Rusty Saber: Time turns another page in history

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The flap over the movie "Titanic" caused me to think about how few people are still alive who remember when the great ship went down. Here is one of the most tragic events in the 20th century, and soon no one will remember it. |ret||ret||tab|

This set off a chain reaction in me of philosophic notions that, thankfully, provided a Rusty Saber topic. It follows that, if few remember the Titanic, the same can be said about World War I both were early 20th century events. Veterans and others remembering the war are quite elderly. |ret||ret||tab|

It seems to me that we have turned a page on our past when no one remembers an event that had a dramatic impact on people at the time. It becomes a historical event to be studied not an experience of anyone alive. I recall feeling this way a long time ago when it was reported first, that the last veteran of the Civil War had died at age 105, followed soon after by a report of the death of the last person who was alive during the war, a widow of a Civil War veteran. |ret||ret||tab|

The Civil War was probably the defining moment in the history of the Republic and directly affected the lives of all people: None were left who experienced it. A page in American history had been turned.|ret||ret||tab|

Before long, the passage of time will bring us to the point where no one will have direct memory of World War II. A move is now under way to build a national monument to World War II veterans before they are all gone. For those who experienced this cataclysmic event, the thought that the time is approaching when no one will remember it is hard to believe. However, there was a time when the same could be said about the Civil War.|ret||ret||tab|

The next phase of my philosophic chain reaction came when I was watching the TV program "Biography" on the Arts and Entertainment Network, this one featuring the life of singer and jazz musician, Nat "King" Cole. The show's film footage was so dated that I realized how long ago it was that Cole's truly magnificent singing voice was a permanent fixture on the "Hit Parade." |ret||ret||tab|

As I watched, I said to myself, "It won't be long before no one will remember this voice." I don't usually talk to myself I prefer to have more intelligent conversations; however, this time I actually made an astute comment. I am certain that many people today don't know who Nat "King" Cole was. |ret||ret||tab|

The dissonant clangs, hoots and hollers so many accept as music shows little if any appreciation for a blend of melody and lyrics in the hands of a masterful talent like Cole. The time will come when none but a few antique record collectors will remember him.|ret||ret||tab|

Come to think of it, a lot of things once an integral part of American life will not be in anyone's memory bank. Movie double features, along with cartoons and serials, for instance. It's been a long time since moviegoing was such a bargain. How long before no one remembers?|ret||ret||tab|

The time is not far off when no living person will remember when the iceman delivered ice to the home to go into the "icebox," the predecessor of the refrigerator. Someday, no one will remember the sign in the window telling the iceman (a career long ago rendered obsolete by technology) the size of the block of ice needed. Anyone who remembers the iceman is well beyond the AARP minimum age limit.|ret||ret||tab|

Time also has dimmed the memory of doing the laundry in pre-automatic washer days. You have been around the block a few times if you remember when Monday was washday; Tuesday was ironing day. Clothes were washed in a "washing machine," mostly by hand, run through a ringer by hand, and hung out to dry on the clothesline. Clothesline? What's a clothesline? You are moving on up the age ladder if you remember when every back yard had clotheslines with clothes hanging on them.|ret||ret||tab|

To fully appreciate the modern washer and dryer, you would have to have done the laundry the old-fashioned way. Someday, no one will remember that there was a difference. We aren't too far away from the time when no one will remember when there was no television. Probably many young people today would be shocked to learn that TV was actually invented after the wheel. One of these days, no one will know which came first.|ret||ret||tab|

I forget what was the big deal about the Titanic?|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University and a Springfield public relations consultant.)|ret||ret||tab|

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