So I was trying to figure out what motivated a 12 year old to write a poem about Trump in 1990… a quick search brings up an August 1990 Barbara Walters 20/20 interview. Side note, she dated Roy F’ing Cohn in college, are you kidding me?
SNL & Gilda Radner taught me how to laugh at 'Baba Wawa' - So i was Shocked to hear Mom Greatly admired Walters, turns out Barbara was The 1st prominent female journalist on TV. Now I've got to search for my copy of YUGE, to see when Doonesbury first started ridiculing THE DONALD
Oh gosh, I’m so old I remember Lowell Weicker when he was young! Thanks for reminding me, Sarah! Jk! Revisiting the past like you have encourages readers to reflect on their own history and how is has affected what they are today! You have also reminded to remember my childhood friends! Lastly, you’ve had Trump figured out for a long time!🧐
Total brilliance, from beginning to end. And the nostalgia, ohhh the nostalgia. I had those same posters on my bedroom walls of Bret Michaels, Axl Rose, Sebastian Bach and his glorious hair. A best friend with whom I sang and wrote songs and made mix tapes; we even had a mashup of "Another Day in Paradise" and "Paradise City" made on a cassette deck. Cravings for a Technicolor t-shirt. I wore tie-dyed pants and an Earth-themed t-shirt to school when the Gulf War started, attempting to channel 60s peace protestors. Your post brings all of that back. Thank you for these happy memories. And I love your poem, of course.
Thank you! I tried to stage a Gulf War protest in middle school but no one was into it, so I merged it with a demand for more chicken nuggets for lunch, and got moderately more interest
Just amazing- the perfect pre-election chaos read! I wish Americans could all write letters like this about their childhood and then just keep exchanging them …we would all learn so much about each other and have empathy & connections. Some would break our hearts and some would make us laugh but sharing bits of nostalgia and growing up In various parts of the country…well it’s a silly thought…just, thank you!
Thanks! I would love that too. I feel that’s what the early internet was like, before people were trying to brand themselves. It helps us remember things accurately too as they are rewritten, and to compare experiences and learn from others. Sometimes you just need a good recollection.
Your poignant memory filled essay is just what I needed tonight. Stories are powerful especially when told in a community setting. Being paid $2/hour at age twelve ( but $5 on New Year's!) for years on end was so infuriating. I've been angry about the general disregard for domestic labour ever since. I remember at that age reading "Stranger Beside Me" (Ann Rule's book on Ted Bundy) while babysitting an infant in someone's basement until 4 AM and then being sent home in a taxi. '77 Gen X (but a Taurus, then in northern Canada ha). We used to listen to Casey Casem in the radio with our family recorder near by, hoping to record the songs. A friend one year older than me who grew up in Australia once told me that Gulf War marked the first summer he and his friends spent indoors, watching war on the television. Thank you, Sarah.
I was really excited when she popped up on Facebook fifteen years ago. Back when that site seemed exciting instead of terrifying. We reunited and still keep up with each other’s lives.
Great story and crazy anecdote! In 2004 or 2005 I wrote a poem for sophomore high school English class styled after ee Cummings’ poem “buffalo bill” about Donald trump. I can’t find the original but still remember it word for word.
On 9/11, watching the Twin towers come crashing down, I couldn't stop thinking about Americas non-stop cheering, as countless tall buildings in 1990 Baghdad, Gloriously exploded LIVE on TV... and being confused, wondering if i was the only person on the planet to wonder about this ugly contrast.
When I was in college in Ithaca NY, I used to wander around the Cornell campus on the other hill and go to the campus store to shop. This was when Nixon was president. Fun times. I saw the latest Daily News newspaper on the rack with a giant headline “Mad Killer on the loose” I don’t know if it was a joke or not but sometimes the headline on the front page was not related to the picture on that page and in this case the picture was a giant headshot of Nixon. I stared open mouthed and laughed assuming it was a mistake. We hated Nixon but loved to make fun of him like everyone else. Maybe it was your artwork that inspired the mistake!
Turned 24 in early September 1990 (yes, a fellow Virgo), trying to keep my head above water in my third year of grad. school. At that time, I thought of DJT primarily as the embarrassingly narcissistic former owner of the New Jersey Generals of the defunct USFL. Now, largely thanks to your superb books, I know that that particular failed business venture hardly begins to tell the full story of his destruction.
Regardless, many, many thanks, Sarah, for gifting us such a delightfully personal (and compellingly vulnerable) tale -- an improbable opportunity to party (however briefly) like it's 1990-ought on a Guy Fawkes Day here in the U. S. that we can only hope will be remembered honestly (not memory-holed).
So I was trying to figure out what motivated a 12 year old to write a poem about Trump in 1990… a quick search brings up an August 1990 Barbara Walters 20/20 interview. Side note, she dated Roy F’ing Cohn in college, are you kidding me?
No kidding! Barbara Walters is one of the most guilty coverup artists. She was indispensable to a lot of white collar criminals at her peak.
SNL & Gilda Radner taught me how to laugh at 'Baba Wawa' - So i was Shocked to hear Mom Greatly admired Walters, turns out Barbara was The 1st prominent female journalist on TV. Now I've got to search for my copy of YUGE, to see when Doonesbury first started ridiculing THE DONALD
Oh gosh, I’m so old I remember Lowell Weicker when he was young! Thanks for reminding me, Sarah! Jk! Revisiting the past like you have encourages readers to reflect on their own history and how is has affected what they are today! You have also reminded to remember my childhood friends! Lastly, you’ve had Trump figured out for a long time!🧐
Thank you for reading!
Wouldn’t miss your writing!
Every piece you publish hits me right in the heart. Thank you 🙏
Thanks!
My memories of election day when I was a child was my mother worked the polls. She did for years.
I guess it is why I was really offended by the stolen election claims in 2020.
That was fun! Not what I would have expected this evening from America’s conscience. Thank you for what you do and god bless you and your family.
Thanks! Had to write something lighter because the next few months (to say the least) will be very dark…
Current horoscopes would say this “dark weather” will be lasting longer than the next few months.
This StL rain will be briefer, but …geez it’s a lot. Hope you are staying dry & cozy. 🍁
Thunder just shook my house!
Few months?
Both my kids learned math on an Apple IIc computer. We didn't have Oregon Trail, but we had Xenophobia. You were such a cool kid. A perfect story!
Total brilliance, from beginning to end. And the nostalgia, ohhh the nostalgia. I had those same posters on my bedroom walls of Bret Michaels, Axl Rose, Sebastian Bach and his glorious hair. A best friend with whom I sang and wrote songs and made mix tapes; we even had a mashup of "Another Day in Paradise" and "Paradise City" made on a cassette deck. Cravings for a Technicolor t-shirt. I wore tie-dyed pants and an Earth-themed t-shirt to school when the Gulf War started, attempting to channel 60s peace protestors. Your post brings all of that back. Thank you for these happy memories. And I love your poem, of course.
Thank you! I tried to stage a Gulf War protest in middle school but no one was into it, so I merged it with a demand for more chicken nuggets for lunch, and got moderately more interest
If you ever wanted to write YA fiction, I am here for it! That was some sparkling dialogue.
I would like to someday! My former editor encouraged me to do that, but now she doesn’t work at my publisher anymore, so we’ll see…
I have faith that another editor will champion your voice and style!
Just amazing- the perfect pre-election chaos read! I wish Americans could all write letters like this about their childhood and then just keep exchanging them …we would all learn so much about each other and have empathy & connections. Some would break our hearts and some would make us laugh but sharing bits of nostalgia and growing up In various parts of the country…well it’s a silly thought…just, thank you!
Thanks! I would love that too. I feel that’s what the early internet was like, before people were trying to brand themselves. It helps us remember things accurately too as they are rewritten, and to compare experiences and learn from others. Sometimes you just need a good recollection.
Your poignant memory filled essay is just what I needed tonight. Stories are powerful especially when told in a community setting. Being paid $2/hour at age twelve ( but $5 on New Year's!) for years on end was so infuriating. I've been angry about the general disregard for domestic labour ever since. I remember at that age reading "Stranger Beside Me" (Ann Rule's book on Ted Bundy) while babysitting an infant in someone's basement until 4 AM and then being sent home in a taxi. '77 Gen X (but a Taurus, then in northern Canada ha). We used to listen to Casey Casem in the radio with our family recorder near by, hoping to record the songs. A friend one year older than me who grew up in Australia once told me that Gulf War marked the first summer he and his friends spent indoors, watching war on the television. Thank you, Sarah.
This is the bestiest best best best! What a way to wake up. I wish I could post a picture of my bangs too. Another day!
We need a day solely devoted to photos of our bangs, 1980s and early 1990s only! I have one where they have their own shadow.
YOU ARE ON
I’m glad you still talk to your friend, Sarah. Old friends are a treasure.
I was really excited when she popped up on Facebook fifteen years ago. Back when that site seemed exciting instead of terrifying. We reunited and still keep up with each other’s lives.
Great story and crazy anecdote! In 2004 or 2005 I wrote a poem for sophomore high school English class styled after ee Cummings’ poem “buffalo bill” about Donald trump. I can’t find the original but still remember it word for word.
Please share it.
posted it to my substack
On 9/11, watching the Twin towers come crashing down, I couldn't stop thinking about Americas non-stop cheering, as countless tall buildings in 1990 Baghdad, Gloriously exploded LIVE on TV... and being confused, wondering if i was the only person on the planet to wonder about this ugly contrast.
Great story...adorable photo of you in middle school! Keep writing!!
Thanks!
When I was in college in Ithaca NY, I used to wander around the Cornell campus on the other hill and go to the campus store to shop. This was when Nixon was president. Fun times. I saw the latest Daily News newspaper on the rack with a giant headline “Mad Killer on the loose” I don’t know if it was a joke or not but sometimes the headline on the front page was not related to the picture on that page and in this case the picture was a giant headshot of Nixon. I stared open mouthed and laughed assuming it was a mistake. We hated Nixon but loved to make fun of him like everyone else. Maybe it was your artwork that inspired the mistake!
"I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin'
Could've sworn it was judgment day . . . "
Turned 24 in early September 1990 (yes, a fellow Virgo), trying to keep my head above water in my third year of grad. school. At that time, I thought of DJT primarily as the embarrassingly narcissistic former owner of the New Jersey Generals of the defunct USFL. Now, largely thanks to your superb books, I know that that particular failed business venture hardly begins to tell the full story of his destruction.
Regardless, many, many thanks, Sarah, for gifting us such a delightfully personal (and compellingly vulnerable) tale -- an improbable opportunity to party (however briefly) like it's 1990-ought on a Guy Fawkes Day here in the U. S. that we can only hope will be remembered honestly (not memory-holed).
P. S. You don't need this link, of course, but sometimes, habit will out. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhOG28Wihyo
Thanks Brian! And yes I needed that