Talked to Steve McShane about his students keeping journals. He thought the assignment would work better in the spring, so perhaps I’ll reprise what I did in 2003 and put together an issue entitled “Ides of March.” Dr. R.J. Bills phoned from Madison, Mississippi, requesting my latest Shavings. The former Gary resident received past issues from his daughter and read about volume 40 (the “Retirement Journal”) in the September 2010 issue of Indiana Magazine of History.
Professor Kenneth Kincaid is using “Forging a Community” in his course on Hispanics in America at Purdue North Central and wants me to speak on campus on October 28 as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. I suggested doing it with the Arredondos, and they liked the idea. So did Kenny, as he calls himself. The other main speaker, Valparaiso law professor Bernard Trujillo, will talk about immigration policy. I had suggested Sheriff Dominguez, but Kenny had already lined the person up. A Latin Americanist by training, Kenny seems enthusiastic about learning about Latinos in Northwest Indiana in general and “Maria’s Journey” in particular.
Toni found half-century old reel-to-reel tapes from our families when we lived in Hawaii (long distance telephone calls from Honolulu in 1965 were prohibitively expensive and reserved for only the most dire or special occasions) and from Bucknell fraternity brother Dick Jeary of a band called The Naturals. The threesome, playing at a Sigma Phi Epsilon Homecoming party, substituted suggestive lyrics to songs such as “Peanut Butter” and “Stick with Me Baby.” The threesome had that Everly brothers harmony sound and hailed from Dick’s hometown of Rochester, New York, I believe. Tome is checking to see if our old Panasonic model in the Archives takes an attachment that would convert them to regular audiotapes.
Helped Angie unload items from the old house. Back home, when I buzzed open the garage door, a chipmunk trapped inside scurried into a rolled up rug. Thought I had gotten rid of him but later spotted him scampering back into the rug. I lifted one side near the door, and out he went. Toni fears he’s looking for a place to spend the winter. He is cute.
On “Curb Your Enthusiasm” after seeing Larry sing “Sewanee River” at a karaoke bar, Mel Brooks impulsively offers him the starring role of Max Bialystock in “The Producers.” Larry subsequently manages to piss off a pregnant lesbian (suggesting the names Wang and Tang, a disabled man in a wheelchair (in a parking lot altercation), his agent’s wife (disparaging the shirts she designed), a doctor’s office receptionist (balking at signing in), a doctor (using his telephone while waiting for him to show up in the examination room), and Ben Stiller (refusing to shake his hand after Ben sneezed into it). The funniest gags, in fact, involved snot and drool. On YouTube were more than a dozen “Curb” bits, most showing run-ins Larry had with women or authority figures.
Bowled poorly and pulled a shoulder muscle midway through the third game. Gutted out a 178, and we had a chance to win after Melvie struck out in the tenth, but their clean-up guy doubled and Frank left a ten pin on a perfect hit or we’d have won. The original name for our team, dating back to 1950, was Test Engineers. Bill Batalis was a charter member and became captain in 1952. Bob Sheid noticed the back of my old Eagles softball shirt read “Doc” above the number 55 (my age in 1997, my final season) and asked why. Coach Terry Hunt, a student of mine, called me by my professional title, while a few others called me “Doctor J,” like with the incomparable Julius Erving. Most just called me Jimbo.
IU Northwest Chancellor William Lowe spent a good hour at the Archives with Steve, Librarian Tim Sutherland, Ron Cohen (my off-again, on-again co-director), and me. I think he was impressed with our show-and-tell performance. Maybe when he meets with the History department in a couple weeks or at the upcoming emeritus lunch I’ll urge him to persuade former Mayor Hatcher to do a course on Black Mayors with enough resources to bring some of them to campus. Discussing the origin of the word Hoosier, someone mentioned that during a bar fight during the pioneer era, someone shouted out, “Whose ear?”
Connie Heard Damon sent me a list of classmates planning to attend the reunion, including childhood friends Jay Bumm and Chris Koch, whom I haven’t seen since. “Jaybo” played drums at numerous parties and had an ancient “beater” car, while Chris was starting quarterback in tenth grade (Bobby Fad took over the job the following year) and was always good for laughs while driving around. To get to his house I’d walk across Fort Washington Avenue, pass through the Roberts front and back yard, go through a patch of woods next to the Bobby Gertsnecker’s, cross Summit Avenue, and I’d be there. Down the street was Joe Pollard’s house, while Jay lived a half-block away in the other direction. Connie’s list also included “Not heard from” (i.e., Rick Hoopes and Freddie Fluck), “Not coming” (including Gaard, Rel, and good friend Vince Curll), and “Maybe” (among them Suzi Hummel and Skip Pollard).
Connie told me that Eddie Piszek hasn’t been feeling well and gave me his cell phone so I gave him a call. We reminisced about playing Babe Ruth League ball on a team that Ronnie Hawthorne’s dad coached (Mr. Haw-thee-haw we called him). Eddie’s father started Mrs. Paul’s, lived on an estate, and had a chauffeur who took us to various functions before we could drive. Eddie said, “Remember how you, me, and Lee Shriner (a name I hadn’t thought of in 50 years) used to fight over Judy Jenkins?” I passed that line on to Judy, and she replied, “It’s nice to hear I had men fighting over me.” I responded: “Well, you had boys fighting over you, at any rate (the men came later).”
Voted by email to approve having the condo association pay handyman Jason a thousand dollars to fix woodpecker holes and rotting boards at numerous condo units. The landscapers who were supposed to install a window well still haven’t shown up.
The annual picnic took place in the Savannah Center gym. Years ago, it was an outdoor picnic, at places like Woodland Park and Hidden Lake with beer on hand as well as spouses and children. One year it took place at a water park. The food was great (hot roast beef sandwiches with all the trimmings plus vegetarian lasagna), and we didn’t have to wait until after openings remarks to be served like when Bergland was around. Chancellor Lowe introduced me to his attractive wife Pamela, and I suggested that after he gets settled he might consider putting together a readings seminar on Irish History (his field) open to both faculty and students. He chuckled but then said that every History curriculum should include Irish History. With Bruce gone, more faculty attended than in recent years, but many just ate and ran – some perhaps with one o’clock classes. Not much was going on other than calling out winning raffle numbers (prizes were tote bags filled with IU paraphernalia), but that might have been just as well because in past years loud music made conversation difficult. Chris Young and Jonathan Briggs introduced themselves to the Chancellor and invited him to lunch next Tuesday for guest speaker Paul Finkelman, who later in the day will be lecturing on “Fugitive Slaves and Undocumented Aliens: Is the Arizona Immigration Law a Replay of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?”
Showing posts with label Marisa Kwiatkowski Richard Jeary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marisa Kwiatkowski Richard Jeary. Show all posts
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Ready to Start
"Now I'm ready to start, my mind is wide open." Arcade Fire
Always think of colleague Rhiman Rotz, who died nine years ago, on Nine/Eleven. MSNBC replayed without commercials a “Today” show tape from nine years ago when the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked. Until the second plane struck, Matt Lauer and Katie Couric weren’t certain whether it was the work of terrorists or an accident. When the first tower collapsed, they were speechless for a couple seconds. People leaped to their death rather than be incinerated, but you can’t see it, nor was there mention of it during the telecast. Nobody knew the extent of casualties or that people on the upper floors had called their loved ones to say goodbye. On the way to class that morning I learned about the Flight 93 plane going down in western Pennsylvania, supposedly after passengers stormed their captors (one of them allegedly said “Let’s Roll”). Conspiracy theorists speculate that an American fighter plane shot it down, fearful that its destination was the White House. I talked to my students about previous shocks such as Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy assassination, even though what happened was unprecedented. One guy asked that I cancel class or put on the TV, and I responded that anyone could leave who so desired. At “Ground Zero” they still read off the names of the 2,700 casualties. Looking back, it’s inconceivable that 19 Arabs with knives could cause such carnage.
Inside Town and Country throngs were lined up waiting to meet Dan Hampton, a standout defensive lineman on the 1985 Bears, who went on to win the Superbowl under Coach Mike Ditka and defensive genius Buddy Ryan. “Danimal” looked tanned and handsome. He was among the players honored at Soldier Field on opening day. The Bears won when an apparent TD catch by Calvin Johnson was ruled incomplete due to an idiotic rule even though he had both feet down in the end zone and landed on his butt before the ball came out of his hand. The 1960 Eagles were honored prior to Philadelphia’s opener against Green Bay. Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin would be 90 if still alive. His favorite receiver, Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald, was one of 22 old-timers on hand, as was warrior Chuck Bednarik, who played center on offense and linebacker on defense. Thanks to a dorm-mate whose uncle was athletic director at Penn, I was at the 17-13 win over Vince Lombardi’s Packers. Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor near the goal line on the last play of the game. The current Eagles wore throwback uniforms but lost their QB Kevin Kolb to a concussion and the game by seven points despite heroics from Michael Vick (back in the NFL’s good graces after serving time for being connected to a dog-fighting ring). Redskins beat the hated Dallas Cowboys after an apparent last-second tying TD was called back because of offensive holding. My Fantasy opponent “Pittsburgh Dave” (to distinguish from my second born) had both quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson. Fortunately most of Houston’s 38 points came on the ground; at the end of the day I was only down eight points with both running backs still to play in Monday’s doubleheader.
The Vietnam novel “Matterhorn” dramatizes a fragging incident; soldiers kill an unpopular officer by throwing a grenade under his bunk while he is sleeping. At the end the main character realizes that the North Vietnamese won’t quit unless annihilated and that the war is hopeless. Seeking something more pleasant, I picked up Richard Russo’s “That Old Cape Magic” for a second read. The protagonist is the son of two English professors, serial adulterers who bemoaned being stuck at a Hoosier state university. I like that the chapters have titles such as “Slippery Slope” – a cliché I often use. Urged the Portage librarian she should order “Maria’s Journey.” She had seen the newspaper piece and wrote down the information.
Responding to Toni’s notice on the Internet about free appliances, two men carted away our old stove and washer, plus many logs for firewood. One with a full beard and hair longer than mine said he was helping his daughter get her life together. A woman took our old TV and converter box. Dave and Angie rented a U-Haul and with Tom Wade and John Teague moved the piano and other heavy items. The night before, I won both games of Inca Gold (which Jef Halberstadt taught us), which we taught to James and Becca, but got shut out during our normal rotation of Amun Re, St. Petersburg, Acquire, and Stone Age.
A Times article by Marisa Kwiatkowski called “Reality Stranger Than Fiction” documented wacky “off-the-wall” 911 calls. Panicked parents have sought help when willful children have refused to go to school. Police have dealt with runaway pigs, horses, and ostriches. Jackie Gipson, identified as an IU Northwest professor even though she quit in August (tired of departmental bullshit), told the reporter that people are more likely to ask for help in nonemergency situations when they have a positive image of law enforcement officers. On the other hand, she concluded, “Where you feel police show up and you are the target of harassment, you are much more reticent.” Jackie was a brilliant student who graduated from Valparaiso Law School before becoming a lecturer in the School for Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA).
Suzanna’s eye surgery was a success, and she went to a Blues Festival in Sharon, PA, which started out with a solemn 9/11 dedication. She recalled our going on roller coaster rides at ancient Willow Grove Amusement Park (it was around when my mother was a kid. Our boys liked to go to a place in Merrillville (was it called Merriland, I wonder?) that had little roller coasters.
Laughed during “Going the Distance” at the antics of the male lead’s buddies, played by Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, but the plot was pretty pedestrian and the sex jokes (involving dirty phone talk, pubic hairs on a dining room table, and dry humping) rather lame. Drew Barrymore, as always, was intriguing as Jason Long’s love interest and a “thirtysomething” trying to balance adult responsibility and remaining a free spirit. The granddaughter of actor John Barrymore, Drew was in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and has hosted “Saturday Night Live” six times, including in 1982 at age seven.
At the Patio to discuss the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, during a debate about whether the Senators were motivated by idealism or were corrupt, I argued that lawmakers did what was in their best political self-interest and defended Thad Stevens against those for claimed he was vindictive. Who wouldn’t be against rebels who caused a half million people to die and wanted to force freedmen back into virtual slavery. Ray Arredondo showed up and sold three copies of “Maria’s Journey,” which the group will discuss in March. On the way home, when the Ravens-Jets broadcast went to commercial, I heard Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start” on WXRT. It repeats the line over and over, “If I was yours, I would, but I'm not.” I only needed nine points to start the Fantasy season 1-0 but sweated out subpar performances by Ray Rice and Ryan Mathews barely won 65-62. Will need to do better next week against Pittsburgh Dave’s girlfriend Kira who has Aaron Rogers, Tony Gonzalez, and Anquan Boldin (on her bench but after last night’s showing ready to start).
Always think of colleague Rhiman Rotz, who died nine years ago, on Nine/Eleven. MSNBC replayed without commercials a “Today” show tape from nine years ago when the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked. Until the second plane struck, Matt Lauer and Katie Couric weren’t certain whether it was the work of terrorists or an accident. When the first tower collapsed, they were speechless for a couple seconds. People leaped to their death rather than be incinerated, but you can’t see it, nor was there mention of it during the telecast. Nobody knew the extent of casualties or that people on the upper floors had called their loved ones to say goodbye. On the way to class that morning I learned about the Flight 93 plane going down in western Pennsylvania, supposedly after passengers stormed their captors (one of them allegedly said “Let’s Roll”). Conspiracy theorists speculate that an American fighter plane shot it down, fearful that its destination was the White House. I talked to my students about previous shocks such as Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy assassination, even though what happened was unprecedented. One guy asked that I cancel class or put on the TV, and I responded that anyone could leave who so desired. At “Ground Zero” they still read off the names of the 2,700 casualties. Looking back, it’s inconceivable that 19 Arabs with knives could cause such carnage.
Inside Town and Country throngs were lined up waiting to meet Dan Hampton, a standout defensive lineman on the 1985 Bears, who went on to win the Superbowl under Coach Mike Ditka and defensive genius Buddy Ryan. “Danimal” looked tanned and handsome. He was among the players honored at Soldier Field on opening day. The Bears won when an apparent TD catch by Calvin Johnson was ruled incomplete due to an idiotic rule even though he had both feet down in the end zone and landed on his butt before the ball came out of his hand. The 1960 Eagles were honored prior to Philadelphia’s opener against Green Bay. Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin would be 90 if still alive. His favorite receiver, Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald, was one of 22 old-timers on hand, as was warrior Chuck Bednarik, who played center on offense and linebacker on defense. Thanks to a dorm-mate whose uncle was athletic director at Penn, I was at the 17-13 win over Vince Lombardi’s Packers. Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor near the goal line on the last play of the game. The current Eagles wore throwback uniforms but lost their QB Kevin Kolb to a concussion and the game by seven points despite heroics from Michael Vick (back in the NFL’s good graces after serving time for being connected to a dog-fighting ring). Redskins beat the hated Dallas Cowboys after an apparent last-second tying TD was called back because of offensive holding. My Fantasy opponent “Pittsburgh Dave” (to distinguish from my second born) had both quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson. Fortunately most of Houston’s 38 points came on the ground; at the end of the day I was only down eight points with both running backs still to play in Monday’s doubleheader.
The Vietnam novel “Matterhorn” dramatizes a fragging incident; soldiers kill an unpopular officer by throwing a grenade under his bunk while he is sleeping. At the end the main character realizes that the North Vietnamese won’t quit unless annihilated and that the war is hopeless. Seeking something more pleasant, I picked up Richard Russo’s “That Old Cape Magic” for a second read. The protagonist is the son of two English professors, serial adulterers who bemoaned being stuck at a Hoosier state university. I like that the chapters have titles such as “Slippery Slope” – a cliché I often use. Urged the Portage librarian she should order “Maria’s Journey.” She had seen the newspaper piece and wrote down the information.
Responding to Toni’s notice on the Internet about free appliances, two men carted away our old stove and washer, plus many logs for firewood. One with a full beard and hair longer than mine said he was helping his daughter get her life together. A woman took our old TV and converter box. Dave and Angie rented a U-Haul and with Tom Wade and John Teague moved the piano and other heavy items. The night before, I won both games of Inca Gold (which Jef Halberstadt taught us), which we taught to James and Becca, but got shut out during our normal rotation of Amun Re, St. Petersburg, Acquire, and Stone Age.
A Times article by Marisa Kwiatkowski called “Reality Stranger Than Fiction” documented wacky “off-the-wall” 911 calls. Panicked parents have sought help when willful children have refused to go to school. Police have dealt with runaway pigs, horses, and ostriches. Jackie Gipson, identified as an IU Northwest professor even though she quit in August (tired of departmental bullshit), told the reporter that people are more likely to ask for help in nonemergency situations when they have a positive image of law enforcement officers. On the other hand, she concluded, “Where you feel police show up and you are the target of harassment, you are much more reticent.” Jackie was a brilliant student who graduated from Valparaiso Law School before becoming a lecturer in the School for Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA).
Suzanna’s eye surgery was a success, and she went to a Blues Festival in Sharon, PA, which started out with a solemn 9/11 dedication. She recalled our going on roller coaster rides at ancient Willow Grove Amusement Park (it was around when my mother was a kid. Our boys liked to go to a place in Merrillville (was it called Merriland, I wonder?) that had little roller coasters.
Laughed during “Going the Distance” at the antics of the male lead’s buddies, played by Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, but the plot was pretty pedestrian and the sex jokes (involving dirty phone talk, pubic hairs on a dining room table, and dry humping) rather lame. Drew Barrymore, as always, was intriguing as Jason Long’s love interest and a “thirtysomething” trying to balance adult responsibility and remaining a free spirit. The granddaughter of actor John Barrymore, Drew was in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and has hosted “Saturday Night Live” six times, including in 1982 at age seven.
At the Patio to discuss the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, during a debate about whether the Senators were motivated by idealism or were corrupt, I argued that lawmakers did what was in their best political self-interest and defended Thad Stevens against those for claimed he was vindictive. Who wouldn’t be against rebels who caused a half million people to die and wanted to force freedmen back into virtual slavery. Ray Arredondo showed up and sold three copies of “Maria’s Journey,” which the group will discuss in March. On the way home, when the Ravens-Jets broadcast went to commercial, I heard Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start” on WXRT. It repeats the line over and over, “If I was yours, I would, but I'm not.” I only needed nine points to start the Fantasy season 1-0 but sweated out subpar performances by Ray Rice and Ryan Mathews barely won 65-62. Will need to do better next week against Pittsburgh Dave’s girlfriend Kira who has Aaron Rogers, Tony Gonzalez, and Anquan Boldin (on her bench but after last night’s showing ready to start).
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