After getting though another observation of that tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001, as we have for 21 years now, we also lament all that we have lost over that time.
The thousands of lives lost that day will never be forgotten. We pray for them all every day.
And since that day, our lives have changed in ways that will never be the same.
That’s why I fire up the Way Back Machine so often — to return to those days before all these tragic events occurred and before our lives became so fearful, so restricted, so uncertain.
Yes, I really would like to return to the times when we walked to school, did homework and played until dark — outside, not in a room with an electronic device that only required our thumbs.
I want to play tag and hide and seek and stickball. I want to ride my bike everywhere, and I want to sit on my porch and listen to a baseball game on a transistor radio.
I want to buy a few packs of Topps baseball cards and quickly open them, hoping to see Mickey Mantle or any other Yankee, or Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax or Harmon Killebrew.
I want to get my record player out and play records — singles and albums made of vinyl and carefully place the needle to play my favorite song.
I want to close the door of my room and play my guitar, quietly singing so no one could hear just how bad I was.
I want to watch those great TV shows with my parents and laugh with them. I want to sit wide-eyed on Sunday night to hear Ed Sullivan introduce “The Beatles!”
I want to play pick-up baseball and basketball games with my pals. I want to go to Huber Stadium and root for the Shawnee Indians. I want to feel the relief of making the basketball team and getting a brand new pair of Converse Chuck Taylor hightops.
I want a Mergo’s hot dog, a pizza from Joe’s, a Red’s sub, a cherry coke at Rea & Derick, a CMP at Golden Quality, a Mister Softie chocolate malt, a quart of Steg — oops, nix that.
I want to sleigh ride down Nottingham Street. I want to sit in the shade of a tall tree and take a nap. I want to go for a ride to Melody Park with my parents and all their friends.
I want to hear my pals yell, “Yo Billy, come on out.”
I want it all. I want it to be like that again.
But those days are gone forever. We live in a much different world now, so we have to make the best of it. We have to roll with all the punches — and we have been hit with many punches.
From JFK’s assassination, to RFK and Martin Luther King, we have felt pain. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 were a stark reminder of just how fragile this world is. And the pandemic has made us all live with constant worry, of the virus itself or, for many, the fear that we have all been duped over and over again.
This world we live in can not sustain itself. We have to find a way to get along and to resolve our differences in a manner that does not include constant arguing filled with the unmovable thought that both sides are always right.
Political discourse is one thing, but thanks to social media, we no longer know what to believe. How do we ever get to the truth on any issue? We have to find the right path.
Candidates these days are more concerned about telling us why we shouldn’t vote for their opponents rather than telling us why we should vote for them. Issues no longer drive the selection process — shock, untruths and, yes, “fake news” is where we get our “information.”
We really need to resolve this. We need to bring civility back — especially in our elective process.
And as much as we would like, we can’t hop in the Way Back Machine and return to those better days.
We have to make effort to make these days much better.