Boomerang! Blog

Saturday, January 17, 2009
Barack, Flight 1549 and Us

So... where do I start? A beginning is always a good place to start. But lets face it. All the exposition that goes on in the first act is a little tedious. It’s much more exciting to parachute into the second act where “precarious” is the state of being. So let's do that.

The second act opens aboard a plane floating – for the moment -- on the Hudson River… in the mind of a young, relatively inexperienced man tightening his tie in the mirror as he prepares to take over as President of a massive, deeply scarred country… at a table where a creative sort of fella with nary a marketing bone in his body, plans resurrection of an intrepid children’s media company with a new business partner.

Landing an Airbus in a river is not an easy thing to do. The bummer is AFTER managing somehow to do this, you recognize you are now packed into a vessel that is meant to fly --not float. Oh, and that water seeping into the cabin? It’s icy cold. If you can read the account of one guy picking up a hysterical mother AND baby in a bear hug and muscling them out of the plane, without leaking around the eyes, you are a stronger man person than I.

And then there’s Mr Obama. Twenty-six months of endless speeches and airports have earned him the right to take over a bankrupt nation pilloried into a wretched form of submission.

The connection between Flight 1549 and Mr Obama is profound. Stimulus and bailout packages? Right… The only thing that is going to save this planet is a calm, cool voice over the loudspeaker.

“Folks, this is your captain speaking. We can get everyone off this plane and into a nice warm blanket. But it’s going to be hard work. I'm going to ask everyone to work together and take care of that person sitting next to you. You know that instruction manual in the seatback in front of you? The one you never bothered to read? The one talking about rights? And responsibilities? And freedoms? I need you to look through that with your kids. I can’t tell you how important this is because, along with the parental instincts I know you all have, this manual contains most of the information you need to know. Oh... and I want you to know that my pals and I are going to treat that manual like it means something. You can count on that from US. And I need to count on that with you. Finally, folks – yes I know there is water seeping into this ship, but don’t be scared now -- I simply need you to step up and act like the person you always wanted to be.”

This almost feels like enough for today -- having written the 44th President’s inaugural speech. But one more thing. I’m proud of the audio content we have been producing for 18 years. And that is going to keep on keeping on. But, in addition, we’re going to get some grown-up help in creating a website that performs two functions: 1) Gives you, the parent, a simple and concise guide to the many different issues, individual stories and formats from which you have to choose 2) Provide another side of the site just for our Tribe: with pictures and illustrations of our content… drawings and letters from our listeners about BOOMERANG! stories… a tour of Tucker Jones’s office. AND, in my very next post, I shall begin sharing with you a photo of BOOMERANG! studios. (BTW, this feature will be featured on the Tribe portal of the site as I suspect it takes a 10-year-old to appreciate my special gift for filing…)

Thanks guys. Tell a friend. Keep the faith -- we're all going to make it off the plane and into a warm blanket. Dave

posted by Boomerang! 9:16 AM

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