This is wonderful. These two guys have come up with a way to unify our fractured country, and everybody can take part:
It seemed to them that the nation was more divided than ever over the war and politics, not to mention immigration, race and abortion. So the two of them — Bruce Johnson, a former disc jockey who delivers local fruit and vegetables, and John Maielli, who has a silk-screening and painting business — came up with a wildly ambitious plan for national reconciliation.
What the country needs, they thought, was a unifying, rally-like event that would be free from politics and in which everyone could participate. Waving a towel seemed perfect…. "A certain amount of energy is released when you wave a towel," explains Mr. Johnson. It’s democratic. It doesn’t require skill or money. Wavers feel kinship with fellow wavers.
As the event was envisioned, millions of Americans across the country would participate in a National Wave, simultaneously twirling above their heads a red, white and blue towel called the "Official Uniting Towel of America." Organizers picked Friday, July 4, 2008, when people are more inclined to feel patriotic. It would take place at 9 p.m. Eastern time, before most local fireworks go off on the East Coast and at a decent hour in the West. To give enough time for stragglers to join in, the National Wave would last 15 minutes.
It’s simple, to the point that one could easily call it stupid. But its very simplicity, its utter lack of inherent meaning, makes it a blank slate upon which we can all write our hopes and dreams for the country, and most of all express our desire for brotherhood in spite of all our bitter differences.
I’ve got my towel, and I know where it is, and I’m more than ready to use it as a means of reuniting my country. With your help, I hope to keep track of this growing movement, and promote it as the chance arises.
Bruce Johnson and John Maielli — now there’s a couple of froods who really know where their towels are.
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I’m game.Reminds me of John Lennon.
Speaking of towels,where’s Yasser Arafat now that we need him?
Use your babel-fish.
No zwiggy frood, your blog is
Vogon poetry
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twas brillig and the slithy toves
did gyre and gimble in the (wave)
Gyre and Gimble, the piano duo
that wouldn’t quit or even stand up
Let’s all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born
Though she was born a long, long time ago
Your mother should know
Mother, you had me
But I never had you.
And on top of it all,
Or at the bottom,
I was adopted.
So let’s hoist the red, white and blue
And let me be united with something.
This stream-of-consciousness blogging
Really brings back memories.
I would think a general strike to shut down the whole country would be a much unifying element than throwing in the towel.
Not throwing it in, James — just waving it.
And Weldon, what are you doing — bucking for bill’s job?
Sometimes, I guess, Brad, the blog gives me a chance to find out what’s inside my 54-year-old noggin.
Who knows? I might cast out a line and find a kindred spirit.
All I am saying is give towels a chance.
The thing of it is, though, all that bed-in, peacenik stuff from Lennon’s post-Beatle days rubbed me the wrong way.
The irony: Lennon and McCartney stopped making harmony, and then each of them started calling for harmony (Imagine, Give Ireland Back to the Irish) and blamed each other (How Can You Sleep?, Too Many People).
Still, in oh-so-many ways, those were the days.