*#@* IRAN!

Let me paint the picture for you. Image, if you will, a VERY large parade. I mean many thousands of people lining the streets near Times Square. And, despite the fact that the sky was ice blue and the sun was out; it seemed to be snowing very hard anyway. As a small child, standing there shivering in my little cowboy boots, I was very puzzled. Where is all the snow coming from? I later learned that it was paper falling out of sky scrapers to make the parade a more festive occasion. Something about tradition.

Well, in this case, the special occasion was the hostages being freed from Iran. All the former hostages and their families were packed like sardines in these convertible limousines that endlessly rolled by. NYPD mounted on horseback rode up and down the throngs of people for security reasons. I personally thought the parade would never end and I honestly thought my little toes were icicles. I would have enjoyed the parade much more had the arctic blast not been so overwhelming.

However, all good things must come to and end (yes even parades). The mob eventually began to disperse and my mom grabbed my frozen little hand. We headed straight for the subway system underground. It was always cool to ride the subway. You walk down there in that tunnel and stand there in the quiet and wait. Silence. Then, you can hear the low rumble off in the distance. It gets louder and louder until it reaches a near deafening pitch. (At least for me as a kid)

Then the entire subway seemed to come flying out of one of the tunnels and suddenly made a rapid stop. There was a loud hissing and high pitched screeching when that happened. Then the doors flew open and all the people came pouring out while we tried to pile in. I held my mom's hand tightly as all kinds of people crowded into that small subway car.

My dad grabbed a pole above his head and my mom held onto my dad. The doors suddenly slammed shut and there was a sudden jerk and a feeling of movement. I stood up on my frozen little tippy toes and looked out the window where I could see we were moving. As the subway accelerated into the darkness of the tunnel I sat down on the bench next to where my mom was standing but she still held onto me very tight.

Then, I saw something that I have never forgotten. I saw a man wearing a baseball cap with a green button and yellow words pinned on it. There were only two words on that button. I knew for certain the last word said "IRAN". I had seen news and newspapers about Iran for over a year. But I had never seen the first word on that man's button before or ever heard it. I know it started with the letter "F" and had as many letters as Iran.

I can actually remember sitting there completely puzzled at the meaning of that word. It didn't make sense to me. So, I actually sat there, in the bustling crowded atmosphere of that subway car, and quietly began to mutter that phrase. Hmmm. That sounded silly. I began to contemplate harder and kick my little legs that were dangling off the side of the bench, cowboy boots and all. I said it again. I must have looked cross and in deep thought. I said it one more time. Whack!! "Stop kicking your legs"! said my mom.

Well, I don't remember much else. However, I was shocked when I went to school that following Monday because it seemed that all those little kids knew that word and they used it for almost anything. They used it for words like, "That, you, him, school, and even Billy Joel." I remember one kid using that word with Ozzy Osbourn and a big fight almost started. Oh well, I apparently was in the process of being educated. :)