Yesterday I purchased my first pair of sunglasses. Don’t laugh. This is a thing. It happened. It happened at Target, and it’s a thing that I did. And – yes, it is, in fact, possible that I owned sunglasses as a child – creaky plastic items that may have endorsed Mickey Mouse and hung around my neck for safe keeping. I may have kept them in a fanny pack. But what went down yesterday in the accessories department in the heart of the red bullseye – now that was legitimate Adult Purchase time. That had purpose.
Because this weekend I learned a very important lesson about shades: not only do they effectively block out the sun when your head might hurt a wee bit too much on a Sunday morning (also an Adult Thing), but likewise effectively block you from other people. A dark barrier. On your face. Shield. And no one can see your eyes. Ninja. That’s what it is.
Sunglasses are face ninjas. There we go. There’s your tidbit for today, friends.
What I’m trying to say, doves, is that tinted bits of bonded polymer allow you the breathing room to freely rage as much as you want – bluff, poker face, whatever – through any uncomfortable situation without the danger of another human casually crashing their eyes into yours and seeing something private. Sunglasses are a free pass to hide when you just don’t feel like raising your best façade. And that’s just fine.
Now let’s segue into President Eisenhower, ok? Ok:
He’s lovingly known as Ike (you can ask your Granny about this if a personal affection is missing), and regarded in the history books as a man who lead America through a relatively quiet and wholesome decade of political climate. But the President Papaw Eisenhower was apparently much more than a warm smile and good golf swing. Using recently declassified documents and diaries, historian and author Evan Thomas reveals a presidential landscape of fierce waters behind the bluff of calm seas.
With his new book, Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World (which is an awesome title), join Thomas tomorrow, Thursday, November 15th as he uncovers how and why this retired general of World War II used his cool to avoid further wars in the world kept hidden by a brilliant bluff. Thomas, the author of The War Lovers and Sea of Thunder, will present as part of The Filson Historical Society’s Gertrude Polk Lecture Series and will discuss Ike’s Bluff at The Temple starting at 6:30pm.
Did I just relate buying sunglasses at Target to keeping a presidental poker face through the dawn of Cold War politics? Yes, yes I did. And I’d imagine President Eisenhower would have looked pretty slammin’ in tinted specs, folks.
The Temple is located at 5101 US Hwy. 42. This event is free, but reservations are required. Visit The Filson Historical Society website for more information.
Image: Courtesy of Louisville Free Public Library www.lfpl.org
