Davos Newbies

I’ve just bought my copy of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. He had the great idea to imagine what happens to the Earth if humanity vanishes.

I’ve been surprised that none of the reviews I’ve read have mentioned George Stewart’s Earth Abides. It’s a brilliant fictional account along the lines of what Weisman is trying to approach scientifically. What’s startling about Stewart’s work is that it was written in 1949, before environmental thinking became common currency. Although I read it a few years ago, before I became a Berkeleyite, it’s also wonderful that the book is set in the Berkeley hills, although I don’t think Berkeley is ever quite named in the book.

Weisman, incidentally, does credit Stewart in his bibliography. And the book clearly had an impact on him. Here’s the final line of his acknowledgments: “Without us, Earth will abide and endure; without her, however, we could not even be.”

On the way to my son’s karate practice over the weekend, we heard a great song during one of the breaks on Car Talk (certainly the most unlikely idea for a great radio program). The country and western lyrics were about seeing a car with a “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker. The requested honk, however, produces an unlikely reaction: “I was just flipped off by a silver-haired old lady,” is the crucial part of the lyric.

Today I tried to find the song. So I Googled “honk if you love Jesus” and “flipped me off” (not my usual search, but my kids were hugely amused by the song). No song resulted, but it turns out that the song probably resulted from a real experience. It seems lots of people have been “flipped off” by people with those Jesus bumper stickers.

As to my music hunt, fortunately Car Talk itself has a helpful page with details of all their car-related songs. The song I wanted was “I was just flipped off by a silver-haired old lady with a ‘Honk if you love Jesus” sticker on the bumper of her car” by the wonderfully named Antsy McClain and the Trailerpark Troubadors. Lo and behold, Antsy McClain writes that it’s based on a true story. Here are the lyrics in full:

I was feeling pretty Christian, I was loving all my neighbors,
When I saw that bumper sticker there, I didn’t think twice.
My hand went for my horn, And I pushed it with conviction.
When I saw that lady’s finger, It almost put my heart on ice.

And it makes me want to cry, But I may never have the gumption now
To read those one line sermons In bright yellow, black and white.
I’ve been buoyed up so many times While stuck in rush hour traffic,
And forgive me Lord, for saying, But my faith is weak tonight.

You say, ‘Maybe it’s a rental. She could be the second owner.
She could be a Godless sinner In a loaner from a friend.’
While that helps (I do feel better), I just can’t help but see it
As a sign the world is doomed, And we’re that much closer to The End.

You can even watch the video!