The Phoenix Suns have decided to wear “Los Suns” on their jerseys tonight for their NBA game against San Antonio as a way of honoring Latinos on Cinco de Mayo and as a protest against a recent Arizona law that seemed aimed against Hispanics. Owner Robert Sarver came up with the idea and got approval from all the players. Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory by Mexican forces over French troops in the 1862 Battle of Puebla.
I tried to read Gore Vidal’s novel “Duluth” but found it too convoluted. The author puts the Minnesota city next to the border with Mexico, and when characters die, they come back to life either as characters in books or on TV shows. The book is meant as a satire, but his stereotypes of Mexicans and African Americans are demeaning and not funny.
I voted in the Democratic primary yesterday in Porter County. Most Democrats, including Judge Julia Jent, were running unopposed. The races I really cared about were for Lake County sheriff and judge. My guys, Ligon and Dominguez, lost but both did much better than most people expected.
My talk to the Hobart Kiwanis went well. About 40 people were in attendance, including the woman from whom Toni and I bought our house. At the end I got six people to read paragraphs of Ryan Maicki’s “Bad Seed,” including Judge James Moody, former mayor Linda Buzenic, and former students Jeff Renn and Fred McColly. Fred looked great and said he’d lost 30 pounds by changing his eating habits. Mayor Brian Snedecor said he hoped I’d follow up on doing a Shavings issue on the social history of Hobart and offered his help if I did so. After I mentioned Hobart Jaycee Fest, someone mentioned that he had met his wife there. Afterwards, Jeff emailed me: “You did an awesome job and I know already that everyone really liked you. If you ever want to come back and just come to a meeting or join the club, let me know. They would love to have you. Once again thank you so much for your time and for everything else over the course of the past 5 years (teaching me).” I got laughs when I said that Ryan would have been here to read it himself but he was teaching school. I amended my remarks several times and in the end didn’t use notes because I virtually had everything memorized. Here is the final version:
I want to tell you about a magazine I edit dealing with the social history of the Calumet Region. Steel Shavings started out in connection with having students do family oral history projects and then publishing the best of them. Such an assignment can also help students learn about local and national events. Most articles focused on the immigrant experience since few Region residents have been here more than three generations. One early issue focused on Latinos. Others centered on themes within specific time periods, such as Depression experiences, WW II Homefront activities, the Postwar Age of Anxiety, Relationships between the Sexes during the Teen Years of the 1950s, and Racial Tensions during the 1960s. I have edited special issues on Portage, Cedar Lake, and Gary, with the dominant emphasis being family life and social change over time. I’m seriously thinking of doing one on Hobart.
I consider myself first and foremost a Social historian and am interested in such things as sports, work experiences, school experiences, popular culture, fads and fashions, and leisure activities of young and old. One of my favorite articles, in fact, was about a Hobart student’s grandparents who were really into square dancing.
Starting about ten years ago, I gave students the option to write about themselves, looking back on memorable moments as well as keeping journals highlighting day-to-day activities (everything from working out to making out, from body piercings to line dancing). Many had to balance school, work, and family obligations. The journals provided insights into what I call the contemporary history of adolescence although, I hasten to add, at IUN there also were many nontraditional students writing about the perils of married life, encounters with death and illness, and other life-altering events. One article, entitled “Emptying Nest,” dealt with taking one’s youngest child off to college.
During the 1990s Dorothy Ballantyne and Elin Christianson of the Hobart Historical Society edited two delightful volumes about growing up in Hobart. David Dunning recalled skinny dipping during the 20s in Duck Creek and Lake George. Ada Easton remembered wearing a long Indian dress at Campfire Girl outings. William Fowble watched silent cartoons at the Strand Theater listening to Ted Coons play the pipe organ. Dorothy Ballantyne heard the blind and deaf Helen Keller speak at a school auditorium. She got to school in a horse-drawn bus and was one of 27 high school students in the class of 1927. While most of these reminiscences are about the so-called “old days,” it is just as legitimate to record for posterity recent history.
If I were putting together a Shavings issue devoted to social life in Hobart, one subject could be how Lake George has changed over time (some residents refer to B.S. and A.S. – before silt and after silt). Another might explore the evolution of bowling alleys. At Cressmoor Lanes, where my team is in the Gary Sheet and Tin league, teams once tipped pinsetters by putting a dollar bill in one of the bowling ball holes at the end of the night and keep score themselves without the aid of a computer. Other Hobart institutions deserving of coverage include the YMCA (my son Phil met his future wife there), July Fourth parades and fireworks displays (I’ve attended many), the unique Art Theater, whose longtime owner was quite a character, and Hobart’s bar and restaurant scene (Rosie O’Grady’s, that grand old dive, is now Cagney’s). I’d love to see a history of the Hobart Jaycee Fest where in the Strack and Van Til parking lot I have seen Blue Oyster Cult, Cracker, the Smithereens, and Joan Jett perform, as well as my son’s band Voodoo Chili. Just last week I passed Hillman Field, where I played many a softball game, on my way to a tennis match at the new high school, whose athletic facilities are awesome.
Stories about Hobart’s social scene have appeared in most Steel Shavings issues. In the Nineties volume, entitled “Shards and Midden Heaps” (a phrase borrowed from my favorite Region author Jean Shepherd) eight pages alone are devoted to Brickie Pride, the football program under Coach Don Howell and three humorous remembrances of high school days. I’d like to conclude with excerpts from one of them, Ryan Maicki’s “Bad Seeds.”
Showing posts with label Jeff Renn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeff Renn. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
I Do, I Do
Toni and I saw the play “I Do, I Do: A Musical about Marriage” on Saturday evening with the Hagelbergs in Munster. Beforehand, we ate at a nearby Mediterranean restaurant (Mishkenut) run by Palestinians that served delicious food at very low prices (my shish kabob was $10,99 and could have been enough for two. The place doesn’t serve liquor, so I wonder if they’ll make it financially. My back was really sore, so I wasn’t very good company. I noticed the radio was on near the kitchen, and I heard familiar songs by Owl City and Phoenix. The station was probably WXRT. “I Do, I Do” was witty and kept me awake most of the time. It had a cast of just two and just one set – a bedroom, living room and focused on married life episodes over a half-century, beginning in 1895. The songs were snappy although none was memorable with the possible exception of “My Cup Runneth Over.” On Google I learned that it opened on Broadway in 1966 and starred Mary Martin and Robert Preston (the “Music Man” guy who sang “Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana”). Most of the audience was older than me probably and very appreciative.
Got in seven board games at Dave’s on Sunday. My two victories were both in St. Petersburg, which until recently Tom Wade dominated. Dave won three games, including Air Lords, invented by a friend of ours who changed the rules several times in an effort to get it marketed. We like the original version best, however, and have a homemade board so we can play it. Dave put the Cubs game on, a rout of the Brewers to complete a three-game sweep in Milwaukee. In a bold and somewhat desperate move manager Lou Paniella has moved Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen to be a set-up man. So far, so good.
Wrote down some things to include in my Wednesday talk to the Hobart Kiwanis, to wit: Steel Shavings magazine started out in connection with having students do family oral history projects and then publishing the best of them. Most articles focused on the immigrant experience since few Region residents have been here more than three generations. One early issue focused on Latinos. Others centered on themes within specific time periods, such as Depression experiences, WW II Homefront activities, the Postwar Age of Anxiety, Relationships between the Sexes during the Teen Years of the 1950s, and Racial Tensions during the 1960s. Doing family histories can teach students about both local and national historical trends. I have edited special issues on Portage, Cedar Lake, and Gary, with the dominant emphasis being family life and social change over time. Social history encompasses sports, work experiences, school experiences, popular culture fads and fashions, and leisure activities of young and old (i.e., square dancing), and I have put out issues on all those subjects. Starting in the 1990s I gave students the option to write about themselves, looking back on memorable moments as well as keeping journals of day-to-day activities (everything from working out to making out). These stories often provided insights into what I call the contemporary history of adolescence although at IUN there also were many nontraditional students writing about the perils of married life and encounters with death and illness. One article, entitled “Emptying Nest,” dealt with taking one’s youngest child off to college.
If I had a future issue devoted to the social history of Hobart, one subject could be how Lake George has changed over time. Another could explore how bowling alleys have evolved. At Cressmoor Lanes, where I bowl in the Sheet and Tin league, players used to keep score themselves and tip pinsetters by putting a dollar bill in one of the holes at the end of the night. Other topics deserving of coverage include July Fourth parades and fireworks displays, the unique Art Theater, and Hobart’s bar and restaurant scene (Rosie O’Grady’s is now Cagney’s). I’d love to see a history of the Hobart Jaycee Fest where in the Strack and Van Til parking lot I have seen Blue Oyster Cult, Cracker, the Smithereens, and Joan Jett perform, as well as my son’s band Voodoo Chili. Stories about Hobart social activities have appeared in most issues. In the Nineties issue, entitled “Shards and Midden Heaps” (a phrase borrowed from my favorite Region author Jean Shepherd) there are eight pages alone devoted to Brickie Pride, the football program under Coach Don Howell and three humorous remembrances of high school days. I’ll conclude by persuading six people to read excerpts from Ryan Maicki’s humorous remembrances of his high school days, entitled “Bad Seeds.” Volunteers will get to keep a copy of the issue.
Jeff Renn, who invited me to speak to the Kiwanians, is one of my favorite former students. Going into his final year, he was the second leading scorer on IUN’s basketball team. Then some really talented players were recruited, and Jeff was happy letting others take most shots so long as it helped the team. He’s a real class act and invited Toni and me to his graduation party at the Patio. I invited Fred McColly to be my guest and read part of Ryan’s “Bad Seeds” when I talk to the Kiwanians. His latest Facebook message deals with a story that made yesterday’s news shows. He writes, “Eggs and smoke bombs in the Ukrainian parliament over an extension of the Russian lease on the naval base at Sevastopol...I have to admire their editorial elan...perhaps bottle rockets in the imperial Senate would enliven public interest in the legislative process here.” One Ukrainian legislator was fending off eggs with an umbrella.
Finished Anne Tyler’s “Noah’s Compass” – the title is from a question Liam’s young granddaughter asks him about Noah’s Ark. Noah didn’t need a compass because he really wasn’t going anywhere, just trying to float above water. As in many of Tyler’s books, the main male characters are less interesting than the women in their lives. Finished it and picked up Kurt Vonnegut’s 1997 novel “Timequake,” in which people (including one of the author’s doppelgangers, Kilgore Trout) are thrust back in time ten years and doomed to repeat every thing they did once again. Vonnegut claims ‘Timequake” would be his final novel since at 74 he was way past his prime and with his older brother having died, “Now I don’t have anybody to show off for anymore.” Vonnegut constantly belittles those with literary pretensions and writes: “If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don’t have nerve enough to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts.” At one point in this semiautobiographical novel he writes: “You want to know why I don’t have AIDS, why I'm not HIV-positive like so many other people? I don’t fuck around. It’s as simple as that.”
I have two new Facebook friends, Lorraine Todd-Shearer and Colin Kern. I was surprised but pleased that they requested hooking up with me. Lorraine is married to former Voodoo Chili drummer John and is one of my favorite dance partners. She is always upbeat and fun to be with. She was at Marianne’s Superbowl party and had dinner with Dave, Darcy, Marianne, and me prior to the Steely Dan concert a few months ago. Colin is the son of friend and former colleague Paul Kern. I knew him when he was a kid and would talk to him at some length when he’d answer the phone when I called Paul. He is a graduate student at the University of Delaware, where I once applied for a teaching position. The school is a traditional rival of Bucknell, where I was an undergraduate. I applied for a job there, too, and never heard back from the History Department. I had sent them copies of my books “Jacob A. Riis and the American City” and “City of the Century” and told them they could donate them to Bucknell’s library when they were through with them. Some months later, the librarian wrote me a note thanking me for the donation. Looking back, I am glad I stayed at IUN.
Got in seven board games at Dave’s on Sunday. My two victories were both in St. Petersburg, which until recently Tom Wade dominated. Dave won three games, including Air Lords, invented by a friend of ours who changed the rules several times in an effort to get it marketed. We like the original version best, however, and have a homemade board so we can play it. Dave put the Cubs game on, a rout of the Brewers to complete a three-game sweep in Milwaukee. In a bold and somewhat desperate move manager Lou Paniella has moved Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen to be a set-up man. So far, so good.
Wrote down some things to include in my Wednesday talk to the Hobart Kiwanis, to wit: Steel Shavings magazine started out in connection with having students do family oral history projects and then publishing the best of them. Most articles focused on the immigrant experience since few Region residents have been here more than three generations. One early issue focused on Latinos. Others centered on themes within specific time periods, such as Depression experiences, WW II Homefront activities, the Postwar Age of Anxiety, Relationships between the Sexes during the Teen Years of the 1950s, and Racial Tensions during the 1960s. Doing family histories can teach students about both local and national historical trends. I have edited special issues on Portage, Cedar Lake, and Gary, with the dominant emphasis being family life and social change over time. Social history encompasses sports, work experiences, school experiences, popular culture fads and fashions, and leisure activities of young and old (i.e., square dancing), and I have put out issues on all those subjects. Starting in the 1990s I gave students the option to write about themselves, looking back on memorable moments as well as keeping journals of day-to-day activities (everything from working out to making out). These stories often provided insights into what I call the contemporary history of adolescence although at IUN there also were many nontraditional students writing about the perils of married life and encounters with death and illness. One article, entitled “Emptying Nest,” dealt with taking one’s youngest child off to college.
If I had a future issue devoted to the social history of Hobart, one subject could be how Lake George has changed over time. Another could explore how bowling alleys have evolved. At Cressmoor Lanes, where I bowl in the Sheet and Tin league, players used to keep score themselves and tip pinsetters by putting a dollar bill in one of the holes at the end of the night. Other topics deserving of coverage include July Fourth parades and fireworks displays, the unique Art Theater, and Hobart’s bar and restaurant scene (Rosie O’Grady’s is now Cagney’s). I’d love to see a history of the Hobart Jaycee Fest where in the Strack and Van Til parking lot I have seen Blue Oyster Cult, Cracker, the Smithereens, and Joan Jett perform, as well as my son’s band Voodoo Chili. Stories about Hobart social activities have appeared in most issues. In the Nineties issue, entitled “Shards and Midden Heaps” (a phrase borrowed from my favorite Region author Jean Shepherd) there are eight pages alone devoted to Brickie Pride, the football program under Coach Don Howell and three humorous remembrances of high school days. I’ll conclude by persuading six people to read excerpts from Ryan Maicki’s humorous remembrances of his high school days, entitled “Bad Seeds.” Volunteers will get to keep a copy of the issue.
Jeff Renn, who invited me to speak to the Kiwanians, is one of my favorite former students. Going into his final year, he was the second leading scorer on IUN’s basketball team. Then some really talented players were recruited, and Jeff was happy letting others take most shots so long as it helped the team. He’s a real class act and invited Toni and me to his graduation party at the Patio. I invited Fred McColly to be my guest and read part of Ryan’s “Bad Seeds” when I talk to the Kiwanians. His latest Facebook message deals with a story that made yesterday’s news shows. He writes, “Eggs and smoke bombs in the Ukrainian parliament over an extension of the Russian lease on the naval base at Sevastopol...I have to admire their editorial elan...perhaps bottle rockets in the imperial Senate would enliven public interest in the legislative process here.” One Ukrainian legislator was fending off eggs with an umbrella.
Finished Anne Tyler’s “Noah’s Compass” – the title is from a question Liam’s young granddaughter asks him about Noah’s Ark. Noah didn’t need a compass because he really wasn’t going anywhere, just trying to float above water. As in many of Tyler’s books, the main male characters are less interesting than the women in their lives. Finished it and picked up Kurt Vonnegut’s 1997 novel “Timequake,” in which people (including one of the author’s doppelgangers, Kilgore Trout) are thrust back in time ten years and doomed to repeat every thing they did once again. Vonnegut claims ‘Timequake” would be his final novel since at 74 he was way past his prime and with his older brother having died, “Now I don’t have anybody to show off for anymore.” Vonnegut constantly belittles those with literary pretensions and writes: “If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don’t have nerve enough to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts.” At one point in this semiautobiographical novel he writes: “You want to know why I don’t have AIDS, why I'm not HIV-positive like so many other people? I don’t fuck around. It’s as simple as that.”
I have two new Facebook friends, Lorraine Todd-Shearer and Colin Kern. I was surprised but pleased that they requested hooking up with me. Lorraine is married to former Voodoo Chili drummer John and is one of my favorite dance partners. She is always upbeat and fun to be with. She was at Marianne’s Superbowl party and had dinner with Dave, Darcy, Marianne, and me prior to the Steely Dan concert a few months ago. Colin is the son of friend and former colleague Paul Kern. I knew him when he was a kid and would talk to him at some length when he’d answer the phone when I called Paul. He is a graduate student at the University of Delaware, where I once applied for a teaching position. The school is a traditional rival of Bucknell, where I was an undergraduate. I applied for a job there, too, and never heard back from the History Department. I had sent them copies of my books “Jacob A. Riis and the American City” and “City of the Century” and told them they could donate them to Bucknell’s library when they were through with them. Some months later, the librarian wrote me a note thanking me for the donation. Looking back, I am glad I stayed at IUN.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Aylesworth Musical Program
Last evening I attended Aylesworth Elementary School’s spring musical program featuring international folk songs performed by second graders, including granddaughter Becca, who was really into it. The opening song, “What a Wonderful World,” set the tone and reminded me of excellent recorded versions by Louis Armstrong and Joey Ramone. Becca was one of four people selected to act out a Zimbabwe greeting song called “Sorida.” She told me afterwards that her favorite number was “Australia’s on the Wallaby.” The final part of the program featured fourth graders playing instruments called recorders, which were similar to flutes. The place was packed, and I noticed that Portage seemed much more diverse racially than when Phil and Dave were in school 30 years ago.
Radio sports jocks were salivating over all the stuff going on last night on TV, including the Black Hawks, the Bulls, the Cubs, the White Sox, and the NFL draft. I watched the anemic Cubs lose to the Mets but was happy my Philadelphia teams, the Phillies and the Flyers, won. Jamie Moyer, age 47, pitched great, and in hockey the Flyers took their initial Stanley Cup series from the Jersey Devils.
Between the road trip and work around the house my back has been bothering me, so this morning I paid a visit to chiropractor Manuel Kazanas, whose adjustments have been godsends on various occasions when I have thrown my back out. One time right before heading to Saudi Arabia for a three-week teaching stint I tried to get in too much yard work and could barely move until many worked his magic. I probably go to him no more than one or two times a tear, but he never pressures me to schedule a return visit.
WDRV (97.1, “The Drive”) has been playing classic rock songs from A to Z. On the way to Manuel’s I heard “Born to Be Wild” and “Born to Run.” After the adjustment I was back in the car and heard “The Boxer” and “Boys Are Back in Town.” Taking boxes for packing to the car, I discovered a slow leak in a back tire and got it fixed (it picked up a nail) for ten bucks (plus five dollar tip) at a place in Lake Station. WDVR was just starting on the C’s (“Cadillac Ranch”) by the time it was ready.
When I attend my fiftieth high school reunion in October, perhaps I’ll give a humorous talk on girls I had crushes on, starting with Judy Jenkins, Carol Schuman, and Pam Tucker. I originally thought I’d do the historian thing and sum up some of the key events that occurred during our senior year in politics (West Virginia primary), civil rights (sit-ins), world affairs (Castro), and popular culture (the twist). On the sports talk radio show “Mike and Mike” the two guys frequently use the term “man crush” to describe admiring someone excessively and wanting to be their friend (“Seinfeld” did an episode where Jerry had a man crush on Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez and was jealous when Keith wanted to have a date with Elaine). The guy in school I wanted so badly to be friends with was Dick Garretson, a great, zany guy. We were friends but I wasn’t as close to him as, say, Bob Reller or Buck Elliott was.
Former student Jeff Renn wants me to speak to members of the Hobart Kiwanis Club next Wednesday at 7:30 in the morning. I’m torn between a serious topic based on my Gary book or something spicier, such as “Social Life in Hobart,” featuring bars, July Fourth celebrations, bowling alleys, sports, high school high jinx, and the Jaycee Fest. I did something similar in Steve McShane’s class (see my February 26 blog called “Indiana History”) that seemed to work.
Radio sports jocks were salivating over all the stuff going on last night on TV, including the Black Hawks, the Bulls, the Cubs, the White Sox, and the NFL draft. I watched the anemic Cubs lose to the Mets but was happy my Philadelphia teams, the Phillies and the Flyers, won. Jamie Moyer, age 47, pitched great, and in hockey the Flyers took their initial Stanley Cup series from the Jersey Devils.
Between the road trip and work around the house my back has been bothering me, so this morning I paid a visit to chiropractor Manuel Kazanas, whose adjustments have been godsends on various occasions when I have thrown my back out. One time right before heading to Saudi Arabia for a three-week teaching stint I tried to get in too much yard work and could barely move until many worked his magic. I probably go to him no more than one or two times a tear, but he never pressures me to schedule a return visit.
WDRV (97.1, “The Drive”) has been playing classic rock songs from A to Z. On the way to Manuel’s I heard “Born to Be Wild” and “Born to Run.” After the adjustment I was back in the car and heard “The Boxer” and “Boys Are Back in Town.” Taking boxes for packing to the car, I discovered a slow leak in a back tire and got it fixed (it picked up a nail) for ten bucks (plus five dollar tip) at a place in Lake Station. WDVR was just starting on the C’s (“Cadillac Ranch”) by the time it was ready.
When I attend my fiftieth high school reunion in October, perhaps I’ll give a humorous talk on girls I had crushes on, starting with Judy Jenkins, Carol Schuman, and Pam Tucker. I originally thought I’d do the historian thing and sum up some of the key events that occurred during our senior year in politics (West Virginia primary), civil rights (sit-ins), world affairs (Castro), and popular culture (the twist). On the sports talk radio show “Mike and Mike” the two guys frequently use the term “man crush” to describe admiring someone excessively and wanting to be their friend (“Seinfeld” did an episode where Jerry had a man crush on Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez and was jealous when Keith wanted to have a date with Elaine). The guy in school I wanted so badly to be friends with was Dick Garretson, a great, zany guy. We were friends but I wasn’t as close to him as, say, Bob Reller or Buck Elliott was.
Former student Jeff Renn wants me to speak to members of the Hobart Kiwanis Club next Wednesday at 7:30 in the morning. I’m torn between a serious topic based on my Gary book or something spicier, such as “Social Life in Hobart,” featuring bars, July Fourth celebrations, bowling alleys, sports, high school high jinx, and the Jaycee Fest. I did something similar in Steve McShane’s class (see my February 26 blog called “Indiana History”) that seemed to work.
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