How Did We Get Here....

[Laxman]

to a different country. I've lived in the same place for 30 years but somehow it seems like I've moved to someplace strange. I'm pretty sure I haven't gone anywhere but it doesn't quite look that way.

I was cleaning out some old boxes in the basement this morning and I came across some old notebooks from high school, including an old set of notes from an American History class. It reminded me of the educational films the football coach/history teacher would show to us. There was a whole series of them on immigration. They were all basically the same title with a different group filled in and they all started the same way with some dramatic narration. "Italian-Americans have made America great and your narrator is Jim... Ameche". (You've got to do the deep voice-he was the actor Don Ameche's brother and did a lot of voice-over work) There was a whole month's worth of these films. Irish-Americans, African-Americans, Polish-Americans, etc..... They would go on to explain how people got here and highlight the contributions they made to making America a better place. I can still hear old Jim's voice explaining what Kazimierz Pułaski, the father of the U.S. Calvary or George Washington Carver did to make the world a better place. It was part of our curriculum.

The message was clear, immigrants have made America great. Now, where are we? I'm pretty sure they don't show those films anymore. (they probably don't even exist) I've got to think that's a lesson that needs to be re-introduced.

[mr_lebowski]

1. Letting The Days Go By?

Water Flowing Under ...

Good story thanks for sharing

[lapfog_1]

2. all of the lyrics are appropriate

And you may find yourself
Living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!
Water dissolving and water removing
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again into silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
You may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may say yourself
"My God! What have we done?"

[mr_lebowski]

3. Oh, I know 'em :)

Time is it holding us?
Time is it after us?

That might be only the live version, I forget ...

Also I always thought it was 'where does that hallway lead to?' ... could have heard it wrong for 35+ years lol. Or maybe, again, live version ... which is the one I've mostly heard.

[Laxman]

4. I'm Partial To The Live Version.....

from Stop Making Sense myself but studio version or in peron, a great song. And I do ask myself, well.....how did I get here? Best concert film ever, I might add.

[mr_lebowski]

5. 100% agreement :) nt

[bluecollar2]

6. ...and what's with the handbasket?

[Laxman]

7. You Know I Always Wondered.....

where that saying came from. The internet is an amazing thing sometimes....

To go to hell in a handbasket means to go to one’s doom, to deteriorate quickly, to proceed on a course to disaster. The phrase go to hell in a handbasket is an American phrase which came into general use during the American Civil War, though its popularity has spread into other countries. The origin of the term go to hell in a handbasket is unknown, the assumption is that the word handbasket is a good source of alliteration. There are other similar phrases such as go to hell in a handcart and go to hell in a handbag, both of which also provide good alliteration. However, go to hell in a handbasket is by far the most popular of the three phrases. Related phrases are going to hell in a handbasket, gone to hell in a handbasket and went to hell in a handbasket.

Hopefully we're not headed for our doom.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. best handbaskets are white oak

White oak burns hot and long. A good handbasket holds on to what you put in it.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

8. Back when they used to teach you to be optimistic about the future, huh?

We can always teach our own kids lessons like that, right?