Sandy

“Do you ever feel like a plastic bag

Drifting through the wind?”

    “Firework,” Katie Perry

Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast and supposedly put a suspension on politics, although Romney held a rally in Ohio where he gratuitously handled donated goods even though the Red Cross announced that such items take up too many hours to process and that people should donate money instead.  Some Republicans are angry that New Jersey governor Chris Christie is praising Obama for his diligence in responding to the crisis.  Romney is on record calling for the abolition of FEMA, which by all accounts is doing a topnotch job.  

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Obama because of the issue of global climate change. In the mail from an “R. Schultz” came a nasty flyer showing Obama in front of a hammer and sickle with a finger by his mouth as if he has a secret; the caption reads, “. . . fool me twice, shame on me.”  Ugly, ugly, ugly.  Neighbor Sue got one, too.  One hopes such slime backfires.

Lake County treasurer John Petalas hoped I could help unearth names of predecessors who served as treasurer dating back to when Lake County was formed.  I suggested he contact the Indiana Secretary of State’s office and, if necessary, microfilm of the Lake County Star for the relevant election dates.

ESPN ran a special about the 1962 undefeated Old Miss football team.  Fifty years ago students were rioting when James Meredith dared attend classes at the whites-only campus, and he wasn’t even able to attend a game.  This year he was in the President’s box during a ceremony honoring the 1962 team and the racial strides made since then.

I watched “Marathon Boy,” a heartbreaking HBO documentary about Biranchi Das, who ran an orphanage in eastern India and coached a four year-old prodigy named Budhia whom he rescued from the slums until greed and corruption ended his dreams of turning the boy into a marathon champion and cost him his life.  As one critic put it, the film is truly a Dickensian tale.

Even better was “Cinema Verite,” an HBO movie about the first reality show, the 1973 PBS series on the Loud family starring the peerless Diane Lane as a frustrated mother of seven whose hubby Bill (Tim Robbins apparently relishing the role) was a wealthy philanderer.  I recall what a sensation the original series caused and the attention focused on gay son Lance, who later formed a punk band called The Mumps.  In the credits it mentions that Lance died of AIDS in 2001 and that his last wish was for his parents to reconcile, which they did.  The last 20 years of his life, he was addicted to crystal meth.

I’ve been making ham and cheese sandwiches on rye for lunch and also packing raw veggies, sweet pickles, and vanilla Oreos.  Usually I buy a carton of two percent milk at Redhawk Café for 70 cents, and Carey behind the counter knows to give me three dimes as change for a dollar (they’re useful for bowling wagers). 

Wanting reading material while Lake Shore Toyota fixed my wheel bearing and put on two new front tires, I decided to reread Gore Vidal’s “Lincoln.”  I particularly like the portrait on young John Hay, nicknamed Hasheesh in college at Brown, one of the President’s two secretaries (his superior was John Nicolay) who later appears in “Empire” as William McKinley’s Secretary of State. At Willard’s Hotel a fraternity brother gives Hay a list of Washington, DC’s five best brothels.  At Sal Austin's he becomes infatuated with mulatto Maroe-Jeanne.  Service manager Tom Klaubo, who, as he says, treats every car like it’s his own and is a prince, has been with Toyota for 32 years.  We first met him at a Crown Point dealership.

I passed my Time and Smithsonian issues with Lincoln on the cover on to Chris Young, whose seminar is about the Lincoln presidency.  I wonder if he is taking his class to the Spielberg movie.

Henry and Ryan Farag wanted suggestions for a book description for Amazon.com to go with the Ebook version of “The Signal: A Doo-Wop Rhapsody.”  Here is the draft I sent them, which they loved:

“When 11 year-old Henry Farag first heard The Dells’ “Oh What a Night” on Vivian Carter’s radio show in Gary, Indiana, it changed his life forever.  Founder of Vee-Jay Records, the first successful black-owned record company, Carter introduced listeners to many rhythm ‘n’ blues greats, but it was the harmonizing of doo-wop, captured unforgettably by Gary’s own Spaniels, that entranced Henry and other cool teenagers coming of age during the 1950s. 

Farag’s infatuation with doo-wop music led to a life-long career as a concert promoter.  Among the many highlights of “The Signal” are descriptions of Henry’s interactions with luminaries Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Dion, Del Shannon, and many more.  Some of his idols - Jimmy Beaumont of the Skyliners, Pookie Hudson of the Spaniels, Darlene Love of the Crystals – became clients and close friends.  With the a capella group Stormy Weather Henry has entertained at the White House and to troops in Bosnia.  Stormy Weather continue to open Farag’s “Ultimate Doo Wop” shows all over the country. 

While this autobiography is a paean to doo-wop, it also chronicles growing up one of 11 children of an Egyptian-born father and a Parisian mother in a gang-infested, racially-divided steel city where music provided a spark, a signal, for a life of fulfillment.”

For Halloween we took Toni’s chili to Sue and Dave’s, who set up table and chairs in their garage.  More than hundred trick-or-treaters showed up  on a brisk evening, many as ghosts or ghouls.  Neighbors Mike and Nichole’s toddler Josh was a riot making faces and noises as he enjoyed Halloween candy.  Phil reported that about two-dozen kids showed up at their house in Wyoming MI and that Tori had a good time going with Jylee "Shorty" Marshall (below, right) and other friends.

Becca is in a music video of “I’m Coming Home” by the a capello group Gentleman’s Rule, consisting  of IU grads living in Chicago.  It’s about a soldier in Afghanistan dreaming of his daughter and includes flashbacks of the two playing together.  Quite impressive.  In her school’s spring play she has the lead role in “Annie.”  Don’t know whether a live dog will play Sandy like in the Star Plaza production.  Other famous Sandys include baseball players Koufax and Alomar and actresses Dennis and Duncan. My friend Ivan Jasper married a beautiful woman named Sandy Sanders.  She wanted kids; he didn’t; so they split up.

While our weather was nothing like Hurricane Sandy, high winds closed Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, blew plastic bags around the streets of Chesterton, and closed a charter school in Miller due to large deposits of sand.

We picked up Cheryl on the way to the Star Plaza for a performance of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.  Husband Dick, who’s in the chorus, had been there since an afternoon rehearsal.  The best number was a rousing version of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  Beforehand, tongue in cheek, conductor Kirk Muspratt said that many in the mostly silver-haired audience might be too young to remember Freddy Mercury and Queen.  Violinist Michele Lekas did a brilliant solo on a number from “Red Poppy Suite,” a Soviet ballet written by Reinhold Gliere.  After intermission the Purdue Glee Club performed a set that, though too chauvinistic for my taste (was a rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” really necessary?), included an excellent medley from “Oklahoma.” During the concluding Purdue fight song, many audience members stood and sang along.  On the way out I heard someone, no doubt an IU grad, grumble that it was a good show except for the finale.

Though I missed the late Jim Tolhuizem, who had been in the chorus for many years, IU Northwest was well represented.  In the audience were Peg and Ken Schoon, retired Professor of Education John Ban (whose grandson was in the Purdue Glee Club), John’s daughter Julie Peller (a chemistry professor), and Special Services retiree Mary Bertoluzzi. In the program was a full-page ad mention that the university contributes more than $25,000 a year to the symphony.  Bill and Pamela Lowe were probably in the house somewhere.

Joe Biden appeared on Letterman to read the Top Ten list.  Best reason to vote early: “Open bar.” Indiana still bans liquor sales on election day but not obviously if you vote early.