12.27.13 Crossing Over

Ask any American, “Why did Washington cross the Delaware, and why does it matter?” and you’ll be met, most likely, with silence.

But on Christmas Day, 1776, crossing the Delaware was the difference between victory and death for the American Revolution. Having been chased out of New York and New Jersey by the British, and facing the dissolution of most of his militia army at year’s end, George Washington knew he had one last chance to prove himself. So he drew up a daring plan. He would split his army into three forces, cross the Delaware in three places, converge on Trenton, and capture the city, which was being held by Hessian mercenaries employed by the British. It was an extremely complicated strategy that would require each part of the army to perform perfectly. The orders were drawn and distributed. The password: “Victory or Death.”

The operation began on Christmas night. And it started badly. The crossing required that soldiers, horses and cannons be rowed in heavy Durham boats across a strong current choked with ice. As the loading began, it began to rain, then sleet, and then finally it started to snow. Though the crossing was managed by a regiment of sailors from Marblehead, Massachusetts led by Brigadier General John Glover, it was all they could do to keep the boats from being swept downstream. At the northernmost crossing point, the Americans were delayed by more than three hours; when they had finally assembled in New Jersey, it was 3 AM. Even worse – and unbeknownst to them – the two other parts of the American army failed to get across altogether. That left just 2,400 tired and bedraggled men to attack Trenton. And they still had an 8-mile night march ahead of them.

At 4 AM, they headed south. Almost on cue, the weather got worse; soon it was a blizzard. Many of the men did not have boots and as they marched they left a bloody trail in the snow. They struggled and staggered for about two miles, until some local civilians joined in and guided them along more passable roads. When they came to a small ravine called Jacob’s Creek, Washington’s horse slipped and nearly threw him into the stream, but with expert horsemanship he righted the animal. This athletic feat encouraged the Americans as they hurried south. As they neared Trenton, the operation was nearly ruined. Washington came upon a rogue force of 50 Americans who – not knowing about the operation – had just attacked a Hessian outpost nearby, which threatened to give away the surprise. But ironically, their failure led the enemy to believe that a suspected American attack had been thwarted. The Hessians dropped their guard and went back to bed.

What happened next was as shocking as it was sudden. At 8AM, the Americans appeared out of the blizzard and stormed into Trenton, seemingly from all directions. Washington had once again divided his troops, and this time his strategy was executed to perfection, with both forces arriving at the town simultaneously. There were American guns on King Street, there were American guns on Queen Street, the road to Princeton was blocked, as was the bridge over Assunpink Creek. The Hessians were trapped. They poured out of their garrisons and tried to organize themselves, but each time they met heavy American fire. Their leader Colonel Rall was killed. The Hessians retreated; the Americans poured in; the two armies fought house-to-house through the town. The Hessian defense soon collapsed and they retreated to an orchard on the edge of town.

And then, almost as soon as it began, it was over. Nearly 1000 Hessian soldiers surrendered. Almost 100 of their comrades had been killed or wounded. The Americans, meanwhile, had suffered only 2 killed and 5 wounded (plus 2 soldiers who had died during the overnight march).

Trenton had been taken, and one of the British army’s elite forces had been defeated. In the coming days, the news would hit Europe like a cannonball.

In the colonies, news of the victory at Trenton would reignite support for the Revolution. In the coming week, two more startling victories would give the Americans hope that the Revolution had reached a turning point. And maybe, just maybe, they had a leader who could lead them to victory.

General George Washington had crossed over indeed…

12.20.13 General Loser

Make no mistake. General George Washington was, quite literally, a loser.

By the end of 1776, anybody with a brain would have concluded that the Continental Congress had chosen the wrong guy. Consider this: in July of that year, Washington allowed the British to land on Staten Island, completely unopposed, and set up their base of operations. A month later, he paid for his mistake when the British crossed over to Long Island and thoroughly routed the Americans in one of the largest battles of the war. After a mad scramble of a retreat, the Americans barely escaped to Manhattan. In September, the British crossed the East River and stormed ashore; Washington had to abandon all but the northwest corner of the island, at a place that came to be known as Fort Washington. After holding this position for two months, the Americans were overwhelmed in November. The fall of Fort Washington was a disaster. Valuable material was lost, 3000 soldiers were captured (most later died in captivity), and Washington fled across the Hudson River. Soon after, the British captured Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the river, completing their control of New York City, which they would hold for the duration of the war.

Many folks concluded that Washington should go. One of Washington’s own staff, Adjutant General Joseph Reed, secretly wrote to Major General Charles Lee that he thought Lee should replace Washington, because “an indecisive mind is one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall an army.” Looking at what happened next, it’s hard to argue with him. Washington retreated south across New Jersey, chased by an elite force under General Charles Cornwallis. On November 28, the Americans were forced to abandon Newark. On November 30, the Americans barely made it across the Raritan River at Brunswick. In December, Washington was scrambling towards Princeton with Cornwallis snapping at his heels. After failing to make a stand at Princeton, Washington was once again forced to retreat, and by December 8, he and his army had passed through Trenton, crossed the Delaware River, and into Pennsylvania.

It was obvious that the end was near. Washington’s forces had dwindled from 20,000 soldiers to less than 6,000, and most of these were militiamen whose terms would run out at year’s end; come January, his army would no longer exist. On December 12, the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia for Baltimore. The British, meanwhile, knew that time was on their side. Cornwallis’ forces settled into cozy winter quarters all along the Delaware, from Princeton to Trenton to Bordentown to Burlington. They could just wait until the coming of Spring, cross into Pennsylvania, complete their stranglehold of the colonies and end the war.

December 19, 1776. In Philadelphia, Thomas Paine publishes a short pamphlet, “The American Crisis,” which captures the desperation of the moment. “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

At this point, any form of triumph was impossible to conceive. Washington had failed; the Revolution was apparently over…

12.13.13. Christmas.com

Christmas used to be so quaint.

Remember the old days when Christmas was embarrasingly lo-tech? I’m referring, of course, to the Yule Log. Admit it, if you’re a New Yorker you can remember when WPIX Channel 11 would play interminable Christmas carols over a visual of a toasty fireplace. Somehow, the fire burned continually, hour after hour, without anyone ever replacing the log or the ashes burning down. It may have been the most simplistic entertainment ever created.

Thank goodness the internet provides our kids much more advanced holiday offerings. Take, for example, ReindeerCam.com (subhead: “Santa’s Official Reindeer Live Feed,” so it must be the real deal), which features ongoing up-to-the-minute surveillance footage of Santa’s team doing…absolutely nothing. It’s just a couple reindeer not dashing or dancing, just sitting in their paddock waiting for Christmas. A loop of insipid music plays continually. At 11AM, 6PM and 9PM, a guy in a red suit comes out and feeds them some hay. (Interestingly, on Saturday and Sunday there’s only one feeding at 6PM, which makes one wonder what Santa’s up to on the weekends.) If you email the site your child’s name, they’ll add it to their “nice” list which scrolls at the bottom. And if you’re too busy to get to your computer, don’t worry, you can download the reindeercam app for your phone. Awesome.

What’s that? Your kids want a more intimate interaction with St. Nick? OK, check out SayHelloSanta.com, where they can enjoy live video chats with the jolly old elf. Just go on the site via your computer or phone, and schedule a time that works for you. Santa will pop up and talk to you as long as you want, and the call is recorded to your account so they can relive the magic again and again. The best part is, it’s only $14.99, and if you apply the code “JOLLY” you can save 5 bucks. What a bargain.

The only way to get closer to Santa, of course, is to go wait in line and sit on his lap at the Galleria. But kids these days are so suspicious. And if the experience doesn’t involve technology, it somehow won’t seem, y’know, REAL enough for them. So here’s what you do. Grab your phone. Pull up Google Maps. Search for directions to the local mall. And tell your kids it’s the official “SantaLocator” app, now available for iPhone and Android. Maybe they’ll buy it.

Isn’t technology wonderful? Kids today sure are lucky.

But, on second thought, I think I prefer the old-school version. Give me the WPIX Yule Log. And thanks to the magic of the internet, there’s a way to get it. It’s called YouTube.

Ho-Ho-Hum.

12.6.13 The AeroCar

Born from jets, this little brand refuses to die.

It’s always been pretty quirky. Most automobiles are made in Detroit, Stuttgart or Japan; this one came from…Trollhattan? On the outside, it was all round and puffed up, which some folks found eccentric but others found just plain ugly. Instead of an uncomfortable hump down the middle of the back floor, this car offered the middle passenger equal legroom. How’d they do that?  With FRONT wheel drive! Weird!! There were curious safety features like a “roll cage” and “diagonal braking.” There was a hole that opened in the roof. Look at this, the whole back seat folds down flat.  And – what’s that? – my butt’s getting hot!  Heated seats? No way!  And what’s this funny gauge that’s sort of bolted onto the dashboard that say’s “Turbo”? And where the heck is the ignition??

All these idiosyncrasies spring from the brand’s origins; the first models were built on an airplane assembly line.  In 1949, the Swedish Airplane Corporation created the “92,” a two-cylinder automobile which featured cockpit-style seating and instrumentation.  The three-cylinder “93” arrived in 1955, followed by a wagon, the “95,” in 1959.  Also in the 50’s came the “94,” a sporty version which may be the funkiest car ever built and which came to be known as the “Sonnet.”  (Don’t ask, just look that one up.)  In 1969, the company merged with Scania Vehicle and launched the “99,” which featured a “combi coupe” body design which would come to define the brand.  This would in turn give birth to the “900” in 1978, which would eventually sell over 1 million vehicles.  At every step in this evolution, the brand remained defiantly iconoclastic, which won it the undying love its customers, but which also severely limited its appeal.

And then.  In 1989 the company foolishly aligned with General Motors, giving GM a 50% stake in the company.  This resulted in a new, more mainstream “900” in 1994 that increased sales but eroded the brand’s reputation for innovation and quality.  In 1997, on the 50^th anniversary of the brand, GM jettisoned the car’s classic styling and launched new sedan models built on Cadillac frames, and an SUV that looked like the Chevy that it was.  This led to a decade of brand erosion, the failed launch of numerous new designs, the movement of manufacturing to an old Opel plant in Germany, and then, inevitably, complete failure.  GM tried to sell the brand to seemingly every car company in the world, and then unloaded it to Spyker, a Dutch sports car manufacturer, in 2010.  But Spyker couldn’t save it either, and threw it into bankruptcy in 2011.

And just like that, Saab, the oddly awesome car created by airplane engineers, was dead.

Ah, but don’t underestimate the power of the bizarre.  You want kooky?  Try this:  a Japanese-Chinese joint venture called National Electric Vehicle Sweden.  Over the past two years, the assets of Saab were reorganized and the company given a reboot.  This week, something funny happened at that old plant in Trollhattan, Sweden.  On Monday, December 1, new Saabs started rolling off the line for the first time in years.  These first cars are throwbacks, gasoline powered models available only to a limited number of customers in Sweden.

But next will come an electric model, which will be built in Sweden, fitted out with battery technology in Japan, and then sold in China.  The design is based on a concept car first presented in 2011, which beat competitors from brands like Alfa-Romeo and Jaguar.  It integrates many traditional design elements, and features gull-wing doors reminiscent of a, um, fighter jet.

And what’s the name of this potential savior of the brand?  The Saab Phoenix.

The story isn’t finished.  Innovation and idiosyncrasy live on. The world’s strangest car just might fly again.

11.22.13 The Point of the Shoot

We know, we get it, it’s all about YOU.

A lot has been written about the cohort of kids born roughly between 1980 and 2000, who were first dubbed “Echo Boomers,” then “Millennials,” and now are commonly known as “Generation Y.” As the first generation to grow up empowered with social media, they have demonstrated a level of tolerance and confidence unseen in any previous generation. Some folks believe this is positive engagement, and has resulted in a massive shift toward progressive causes like gay rights. But critics abound, complaining that Gen Y shows little interest in civics or social causes, and is a generation built entirely on entitlement and narcissism.

What to make, then, of this year’s Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year? That word is “Selfie,” which is defined as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone and uploaded to a social media website.” Across the Internet, the snapping of Selfies has exploded 17,000%. Facebook and Instagram accounts are getting crammed with photographic odes to self-awesomeness. You can find numerous sites offering tips for taking better Selfies, to eliminate “duckface” and other ruinous results. Selfie sub-genres are springing up, including “Welfies” which celebrate oneself in the act of working out (and looking great, of course). Then there’s “Helfies,” which are taken from a high angle to show off a particularly amazing hairstyle (and looking great, of course). And “Drelfies,” which can only be taken when one is sufficiently inebriated (but still looking great, of course).

OK, so maybe this is evidence of a completely self-involved generation. Or maybe they’re just having fun adopting a new technology. What does it say about them? Maybe it’s too soon to tell.

And perhaps the truth will be revealed soon, when the GenYs document themselves growing up and facing the harsh realities of life. Will they start posting “OhWellfies,” a photograph of oneself standing outside a company that isn’t hiring? Or a “KissandTellfie,” which one might unexpectedly receive from a buddy and one’s suddenly ex-girlfriend? And then, of course, there’s the inevitable “TollingBellfie,” which might be a close-up of a first gray hair…

Whatever happens, this generation is going to document it. And then we’ll know who they really are.

Here’s looking at you, kids.

11.15.13 Gettysburg Reconstruction

The following is a public service. This week filmmaker Ken Burns, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, launched an online initiative to encourage folks to gain a greater appreciation of it by reading the Address out loud. He has created a mashup video featuring all living Presidents, and other celebrities, reading snippets of the Address, to illustrate the incredible power of this humble 2-minute speech.

Now, be honest, beyond “Four score and seven years ago,” how much of the Address do you know by heart? And have you ever stopped and admired the poetry of each phrase? Considered how such a concise little thing can be constructed to such perfection?

Well, here’s your chance. Below is the entire Gettysburg Address. But instead of mashed, it’s scrambled. Go ahead and admire each phrase. And then, either by reading it out loud, or by cutting and pasting, see if you can put it back to its awesome beautiful whole.  Reconstruction was never so much fun.  You are welcome.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.

We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

A new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent.

That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.

11.8.13 All For a Good Clause

On November 11, we honor veterans who have endured war on behalf of the rest of us. By extension, we also honor those who are currently serving in the military. And, in a larger sense, you might say we also reaffirm our commitment to any future soldiers; that if they are ever sent to war, they shall be sent to wars that are deemed truly necessary, that they shall be given all they need to fight effectively and hopefully survive the battle, and they shall be honored and supported when they come home.

Sounds simple enough. And back in 1787, a clear plan was developed to make sure this happened. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 55 delegates came together to discuss issues of representation and governance and war and peace. Of these 55 men, nearly all of them had fought in the Revolution. 29 of them had held command roles. All but 3 of them had served in some form of local or state government. And, for what it’s worth, most of them were lawyers. So, yes, they were fairly qualified to discuss the requirement and ramifications of war.

It was a highly charged, combative Convention, fraught with conflict. The delegates agreed on just about nothing. But on one point they were absolutely certain: the power to declare war rests with the Legislature, not with the Executive. Only 1 delegate (ONE!) suggested that the power to declare war rested with the President. (He was shouted down, and history does not remember him fondly, perhaps because he was an ardent slaveholder from South Carolina whose only other contribution was the Fugitive Slave Clause.) The remaining 54 delegates were unanimous and clear on what they wanted, and they crafted a very simple statement to that effect, which today we call the War Powers Clause of the United State Constitution:

“The Congress shall have the power to declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Capture on Land and Water.”

The War Powers Clause, just 24 words long, served the country well for 150 years. By requiring Congress to declare war, the Clause ensures that open debate on potential conflicts takes place, that all Americans get a chance to weigh in on the matter and that, when we go to war, we go to war together. But in 1950, something went wrong, and that something was called Korea. President Truman went to war on what was called a “police action,” without Congressional declaration. And since that time, things have gone, well…

You can decide for yourself. Here are two lists for your consideration:

Wars declared by Congress: War of 1812, Mexican-American, Spanish-American, World War I, World War II

Wars NOT declared by Congress: Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan

This Veterans Day, 54 out of 55 Founding Fathers are asking a pretty simple question. Before we create the next generation of Veterans, shouldn’t we first agree on what we are asking them to risk their lives fighting for?

11.1.13 Hot Canadian Mess

Welcome to November. Time to fatten up for the winter, and mon dieu do we have the recipe for you.

But first some etymology. If you asked someone in Montreal to translate the word “pudding” they might offer a word that sounds like “pouding.” They would be describing a kind of food, as well as a person who unfortunately walks like one (as a result of eating too much of the pudding in question). They would also be describing the act of making something out of unappetizing leftovers. Or even a complicated business deal or political situation, much in the same way in English we might refer to “making a hash out of things.” There are many similar words used regionally in France, including “poutingo” which is a bad stew in Provence, “poutringo” which is a mish-mash in Languedoc, and “poutite” which is a hodge-podge anywhere in France.

But when it comes to the culinary pride of Quebec, there’s only one word for it, and that is “poutine.” And there’s only one way to make it. Start with rough-cut potato frites, medium thickness, deep fried (preferably twice). Onto that goes a generous helping of cold home-made cheese curds, large enough to provide some texture but small enough to stick to the fries. And finish it with a thin chicken/beef gravy, spiked with pepper and vinegar, which is poured, piping hot, over the top. And what you get is as good as its name, an awesome sloppy hot fat mess which is equal parts pudding, hash, mish-mash and hodge-podge. And mon frère, it’s délicieux.

Poutine is standard comfort food throughout Quebec, particularly in the winter. It can be found in greasy spoons, fast food joints and ski resorts. It’s been voted among the top 10 Canadian inventions of all time, beating such things as a paint roller and a Blackberry. It’s also a popular reference in politics, due to its secondary meaning of making a mess (or getting through one). In 2000, a Canadian comedian asked numerous American political leaders what they thought of Prime Minister Jean Poutine, and none of the Americans got the joke. When President Bush later made his first official visit to Canada, he thanked his hosts and showed his gratitude for the endorsement of Prime Minister Poutin, to uproarious applause.

Poutine’s popularity is spreading throughout the northern United States. There are lots of regional variations featuring different kinds of cheese, meat and gravy. You can get it with truffles in Seattle, with pulled pork in the Midwest, and with lobster in New England.

But for our money, you should stick to the original. And please don’t order it if the menu says “french fries with cheese and gravy.” Quelle horreur!

It’s poutine, plain simple sloppy and awesome. Calling it anything  else would make you, well, a big fat poutine.

10.25.13 Woolly Crossing

Why did the woolly bear cross the road?

This time of year there seem to be armies of black-and-brown-banded fuzzy caterpillars crawling across streets and sidewalks everywhere. They are nature’s fastest caterpillars, capable of traveling over a mile a day. So you’ve probably wondered, where are they all headed in such a hurry? What are they all up to?

Well, one thing they are NOT doing is forecasting the winter ahead. We know this because, between 1948 and 1956, the curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History led a group called the Original Society of the Friends of the Woolly Bear on a little research project. Each year they collected as many woollies as they could and counted how many black segments they had at their ends, versus how many brown segments they had at their middles. They postulated that the more brown segments each year’s woollies had on average, the warmer the coming winter would be. Skinny brown section = cold winter. Fat brown section = warm winter. Their annual prediction was printed in the New York Herald Tribune. This made woolly bears instant national celebrities. But, unfortunately, this formula has since been discounted as pure folklore.

What IS true about woolly bears crossing the road is that they are looking for a good place to freeze. The caterpillars (officially they are the larva of the tiger moth Pyrrharctia isabella) spend the late summer eating weeds like dandelion and clover. As the temperature drops, they look for a nest of organic material under a rock or hard surface to burrow into for the winter. They then dehydrate themselves and develop a cryoprotectant (a sort of biological antifreeze) that allows them to survive the winter by freezing solid. First their heart stops and freezes, followed by their gut, then the blood, and finally the rest of their body. (Tests have shown that they can survive seven consecutive days in sub-freezing temperatures.) When the Spring comes, they come back to life and pop out of their nests. They eat like crazy, spin a cocoon, and pupate into a tan-yellow moth with dark spots. And start laying eggs to create the next generation.

A woolly bear is pretty harmless. The fur coat is actually soft hair called setae. Though some folks with sensitive skin can develop a rash after repeatedly touching one, woollies have no toxins or poisons or venom. And you probably should just leave them alone, because if you touch one it just curls up and plays dead until you stop annoying it.

All of which makes woolly bears adorable. Which explains the Woolly Bear Festivals in Vermilion OH, Banner Elk NC, and Beattyville KY. Folks gather around to watch woolly bears predict the weather (fun, but dopey) and race across stone surfaces (dopey, but fun).

Go woollies, go.

10.18.13 Night of the Dragons

It’s one of the most tortured place-names in the world, which is pretty apropos considering…

The area is almost entirely land-locked in one of the most rugged parts of Central Europe. It was first settled by an odd mixture of Greeks and Celts, before it was fully developed by Slavs who came down from central Asia. In the 15th century it was violently annexed by the Ottoman Empire and became Muslim for over 400 years. But after the Russo-Turkish War, in 1878, it was unofficially occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire (which was ruled by two Christian monarchies) while remaining an Ottoman kingdom. This odd arrangement made it one of the most cosmopolitan and liberal places in the world.

It also made it a powder keg. In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on a bridge in its capital city, Sarajevo, plunging Europe into World War I. In the ensuing bloodbath, the area’s Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics were pitted against their Muslim neighbors, which resulted in the creation of the Slavic Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which lasted until 1941. Then, during World War II, the Nazis annexed the area under Catholic/Muslim rule, and systematically murdered 500,000 Serbs as well as 40,000 Roma Gypsies and 32,000 Jews.

In 1946, the area passed to Soviet control with the creation of Yugoslavia. Ironically, the iron grip of the Communists provided a period of relative peace and religious freedom, crowned by the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo. But it wasn’t to last. With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1992, the area declared independence. This unfortunately precipitated the Bosnian War, in which the Serbs took revenge on their neighbors, put Sarajevo under the longest siege in human history, massacred over 8,000 citizens of the city of Srebrenica, and embarked on a horrific campaign of ethnic cleansing. Over 2 million people were displaced, 100,000 killed, and perhaps 50,000 raped, making it the worst crime on European soil in modern history.

Peace and independence finally arrived in 1995. But how does an area so steeped in blood put its past behind it? How do neighbors who have been murdering each other for a century find the strength to forgive? How does a country now facing a broken infrastructure, chronic poverty and high unemployment find the will to continue?

Maybe here’s how. This past Tuesday night, approximately 5,000 Bosniaks, Croats, Slovenes and Serbs made the trek to Lithuania to watch their national soccer team, the Dragons, compete in the final qualifying match of the World Cup. In the 68th minute, striker Vedad Ibisevic scored the goal that would prove to be the winner. Back home in the main square of Sarajevo, a crowd of 100,000 fans dressed in yellow and blue exploded with happiness, setting off a night-long celebration that flowed through the city streets and spilled out to the national airport, for a raucous team homecoming. And for once the nation was truly unified. Said Salih Redzic, a 52-year-old unemployed Sarajevo resident, with tears running down his face, “They have no idea what they have done to the people here. It’s not even about soccer any more. It’s about this feeling many of us have almost forgotten and the younger ones have never experienced. The feeling of success.”

Their time has come.  The Dragons have taken flight. Bosnia-Herzogovina is going to the World Cup.