9/11 and All That

No disrespect intended by the title, a take-off on that great textbook parody “1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England” by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman. There was not so much media coverage of the eighth anniversary of 9/11 as I expected. In fact, both local papers devoted much more space to the first anniversary of the flood that decimated many Calumet Region communities and shut down IU Northwest for two weeks, leading to the condemnation of my old building Tamarack Hall. Even so, there’s no doubt that the terrorist attack on New York City’s World Trade Center was (so far) the “Pearl Harbor Day” of our generation. I still recall where I was when I heard the news. Toni called me in from outside and I was watching the "Today" show when a plane hit the second tower, leaving no doubt that it was not an accident. Then when the towers collapsed the horrific extent of the carnage became clear. Driving to class at IU Northwest's Portage Center with the radio on, I learned of a plane crashing into the Pentagon and another crashing in western Pennsylvania and did not know if more attacks were to come. I also recall talking to students about other traumatic events such as the JFK assassination and watching TV with other customers at Taco Bell after class. Even though it was not a shining moment for President George W. Bush, declaring a "War on Terror" probably assured him a second term and helped give him an excuse to take the country into a disastrous war in Iraq. I'm glad some of the patriotic posturing following 9/11/01 has died down although there remains a certain paranoia about Arab-Americans in our midst.

Decided to skip going to the Merrillville History Book Club at the Patio last evening. The book to be discussed was "Manhunt" by James Swanson, about the effort to catch John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Lincoln. Talk about unforgettable events. Evidently someone in the club is a Lincoln fanatic, and about half the time he's the topic. Gore Vidal's novel "Lincoln," which I read last year, is great and contains some interesting brothel scenes. Next spring Roy and Trish Arredondo will be able to discuss "Maria's Journey," which I helped them edit and that Indiana Historical Society Press is publishing. Last season I talked about Gary history and got Karren Lee and Tony Mockus to help with a dramatic reading.

Had some interesting emails when I arrived at my computer yesterday. Colleague Chris Young wants me to write a letter of support for his Summer Faculty Fellowship proposal so he can continue his research into party politics during the John Adams administration. Tony Bornstein thanked me for Steel Shavings magazines I gave him in return for William A. Wirt High School Yearbooks he donated to the Archives. Anne Balay showed me her impressive proposal on GLBT mill workers called “Steel Closets.” She mentioned her intention to visit a gay bar in Lake Station called EnCompass in order to find folks to interview. I asked her what she thought of the two of us going there together. She’d probably do better without me in terms of getting patrons to open up.

A student from Florida State named Carter McMillan wanted some biographical info on me. He is writing a synopsis of an article I published way back in 1973 entitled “Underground to Manhood: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man,” in a publication called “Negro American Literature Forum.” Hadn’t thought about it in years before recently seeing it listed on the Internet. I once thought of doing a book on novels taking place in New York. Finally Jeff Manes wondered if volume 40 of Steel Shavings will be ready soon and, concerning the SALT interview he did with me, wrote: “About a week ago, I typed onto the computer screen what I thought I could possibly use from the tape recorder (the tedious part I really hate). You broke the all-time record. I am allotted 1,100 words (in the P-T), which I sometimes stretch to 1,300. The rough draft fresh off the tape is usually 1400, 1500, 1650 words. And then I have to whittle it down to size. Kill my darlings, as they say. Yours is more than 3000 words.” I apologized to Jeff for being so wordy.