“At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped in clover the night I looked at you.”
“At Last,” Etta James
At La Porte Civic Auditorium granddaughter Becca won the prestigious Hoosier Star competition in the youth division after nailing her interpretation of the Etta James standard “At Last” with a maturity beyond her years. You rarely hear love songs anymore as beautiful as “At Last.” Literally hundreds of contestants tried out for Hoosier Star, and the five finalists included entrants from La Porte and nearby New Prairie who had large numbers of fans in the audience, so I had not expected Becca to emerge victorious despite her awesome performance. Runner-up was Ella Moon, who sang “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys. Favorite Jamileh Cornejo sang “Nessum Dorma” from the Puccini opera “Turandot.” In the adult division winner Joe Stewart got a standing ovation after belting out Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One” and showing off a mean falsetto. Crowd-pleaser Billy Cox, whose large contingent of raucous fans, some holding signs with blinking lights, were near us, came on stage in jeans and cowboy hat holding a drink and performed Eric Church’s “Drink in My Hand.” La Porte Symphony Orchestra provided the instrumentation. I recognized emcee Jeremiah Mellon from his starring as Quasimodo in the Memorial Opera House production of “Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
above, Becca's reaction to winning; below, James, Dave, Becca, Angie
Etta James (1938-2012) was born in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and became one of the greatest blues singers of all time. In addition to “At Last” her hits included “Something’s Got a Hold on Me,” “Tell Mama,” and “I’d Rather Go Blind,” co-written by Ellington Jordan and Gary native Billy Foster, her partner at the time. Etta sang backup vocals on the Chuck Berry hit “Back in the U.S.A,” and other Chess Records Rock ‘n’ Roll hits. Beyoncé portrayed her in “Cadillac Records” (2008) based on the Chicago independent label that released most of her albums, and sang “At Last” at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, a fitting tribute to America’s first black president. At last, indeed! Though suffering from early dementia, Etta believed she could have sung it better. Perhaps they should have done it together.
Nina Simone
Sometimes I confuse Etta James, whose given name was Jamesetta Hawkins, with Nina Simone (1933-2003), whose bluesy style was more heavily influenced by jazz and whose image was more militant. In 1965 Simone recorded her most popular hit, “I Put a Spell on You,” first released as a rhythm and blues tune by “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins. Simone participated in civil rights marches and added protest songs to her repertoire during the tumultuous 1960s. She recorded “Mississippi Goddam” after civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered”; it includes such lyrics as “This whole country is full of lies/ you’re all gonna die and die like flies” and “You don’t have to live next to me/ just give me liberty.” A line in “Baltimore,” written by Randy Newman, goes, “Ain’t it hard to live? Just to live?” Cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib called Nina Simone proud and fearless, writing:
I came of age during a time when I was constantly reminded of the darkness of my skin, the width of my nose, the size of my lips. I am similar to Nina Simone in this way.
It would be ironic if Simone will be remembered mainly for her rendition of “I Loves You, Porgy.” Abdurraqib, who will be speaking at IUN next month, concluded:
I have been thinking about how I learned to write, to tell the stories I have, largely at the feet of black women who then became ghosts – ghosts by death, or ghosts by erasure of their living contributions, and sometimes both. I think of Nina Simone’s legacy, and I see the legacy of so many black women I know, who have had their work reduced by all of the hands that are not their own. Today, movements are stolen and repackaged with faces America finds more palatable.
Jesse Harper at Popcorn Festival 5k run; South Shore Roller Girls looking for "fresh meat"
I missed this year’s Valpo Popcorn Fest parade and concert, but the main stage headliner, Max Weinberg, former E Street Band drummer and “Tonight Show” band leader, wasn’t as enticing as usual. I was delighted to find Facebook parade photos of Democrats, including city council candidate Liz Wuerffel, behind a Bill For Mayor banner touting candidate Bill Durnell. Liz’s partner Allison Schuette took a great shot of the South Shore Roller girls, on the prowl for “fresh meat” (as the expression in their sport goes) and looking hot! hot! hot!
Toni and I attended a memorial celebration to honor the memory of Shirley Dick, who passed away recently on her sixty-ninth birthday after a brave battle with cancer. It was held at the Hobart VFW post, where Shirley had tended bar. I talked at length with her just last month at James’s graduation party. Sons Kevin and Tom and daughter Michele shared fond memories, as did grandkids Kylie and Nick. Michele had written this message during Shirley’s final hours:
Well you made it to your birthday mom. I know we only have some hours left with you. I wish for your birthday this year no more pain. Thank you for giving us one more birthday with you. I hate this so much. I want to wake up from a bad dream. It’s not real. But as I stay awake watching you it is so real. You are an amazing mom and grandma and sister and an aunt and a friend. You have been there for me through so much. We were partners. I love you so much.
Kevin and Dave’s high school friend Tony Spencer came in from Lubbock, Texas, for the occasion, and we recalled LINT concerts and parties at our Maple Place abode, as well as Bob Knight’s seven-year coaching career at Texas Tech after IU fired “The General” for laying hands on players and critics. I spoke to the daughter of Chris Lugo, whom I used to bowl with, and her daughter Angel, a PhD candidate in psychology at Adler University in Chicago. I first met Angel at Cressmoor Lanes when she was about 2 and mistook her for a boy. She gave me a dirty look, so I made certain never to repeat the mistake and to learn her name. I saw her a few times at Inman’s where James and her brother, now a varsity baseball player at Andrean, bowled. Angel has blossomed into a lovely, self-assured young adult, studying to become a substance abuse counselor (she used the euphemism substance use disorder).
I was delighted to find a 1953 photo from IUN’s Calumet Regional Archives collection of band leader Ken Resur at a Buffington Park event in John and Diane Trafny’s “Downtown Gary, Millrats, Politics, and US Steel,” as well as one of a “Bug Abatement Parade” sponsored by the City of Gary to promote an insect and mosquito eradication program. Known as Gary’s original “Music Man,” Resur began a 35-year teaching career at Froebel in 1928 and within a year expanded the orchestra from 37 to 108 members. Under his direction the Froebel band won many competitions, including the Chicago World’s Fair Century of Progress parade in 1933. For 27 years Resur also directed U.S. Steel’s Carillco Band. Resur’s final 15 years were at Horace Mann, where in 1963 his crowning achievement was the Mann marching band winning the World Band Contest in Milwaukee against 107 other entrees.
Trump has been taking heat for lying about Hurricane Dorian hitting Alabama, but the greater obscenity is his total lack of compassion regarding victims in the Bahamas. Ray Smock wrote:
Trump just trashed the people of the Bahamas by saying there are bad people there that should not be allowed in without documentation. Only people with documentation will be let into this country. What if their documentation blew away in the storm or is under ten feet of water? What if their house and all their papers are gone? What if they have only the clothes they are wearing? Trump has no human compassion whatsoever and he likes to take it out on dark skinned people. This cannot stand.
Jimbo Jammers garnered a record (for me) 156 points during the first week of fantasy football and only came out with a tie. In fact, it took a last-second 58-yard field by Saints kicker Wil Lutz to avoid losing to Pittsburgh Dave Lane. The closest any other team to us was Phil with 133 points. Going into Monday night just 8 points ahead and facing no. 3 draft pick Alvin Kamara, I was pessimistic. Lutz’s final field goal had to be more than 50 yards or else I’d have lost, and it took a desperation pass by Drew Brees to put him in position for his unlikely boot.
Wayne Wylie
I shed tears when I got the news from his son that old buddy Wayne Wylie passed away. Growing up, he was one of my closest friends. I’d stay at his farmhouse overnight; we’d go out into the field on a plow, pick corn, and his mom would serve the ears for dinner, with me eating at least three or four. In sixth grade Wayne was probably a foot taller than I, but the disparity in size never mattered. At our reunion 24 years ago, I got him to dance with me to the Ramones’ “I Wanna be Sedated.” Wife Fran told me afterwards that Wayne never danced and that she couldn’t believe I got him to agree to it. Up until recently we’d talk on the phone, reliving memories of the characters we knew at Fort Washington School. Classmate Connie Heard Damon wrote:
Wayne was one of my earliest friends since we started in First Grade at Jarrettown Elementary School and went through 12 years of school together. I remember Wayne coming to my house for my 8th birthday party. I have a photo of all of us in the backyard. Wayne was the tallest and came dressed in a suit! I still have the little stuffed elephant he gave me for a gift. I also remember going to a Halloween party held in his barn in Jarrettown. It was the first time I ever heard of (and played) "Spin the Bottle."
Connie’s comment was one of 15 Facebook replies to my post, as well as 12 Love, 11 sad, and 10 Like emojis. 
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