Strange and Unusual Places
cultural dissonance
6/24/2025, It’s the birthday of Jackie Gleason. The Honeymooners was a great show and a favorite of mine, weeknight episodes on the black and white console TV with knobs, rabbit ears and one channel. These were live performances, and rumor has it Mr. Gleason never rehearsed. He was a popular figure around the Pocono Resorts area along the Delaware, an avid golfer at Shawnee on the Delaware and a regular at the Minisink Inn; places figuring high in my memory.
These were innocent times for me, and aside from an abusive stepfather, it seemed the world was a happy place. Everyone loved Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners no matter their bent or creed. Figure a little of that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Haven’t had a television for well over twenty years, about the time the world started feeling less happy. Real news was replaced with just all bad news, comedy got polarized, PBS left me for dead, and all the old slapstick artists faded away. When badmouthing the radio and TV got to be a habit for me, it was time to go. Instead of entertainment, the media went on the attack and is on the attack still, all of my old TV friends are gone and replaced by something other than my friend. Too bad.
How do we navigate the dangerous shoals of today’s fragmented dissonance?
By standing at the crossroads
So, you’ll just have to forgive me while another project is underway, my way of giving back to the people who gave me so much. We shouldn’t be ashamed to call ourselves Americans.
S&UP is an American story, The Spell of Ai is an American tale, and this is my homeland.
Actually, this is just a tee shirt; fighting terrorism started long before 1492.
Love it or leave it. Go in peace.