Friday, November 25, 2005

Beyond-the-personal magic

I thought it would be fun to take up Carol's challenge to use my magic wand. I should steer clear of politics after my lengthy opening manifesto, but I can't help myself. Several of these concern political big moments.

Ten national and international swoops of my wand during my lifetime, realizing that some might prove mutually exclusive:

10. The IBM board of Directors inexplicably names Steve Jobs CEO and Chairman in 1974 merging that company with little Apple Computer. (Young Bill Gates decides to finish college before entering the business world, thereby saving a generation from the C prompt and then Windows.)

9. President Eisenhower decides to let the Vietnamese settle their own affairs, Senators Kennedy and Johnson praise his decision and pledge their support for keeping the US out of that civil war.

8. Police redirect that caravan of cars in Dallas in 1963 a block away from the School Book Depository building

7. James Earl Ray stumbles going up the stairs and fatally shoots himself in 1968. There’s a small article about Ray on page nine of the same Memphis newspaper that contains a big wrap-up article on page one about MLK’s successful visit to the city.

6. Tape recordings of campaign meetings reveal the real Richard Nixon in October 1968.

5. The complete military record of a certain pampered rich Texas boy is publically revealed in October 2000.

4. A sandstorm in Iran mysteriously vanishes before the helicopters take off in 1980, and the hostage rescue goes off like clockwork.

3. Osama keeps to his original schedule on August 20, 1998.

2. The arteries of a certain Ayatollah clog suddenly while he’s still in exile in Paris sometime before 1979.

1. Election officials reject the stupid butterfly ballot design before the print deadline in the Fall of 2000.

(Bonus Shazam!!) Ronald Reagan is awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his signature role in Bedtime for Bonzo and signs a multi-million dollar lifetime contract to continue his acting career.

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