the line

Is this still a thing?—do kids mark a line with their foot and dare playmates to cross it?

Used to be a thing.

My dad had an anecdote about walking down the sidewalk with his dad between him and his brother and some sketchy dude approaching them half a block away. Ol’ Sigurd (my grandad) grasped their hands tighter, squared his shoulders, jutted his jaw and picked up their pace a step.

“Well, that guy scuttled straight over to the other side of the street, damn near getting hit by a car he was in such a hurry.”

His other anecdote was about some father who had his five year-old son climb a stepladder and jump off into his arms which he withdrew at the last moment, letting the kid flatten himself on the kitchen linoleum—leaned over and told him “Let that be a lesson to never trust anyone.”

Dad told this tale with such a flat aspect it was unclear if it was true or if it was supposed to convey some lesson or whether he approved of such a lesson.

There were so many lines you were supposed to know about.

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As a grownup, I was on holiday abroad with an esteemed friend just as America had declared war on Iraq. I was aghast at the prospect, arguing there was no evidence Saddam had anything to do with 9-11—my friend nodded; I continued…it was also clear as day to me that W was just squaring a grievance he had with Saddam, who’d dissed W’s father H.W. Bush years before—this time a knowing grin and nod… I pressed on— “Well, I’m not comfortable repurposing our state policy and military might to avenge a personal vendetta like we’re the Sopranos.”

This brought a huge grin and vigorous nod—and the esteem I’d held for him wafted off with the French country breeze.

Perhaps because of that disheartening violation of a line I’d thought uncrossable, I have small hope that the recent, below meme-ified event will cause any undue concern in America:

In case you weren’t watching, Jimmy Kimmel’s return to TV last night was a masterclass in —class.

He gave no hint of crossing some perceived line and did not need to; the vociferous will of millions had erased it. He stepped out of character—really just showed his innately principled character—using his platform to tamp down controversy, apologize in his own words with a humility and compassion that clutched the breath, reasserted fundamental First Amendment rights and values and then had deNiro come on to hilariously lampoon FCC’s thug-in chief Carr.

Trump, in response crosses another unthinkable line—openly gloating over past successful extortions and promising greater ones to come.

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In hindsight—since I suppose going back the Reagan years—a country loses its moral footing, yields to its crasser monied interests and ultimately descends to a third-rate corrupt Banana Republic much like Hemingway described going bankrupt:

“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”

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I appreciate you being here and hope you’ll come back.