The Comics Code Authority: Revised to Relax, Part 4

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Amazing Spider-Man #100-101 (September-October 1971)
“The Spider or the Man?”
Stan Lee/Gil Kane-Frank Giacoia

“A Monster Called… Morbius!”
Roy Thomas/Gil Kane-Frank Giacoia

Doug: Man-Wolf, zuvembie… must be time for vampires in our survey of the revised Comics Code Authority! This time ‘round we take a look at Morbius, the Living Vampire, debuting back in 1971 in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. We begin our story in the anniversary issue, #100, as a bridge to Morbius’ debut in #101.

Karen: Before we jump into the story, I want to say that I love the cover of issue 100! It’s just a very cool design.

Doug: To start things off, I have a complaint to register. I had never read ASM #100 prior to sitting down for this post. However, I had read #150 (November 1975) way back when it first arrived on the stands, and I will retroactively state my unhappiness that those two anniversary issues have basically the same plot! That is, a delirious Peter Parker seeking to establish his true or desired identity, runs into a series of faux villains (the Vulture and the Kingpin are duplicated in the two stories). Each story also involves Dr. Curt Connors, albeit not until #101 in the case of the former story. Couldn’t Archie Goodwin, the author of #150, come up with something different? Of course, if it was done in the Marvel Method, then we have to blame Gil Kane, the penciller of both tales!

Doug: The basic plot of #100 is that Peter has decided that he wants Gwen Stacy – for marriage, we assume. A lifetime commitment… But, in order for that to happen, there can’t be a Spider-Man involved. So, Pete puts the finishing touches on a serum he’s been working on since he became Spidey – fears that his radioactive blood would later pose a problem, etc. concerned him. He drinks the potion and then enters a dream-state where he is forced to fight several phantom versions of his rogues gallery – the Vulture, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and the Kingpin. While he’s battling those characters, Spider-Man begins to complain about a tremendous pain in his side. In the last panel, the source of that pain is revealed: Peter has grown four additional arms to become a human spider!

Karen: I know I keep going back to that interview with Stan Lee and Roy Thomas in Comic Book Artist #2, but there’s a quote from Stan there where they are discussing Gwen Stacy’s death, and he says that “I always wanted her to marry Peter Parker”. I think you can clearly see that this was true when you read ASM 100.

Doug: Yeah, that would really fly in the face of Jazzy Johnny Romita’s report that Milton Caniff always said that a female character should be killed off every two years! Hence, the decision (which Romita was in on) to kill Gwen less than two years from this story!

Karen: You can also clearly see many Gil Kane up-the-nose shots! Those just drive me nuts!

Doug: I thought Kane’s art really suffered from Giacoia’s inks; he is so much stronger on Spider-Man when inked by Romita. One of the things I noticed is so simple – take a look at the shape of Spidey’s head. It’s often not even a nice oval. And, much as Curt Swan did for the Superman universe over at the Distinguished Competition, Romita helped to unify the Spider-verse look even when not the penciller.

Doug: ASM #101 opens with a more-neurotic-than-usual Peter Parker lamenting his new condition. To compound his problems, he gets two phone calls – one from Gwen and the other from the Daily Bugle. He is basically rude to both Gwen and Robbie to get them off the phone. He next places a call to Dr. Curt Connors in Florida and asks to stay at his Long Island mansion; Connors complies with the request and tells Spidey that there is a fully-functional laboratory in the basement.

Karen: Poor Roy Thomas! His first issue of Spidey, and he’s stuck with a Peter Parker with six arms! Thanks Stan!

Doug: I thought the scripting transition from Stan in #100 to Roy in #101 was pretty noticeable. It’s probably a good thing that the storyline was of a pretty serious nature, as Roy is not as adept at the witty banter as Stan was.

Karen: I remember this issue really well, because it was the second issue of Spider-Man I read (98 was the first). All of these ‘monsters’ were quite appealing to a six year old.

Doug: In the next scene we meet a mysterious stranger, on the high seas with a very tense crew. Apparently crew members have turned up missing or dead, and the new guy seems to be the common thread. It’s not long until we learn that he is a vampire. He wreaks havoc one more time on the crew, and then leaps into the ocean – he is obviously conflicted about his lot in life. As fate would have it, the vampire surfaces just off Long Island and moves into the bell tower of Dr. Connor’s mansion.

Karen: It’s no coincidence that Morbius’ first appearance evokes the events of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, as Roy said he and Gil Kane originally wanted to use Dracula himself in the story. But Stan insisted on having a super-villain vampire, so we got Morbius.

Doug: As Spidey works away at a possible antidote to rid himself of his four extra arms, Morbius wakes and begins to move about the house. Spying Spider-Man from the top of a stairwell, Morbius swoops down upon him. Of course a battle ensues, and it is during the fisticuffs that the vampire shouts his name to Spider-Man. Then, in a plot twist, who but Dr. Connors shows up to help Spider-Man. And as you might have guessed, the Lizard isn’t far behind!

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Doug Says: "Check out some of my Stuff!" Part 2

I'm back with another look at my collection. Last time we perused some Megos and a few comic/political buttons. This time I'm going to show off some 1970's Marvel calendars and a few of the Secret Wars action figures from the mid-'80's.

The Mighty Marvel Calendars

My mom was so good to me on Christmas when I was little. We didn't have an abundance of money back in those days, but each year something WAY cool would show up. One year it was Son of Origins of Marvel Comics, other years it would be a Mego or two. But in 1975 she started an annual tradition of giving me the Marvel calendar for the coming year. If you never saw any of these, they were really neat. Each month had original artwork by top artists of that time. In many cases, the artists most associated with a given character at the time (ie Herb Trimpe and the Hulk) had been commissioned to depict said character in some type of theme-based scene. I've included a few details, the first from the 1976 Bicentennial calendar, and the second from the 1977 Memory Album.

In addition, each month was chock full of Bullpen birthdays, first appearances, and just general Marvel gags. It was really cool as a youngster to finally see the faces of many of the writers and artists I'd come to admire. I can't say that in some cases I wasn't surprised... kind of like the first time you saw your favorite DJ!

I'm not sure why I didn't get the 1978 calendar, and I'd also add that I liked the '76 and '77 calendars, which encompassed all of Marvel, better than the singularly-focused Hulk and Dr. Strange calendars.

Secret Wars action figures

I'd been out of comics collecting from the time I entered high school in 1980 until toward the end of my freshman year of college in 1985. But when I returned, it was with a vengeance! Not only did I attempt to gobble up all of the back issues I'd missed, but I discovered that there was quite a bit more merchandising that was taking place than I ever remembered. I'll admit to having missed the first Secret Wars maxi-series, so I really didn't have much of a clue concerning any backstory to the action figure line. But, I thought the sculpts were very cool, and the fact that there were figures available that had not formerly been in the Mego line (my action figure line) -- Magneto, Daredevil, Doc Ock, Kang, and Wolverine. I also was very intrigued by the black Spidey suit, as I'm not sure I'd seen those issues of Amazing Spider-Man yet.

I first ran across this series in a Ben Franklin "dime store" (you are old if you know what a dime store is!). Secret Wars figures were out about the same time as Kenner/DC's Super Powers line. I recall trying to dicker with one of the ladies who worked the lower level of the Ben Franklin store, where the toys were. Yeah, fish weren't bitin'...

If you notice in the background are some of the second series of Marvel Slurpee cups. Next time I'll give you a better view, and show also some of the first series cups that I own, as well as some glasses with the same artwork!

Weird Wednesdays: Bigfoot on the Big Screen

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It’s safe to say that Bigfoot (or Sasquatch, if you prefer) was ubiquitous in the 1970s. Sightings of the supposed beast began decades prior, and the ‘Bigfoot’ name was coined in 1958 to describe the unusually large, human-like footprints found in logging areas in northern California. As a kid growing up in California in the 70s, I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t heard of Bigfoot. The legendary creature fueled many a nightmare, and made camping a real adventure! But the shaggy one’s popularity was never higher than in the 70s, when he was not only still sighted in the wilderness occasionally, but even more frequently on TV and movie screens around the country.

A number of documentaries were made on Bigfoot; the one that most readily springs to my mind was The Mysterious Monsters, hosted by actor Peter Graves, of the ultra-cool TV show Mission : Impossible. I actually saw this in a theater, and at the time, was quite terrified by it. Looking back now at clips of the film, courtesy of YouTube, I realize just how low-budget and schlocky it really was! How the seemingly-distinguished Mr. Graves got involved with this thing is the real mystery. Still, the flick had some great moments, like when our pal Bigfoot decides he’d like to hang out with a local cutie, and sends his hairy paw through a window for her!

Another Bigfoot film I saw in a theater was The Legend of Boggy Creek. OK, technically the creature in the film was not called “Bigfoot”, but it’s still about a big hairy weirdo who terrifies people, only these people live in the swamps of Arkansas (that’s kind of terrifying all by itself). My recollections are hazy, but I do know there were some young kids in this docu-drama (the littlest one was named T-Fish, which might make sense in Arkansas) and I know I empathized with them a lot, which is why I still remember this pathetic film. You really have to see this thing; it looked like it was made for about $3. I mean, was there no one with any money in the film industry who wanted to make a primo Bigfoot movie? Apparently, the answer is ‘no’.

In my judgment, TV probably did a slightly better job by Bigfoot than film. Of course, the most famous Bigfoot on TV has got to be the one from The Six Million Dollar Man. Well-known wrestler Andre the Giant, and later Ted Cassidy (aka Lurch from The Addams Family) both appeared as our hairy friend. Bigfoot’s story in the show was quite convoluted: he was a cyborg (or android) built by aliens! Of course, after initially fighting Steve Austin, Bigfoot became a good guy – well, most of the time. There were five episodes that featured Bigfoot in 1976-1977. Although both actors were impressively large, I always felt that facially, Bigfoot looked more like a freaky hippie than an ape-man.

Around the same time that ol’ BF was appearing in prime time, he was also stomping through the Saturday morning line up. Bigfoot and Wildboy was a segment of the Sid and Marty Kroft Supershow presented on ABC in 1976. It went off to become its own show in 1979. I’ll admit that I have no memory of seeing this show as a kid; but from what I’ve seen on YouTube and other places, I don’t think I missed anything. This Bigfoot seemed to have a very human-looking face – probably because they couldn’t afford any make-up or prosthetic appliances! Bigfoot finds and raises a young boy (‘Wildboy’) – I don’t even want to go any further with that. Actually, it sort of sounds like something Jack Kirby might have done; he did have Kamandi, and Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy. What a team-up that might have been –Bigfoot, Devil Dinosaur, Wildboy, and Moonboy. Get your popcorn ready!

Of course, any discussion of Bigfoot in the 70s would be incomplete if I did not bring up the most famous pseudo-Bigfoot of all time, Chewbacca. Sure, he’s a wookiee, and his face looks more like a dog than an ape, but come on: is there any doubt that Lucas wasn’t at least influenced by BF when he created Chewbacca? (Hmm, we could do a huge post on all the things that Lucas stole was influenced by when making Star Wars.) Chewie is a big, hairy powerful creature -sounds a lot like Bigfoot to me. Although I haven’t heard of many Bigfoots piloting spaceships. Then again, maybe that’s why no one can find them. I thought it was both appropriate and hilarious when I read that Peter Mayhew, the actor who plays Chewbacca, was worried that he would be mistaken for Bigfoot and shot while filming Return of the Jedi in the forests of northern California. That sort of brings it full circle!

Weird Wednesdays: The Dover Demon

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Karen: Although it’s been over 30 years since I first heard about it, I still hate the Dover Demon. I’m sure most people have no idea what I’m talking about – and good for them. The story is trivial, meaningless, and without any verification whatsoever. But it was a story that struck right at my core, particularly since I had an older brother who took no small joy in scaring me.

The time would have been late spring, perhaps June, since I believe I was out of school already. The year was 1977, and I was 12 years old. I do recall that it was a pleasant night in my central California town, and my brother, Steve, who was 18, myself, and two of his friends had decided to take a walk about half a mile or so to our nearest 7-Eleven, where we might grab a Slurpee or maybe some other treat. It was a clear, warm night and many stars were visible. In other words, it was a pretty nice evening to take a walk. Unless you have a sadistic older brother, that is.

As we wound our way down the streets of our neighborhood, Steve began to discuss a story we’d heard recently on the news. Here I am indebted to Loren Coleman’s wonderful book, Mysterious America, for the particulars of the case, as I was unable to recall them. Four kids in Dover, Massachusetts had reported seeing a strange creature over the course of a 25 hour period on April 21-22, 1977. Witnesses described it as a small, 3-4 foot tall, spindly humanoid, with light, peach-colored skin, and long toes and fingers. The most disturbing detail was its head: it was unusually large, shaped like a watermelon, and had no features except for two large glassy eyes. The kids saw it in different locations in their small town, all at night. One witness, John Baxter (whose drawing is shown above, from Coleman's book) saw it climb over rocks in a gully, with its feet “molded” over the stones.

As we walked along, talking about this weird thing, we approached a large brick wall. There were no street lights in the immediate area and it was fairly dark. My brother said, “What if we saw that thing right now? What if it was climbing up over that wall?” I told him to shut up, which of course only goaded him on. “What if it was crawling along the wall, staring at us with those big, glowing eyes?” That was it – I was completely freaked out. The hairs on the back of my neck were at full attention. But Steve kept it up. I wanted to run back home, but we were too far and I was too scared to do it alone now. I had no choice but to keep going with them, nervously looking over my shoulder.

We finally made it to the 7-Eleven, and I was able to calm down. Nothing like a cherry-cola Slurpee for a case of nerves! The only problem was, we now had to walk back past that wall again!

As we walked towards the wall, things were quiet. Probably the only sound was our footsteps, and me drinking my Slurpee. Suddenly my brother yelled, “What’s that?” I just about choked! I looked around frantically only to see Steve laughing at my reaction. I wanted to kill him, but even more, I wanted to get home!

As far as I know, the Dover Demon has never re-appeared - except in my imagination, whenever I am out for a walk at night. Damn you Steve.

The Comics Code Authority: Revised to Relax, part 2

Amazing Spider-Man #125, October 1973
“Wolfhunt!”
Gerry Conway/Ross Andru & John Romita/Tony Mortellaro

Doug: We’re back with the conclusion of our first foray into Marvel’s post-Comics Code Authority monster mash! In this entry we’re closing out the two-parter that introduced the malevolent Man-Wolf, really John Jameson – son of that perpetual Spidey pain-in-the-butt J. Jonah Jameson!

Doug: Last time I didn’t mention that I had the Power Records Book and Record Set (“It’s Fun to Read as You Hear!”) for this story. I was saving for this go-‘round because I remembered that it contained the origin of the Man-Wolf; however, when I went down to the ol’ Sanctum Sanctorum to pull it off the shelf, lo and behold it sported the cover from ASM 124! What the heck?? Upon reexamination, I remembered how watered down these books were! The comic that comes with the 45 rpm platter is only 20 pages in length – hence, they’ve condensed two issues into one. What’s gone, you ask? Why, only the splash pages with the creator credits, all mention of the deaths of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn, any scenes that delved into characterization of the cast, most of the physical violence, and just about anything else that would have rated this tome above what a youngster might have found on The Electric Company! Hey, wait! Since this was advertised as a reader – the back cover has a text box that includes, “It’s been especially designed so that you can read the story and follow the record word for word. This is a real learning aid and creates a desire to read as it entertains… The action comes alive as you read!!” – perhaps tying it in with Spidey Super-Stories or the Electric Company was the goal. Makes sense temporally.

Doug: In the actual comic, the splash page just leaps at the reader. Penciling chores have shifted to one Ross Andru, my Spider-Man artist. Yes, he was the regular when I started buying my own books. I always felt like Andru was the “happy medium” between John Romita and Gil Kane. Andru’s style was somewhat quirky like Kane, elongated, wiry… but without some of the Kane annoyances like the nose up-shots and the rigormortis-like fingers. Following is a link to Ross Andru’s Spider-Man work; you can see that he was the Spidey artist for the better part of five straight years! http://www.spiderfan.org/credits/ross_andru.htmlts/ross_andru.html

Doug: Inks are shared by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro. Romita’s influence is felt even more so than in the previous issue, especially on Mary Jane’s face. I don’t know that anyone draws prettier girls than Romita, Sr. Nick Cardy maybe…

Karen: I have to say, that Romita exerts a strong influence on the art here – if I was shown that splash page without the credits, I would have assumed Romita was the penciller. Later in the book, I can see more of Andru’s work in the way the figures are posed, but Romita’s style is still quite evident.

Doug: The cover of this story recalls (again) the recent death of Gwen as Peter cries out while attempting to save a young lady from the clutches of the Man-Wolf, “No! NO!! I won’t let you die – not like Gwen --! Not like Gwennnn!” However, although Peter’s continued grieving is a major subplot within, he doesn’t utter that particular line in the scene the cover references. Wait a second! Did I just say that the cover referenced a scene within the book?? Wow – must be the Bronze Age!!

Karen: I used to be able to remember just about every comic I owned based on the cover – they were always distinctive and served as a preview to the story within. The last few years, I haven’t been able to recall a single cover – sometimes I go to the comic store and can’t recall if I have bought a particular issue or not – because the covers are all so similar.

Doug: I thought the origin of the Man-Wolf was pretty formulaic, as were the scenes showing his first nights “on the prowl”. Again, as I said last time, any “wolf violence” is for the most part implied. There is no blood at all, although Conway does write when the Man-Wolf attacks a back alley junkie, “But, before the Man-Wolf can complete his attack in the manner of the beast he’s become…” That’s about as bloody as it gets.

Karen: It’s similar to how the Hulk was treated when he went on a rampage: somehow, no one was ever hurt! Stan just didn’t want any real violence in the books. Although in the case of the Hulk, he was clearly viewed as a hero. Man-Wolf here seems more like a helpless victim than anything else.

Karen: Speaking of ‘bloodless’, how about the supposedly terrible cut the Man-Wolf inflicted on Spidey? Peter goes on about it and how he might become “anemic”, but again, there’s no blood shown.

Karen: Considering how modern books have no thought balloons, it’s almost funny to see Spidey thinking about Gwen while he’s fighting the Man-Wolf! Really these two issues were probably more important for the way Peter was dealing with the deaths of Gwen and the Goblin than for his fights with the Man-Wolf. Peter really got no sympathy or support from his buddies. Conway’s portrayal of Mary Jane is probably more in line with the way she had been characterized up to that point – sort of flippant and superficial. Even so, she and Flash Thompson are not nearly as understanding towards Peter and Harry as you would expect such close friends to be.

Doug: JJJ is again portrayed as you’d expect him to be – all bluster, somewhat cold, on Spidey’s tail like no other. He does have a few scenes where he’s somewhat sensitive, but those seemed almost out-of-character. I didn’t feel like Conway convinced me that Jonah was really all that concerned for his son’s well-being. And actually, Spider-Man picks up on that and there is a great dialogue between he and Jonah after the climax of the story.

Karen: The way I read it, Jameson cares, but only to a point. His reputation and his paper will probably always come before anything else, including his son. After reading this issue, it sure feels like Peter’s life was filled with a lot of unpleasant people!

Doug: Overall, I had a very good time returning to this tale. Conway’s scripts were not fantastic, but they were solid. I was in familiar territory with characters I love. Classic characters untainted by all of the junk that’s gone on in the Spider-verse over the past 15 years. In that regard, this was like coming home. And while the Man-Wolf has certainly proven to be a forgettable Spidey villain – John Jameson has appeared in many more comics in human form than he has in wolf form – it was interesting to question just what the big deal had been through all the years when werewolves were not allowed.

Karen: It was a fun story, but I realized that there is no real explanation given for why Jameson was turned into the Man-Wolf. He finds this strange rock on the moon, somehow manages to get it away from NASA, and for some reason it turns him into a werewolf! Now that’s pretty weak no matter how you cut it. It wouldn’t be til many years later that the story behind the moon rock was written, in Creatures on the Loose and Marvel Premiere. But whatever the origin, Marvel had its second wolfman, which is what Stan wanted!

Moments Frozen in Time

Doug: A few weeks ago I was discussing the passing of Michael Jackson with the incoming freshmen I was teaching in my summer school world history class. I told them that at the age of 14, it was an event they might later mark their lives by -- where they were and what they were doing when they heard the word of the King of Pop's untimely passing.

Folks a little bit older than me often remark that they can recall exactly where they were on the day they heard that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas. While that was a few years before my time, there are several events (some a bit more serious than others) from which I can mark time in my life. I'd like to discuss a few from my childhood, and I'd invite you to leave a comment for those moments in your life that remain vivid in your memory.

As a kid, my sister and I spent a few summers with our aunt and uncle and family in the Chicago suburbs. My aunt was a stay-at-home mom, so she had the time (and resources) to take us and my cousin on excursions. What I also found to be very cool was the 7-11 that was a block down the street from their house -- a store to which I was able to walk by myself at the ripe old age of 9. I recall my aunt giving me money that I used to purchase Amazing Spider-Man #150 at that store in August of 1975, but the next comic she bought me was even cooler! Not too far from their home in St. Charles was an indoor amusement park that had just opened in Bolingbrook. The park was known as Old Chicago -- you can read more about it at http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/IL/oldchicago/oldchicago.htm.

She took the three of us there one day and we just had a blast! I'd been to several carnivals before, but had never been on a rollercoaster.

After, we went outside the amusement area to the old-fashioned shopping center to enjoy some ice cream. As there was a store with a comic spinner rack visible through the window, she shelled out another quarter so I could buy Daredevil #127! Funny how I can envision that like it was yesterday!

You may recall the days before there were such things as comic shops and Internet sales -- that's right, chasing all over God's creation for that elusive new release. In April 1977, Avengers #161 was such a book for me. I went to two Osco Drug Stores, a couple of other pharmacies that I knew sold comics -- everywhere I could think of. I got desperate, so I opened up the Yellow Pages to see if there were any hobby shops or other places I might have overlooked. I came across a book store named "Mickey's Books and Novelties". Now as far as my youthful mind knew, a "novelty" was another way of saying "that cheap crap you get in a goodie bag at some other kid's birthday party". So I asked my mom to drive me across town, because when I had called, Mickey told me that he indeed sold comics.

When we got there, mom dropped me off in front and pulled around to the side. I faced down the sign on the front door that said "No one under 18 admitted" and went on in. This was serious business and I was not to be denied. Sure enough, through the thick smoke and incense, I spied the awesome George Perez cover you see above and snatched it from the spinner rack. Took it to the counter and paid for it and left without incident. Now, and the store is still in the same location, were I to re-enter today with a bit more of a "worldly mind/awareness", I'm sure I would have noticed that there was certainly a reason no chubby-cheeked 11-year old with a paunch and bushy hair was supposed to be in that store. But I honestly didn't notice anything other than the new treasure I left with.

The first really significant death I recall happened on August 16, 1977 when the King of Rock 'n' Roll died at his Graceland mansion. I had been certainly aware of Elvis' music and even at the age of 12 I appreciated him as a pop culture icon. I vividly remember being in the side room on the main floor of my aunt's house when the news came across the small black and white television I'd been watching. I was stunned, as I'm sure most were when they got word.

The last several events take me to high school and beyond, and are certainly, like the passing of Elvis Presley, a little more serious than the day I got this-or-that comic book.

As a high school freshman, I'd become very interested in popular music -- all kinds. From the just-fading disco movement to soft rock like the Carpenters to hard rock to what was probably just then becoming known as "classic rock" -- I liked it all. So it was with outright shock that, as I readied myself for bed at approximately 9:45 pm on a Monday night (December 8, 1980), Howard Cosell gave the following news flash just before halftime of a game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins -- you can see and hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gcdz1IRVoM. John Lennon's death was a shock, and a moment I will never forget.

Later that spring of my freshman year, on March 30, 1981 actually, I had just arrived home from morning track practice (it was spring break) when I flipped on the television to see ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds give the following report, available here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5323392634516821396&ei=xnBiSpyYBpiQqQKKpoSxCQ&q=%22Frank+Reynolds%22+%2B+%22Reagan+shooting%22&hl=en. As I said, the Kennedy assassination was before my time. This was very real, and very frightening to me. I wasn't much into politics at this time, so to me Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States of America -- and you don't mess with the United States. I watched the coverage the remainder of the day.

I was a sophomore in college on January 28, 1986 when a friend told me in the student union of Burgess Hall shortly after my 8:00 am class was over that the space shuttle Challenger had blown up after take-off earlier that morning. This was as shocking to me as the Reagan shooting had been those years earlier. The image seems as fresh today as it did 23 years ago. Each time there is discussion of problems with the shuttle, delayed launches, etc., my mind goes back to that day all those years ago.

I think the last event I'll comment on is burned in the minds of almost all Americans who are older than about the age of 12. It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was teaching my 1st hour class when I walked over to my computer to enter the attendance. There was an e-mail that had just popped up from a friend of mine who taught science in the room below me. It simply said, "Turn on the tv!!" I walked the few steps and did so. The news of the plane hitting the first tower of the World Trade Center was all over. As we watched, transfixed, we saw the second plane hit live. Words cannot express the feeling I had in my gut. Words also cannot express my reaction when some of my students made light of the situation -- to a few, this was like a video game. I assured them in no uncertain terms that it was not. America was under attack. We were instructed over the PA by our principal to leave the televisions on the rest of the morning so that we could be informed; as we live relatively close to Chicago, there was concern that this plague of violence could spread to our part of the country. Of course it did not, but there was alarm then nonetheless. I will never forget that day.