I took this pic the other day- June 19th. Why? It looks like a white Ford Bronco. You know, the one O.J. Simpson so notoriously rode in years ago. He was rolling down the highway in a white Bronco while being chased by over a dozen police cars. It was on live on TV and reminiscent of a running back breaking away from the line of scrimmage toward the endzone. I’m not sure if my pic is a Bronco exactly or just a Ford pickup with a topper.
Anyway, when I see an SUV resembling a white Ford Bronco, it takes me to a certian place in my mind. Often I’m compelled to reprocess my own experience. I see the Bronco, then I’m taken to the little O.J. zone in my brain where I store the low speed chase along with various “meta data.” I then thumb through adjacent and linked memories. Many of these are good. I was in college. It was summertime. Friends, parties, baseball, etc. all pulsate back into my present. Pretty amazing, how a white SUV can as, Will Smith puts it in Summertime, “spark up nostalgia.”
I just searched the web using “white ford bronco Simpson.” I discovered some recent articles about the 15th anniversary of the chase occurring on June 17, 2009. Ironic and somewhat serendipitous timing for me to write this, I guess. Ford ceased production of the Bronco in 1996. The “death” of the Bronco came within two years of O.J. Simpson chase in 1994. One article I found implies O.J. is “responsible” for the death of the Bronco (here). Less dramatically, Wikipedia states:
[The bronco] was replaced by the Ford Expedition, which was introduced as the successor to the Bronco, and more effectively competed with GM’s Chevrolet Tahoe.
Today, I’m older and have more experience. I’m a parent now. I’ve lost my mother who died June 30th, 1999. She was 49. I can better understand the attachment of a parent to a child. I can better understand the loss experienced by survivors. I’m feeling more sensitive to the families and friends of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Sadly, their murder is the preceding event, after which the media thrust the O.J. incident into so many of us- permanently. The chase is now the opening to the window of nostalgia for many. “I remember where I was,” line seems to follow any mention of the chase.
The media rode the O.J. trial so exhaustively. I watched. People talked. The whole country consumed the it. Careers were made. A racial divide emerged…
AMC’s Mad Men had an episode (The Wheel), which touches on nostalgia. Don Draper, had this line during a presentation for a slide projector:
Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. Teddy told me that in Greek, “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound.” It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.
So, I see a white Bronco- I twinge. I throb. I’m taken to thoughts from my younger days- fun, summertime, possibilities. I also sense wounds, loss, confusion. I wonder. I think… Today, I wonder how many white Broncos sold after the event(s). I wonder how often owners of similar vehicles get harassed with O.J. jabs. I wonder how many people repainted their white Bronco to quell comments from their neighbors and passer-bys. WTF happened that night? WTF happened after, with the trial, etc? Why am I writing this, and is it some strange coincidence that I’m just now realizing it’s going to be the 10th anniversary of my mom’s death?
Ironically, my mom bought me a Bronco jacket when I was little kid. The power of the Bronco, is strong today.
pocoperdiem 