The original intent of my post today comes further down. But when I was thinking about that subject line for today, I remembered back to Hands Across America. This was an event which took place in May of 1986 and involved five million people joining hands and forming a line which ended up stretching 4,152 miles. Back then, I was fifteen and probably more preoccupied with things like pizza. Regardless, this was a charity event intended to help feed the hungry and combat homelessness. It clearly didn’t work, but that’s beside the point. Realistically, you can’t expect one event to change the world. But in the 1980s, a lot of people sure tried.
What I mean is this: whatever happened to the “huge event for a cause?” Oh sure, we had several charity events after 9/11 and a couple after the tsunami last winter, but how come in the last 20 years or so it takes a tragedy of epic proportions before someone puts together a massive one-day movement? How come Live Aid only happened once? Why don’t we hear about the AIDS quilt anymore (1987)? Did acid rain just go away? Are musicians still “not gonna play Sun City?” OK, that last one is a reach. But do we care as much these days?
Anyway, I shudder to think about a simple question: where have people’s hands been? When scanning a random blog post about germs the other day, I realized that I don’t think it’s so wierd now when I bunch up my sleeve and use it to open bathroom doors when I exit the bathroom. When given the opportunity to dry my hands with a cloth or a paper towel, I’m going paper towel every time, dudes. Every time. I’m definitely NOT one of those people who totally freaks out and obsesses about germs, either, as my wife might attest. I just try to be aware, that’s all, especially in public bathrooms. The CDC recently did a study and the results were that one in three people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom. How many of those folks participated in Hands Across America, I wonder?
Recently played via Pod:
Anders Parker – “Come On Now”
Buttercup – “Deal With The Devil”
Drive-By Truckers – “Daddy’s Cup”
Elton John – “Levon”
Sloan – “Backstabbin'”
Sixteen Horsepower – “Redneck Reel”
The Clash – “I’m So Bored With The U.S.A.”
Eddie Fontaine – “Nothing Shaking (But The Leaves On The Trees)”