What *Could* You Do Without?

[Marc Chevalier]

John Wayne? No thanks. The guy who didn't serve in WWII. Unlike other big stars ...

.

 

[fortworthgal]

The useless landfill fodder toys they give out with kid's meals - those things go in CEREAL boxes!

On this note - what about the CRUMMY so-called "prizes" that come in Cracker Jack boxes these days? Heck, I remember when the prize used to actually be something relatively useful and interesting - plastic toys, little charms, cards, whistles... Now you're lucky if you score a cheap temporary tattoo!

 

[fortworthgal]

For some reason, I held my tongue when the subject came up in another thread. Guess it just spilled out this time ...


.

Tongue-holding probably a wise choice. lol

I'm just glad there are people out there who actually care enough about WWII to try to represent it accurately, rather than following Britney Spears' or Angelina Jolie's every move and breath.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... I now believe you can damage a child as easily by constantly telling them they're extraordinarily special as you can by leaving them chained up in the yard with the dog.

Absolutely yes!

.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Things I could do without...not things I wish didn't exist.

I can do without TV...and I do.

I can do without a dishwasher, and for that matter a garbage disposal.

I can do without sleep when called for, but then that calls for caffeine, which I cannot do without.

I can do without a landline telephone.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'm just glad there are people out there who actually care enough about WWII to try to represent it accurately ...

Fair enough, but it ain't so accurate when some 60 year-old guy with a pot belly is huffing and puffing around in "the battle of the Bulge".

.

 

[Viola]

John Wayne? No thanks. The guy who didn't serve in WWII. Unlike other big stars ...

.

I thought there was an explanation that went with it, not he just didn't feel like it. If not I stand corrected, but still, Ben Affleck is not an adequate replacement by any means.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I can do without line-dried laundry.

.

 

[fortworthgal]

Fair enough, but it ain't so accurate when some 60 year-old guy with a pot belly is huffing and puffing around in "the battle of the Bulge".

.

I'm not saying I don't agree...

It has long been discussed among reenactors and no good has ever come of it. My feeling is that there is an accurate representation for anyone who wants to be involved. If you're 60 years old and overweight, then no, reenacting an infantry grunt Private probably isn't it. But Civil Defense? A General? Sure. Likewise, a 25 year old Colonel is a bit silly. Just make it believable. That's all I'ma sayin.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

John Wayne and World War II


At the time of Pearl Harbor, Wayne was 34 years old and an up-and-coming actor. Many of Hollywood's big names, such as Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and Clark Gable, did enlist. (Fonda himslef was 37 at the time and had a wife and three kids.) But these were established stars. Wayne knew that if he took a few years off for military service, there was a good chance that by the time he got back he'd be over the hill.

Besides, he specialized in the kind of movies a nation at war wanted to see, in which a rugged American hero overcame great odds. Recognizing that Hollywood was an important part of the war effort, Washington had told California draft boards to go easy on actors. Perhaps rationalizing that he could do more good at home, Wayne obtained 3-A status, "deferred for [family] dependency reasons." He told friends he'd enlist after he made just one or two more movies.

The real question is why he never did so. Wayne cranked out thirteen movies during the war, many with war-related themes. Most of the films were enormously successful and within a short time the Duke was one of America's most popular stars. His bankability now firmly established, he could have joined the military, secure in the knowledge that Hollywood would welcome him back later. He even made a half-hearted effort to sign up, sending in the paperwork to enlist in the naval photography unit commanded by a good friend, director John Ford.

But he didn't follow through. Nobody really knows why; Wayne didn't like to talk about it. A guy who prided himself on doing his own stunts, he doesn't seem to have lacked physical courage. One suspects he just found it was a lot more fun being a Hollywood hero than the real kind. Many movie star-soldiers had enlisted in the first flush of patriotism after Pearl Harbor. As the war ground on, slogging it out in the trenches seemed a lot less exciting. The movies, on the other hand, had put Wayne well on the way to becoming a legend. "Wayne increasingly came to embody the American fighting man," Wills writes. In late 1943 and early 1944 he entertained the troops in the Pacific theater as part of a USO tour. An intelligence bigshot asked him to give his impression of Douglas MacArthur. He was fawned over by the press when he got back. Meanwhile, he was having a torrid affair with a beautiful Mexican woman. How could military service compare with that?

In 1944, Wayne received a 2-A classification, "deferred in support of [the] national . . . interest." A month later the Selective Service decided to revoke many previous deferments and reclassified him 1-A. But Wayne's studio appealed and got his 2-A status reinstated until after the war ended.

People who knew Wayne say he felt bad about not having served. (During the war he'd gotten into a few fights with servicemen who wondered why he wasn't in uniform.) Some think his guilty conscience was one reason he became such a superpatriot later. The fact remains that the man who came to symbolize American patriotism and pride had a chance to do more than just act the part, and he let it pass.

.

 

[scotrace]

John Wayne

See, that just doesn't bother me. What he did here was extremely important for home morale and the sale of war bonds. So that's OK.

But Lyndon Johnson? Absolute cowardly scoundrel. Was terrified of war service. He ONLY dropped his political career (sort of) so that lack of service would not hurt him after the war ended. He went up on one mission as an observer, pretty much spent the time in the air peeing his pants and crying, and then spent the rest of his life bragging about his own heroism.

Lay off John Wayne.

 

[VintageJess]

Yet another fantastic thread from Ms. Lizzie! What an interesting topic, thank you!

I could really do without the hurry-up, 24/7, frenetic pace of life that seems to take hold of us more and more each day, and all that we sacrifice for the sake of "convenience." Things like chatting with an actual bank teller, sitting down to a table for a family meal, reading the neighborhood news in the daily paper, leisurely walks to the corner store...


Jessica

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Lay off John Wayne.

I would, if he himself had laid off of those who were to the left of him. The problem with John Wayne was that of the pot calling the kettle black. Here he was, lambasting Vietnam draft dodgers while having dodged his own chance to serve in World War II, for Pete's sake. Where did Wayne get off being so holier-than-thou? VintageJess's husband is ten times the man that John Wayne was.

.

 

[MelissaAnne]

I could do without:

-inflated prices
-plastic parts in cars
-the high price of gas
-the high cost of books
-fast-paced society where everyone goes a mile a minute and works only to get to the weekend
-frozen dinners

 

[scotrace]

Are they the same scenarios?

Wayne did war work (no matter how flimsy or safe) to help the effort at home. His work, though not on the front line, (or anywhere near it) was patriotic.

Those he railed against later actively disrupted the war effort at home, with protests, anti-war music, love-ins, and escapes to Canada (or Hanoi) from which position of safety from prosecution could continue to subvert American interests. They also spat upon or otherwise disrespected returning vets. *

I think not the same, really.



* I know. VietNam wasn't a war. The protesters had a point. The two conflicts were apples and oranges, etc. Don't assume I hold the above opinions of Vietnam as my own. I also personally think Wayne should have served directly.

 

[Viola]

-frozen dinners

I must admit I love frozen veggies like brussel sprouts or snap peas, but that reminds me of my own personal bugaboo: boxed macaroni and cheese and/or canned spaghetti. Neither of these things takes more than 20 minutes to make anyway!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Are they the same scenarios?

Wayne did war work (no matter how flimsy or safe) to help the effort at home. His work, though not on the front line, (or anywhere near it) was patriotic.

Those he railed against later actively disrupted the war effort at home, with protests, anti-war music, love-ins, and escapes to Canada (or Hanoi) from which position of safety from prosecution could continue to subvert American interests. They also spat upon or otherwise disrespected returning vets. *

I think not the same, really.



* I know. VietNam wasn't a war. The protesters had a point. The two conflicts were apples and oranges, etc. Don't assume I hold the above opinions of Vietnam as my own. I also personally think Wayne should have served directly.

Received with respect. Cheers to you and all others whose opinions are well thought-out :cheers1:

.

 

[fortworthgal]

I must admit I love frozen veggies like brussel sprouts or snap peas, but that reminds me of my own personal bugaboo: boxed macaroni and cheese and/or canned spaghetti. Neither of these things takes more than 20 minutes to make anyway!

I must admit that I have an inherent weakness for cheap boxed macaroni & cheese dinners. And hey, they're vintage! That makes it okay, right?

 

[scotrace]

And how, Pally

Received with respect. Cheers to you and all others whose opinions are well thought-out :cheers1:

.

Cheers and *clink*! :cheers1:


Edit: Shoot me now. Did I really typo "EXCAPE?"

Argh!!!

Edit Edit: Yay! I can edit!

 

[magneto]

Fine thread!

Hmm!
-Microwave ovens (don't use em)
-Any 'personal vehicle larger than a station wagon
-Any 'movie' made after, hmm, 1964
-Furniture that's not-solid wood. Trees are renewable! Grow them!
-Modern TV. Bring back /Omnibus/! I want my DuMont network! Show something worthy of winning the Sylvania Award! (er...is that what they still call it?)
-Radio shows with ideologues of ANY persuasion who present opinion as fact (this includes you, "Air Amerika")
-Cell phones (never had one! I'll accept a pager for on-call)
-Any computer operating system begun after 1970.
I feel quite vociferous today.