Westside Messenger - September 19th, 2021

PAGE 4 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - September 19, 2021
A headline caught my eyes and got the
memories flowing. It was an article about
famed WWII patriot bandleader Glenn
Miller.
In 1944, he was on a plane flying from
England to France and went down over the
English Channel. They now believe parts of
the deteriorated, non-metal, aircraft were
found 32 years ago tangled in a trawler’s
fishing net, not recognized as such at the
time, and returned to the sea. They believe
the reports to be credible, have the coordinates,
and plan to investigate further.
I can still hear Miller’s big band music
bouncing off the walls of my childhood
home. With us kids longing to hear The
Beach Boys, Elvis, Bobby Rydell, The Four
Seasons and Dion and the Belmonts, we’d
instead be subjected to Miller’s band wailing
away with its snoozy rendition of
Chattanooga Choo Choo, Moonlight
Serenade and Kalamazoo. We were helpless
and received little sympathy from our
patriotic post-war parents who controlled
the only stereo and rarely relinquished control.
They still frowned upon our new
music, as did much of society.
Road trips back then were always a test
of endurance. There were few super highways
back then. It was always a torturously
slow trip for family holiday visits. We
kids would have the usual argument over
who got the window seats, who the dreaded
middle. Then, we’d cram into the compact
car’s backseat. That would be followed by
our big dog, Debby, who would sit on one of
us and get so excited she was going with us
she’d have what we’ll politely call ‘gastric
problems’ the entire trip. Every few miles,
regardless of how cold it was, the car windows
would open, followed by us all sticking
our heads out the window and gasping
for air. But that was nothing when compared
to having to listen to the car radio
stations my dad had settled on. Yes, it was
a very long, headache generating, trip with
Glenn Miller playing Little Brown Jug and
the other assorted big band music he
always seemed to find on the radio that
made the trip seem to last for eternity. By
Opinion Page
the time we reached our destiny, nerves
would be frayed and there would always be
silence with no one speaking to each other.
I’m still convinced those trips stunted my
growth, at least mentally.
That’s the way it was back then. WWII
was still fresh in the minds of everyone.
Our country had been attacked at Pearl
Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 and the very next
day, Congress, with only one dissenting
vote, firmly united to declare war on Japan
and joined the Allies. FDR condemned the
attack to be “a date that will live in
infamy.” We were thrust into something far
beyond what few could have foreseen coming,
and Glenn Miller became a huge part
of it. He gave up his thriving private career
to serve his country in the Army, where his
music became an inspiration for our country
and troops, home and abroad, during
the difficult war years. I suspect my parent’s
generation still associated that swing
music with those difficult, but victorious
days, much as our aging generation now
recalls certain ‘oldies’ songs of our own earlier
glory days and that’s why we were so
unfairly subjected to it.
Last year’s Pearl Harbor Day seemed to
be overshadowed by another event, the
passing of our 41st President, George H. W.
Bush. It was fitting the week-long network
coverage of his life and burial ended the
day before Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day. Agree
or disagree with his politics, I believe most
will agree he was a true patriot, one who
loved this country, from his days as a navy
pilot in WWII, throughout the many public
offices he devoted his life and services for.
His passing, at age 94, was just another
from what’s been labeled, ‘The Greatest
Generation.’
The further I travel down the one-way
path of my own later years, the more I’ve
come to appreciate the patriotism, sacrifices,
determination and unity of that
Greatest Generation. I now find myself
looking at that section of newspapers I once
ignored and never fully understood as a kid
and then purposely avoided in my middle
years after grasping its reality. I’ve now
reluctantly accepted the full meaning and
purpose of the Obit section and appreciate
the life stories they often tell. I’m always
filled with respect reading how many are
now from those H. W. Bush days and who
also served their country in a branch of the
military with dedication and distinction.
Past workplace friends often forward obits
for retired coworkers I spent so many years
toiling at the plant site with. It’s eye-opening
how many of them I now find were military
veterans who served as part of the
Greatest Generation. I’m always embarrassed
I never even knew they’d served and
now sadly, never got to thank.
Patriotism hasn’t disappeared and the
Greatest Generation can’t claim sole ownership
over it. We continue to see it routinely
displayed in many ways over the
years since WWII, be it via different military
confrontations, society, or public service
settings. Those and the certain future
acts of dedication can never be downplayed.
But something does seem to have changed
and eroded since those WWII days. With
every passing year the unity of the country
seems to have diminished while the ‘what’s
in it for me’ attitude has increased. It’s
caused me to question our future course,
something I never thought I’d be questioning.
A recent article highlighted my worries.
The essence of it was the military services
are now having a much harder time
achieving or are missing their overall
recruiting quotas, including specialty and
critical positions. For example, we don’t
have enough qualified pilots for our current
needs, let alone future needs. Many are
now going to the far more lucrative public
career sector. Same with the medical field,
etc. The pride of serving your country does
not seem to have the same society prominence
it once held. Kennedy’s famous, “ask
not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country,” has been
slowly reversing since those Greatest
Generation days.
What worries me the most is how polarized
the country has become. We’ve all seen
www.columbusmessenger.com
What we could learn today from the Greatest Generation
New use of technology makes me mad
There is an under served population
that is shut out of offers, discounts, and
many other perks of our technological society
because they are not “connected.”
I’m talking about people like my mother,
who, through no fault of her own, is not
tethered to the Internet because of the high
cost of a connection or one of many other
viable reasons.
And it makes me mad.
My mother was recently sent a coupon
from a new gas station moving into the central
Ohio market for a considerable per gallon
discount for three months. When she
went to the station, a helpful attendant
asked her for her email address to complete
the process.
Needless to say, that process stopped
dead in its tracks because she did not have
the requisite email address. There was no
other way for her to complete the application
for the company’s loyalty card without
an association with the Internet.
This is not an isolated incident. It happens
on a routine basis.
And it makes me mad.
Places - By Linda Dillman
Want to enter a drawing from a trusted
company? They don’t trust you if you do not
have that golden ticket…aka an email
address. Door closed.
Want to sign up for legitimate free
offers? Unless you have a legitimate email
address, don’t bother. No freebies for you!
Want to read the latest zoo newsletter?
It’s online. Want to get the best deals on
grocery items at your local store? Digital
coupons are the answer. Have a complaint,
compliment or concern? More often than
not you have to access the Internet.
Guest Column
Dave Burton
how dysfunctional
our Legislative
branch, the
Congress, has
become. The other
branches, the
Judicial and
Executive aren’t any
better. There’s now a total lack of unity in
our government with little or no recourse
for moving forward as a united country.
Decisions have become based on the latest
poorly constructed and too often biased and
emotion driven polls of uninformed public
input. The next election has become the
only priority. Even responsible attempts at
tough decisions for the right reasons is
rarely seen anymore.
I remember sitting far underground in
the remote missile control center, staring
at the console and monitoring all those
multiwarhead missiles, wondering if I
could turn the keys if ordered to. It was a
decision I never had to make, the intended
deterrence worked and the peace within
the borders of our country remained.
Today, we can’t even decide if what’s within
our borders is worthy enough to protect
and remain intact.
Times have changed since those
Greatest Generation days. But ignoring or
pretending evil individuals and intentions
still aren’t poised to dominate our way of
life is irresponsible. We can’t depend on a
smile and offering milk and cookies to madmen
to make everything better. And that’s
my fear. If someone demands more again,
as they did at Pearl Harbor, will this country
be able to unite again? Will Congress,
or will they just continue to look at their
next votes and vote strictly along party
lines?
Dave Burton is a guest columnist for the
Columbus Messenger Newspapers. He
lives in Grove City.
And it makes me mad.
The practice is discriminatory for those
without an email address, old or young.
And because this population of people are a
small minority with limited access to a
much larger population, they are ignored.
It is not right and it is not fair, but I fear
it is a problem that will be with us as long
as there are people not tethered to technology
and the Web.
And it makes me mad.
Linda Dillman is a Messenger staff writer.