Night Watchman

 "If you should ever doubt that a series of dry words in a government document can shatter spirits and demolish lives, let this book erase that doubt. Conversely, if you should be of the conviction that we are powerless to change those dry words, let this book give you heart.”  Louise Erdrich, "The Night Watchman"

Liz Wuerffel participated in a YouTube initiative called “Q Read” in which Valpo residents shared information on books that they were reading.  Liz said she normally reads just one book at a time, but being at home during the pandemic, she’s reading one during the day and another at night. She just finished a new novel, “The Night Watchman,” by Louise Erdrich, whose mother was from a Chippewa tribe.  Its about the Turtle Mountain People who during the 1950s fought against government attempts to terminate their tribal lands, a practice the Trump administration is currently pursuing against the Mashpee Wampanoag People whose plans for a casino evidently irked some of the President’s wealthy donors. Erdrich wrote: “The government acted like Indians owed them something, but wasn’t it the other way around?”

Wuerffel also recommended “Living and Dying on the Factory Floor” by David Ranney, an Urban Planning professor who spent seven years (1976-1982) working in industrial factories in Northwest Indiana and the South Side of Chicago.  A union electrician friend turned Liz on to the book.  During the 1970s Ranney left his tenured position at the University of Iowa because he was a committed socialist who believed, in his words, that “a new society could be built from the initiatives of mass organizations at the workplace.”  Many leftists whose views were similar to Ranney’s moved to Gary at that time and worked to make the steelworkers locals more democratic, inclusive to women and minorities, and environmentally conscious.  Several became close friends.  After watching Liz on YouTube, I expressed a desire to read” Living and Dying on the Factory Floor.”  It arrived in the mail the following day, along with a nice note.

During our present crisis when poor people living from paycheck to paycheck have been especially hard hit and the executive branch of government is seemingly unconcerned over the fate of common people, Liz Wuerffel also posted interviews with homeless people in Valpo that appear on the Welcome Project.  In “We Were Them” a victim recalled:

    When we were living out of our vehicle, necessity drove us to have to go here and go there.  We would park in the Walmart parking lot through the night for sleeping, because we knew they had restroom facilities we could use. And when you live like that, you start meeting other people in a similar circumstance. And I was astounded at the number of people; typically, if you saw them, you wouldn’t even know that they’re suffering in this way. And they’re all around us. We were them, you know, and I never understood any of this. But I got a pretty good grasp of it now.

    What I’ve learned is that life is not a straight line. There’s curves, turns, and you even go back upon yourself many times. And it’s easy to get lost, to take one misstep, to take one wrong turn: left, when you should’ve gone right. And, so, to stereotype all these people, and say they’re this, this, or this — I can’t tell you how wrong that is. Bad things happen to good people, and it ain’t through no fault of their own. It’s life. And I’ll never hesitate to help somebody up after this.

ESPN moved up the date of the first two parts of its 10-hour documentary on Michael Jordan to Sunday due to popular demand during a sports-starved time. I watched a four-hour “30 on 30” show about Michael Vick, who revolutionized the NFL quarterback position by rushing for a thousand yards starring for the Atlanta Falcons for six years after being drafted in 2001 but then was imprisoned for having a dog-fighting ring on his property.  Coming from the Newport News, Virginia projects (like NBA star Alan Iverson), Vick was unwilling to break from childhood friends who took advantage of his generosity and did not have his best interests at heart. The documentary explains that betting on dog fights was common in his old neighborhood tolerated by the police and comparable to cockfighting among Latinos and horse racing for the elite (at least in the eyes of some African Americans).  When police caught one of Vick’s “posse” with marijuana who gave his address as Vick’s estate, law enforcement authorities used that as an excuse to search the entire property.  After serving most of his 23-month sentence, Vick hired crisis manager Judy A. Smith (role model for the main character in the TV show “Scandal”) to help convince society that he was truly contrite.  Ever since he has worked diligently with the Humane Society and community groups. With the help of coach Tony Dungy and Philadelphia quarterback Donavan McNabb, he returned to the NFL and was Comeback Player of the Year with the Eagles.

I’ve been enjoying Acquire games on line and with Charlie Halberstadt’s patient help trying to master playing bridge.  I watched “Bull Durham” (1988) for the first time in 30 years.  Sexy Susan Sarandon plays Annie, a minor league baseball groupie who loves season-long romantic flings and quotes Walt Whitman and William Blake (she teaches English at a local college). The film opens with shots of photos in Annie’s home of slum kids playing stickball, Jackie Robinson stealing home and Pete Rose sliding head first, Babe Ruth at the twilight of his career, Fernando Valenzuela’s eyes almost disappearing upward as he winds up, and 3 foot, 7-inch Eddie Gaebel at the plate in his only major league appearance (he walked on four pitches for Bill Veeck’s St. Louis Browns).

In the wake of Trump refusing to keep funding the World Health Organization all three major networks aired a show featuring big name musicians to raise money and awareness of the need for cooperation during the Covid-19 pandemic.  On piano Lady Gaga led off with the classic ballad “Smile.” Other inspirational numbers included “Lean on Me” by Stevie Wonder” and “Stand By Me” by John Legend. Elton John ("I'm Still Standing"), Jennifer Lopez ("People"), and the Rolling Stones (connected by Zoom) did "You Can't Always Get What You Want"); my favorite performance was Shawn Mendez and Camila Cabello doing “What a Wonderful World.” Paul McCartney chose to do “Lady Madonna, appropriate in view of poor people hurt particularly hard by the economy grinding to almost a halt:

    Lady Madonna, children at your feet
    Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
    Who finds the money when you pay the rent?
    Did you think that money was heaven sent?

    Friday night arrives without a suitcase
    Sunday morning creeping like a nun
    Monday's child has learned to tie his bootlace
    See how they run

    Lady Madonna, baby at your breast
    Wonders how you manage to feed the rest