Editorial: Thumbs

To Salvation Army Capt. Jim Brickson.

The Chuck Berry song Johnny B. Goode says Johnny could “play a guitar like ringing a bell.” In contrast, and in jest, we say that Brickson is Jimmy Do Goode and he can ring a bell like playing a guitar. Go go, go Jimmy go, go!

Congratulations to the captain on breaking the state and world records for ringing a Salvation Army bell, and we hope he emerges this weekend the victor among the bell-ringers still left in the friendly competition — one that has done so much for bringing awareness to the charitable work of the Salvation Army. Talk about standing up for beliefs. Literally.

 

To the deep freeze.

Sure, it’s December, and we ought to expect cold weather, so it probably comes across as complaining a bit. Either way, it’s never quite easy to slip into winter. The recent snowstorm that delivered more than two feet of snow to the Two Harbors area and dumped the white stuff over most of Minnesota has been followed by a deep freeze, leaving us this frigid air. We probably should be glad it wasn’t worse, considering the snow passed to the north and left our neck of the woods brown. Dreaming of a white Christmas? There’s still time.

 

To fading memories of Pearl Harbor.

As Pearl Harbor Day passes each year, fewer and fewer mentions of the Japanese attack of Dec. 7, 1941, occur. It’s not merely that the media mentions it less often. It’s often not brought up by people in general. It’s turning into just another day on the calendar. Let’s not forget that this was an attack on U.S. soil that killed more than 2,400 soldiers, sailors and Marines and left almost 1,200 wounded, in addition to about 1,000 civilians hurt. Eight battleships were sunk or seriously damaged, along with 10 other ships and 165 airplanes. Despite the worldwide carnage of the bloody 20th century, America largely escaped war, save for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which drew the United States into the Second World War. The veterans of the attack are dying and as they go, we all lose our shared historical memory. Like with the memories of the Civil War and the Great War, the duty of preserving the past shifts to others. We have a duty to never forget Pearl Harbor and to be wise as we look forward.