Duck and Cover

I went to grade school in the late 60s. The Cold War was raging and we had these little drills to "duck and cover." That involved curling yourself in a ball and sliding under your desk. Yeah, that's going to help in the event of a nuclear attack! In junior high, we did a similar drill in front of our lockers. I thought it was stupid then and I'm still convinced it was pointless. It just made a bunch of administrators feel like they were in control of the situation.

We were afraid of the wrong things. Yes, there were people who wanted to destroy the USA and yes, there were serious threats. There still are. September 11, 2001 was horrible and I'm afraid we will have more of those days. But I think it's more likely to be your day to day life that will do you in.

When I have a bad day, "duck and cover" comes in handy. It's usually not because of Russia or Cuba. I can't even blame the situation on the Middle East. I was trained in grade school -- when you're in a bad situation, duck and cover! Maybe it wasn't a waste of time after all.