, and absurdity<\/a>.”\u00a0\u00a0 (Perhaps in his way not unlike Arlo Guthrie.<\/em>)\u00a0 See Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n