Ain't No Better

“You’ve heard the news

An awful lie has been told to you

You’re the best thing in town – no lie can hold you down

So keep your silence, the truth is bound to turn things around.

We all know – ain’t no better than you!”

         Hollis Donald, “Ain’t No better Than You”

Ain’t, frowned upon in polite circles, is short for am or are not.  Midge (my mother) loathed the contraction as a sign of being poorly educated, but, like many postwar suburban wives, she was unduly influenced by etiquette books. I was constantly reminded to keep my elbows off the table, and drinking soup straight from the bowl was a definite taboo.  When greeting a stranger, one should say the meaningless phrase, “How do you do?”rather than the more natural, “Pleased to meet you.”  I could go on and on.

Jack Lynch in “The Lexicographer’s Dilemma” called ain’t “the most stigmatized word in the language,”  but it can be useful when employed for rhetorical effect.  The word can be found in many songs, including two favorites, “Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.  Elvis Presley sang the lyric, “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog,”and Clarence “Frogman” Henry lamented, “Ain’t got no home.”  Presley once philosophized, “Truth is like the sun.  You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.”Depression-era pitcher Dizzy Dean once said,“I lot of people who don’t say ain’t, ain’t eatin’.”  Sojourner Truth made this point at a Woman’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, in May 1851:

 And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

 Sojourner Truth, circa 1870

A New York Times crossword puzzle asked what Senate Majority Leader succeeded Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee who had graduated from Harvard Medical School.  Answer: Nevada’s Harry Reid after Democrats won control of the Senate as a result of the 2006 election and served eight years until succeeded by present Majority Leader Mitch “The Bitch” McConnell.

The “Momma Mia!” sequel, “Here We Go Again,” had great Abba numbers that made up for the schmaltz, maudlin parts, and a whacky timeline. Cher, playing Donna’s grandma, belted out the Abba hit “Fernando” and looked fabulous.  Meryl Streep came back from the dead to reprise a couple songs as well. Sad to see fewer than a dozen others in attendance at the Michigan City AMC Showplace.  Will theaters go the way of video stores, I wonder, now that most everything is available on cable.

Hazel Hannell, "Dunes - Winter Day" (1959) 

 

Leafing through a 2017 “Sand and Steel” Brauer Museum exhibit catalogue, I was struck by the vividness of “Dunes – Winter Day” (1959), a watercolor by Hazel Hannell, who lived for 50 years in Furnessville, now part of Chesterton. Along with husband Vin (also a painter), she was active in Save the Dunes Council and traveled to Washington, D.C., with founder Dorothy Buell to lobby Congress on behalf of preserving the Indiana dunes.  Still painting when she turned 100, Hazel Hannell died at age 106 while living in Oregon with longtime dunelands artist Harriet Rex Smith.

In “The Destiny Thief” Richard Russo recalled being on a Bulgarian talk show when the band, knowing he was a Springsteen fan, played “Land of Hope and Dreams” from the 2012 “Wrecking Ball” album, in Russo’s opinion, perhaps the greatest anthem of his lifetime.  Recalling that “The Boss” had helped a weary nation get through the Vietnam War, the AIDS epidemic, and the World Trade Center attack, Russo teared up when the singer from Sofia came to these stirring words::

Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunder's rollin' down this track
Well, you don't know where you're goin' now
But you know you won't be back . . .

This train carries saints and sinners

This train carries losers and winners

This train carries whores and gamblers

This train carries lost souls . . .

Big wheels roll through the fields where sunlight streams

On meet me in a land of hope and dreams.

I said this train, dfeams will not be thwarted,

This train, faith will be rewarded,

This train, steel wheels singin’

This train, bells of freedom ringing.”

In the Post-Tribune was a photo of VU History professor Heath Carter, chairman of Valparaiso’s Human Relations Council, being wheeled across Lafayette Street by 11-year-old son Isaiah in an experiment to test accessibility of local businesses for disabled residents.  Carter told reporter Becky Jacobs: “Downtown is an older part of town. From the sidewalks to the entrances, things are tight.”  He added that it is daunting to realize what wheelchair-bound people have to go through  to get to a store or restaurant. Some have outside seating that make it too narrow for wheelchairs get by. 

Javier Baez is having an MVP season.  Today against the Padres, “El Mago” (the magician) hit a home run and triple and made a great throw home to nail the potential tying run. Games don’t get much better than that, nor the meal Toni made of ribs, rice, salad, and corn on the cob for Dave’s forty-ninth birthday. For a second birthday celebration the following evening at Kevin and Tina Horn’s, Toni made mango salsa with scallops that was so good it took all my will power not to devour more than my share.  

At Kevin and Tina's: Toni, Dave, John, Jimbo, Kris, Becca 

original section of Overseas Highway

At Kevin and Tina’s, daughter Kaela talked about seeing Bruno Mars at Lollapalooza and John English, about to embark on a trip to Key West, discussed being fascinated with the life of financier Henry M. Flagler, responsible for building a railroad line to Key West, which some branded “Flagler’s Folly.” Even though damaged beyond repair during the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, the roadbed and bridge became the foundation for the Overseas Highway, which was eventually abandoned after a new highway opened in the 1980s. Dave was grieving over a friend in critical condition after being a hit-and-run victim and two former students who died, one at a railroad crossing and another caught in a crossfire of bullets.  

Peggy Hinckley, emergency manager for the Gary schools has approved the auctioning off of 78 items, including Chicago sculptor Emory P. Seidel’s bust of former School Superintendent William A. Wirt.  After protests by historians Ronald Cohen and Kendall Svengalis and others, Councilwoman Rebecca Wyatt, chair of the council’s art, culture and history committee got the online auction postponed at the last minute by unearthing a legal requirement that Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson be notified at least 30 days prior to property being sold.  At the time, bidding on the bust had reached $6,000.  Wyatt told Post-Tribunecorrespondent Carole Carlson, “We don’t want to sell off our history. The historical  significance is more valuable than any money brought in.”  While the mayor expressed the view that historical artifacts should be preserved and not auctioned off, so far she has not taken action and the online bidding is continuing.

 English professor Carolyn Boiarsky

At an Open House celebrating the life of Historian Lance Trusty were several of his former Purdue Calumet colleagues that I recognized, including Bernie Hollicky, Naomi Goodman, and Marcia Gaughan.  English professor Carolyn Boiarsky solicited my advice about researching the history of land use in East Chicago, and I told her to check out city directories that she could find in East Chicago.  I told Jan Trusty that I considered Lance a mentor when it came to researching Region history and speaking to community groups.  She replied that Lance had respected my work and that their library contains many Steel Shavingsissues.

Kaylan Zimny, a 2016 Hobart H.S. grad and IUN Elementary Education major, kept a journal as a class assignment. Here are excerpts:

  February 26, 2018:I hope to teach second or third grade because those students are generally enthusiastic about learning new things.  If I’m not studying, I am probably working at Subway in Hobart or hanging out with my boyfriend of 3 years. 

  March 11, 2018:Scheduled begin to work at 6 a.m., I forgot we lost an hour because of daylight saving time and was 10 minutes late. Good thing the big boss wasn’t there. We were so busy, the lines were out the door.  That evening, my boyfriend and I went to Cappos, an Italian restaurant that makes the best pizza around. We decided to visit Indianapolis and Brown County during spring break. When we got back to his house, we researched places to stay and things to do during the trip. 

  March 12, 2018:My boyfriend and I went to Denny’s for breakfast and then to the grocery store for food for our trip. We got granola bars, muffins, cereal, frozen pizzas, hot pockets, and sandwich makings. We plan to go to the Indianapolis Zoo and do hiking and fishing in Brown County. At home I packed and played Uno, which is very competitive in my family, before going to bed early because we’re leaving tomorrow.

  March 13, 2018:I woke up at 6 and picked up my boyfriend at 6:30. After loading my car with luggage, we went to get coffee and breakfast sandwiches from Dunkin Donuts before we hit the road. The drive to Indianapolis went by quickly, and we got there too early to check into our Airbnb. Instead, we walked around downtown and got lunch at Buca di Beppo, an amazing Italian restaurant.  At the Airbnb, there was a lockbox under the porch with a key to the house. The owners had left breakfast foods, and the house was very tidy and homey. After a romantic dinner at St. Elmo Steak House, we relaxed the rest of the night. 

  March 14, 2018:  The Indianapolis Zoo was very well kept and the animals all looked healthy. My favorite part was the dolphin show. We stayed at the zoo all day, so we were exhausted when we got back to our place. 

  March 15, 2018:  We woke up a little later than we hoped, but, hey, vacations are for relaxing. The drive to Brown County only took about an hour. We rented this beautiful cabin in the woods (again from airbnb) with a private fishing pond in the back. It was raining, so we decided to stay in and watch movies. We foolishly watched Cabin in the Woods, which terrified me because we were literally in a cabin in the woods. 

  March 16, 2018:  At the pond we caught about 5 fish each and made a frozen pizza before we went hiking. Brown County State Park has many amazing trails to pick from. You would never have guessed that this was Indiana, there were so many hills. It was absolutely breathtaking. As the sun was starting to set, we made spaghetti and relaxed in the hot tub. 

  March 17, 2018:  In Brown County, an entertaining St. Patrick’s Day Bash took place at the Seasons Lodge and Conference Center.  I wore a green dress, while my boyfriend wore a green shirt and black pants. It very different than what we would have done in Chicago. 

  March 18, 2018:We woke up early enough to see the sunrise just over the pond while in the hot tub, a nice way to end our trip. After driving almost 4 hours, we finally made it home. 

  March 24, 2018:My boyfriend and I went to Fair Oaks Farms, a fun place for all ages, and did the Pig Adventure. I never knew how huge pigs could get! The baby pigs were so cute I wanted one.  Before we left, we had delicious chocolate milk and ice cream. 

  April 1, 2018:My boyfriend and I went to Easter church service and ate with our families afterwards.  We found an old dying kit and colored Easter eggs with a Star Wars theme; mine was R2D2 and his was Chewbacca. Then, we had a mini Easter egg hunt.

  April 7, 2018:For was my sister’s 13th birthday, I took her and friends to a hotel with a swimming pool for the night. After having cake and saying Happy Birthday, they all wanted to do “makeovers.” Little did I know they’d brought makeup and wanted to practice on me.  It was a disaster that took about 30 minutes to remove from my face. 

  April 14, 2018:My friend Hannah invited a bunch of us to her family’s lake house in Michigan for  her birthday. We fished and it was a very fun getaway with my girls.

  April 21, 2018:My boyfriend and I started planning a summer trip to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania to go white water rafting and hiking. Since my boyfriend loves the Steelers, we’ll stop in Pittsburgh and eat at a Steelers-themed restaurant.