Even when doing something new, the Romans liked to wrap it up in older packaging. Yanks are not, as the British like to sniff, crazed novelty junkies. When it comes to the important things, they re great traditionalists. Some Japanese think that foreigners could never understand the Japanese aesthetic so why bother trying to explain it, but more likely it's just one of those quirky little folkways that everyone uses and no one knows how it came about. We should not be surprised that the occasion of an elevator enables the operation of a venerable cultural code, in which precisely because something does not last long is the reason to invest it with significance and value.
Proverbs are like butterflies, some are caught, some fly away.
The Internet is rich with poems written by the smitten for anniversary occasions. Today we ask that you remember all those currently in the service of the United States and all her allies. While military conflicts are never easy to accept, neither are the denial of basic human rights. Whatever your opinions or beliefs, respect and honor those who are answering the call to serve their country. On The Roof is about values at a time, like today, when there is confusion over those values.