jackassworld

So as many of you know, or perhaps even many more of you do not know, the Berlin Wall figuratively came down on this day, November 9th, in 1989. That’s 20 whole years ago now and a world of difference it sure did make. For one, Germany is now a unified country; two, Berlin is now a unified city; and, most importantly, Roger Waters lived up to his promise of performing The Wall live. Sometime in the mid-’80s, by foreign exchange student chance, I was able to witness both halves of the city when it was still divided by the great concrete wall (which, I must say, did make for a great urban muralist canvas on the Western side—the Eastern side … not so much, what with all the barbed wire, armed guard towers, and attack dogs). On the day we crossed through Checkpoint Charlie from West Berlin into East Berlin, I remember it being akin to that magical transition from black-and-white to technicolor in the MGM film production of The Wizard of Oz (1939), only in total fuckin’ reverse. Man, what a monochromatic bummer that place was. So it was really no surprise that throughout the 28 year history of the Berlin Wall several thousand people attempted to escape the oppression of the East to live free in the West—many of whom were successful, but a good lot that were not. Hypothetically speaking, it’s a good thing Wolfie hadn’t been born an East German on the dark side of the rainbow during the hey-day of the Wall, because, let’s face it, the coordinated odds would not have all been in his favor.