Commitment

“I’ve never met anyone greater than my father, who had tremendous intelligence, dedication, and commitment.” Richard Gordon Hatcher

Samuel A. Love posted a photo of Mayor Richard Hatcher speaking at a 1970 antiwar rally in Marquette Park.  I showed Michael Bayer my Traces article on Hatcher’s father Carlton, entitled “Every Tub on its Own Bottom,” which pointed out what a remarkable person he was in his own right as well as how much of his grit and determination he passed on to his offspring.

Sam also found a 1953 photo showing black and white people at Miller Beach.  They weren’t there long before hecklers surrounded them and, in the absence of police protection, forced them to leave.  Blacks attempting to use the beach were still being hassled in the 1960s, with Gary police turning a blind eye to their predicament.

Another ten inches of snow kept us in most of the day, but Mike and Janet Bayer took us to Sage Restaurant just a couple blocks from the condo.  I was rather full from having a pot roast sandwich at lunch and settled for salad and chicken and dumpling soup (delicious).    I talked to the owner about a reservation for 16 in two weeks for Toni’s seventieth birthday.

In the Ayers Newsletter Judy included a recipe for Broccoli Risotto given to her by the owner of Locanda Paolo, located in Cancun, where they vacationed for two weeks for the past 30 years.  It includes beef and chicken broth, shallot, white wine, butter, olive oil, whipping cream, two types of cheese, and, of course, broccoli and rice.  A couple weeks ago I didn’t know what risotto was; now I seem to come across the word daily.

I watched IU defeat tenth-ranked Michigan thanks to Yogi Ferrell’s 27 points, including seven three-pointers.  Then it was off to Marianne Brush’s Superbowl party.  Ed, a young friend of Missy and Tyler, recognized me from when I spoke in Steve McShane’s class.  He said he wrote a paper on Quakers from this area.  We skipped most pre-game stuff (including obnoxious Bill O’Reilly’s interview with President Obama) in favor of highlights from the previous night’s SNL with Melissa McCarthy and Imagine Dragons performing “Radioactive,” with Kendrick Lamar like during the Grammys).  Marianne devised a Bingo game based on TV commercials.  I needed only a Fiat or Coors ad to win, but Toni triumphed when an H & M ad came on.  Neither of us had heard of the Swedish clothing company beforehand.  The Seattle rout was disappointing, given that I was rooting for Peyton Manning and the Broncos, but the halftime show with Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers was great and the food plentiful and excellent.

My favorite actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, is dead of an apparent heroin overdose.  Just 46 he was best known for portraying Truman Capote and a pedophile priest.  Dave’s favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman scene is from “Boogie Nights” when he kisses a friend and then, alone repeats the phrase “I’m a fuckin’ idiot” over and over.

Also in the news: Chris Christie’s staff is smearing a guy who claims the governor knew about the George Washington Bridge fiasco.  Now Christie is admitting he may have known about the lane closings but still denies ordering it.  Escaped murderer Michael David Elliot was sited buying gas in Indiana and apprehended near LaPorte.   Director Dan Heyns of Ionia Correctional Facility in Michigan said: “It appears he created a hole at the bottom of two perimeter fences and then crawled through those holes.”

Pam Broadaway’s Sunday phone announcement of upcoming events at Hobart’s Reiner Center included mention of my Tuesday talk on Vietnam veterans from the Region.  Steve and I plan to have breakfast before I go on at 11 o’clock.  During the Cold War the USSR supported wars of national liberation while the U.S. backed quislings and autocrats.

Henry Farag has a good ending for his musical “The Signal: a Rhapsidy” but worried he’d need to add too much extra material.  I suggested he simply introduce the number with the words, “Fast forward 20 years.”  “That’s why you’re my editor,” he said, warming to the idea.

 Roy Dominguez with Oscar Sanchez and Jeff Popka

In IUN’s library I spotted the new issue of Indiana Magazine of History.  On the cover, under “Reviews,” was “A Hispanic reformer in Lake County.”  Lo and behold, the book was Roy Dominguez’s “Valor.”  Reviewer F. Arturo Rosales, who lived in the Region during the 1970s before joining the History Department at Arizona State, praised Roy’s commitment to reforming local corruption.  Referring to Ron Cohen’s cover blurb, Rosales wrote: “His is truly a ‘rags-to-riches’ story, but this book’s account of his social and political mobility is not its most appealing part.  Instead, it is Dominquez’s upbeat and even optimistic outlook on the capacity for lasting reform in The Region that proves his most important contribution.”