Wednesday, February 23, 2005

When We Walked Together

Think this is going to be another post about how "we were one" on 9/11/2001?

Nope. Because we walked together long before that - 25 years ago yesterday.

Were you around when Jim Craig draped the American flag over his shoulders and searched for his dad in the crowd? When Mike Eruzione hoisted a young group of amateur overachievers on his broad shoulders and made us believe?

America walked together on 2/22/1980. You didn't need to be a hockey fan, or liberal, or conservative...you just needed to believe in miracles. It was a truly joyous occasion to walk together, not a temporary "unity of convenience" in the face of unexpected disaster.

The tears that were spilled came from the unbridled joy of victory over impossible odds, rather than the anguish of national peril.

And no, Dorothy -- no amount of clicking the heels on those ruby-red shoes is going to take you home again.

Gawddam, I'm getting old.