Decade's End

    “I expect the 2010s to be remembered as a political decade that spanned the gulf between President Barack “No Drama” Obama and President Donald “Mo’ Drama” Trump.” Clarence Page

Summing up the 2010s, Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page acknowledged the enormous influence of the internet, joking that the “decade that began with the birth of Instagram and ended with me still trying to figure out what Instagram is good for. (“Twitter for illiterates” sounds about right to me, although it does do a good job of distributing your neighbors’ vacation photos in a format you can conveniently ignore.)”

In Gary the decade ended with the death of five-time mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher and a change in leadership as Jerome Prince succeeded Karen Freeman-Wilson as Mayor. The incoming Mayor thanked his immediate predecessor for giving the city her best effort.  Of America’s first black mayor, Prince said:

Mr. Hatcher was operating with self-confidence, if not divine providence. His victory galvanized Black political aspirations throughout the nation, sparking a revolution. I pledge that every day when I go to and leave City Hall, I will pass his statue, think about it, and reflect on the greatness of an individual on whose shoulders I stand.

I emerged the champion of Lane Fantasy Football, edging Phil in the finale, as his stellar running back Dalvan Cook was unable to suit up and his replacement got only one point.  Phil sent this season wrap-up:

It was a classic between myself and Jimbo (the top two teams from the regular season) both scoring well. I got huge games from Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley, but Jimbo had his power trio of McCaffrey, Kelce and Kenyan Drake (nice pick-up on Drake, Jimbo). It came down to Monday night where I had two players but Jimbo had a 16-point lead.  It turned out Jimbo had points to spare as my Viking players stunk it up on Monday Night Football (final score 138-129). Congratulations Jimbo on a great win and a great season. A well-deserved Championship!

It was my second title.  My previous one occurred during Payton Manning's heyday.

I attended a Celebration of Life service at New Hope Church of God in South Haven for Charlotte Smith, bowling buddy Terry Kegebein’s mate for over 20 years.  Terry’s nephew, pastor Jason Kegebein, conducted the service, which began with a country version of “Amazing Grace” over a top-notch sound system and concluded with “Hallelujah.”  The most moving testimonial came from a tenant named Tricia, the only black women in the audience, who talked about how warm and caring Charlotte was, how she treated her eight-year-old daughter like a princess, and always complimented her numerous wigs.  Afterwards, sitting next to pastor’s assistant Don Sickles, who graduated from Portage the same year as Dave, I was invited to next Sunday’s service.

Anthony's 22nd birthday; gaming with family and friends

Since we celebrate Christmas a day late, folks began arriving at the condo on the afternoon of December 25 for tree decoration and the annual “March of Presents.”  My loot included a flannel shirt, slippers, jelly, Tasty Kake krimpets, and CDs by Lush and Weezer.  Among the two dozen guests that evening were Charlie Halberstadt with Naomi Goodman and Robert Blaszkiewicz with son Max. Robert’s “Best of 2019” CD contained songs by The Head and the Heart, Wilco, Flaming Lips, Robyn Hitchcock, Lizzo (who appeared on SNL with host Eddie Murphy) and 15 others, including Karen O and Danger Mouse doing “Starry, Starry Night,” which reminded me of the opening lines of Don McLean’s “Vincent,” about artist Vincent Van Gogh.  Hitchcock opened for Wilco recently in Chicago and together they did the Beatles numbers “I Am a Walrus.” 

Because Becca’s Chesterton Sandpipers group, sang the National Anthem beforehand, I attended an exciting Valpo-Loyola basketball contest.  Overcoming a double-digit deficit, VU apparently tied the game in the final seconds only to have the referees rule that star freshman Donovan Clay’s foot was on the three-point line and the basket was only worth two points.  Clay, from Alton, Illinois, had moved into James’s dorm room for a couple weeks when not getting along with his roommate and by all accounts is a nice guy.

 Donovan Clay 

Playing Ticket to Ride: Poland by Charles Halberstadt

I spent New Year’s Eve afternoon at Halberstadt Game Weekend, which had been in progress for five days, and won my favorite Ticket to Ride version, the Pennsylvania edition, involving stock buying.  I was fortunate that my destinations were in the north part of the state, cities like Erie, Tawanda, and Scranton/Wilkes Barre, while the other three players were competing for east-west track  between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  Jef showed me a Polish version of Ticket to Ride that one of his sons found on the internet.  Brady Wade, who works for Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, was about to travel with Tom and Darcey to Jacksonville, Florida, to root for IU in the Gator Bowl.  Supporters of Bernie Sanders have nicknamed the former South Bend mayor “Mayo Pete” to draw attention to his lack of support among African Americans.  Previously they went negative against Kamala Harris, and they’re starting to go after Elizabeth Warren.

Gaard Logan told me about former slave Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818-1907), a seamstress who in 1860 was able to buy her freedom.  In Washington, DC, she set up a business that attracted influential clients, including the wives of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.  She formed an intimate friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln, eventually moving into the White House as the First Lady’s official dressmaker.  In 1868 Keckley wrote “Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House.”

I rolled a 440 series, slightly above my average despite getting more splits than strikes.  The Electrical Engineers won two games and series despite Mike Vaught’s 259 in the rubber match.  Joe Piunti had a 497 series, over a hundred pins above his average. He credited eating a gummy bear with CBD oil prior to each game, which, he said, alleviated pain in his knees.

On TV over the holidays I watched an excellent Linda Ronstadt documentary and two excellent film, “Shadowlands” (1993) starring Anthony Hopkins as writer C.S. Lewis (I was about to recommend it to Toni, but then the strong woman character fell ill with cancer) and “I’m All Alone” (2013) in which Robert Redford struggles to survive after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. Reviewer Forrest Wickman analyzed its ambiguous ending:

 If you’re a pessimist, or perhaps just a realist, you might think that the main character’s final vision—of the flashlight shining down on him, and a hand reaching down into the water—is just a dying delusion, too good to be true. If you’re an optimist, you might take it all at face value: Redford’s character is literally saved. Or, if you’re religious, you might have a third interpretation: It’s not his dying delusion, but a true vision—he’s being pulled into the afterlife. In this reading, the unusual fade to white might represent something like an ascent to heaven.