Fathers Day

“It is a wise father that knows his own child,” William Shakespeare

I met up with high school classmate Peter Drake and his wife Dorothy at Bakers Square in Merrillville.  They started out in Braselton, Georgia, were on their way to a Frank Lloyd Wright home and then Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where Pete plans to go fishing.  He worked for a ticket company for many years and is now retired.  I hadn’t seen Pete since high school until we both attended our fiftieth reunion.  They asked how many grandkids I have (6) and hope for some of their own.  They’d be great grandparents.  Their 35 year-old son just got married last year.

Anthony Laramie’s high school graduation party took place at Woodland Park, where we first met his dad Bobby and granddad Bob, who coached Phil when he first started playing soccer.  Mr. Laramie subsequently convinced Phil to play on his traveling teams as well as indoor teams in winter.  He recalled a game in Dalton, Illinois, where the five players who made it through a snowstorm had to play the entire game because there were no subs and still almost won. At the Hammond Civic Center after Phil scored three goals, an opposing player pushed him.  Phil didn’t back down, but before any punches were thrown, the referee, named Jesse, gave both red cards, meaning they were ejected and couldn’t play in their next game, which was against the other Portage team featuring the Mario brothers and Keith McCullough.  During that game Dave and the other players on Mr. Laramie’s team wore headbands with “Jesse” printed on them.  The inspiration was Jim McMahon writing “Rozelle” on one after the NFL Commissioner fined him $5,000 for wearing on with the Adidas corporate logo on it.  Other shared memories included Phil’s winning goal against Hammond Morton to advance Portage to the semi-state finals. 

Anthony Laramie will be attending IU Northwest and ran cross-country but did not play soccer.  Bob has a granddaughter who plays for Michigan City and attends all her games.  Still fit in his mid-80s, he reads voraciously, including history books that his son, a professor in Arkansas, recommends.

above, Joe "Kujo" Nelson, NWI Times photo by Kyle Telechan; below, Sam Barnett and Tom Torluemke (with canvas)

Next stop Saturday was Miller Pop Up Art festivities along Lake Street, featuring murals by graffiti artists such as Joe “Kujo” Nelson.  Inside the Gardner Center were interesting paintings by mural artist Tom Torluemke.  In one corner Sam Barnett had a display of drawings people (mostly kids) did on a blank outline of a map of Gary, and he and Brenda were encouraging passers by to use their imagination and participate.  I waved to George Rogge in the beer garden, bought a Miller Beach Lake Effect Expo t-shirt from Larry Lapidus, and said hello to, Steve Spicer, John Attinasi, Corey Hagelberg, and Karren Lee, whose name I recently gave to Post-Trib SALT columnist Jeff Manes.  Home in time to watch the Blackhawks lose to Boston.

I got nice Fathers Day calls from Phil, Dave, and Alissa.  Dave was in charge of East Chicago Central’s graduation ceremony, while Phil’s family and took in a Grand Rapids Flames baseball game.

At Portage Township Summer Fest in Haven Hollow Park Becca performed several numbers representing Toni’s Dance Academy on a portable stage provided by Meijer, advertising the grand opening of a store where the Portage Kmart used to be.  Saying hi was John English, whose son was in the choir scheduled to follow Becca’s group.  A classmate of Phil’s, John was one of the youth bowling coaches at Camelot Lanes.  The carnival rides did not have any appeal to me, but James and Becca enjoyed the bungee jump.

While watching lefty Phil Mickelson again come up short in the U.S. Open, losing by a stroke to Englishman Justin Rose, who pointed to the sky in tribute to his deceased dad who coached him when he was young, I finished Larry Colton’s “Southern League.”  Even though the Birmingham Barons finished a game behind Lynchburg, the 1964 season was a success in terms of desegregation not hurting attendance or causing riots.  On the other hand, George Wallace was still stirring up trouble, Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney were murdered in June, and six black students who tried to use a department store lunch counter in nearby Bessemer were beaten by club-wielding thugs as police refused to intervene.

Had not Kansas City A’s owner not called up Bert Campaneris and Blue Moon Odom to the majors, the Barons undoubtedly would have won the pennant.  Colton mentions that Finley, who grew up in Gary, paid the Beatles an unprecedented $150,000 to play a concert at Municipal Stadium, with prices ranging from $4.50 to $8.50 for infield seat.  “Tickets,” Colton wrote, “would be printed in wedding-gown white, Kelly green, and Fort Knox gold.  On the back of each ticket would be the picture of Finley in his Beatles wig.”

In an Epilogue Colton tells what happened to various Barons.  Manager Haywood Sullivan went on to become general manager and part owner of the Boston Red Sox.  Blue Moon Odom earned two World Series rings pitching for the Oakland A’s and ended his career with the White Sox; his final victory was a no-hitter against Finley’s A’s.  Campaneris had a brilliant 19-year major league career during which time he collected 2,249 hits and stole 649 bases.  After a distinguished major league career as a relief pitcher Paul Lindblad came down with Alzheimer’s in his early 50s.  Colton wrote: “He created an imaginary friend named ‘Fly Guy’ and would spend endless hours sitting in the driveway, scanning the skies and the planes passing overhead, waiting for ‘Fly Guy’ to swoop down and pick him up.”

I chatted with Chuck Logan about Phil Mickelson’s tough luck in the U.S. Open.  He started well despite attending his daughter’s graduation and flying cross-country barely in time for the first round.  I told Gaard I couldn’t recall giving my dad (Vic died suddenly of a heart attack at age 50) a genuine hug or telling him I loved him.  Surely you did, she told me.  Her father also died relatively young in the late 1970s, by which time, she said, they had resolved most issues between them.  After we hung up, I recalled the fun we had when Vic and Midge visited us in Honolulu and took us to Kauai while I was in grad school. He had been sorry when I quit Virginia Law School but told me that it might be a good thing to have a doctor in the family.  He believed that nothing was more important than providing for one’s family.  From Vic I got my competitiveness, and fondest memories of him are playing cards and such sports as wiffleball, basketball, and Ping Pong.

Paula Cooper was released from prison, 28 years after killing Ruth Pelke in Glen Park.  The story was carried on CNN and in the Huffington Post and was the lead story in The Times.  Former Lake County prosecutor, who had sought the death penalty for her, said he now opposes capital punishment and hopes Paula will contribute to society.  Sister Rhonda Labroi told an AP reporter, “She was just a child at the time [the crime] happened, and now she is an adult and people should wait and see and give her a chance.”  Let’s hope so. Rhonda predicted she’ll do fine.  Bill Pelke flew in from Alaska but remained out of the limelight although he planned to buy her a computer and take her to lunch when the publicity surrounding her release dies down.

Nicole Anslover’s students enjoyed “The Graduate” starring Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock and Anne Bancroft as the lecherous Mrs. Robinson.  I had forgotten that Buck Henry co-wrote the screenplay plays the hotel clerk where the odd couple carry out their affair after Mr. Robinson, smoking a big cigar, advised Ben to “sow some wild oats.”  Director Mike Nichols’s wife Elaine May and Richard Dreyfuss also made cameo appearances.  The 1967 flick ages better than contemporary period pieces “East Rider,” “Alice’s Restaurant,” and “Midnight Cowboy,” which seem quite dated, but I was surprised how unsympathetic I found any of the characters.  While Benjamin knew he wanted to escape from the world of plastics, he seems clueless as to what he wants to do ion the future besides marry Mrs. Robinson’s daughter Elaine.   The sex scenes are rather tame compared to present-day movies, but there was a shot of a strip club performer swinging her boobies right above Elaine’s head.  The Simon and Garfunkel musical score was quite impressive, especially “Sound of Silence.”

As a primary document a student suggested a YouTube clip of Buffalo Springfield singing “For What it’s Worth” on the Smothers Brothers show.  Stephen Stills wearing a cowboy hat looks very innocent, while Neil Young has weird sideburns.  After the line “There’s a man with a gun over there telling me I got to beware,” the camera pans to Tommy Smothers pointing a gun at the band.  Nicole is very supportive of students. One, wearing a cool t-shirt proclaiming, “I’m glad I’m not the man I used to be,” brought in a cartoon about Watergate that obviously postdated the Sixties, but Nicole mentioned that the credibility gap started with LBJ and that Vietnam led to presidential abuses culminating in Watergate.

A student claimed that Robert Redford had wanted to play Ben.   After class I emailed Nicole: “Benjamin seemed much less sympathetic than I remembered.  The bus ending was fitting and reminded me of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters' bus, the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus, and the bus ride in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.’  Imagine Robert Redford as Ben.  Maybe he'd have enjoyed the sex with Mrs. Robinson more without the phony guilt and appreciated what she gave him rather than call her disgusting.  Let's hope Ben turned out like Dustin Hoffman in ‘Meet the Fockers,’ a hippie swinger married to a sex therapist like Barbra Steisand.”  She replied: “I had not made those connections with the bus. Cool!  It's been really great having you come to class --you have really added to our discussions. I have been watching all of these movies with new eyes. It is really interesting to hear/see the students’ reactions.  For some reason I kept thinking of ‘Meet the Fockers,’ too. And I had no idea that Redford wanted the part. The movie would have lost a lot without Hoffman, and I really doubt we'd still be watching it.”

As Obama is in Northern Ireland meeting with Vladimir Putin and other G8 world leaders, a story is circulating about New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft losing his Superbowl ring during a 2005 meeting in St. Petersburg.  He claims he took it off to show it to Putin, and the Russian leader pocketed it.  Putin’s spokesman asserts that Kraft offered it to Putin as a gift.  The ring is on display in the Kremlin library, along with other gifts Putin has received.  Pressed on the issue, Kraft now claims he just tells the theft version for laughs and loves the fact that the ring is at the Kremlin.

In 1824 John Adams chided Thomas Jefferson for hiring European professors to teach at the University of Virginia, claiming there were perfectly competent Americans.  Correspondence between the two Founding Fathers tailed off after Adams’s son John Quincy became President, clearly not Jefferson’s preference.  Jon Meacham’s recent biography of Jefferson is the subject of July’s book club meeting.  The presenter will be George Van Til, featured in Sunday’s Post-Trib and under federal indictment for allegedly having staff members do campaign work (what officeholder doesn’t?).  Someone with a grudge against him must have pestered the U.S. Attorney’s office until he opened an investigation.  What a waste of taxpayer money.