[Originally published in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper in the early 1990s and part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die And Other Essays"]
With apologies to the late Rod Serling:
Presented for your disapproval: the pointless, the useless, the worthless, and the inconsequential things and ideas, which intrigue the various ne'er-do-wells, sociopaths and mental defectives who bless or curse our planet and our nation. You've just crossed over onto the Medocrity Zone...
Timeless Medocrity: The concept that the wearing or not of neckties is the best way to determine if someone should get a job or not. The obsession Americans tend to have about lawns, diets and lawn care.
The 1940s: During the 1940s and '50s as well, school children were put through drills of "Duck and Cover" to hopefully be able to save themselves in case of the newest nightmare by the Russians, the Nuclear Threat. Children were told that in case of a nuclear attack during the school day, all they had to do was hide under their desk and they would survive unscathed. Luckily for them, they never had to find out first hand that this idea would never work. Keep in mind that the anagram for nuclear is unclear, and much of the thought that went into the use of nuclear reactors and weaponry was and continues to be unclear. The more recent equivalent of "Duck and Cover" occurs when an airplane is about to crash, and the stewardess(es) tell(s) the passengers to: "Put your head between your knees..." (and try to kiss your @$$ goodbye). (to be cont'd)
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