Comparing Past Octobers
I've usually come to terms with death, darkness, and colder temperatures by the time October comes around. It's by no means my favorite month of the year but I definitely enjoy it more on even-numbered years with the excitement of upcoming elections than I do on odd-numbered years. Let's compare the best of them a decade apart...
October 1983 vs. October 1993 vs. October 2003
Winner: 1993--As a general rule there wasn't a lot to love back in 1993, but the year began to turn around on me in the month of October when I finally took some cues that a girl in high school was crushing on me even after nearly two years of flirting on her part didn't sink in for me. The signs finally became undeniable and peaked when she asked me to tag along with her and her friend on a Friday evening, only a few weeks after she got her driver's license. I awkwardly punted and the opportunity didn't arise again but it still provided a boost in confidence for a high school sophomore who had absolutely zero up till that point and represented the first time in my postpubescent era where a girl was actually into me.
October 1984 vs. October 1994 vs. October 2004
Winner: 2004--Three good options here but the best was definitely 2004, the month leading up to the Presidential election that excited me most. The November outcome of that election was a disaster, but that doesn't take anything away from the thrilling build-up where I tracked new polling data at the beginning of every hour, posted on three different election-related political sites, attended local candidate forums, and even drove a little out of my way on the drive back from out-of-town interviews at work to see what the yard sign situation looked like in different communities. And I deluded myself into believing the hype about "undecideds always breaking to the challenger" and thus assuring John Kerry's ultimate defeat of George W. Bush. It wasn't meant to be, but I don't ever remember a more exciting lead-up to an election than this year.
October 1985 vs. October 1995 vs. October 2005
Winner: 1985--The fall of 1985 was a pivot point for me and my ensuing lifelong passions, with the newly premiered series "MacGyver" taking me to a new dimension of TV awesomeness that other favorites of the time like "The Fall Guy" and "Hardcastle and McCormick" just never did. But the fall of '85 was also memorable because it was my first World Series, and my team (the Kansas City Royals) actually won in an exciting seven-game series against the villainous St. Louis Cardinals.
October 1986 vs. October 1996 vs. October 2006
Winner: 2006--No clear winners for this one but I was still riding high after a late September class reunion where a classmate I had long crushed on was all over me. On the downside, I went on my first blind date in the Des Moines area that month with a girl who turned out to be a prostitute which I discovered mid-date. But like 2004, the primary storyline for me in 2006 was the midterm elections, which were really beginning to break the Democrats' direction and portend my first nonmiserable election night in eight years a month later.
October 1987 vs. October 1997 vs. October 2007
Winner: 1987--There was much to love about October 2007, my peak period with an ex-girlfriend named Elise, but she can't compare with the thrill of 1987 when my Minnesota Twins won their first World Series, once again up against the villainous St. Louis Cardinals. It was an exciting series that went seven games and made me a baseball fan for life.
October 1988 vs. October 1998 vs. October 2008
Winner: 1988--None of these were particularly awesome but the TV writers' strike was finally over and many of new and returning shows finally began to air new episodes again after a long summer of reruns....including one particular action-adventure series that finally returned on Halloween night. The Oakland-Dodgers World Series was exciting, especially the spectacular Game 1 with the Kirk Gibson homerun. And the first election that I got interested in--the Dukakis-Bush Presidential race--was heating up, even though I didn't have the vaguest hint at the time that my guy Dukakis was about to get crushed in early November.
October 1989 vs. October 1999 vs. October 2009
Winner: 1989--Another year with no clear winner. There were things going on that I enjoyed about October 1999 but not enough to compensate for the things I wasn't enjoying at the time. But it's hard to go wrong in sixth grade when new MacGyver episodes were on the schedule and my fascination with Nintendo was escalating. There was nothing particularly defining about this month but I still remember it fondly.
October 1990 vs. October 2000 vs. October 2010
Winner: 2000--It's been a slugfest between two of my favorite years--1990 and 2000--since June in these comparisons but 2000 finally edges 1990 out because of the intensely escalating and wildly unpredictable deadlocked 2000 Presidential campaign. In addition to the three colorful debates, I was unemployed and living with my parents at the time and had a ton of time to engage in banter in the (new to me) medium of a chatroom. The closeness of this race and my increased level of engagement really got me into this election as November approached, and election night of course delivered in spades with the closest election of all-time.
October 1991 vs. October 2001 vs. October 2011
Winner: 1991--Here's an absolute slam dunk choice. After a couple years of ignoring their slumping teams, my Minnesota Twins went on a 15-game winning streak in June of that summer and got me back into the habit of listening to their games. This led all the way to their Cinderella story postseason and victory in what has gone down as the best World Series in the game's history. I enjoyed the 1987 World Series, but was older (14) and had a greater personal attachment to the 1991 Series. My favorite show "MacGyver" was in its final throes at this point, but I was lucky enough to have postseason baseball to light up my world to the point that MacGyver's slump wasn't crushing my world.
October 1992 vs. October 2002 vs. October 2012
Winner: 1992--Another "MacGyver"-centric year. I didn't have cable but my aunt volunteered to record MacGyver reruns on USA for me, and it was thrilling to pick up a VHS tape full of six MacGyver episodes to review, some of which I hadn't seen in seven years. Beyond that, the 1992 election was heated up and everything was pointing to the first Presidential election in my lifetime that a Democrat would win. It was exciting to look at maps of battleground states and seeing states that had been colored red throughout the 80s poised to turn blue for Bill Clinton.
In another month, we'll compare and contrast Novembers past.
October 1983 vs. October 1993 vs. October 2003
Winner: 1993--As a general rule there wasn't a lot to love back in 1993, but the year began to turn around on me in the month of October when I finally took some cues that a girl in high school was crushing on me even after nearly two years of flirting on her part didn't sink in for me. The signs finally became undeniable and peaked when she asked me to tag along with her and her friend on a Friday evening, only a few weeks after she got her driver's license. I awkwardly punted and the opportunity didn't arise again but it still provided a boost in confidence for a high school sophomore who had absolutely zero up till that point and represented the first time in my postpubescent era where a girl was actually into me.
October 1984 vs. October 1994 vs. October 2004
Winner: 2004--Three good options here but the best was definitely 2004, the month leading up to the Presidential election that excited me most. The November outcome of that election was a disaster, but that doesn't take anything away from the thrilling build-up where I tracked new polling data at the beginning of every hour, posted on three different election-related political sites, attended local candidate forums, and even drove a little out of my way on the drive back from out-of-town interviews at work to see what the yard sign situation looked like in different communities. And I deluded myself into believing the hype about "undecideds always breaking to the challenger" and thus assuring John Kerry's ultimate defeat of George W. Bush. It wasn't meant to be, but I don't ever remember a more exciting lead-up to an election than this year.
October 1985 vs. October 1995 vs. October 2005
Winner: 1985--The fall of 1985 was a pivot point for me and my ensuing lifelong passions, with the newly premiered series "MacGyver" taking me to a new dimension of TV awesomeness that other favorites of the time like "The Fall Guy" and "Hardcastle and McCormick" just never did. But the fall of '85 was also memorable because it was my first World Series, and my team (the Kansas City Royals) actually won in an exciting seven-game series against the villainous St. Louis Cardinals.
October 1986 vs. October 1996 vs. October 2006
Winner: 2006--No clear winners for this one but I was still riding high after a late September class reunion where a classmate I had long crushed on was all over me. On the downside, I went on my first blind date in the Des Moines area that month with a girl who turned out to be a prostitute which I discovered mid-date. But like 2004, the primary storyline for me in 2006 was the midterm elections, which were really beginning to break the Democrats' direction and portend my first nonmiserable election night in eight years a month later.
October 1987 vs. October 1997 vs. October 2007
Winner: 1987--There was much to love about October 2007, my peak period with an ex-girlfriend named Elise, but she can't compare with the thrill of 1987 when my Minnesota Twins won their first World Series, once again up against the villainous St. Louis Cardinals. It was an exciting series that went seven games and made me a baseball fan for life.
October 1988 vs. October 1998 vs. October 2008
Winner: 1988--None of these were particularly awesome but the TV writers' strike was finally over and many of new and returning shows finally began to air new episodes again after a long summer of reruns....including one particular action-adventure series that finally returned on Halloween night. The Oakland-Dodgers World Series was exciting, especially the spectacular Game 1 with the Kirk Gibson homerun. And the first election that I got interested in--the Dukakis-Bush Presidential race--was heating up, even though I didn't have the vaguest hint at the time that my guy Dukakis was about to get crushed in early November.
October 1989 vs. October 1999 vs. October 2009
Winner: 1989--Another year with no clear winner. There were things going on that I enjoyed about October 1999 but not enough to compensate for the things I wasn't enjoying at the time. But it's hard to go wrong in sixth grade when new MacGyver episodes were on the schedule and my fascination with Nintendo was escalating. There was nothing particularly defining about this month but I still remember it fondly.
October 1990 vs. October 2000 vs. October 2010
Winner: 2000--It's been a slugfest between two of my favorite years--1990 and 2000--since June in these comparisons but 2000 finally edges 1990 out because of the intensely escalating and wildly unpredictable deadlocked 2000 Presidential campaign. In addition to the three colorful debates, I was unemployed and living with my parents at the time and had a ton of time to engage in banter in the (new to me) medium of a chatroom. The closeness of this race and my increased level of engagement really got me into this election as November approached, and election night of course delivered in spades with the closest election of all-time.
October 1991 vs. October 2001 vs. October 2011
Winner: 1991--Here's an absolute slam dunk choice. After a couple years of ignoring their slumping teams, my Minnesota Twins went on a 15-game winning streak in June of that summer and got me back into the habit of listening to their games. This led all the way to their Cinderella story postseason and victory in what has gone down as the best World Series in the game's history. I enjoyed the 1987 World Series, but was older (14) and had a greater personal attachment to the 1991 Series. My favorite show "MacGyver" was in its final throes at this point, but I was lucky enough to have postseason baseball to light up my world to the point that MacGyver's slump wasn't crushing my world.
October 1992 vs. October 2002 vs. October 2012
Winner: 1992--Another "MacGyver"-centric year. I didn't have cable but my aunt volunteered to record MacGyver reruns on USA for me, and it was thrilling to pick up a VHS tape full of six MacGyver episodes to review, some of which I hadn't seen in seven years. Beyond that, the 1992 election was heated up and everything was pointing to the first Presidential election in my lifetime that a Democrat would win. It was exciting to look at maps of battleground states and seeing states that had been colored red throughout the 80s poised to turn blue for Bill Clinton.
In another month, we'll compare and contrast Novembers past.
posted by Mark at 1:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home