Observation — 1941, The Darkest Of Years

The Germans conquered or destroyed everything in their path toward world domination. Jews were rounded up, imprisoned, tortured, and killed in one of the most brutal periods in modern history. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  RCA built an electron microscope with a magnification of 100,000. Edward Hopper painted “Nighthawk.” Greta Garbo retired. Ted Williams’ batting average hit .400. Citizen Cane premiered. So did Arsenic & Old Lace and Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. Duke Ellington released “Take the ‘A’ Train.” Robert E. Sherwood picked up the Pulitzer for There Shall Be No Night.  The New York Times Bestseller List appeared — with, appropriately, Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon on it.  In the movie theaters we watched Men of Boys Town, Suspicion, The Maltese Falcon, Dumbo and Babes on Broadway. We listened to “Moonlight Cocktail,” by Glenn Miller, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy “by the Andrew Sisters, “I’ve Got A Gal in Kalamazoo” by Glenn Miller, “Stardust “ by Artie Shaw and “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby. James Joyce, Sherwood Anderson and Louis Chevrolet died that year.  Many notables were born: Art Garfunkel, Otis Redding, Twyla Tharp, Bob Dylan, Chick Corea, Paul Simon, Dick Cheney, Kim Jong-il, Martha Stewart, Nick Nolte, Joan Baez and Placido Domingo.  If you were around, what were you doing during this year of the metal snake?

1941 Chevrolet DeLuxe