And in 100 years, there will be few still alive who ever saw Michael Jordan play. Time does not stop, even though it may be recorded. The history we remember comes to us as a one-way tightrope from the past, stretched from then to now. Soon, DiMaggio's integrity, his competition with Ted Williams and his amazing streak will recede totally into the past, studied only by historians. The context in which he lived will soon fade from the hearts of America, just as those old fedoras faded from the stands of Yankee Stadium.
Time is a consuming fire.
Our times, our memories and ourselves are its fuel. We fade and soon disappear, leaving little trace but the ashes of our driver's license and tax forms. Little else can survive time's inexorable march. She wears a floor-length dress of white cotton and has clear, milky skin. She was only 21.