Like most of my generation, I grew up scared as hell of nuclear armageddon.

Sometimes my father would sit at the edge of my bed and tell me not to worry that nuclear

war wouldn't happen precisely because the superpowers had the capacity to blow each other

up.

The military doctrine of mutual assured destruction.

I'm not sure if he believed it or if he was just trying to make me feel better.

But I was worried enough that I made sure to watch a made for TV movie on ABC called

The Day After.

It aired right before Thanksgiving in 1983 with limited commercials, so you knew this

was a really big deal.

It depicted the destruction of Kansas City after a nuclear attack.

Roger, understand.

Over 300 missiles end bound now.

The Day After was shockingly graphic for the time.

What I remember most though, isn't the scene of the incineration, a lot of people turning

into skeletons.

But the scene right before, a character played by Jason Robards is driving on the highway

when enemy nuclear weapons detonate overhead.

Suddenly, all the cars simply stop running.

They go silent.

Robards and the other drivers try turning their ignitions, but nothing.

In other words, a nuclear bomb would subvert nature on such an elemental molecular level

...