IN MEMORY OF AMERICA: THE WAY IT WAS

IN MEMORY OF AMERICA: THE WAY IT WAS BY ROBERT L. HUFFSTUTTER

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Now that I have set up my blog, I will need to think of something to blog about. Considering the headlines of almost any newspaper across this wide American continent, a subject should be easy to select. The only problem that besets me is acquiring the patience and talent to blog in a politically correct manner. You know what I mean, right? Afterall, we are all Americans, right? No, not All Americans in the sense that one might describe the personage on a box of Wheaties--the days of those kind of All Americans are long past, long gone, like history. You know what I mean, right? Wheaties, if I recall correctly, was the breakfast of champions. Champions like Jack Armstrong. Or was it John Armstrong? Hell, I can't recall. In fact, I can't even recall why he was considered a champion. Maybe he wasn't all that big of a champion afterall. There was another champion on the box of Wheaties that keeps popping up in my mind, that part that might be called "my gallery of American heroes." I can't remember his name, just his face. He had a crew cut and wore glasses; he was a basketball player. He was a white guy. So far, I am not impressed with my dim memories of America's heroes of long ago. Without a television, how was I supposed to have any heroes who were real and full of energy and spirit?
Well, I almost forgot. I had a whole lot of heroes I'd learned about through books, specifically Landmark Books. Published by Random House, New York, they were packed full of heros and heroines (female hero for those who have been denied gender education and identification). For readers who remember the Landmark series, there is nothing more I need to write. They were full of illustrations, line drawings and photographs. They were, to be honest, history with some imagination added for extra excitement. The Landmark logo was a line drawing of the Washington Monument. No, George Washington's portrait never appeared on the box of Wheaties. Why not? Because Gilbert Stuart had not completed it at the time. Does anyone remember Bob Fellows? Or was it Fellers? Was he some specific sports hero? John Wayne never appeared on the Wheaties box. He was a hero. He almost won WWII single-handedly,right?
Landmark books were easy to read; they were created with impressionable youngsters in mind. Each time I read a Landmark book I was eager to read another one. Eventually, by the time I was entering the 8th grade, I had read the entire list. They just couldn't write them fast enough to keep me interested once I entered high school. I wonder if it would have made a difference. One thing is for certain in today's world, there are plenty of books being written for youngsters. I hope they are being read with the same enthusiasm I had when I was reading them.