After dinner on December 5th, Bob asked,
You know what tomorrow is, don’t you?
Then he answered the question.
It’s Pearl Harbor Day.
Next, he boomed in a slow, low Roosevelt voice.
…a date which will live in infamy….
I looked up.
At him.
No, I corrected. Pearl Harbor Day is the 7th.
Uh-uh, he shook his head. It’s tomorrow, December 6th.
I turned to Alexa, who sat behind the toaster.
Asked her, when is Pearl Harbor Day?
December 7th, she answered without hesitation.
Did you hear? I asked Bob.
He grabbed his phone.
To check with his own hands.
He didn’t believe Alexa.
Though her information was from the same internet.
You’re right, he conceded.
Then, as he strode to put out trash, he thought he had me.
In Japan, it was the 6th.
No, I corrected.
Japan is a day ahead of us. It was the 8th.
Again, I asked Alexa to be the arbiter.
A second time, she agreed with me.
Japan is thirteen hours ahead of the US, east coast time.
But, Bob is our historian.
Mostly right with date, detail.
More essential here the tribute.
Not at all that Bob should fail.
For Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
No matter, six, seven, eight.
Killing, wounding precious souls.
Our job, to commemorate.
Lynn Benjamin
December 7, 2022