Suckers

“Never give a sucker an even break,” W.C. Fields

In addition to being slang for a lollipop and used to describe someone easily duped, sucker refers to an organ found in numerous species for the purpose of holding or sucking, in the case of female mosquitoes, the blood of humans, for nutrients needed for their eggs.  Mosquitoes’ mouth or proboscis consists of thin needles that pierce the skin and take nourishment from blood vessels.

David Quammen’s essay in New York Review of Books, titled “Suckers,” asserted that mosquitoes have changed the course of history and that almost half the human beings who ever lived succumbed to malaria or other diseases spread by these deadly insects.  Passing on information gleaned from Timothy C. Winegard’s “The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator,” Quammen wrote:

If Alexander the Great hadn’t died of malaria in the sumpy outskirts of Babylon, on his way to Arabia and North Africa (and Gibraltor and Europe?) in 323 BCE, the Western world and its history might look much different. If the Visigoth king Alaric hadn’t succumbed to malarial fever in the autumn of 410 CE, after sacking the city of Rome but not gaining control of Italy, who knows?  If the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II hadn’t croaked suddenly at age 28 of the same inescapable ailment, just short of consolidating the Germanic tribes in 983, maybe Voltaire would have grown up speaking German. If Oliver Cromwell hadn’t suffered malaria unto death in 1658, because he was too stubbornly Puritan to take quinine, a remedy associated with Jesuits, then what? No Stuart restoration, possibly no more British monarchy ever?

Mosquitoes played a critical role in the colonization of the Americas and the enslavement of Africans, as well as the outcome of conflicts. During the Civil War, for example, General U.S. Grant’s army had ample amounts of quinine while Confederate soldiers did not.

Years ago IUN historian Rhiman Rotz and biologist Bill May team-taught a course called Microbes in History. Both were excellent instructors, and I recall how excited Rhiman would get (we shared adjacent offices) talking about the readings for upcoming classes. How I wish I’d audited them.  After he died in 2001, we kept a file draw containing his lecture notes, but I fear they disappeared in the subsequent departmental moves (from Tamarack to Lindenwood to Hawthorn to the Arts and Sciences Building).

In the Journal of American History Dennis Deslippe reviewed Timothy J. Lombardo’s “Blue-Collar Conservatism,” about Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo.  Capturing City Hall in 1971, the former police commissioner served two terms used thuggery and law and order rhetoric geared to whites resentful of civil rights activists and affluent liberals.  One of Rizzo’s many provocative sayings was that “a liberal is a conservative who hasn’t been mugged yet” and “a conservative is a liberal who got mugged the night before.”  Deslippe wrote:

The central actors in the book are the city’s white skilled workers in trades and construction, and white police and fire fighters.  These unionized, relatively high-paid workers had some security in a city with an increasingly weak industrial employment sector. Their work was a cultural touchstone for neighborhood stability and a sense of masculine respectability amid the rapid social changes of the period.  Rizzo’s stock rose as affirmative action threatened to undo the tradition of family and co-ethnic recruitment to these positions.  Challenges to police practices came under fire from civil rights supporters and civil liberty allies during the 1960s.  

During the 1970s, Toni’s family came to visit most summers.  After we exhausted sight-seeing in Chicago and dunes excursions, we took Toni’s mother Blanche, sister Mary Ann, and brother-in-law Sonny to places in Gary.  We had just gotten onto a City Hall elevator when Mayor Richard Hatcher joined us.  He greeted us warmly and asked where our visitors were from.  Hearing Philadelphia, he said, “Oh, Frank Rizzo’s city.”  I knew Sonny admired Rizzo and that Hatcher certainly did not and was thankful that an argument didn’t break out.

 Richard Hatcher and Vernan A, Williams

The Gary Crusader devoted an entire issue to honoring the late Mayor that included scores of photos and tributes from civil rights and political leaders. Gary Roosevelt grad Vernon A. Williams called Hatcher “a man among men, a public service icon,” writing:

  His first year in office was festive.  Curtis Mayfield penned the hit song
“We’re a Winner” to capture the historic moment.  Gary Roosevelt won its first state basketball championship and with Black and Gold colors, Mayor Hatcher instantly became an honorary Panther as he led the celebration in the parking lot of City Hall.

  That summer, this cool young, smart new mayor brought a concert to Gilroy Stadium that included Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five,  I remember taking a photo of the mayor working the crowd in his Nehru suit and sunglasses.

 Tito Jackson at West Side by Kyle Telechan: below, Horseshoe groundbreaking

Three Jackson brothers, Tito, Marlon, and Jackie, were in town to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Horseshoe Casino near the Borman Expressway.  They found time to attend a West Side Leadership Academy student production featuring dance, voice, and theatrical skits.  Taylor Iman got a hug after his group sang the Jackson 5 hit “I’ll be There.”

I joined Banta Senior Center in Valpo ($24 for six months) because I’ll pay two dollars less each time I play duplicate bridge there.  Another perk is a well-stocked library (mainly novels but with plenty of biographies) where one simply borrows a book on the honor system and returns it at his leisure. I found humorist Dave Barry’s “I’m Not Taking This Sitting Down” (2000), which begins by explaining the title as mainly an excuse to put a toilet on the cover.  The first chapter describes appearing on Bill Maher’s talk show “Politically Incorrect,” where guests are encouraged to express strong opinions, and being yelled at by singers Vicki Lawrence and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. My bridge partner Mary Kocevar (a life master with over 500 master points) and I finished first out of 12 couples with a 61.48%.  Next week, Barbara Walczak is arranging a celebration for Joe Chin, who became an Emerald Life Master, accumulating an amazing 7500 master points - about 7440 more that I.

 Terry Bauer, Mary Kocevar, Carol Miller, Chuck Tomes

At Village Tavern in Porter I met former Porter Acres softball buddies Dave Serynek and Sam Johnston.  We lamented the passing of old teammates and retold stories about our championship season, parties at Porter Acres motel, and a group vacation in the Bahamas.  I see David at book club when he’s not in Florida.  He grew up in Glen Park not far from IUN’s present location.  In fact, he recalled taking a running start and diving into the Gleason Park wading pool when the matron wasn’t looking and a black family being told to leave when they had the temerity to show up with young kids.   Our waitress complimented Sam’s sweater; he responded that all his clothes were from Goodwill.  “Even your underwear,” she asked.  “Since you asked, they’re  from a dollar store, but I paid two dollars for them because they’re extra-extra-large,” he replied.  

As always  at such reunions, we told anecdotes about Ivan Jasper and Tom Orr, the heart and soul of Porter Acres.  On one occasion, they returned from the Virgin Islands, where they had moved in the early 1980s, with two Swedish beauties.  All four stayed several days with Dave, then Sam, and finally with us at our Maple Place home.  Before moving away, Ivan had gotten rid of many possessions, including a  softball shirt I inherited with the name “Ivan” and the number 0 (zero) on the back.  One evening I gave it to the blond with Ivan and suggested she wear it to bed.  The next day, to my surprise, Ivan was not pleased, as he and Tom were expecting to part ways with the women once the trip ended. 

From a previous reunion get-together at Village Tavern I knew to leave my coat in the car (no big deal because the temp was in the upper 40s). Smoking is still allowed inside, and plenty of the blue-collar  lunch crowd were puffing away, including one person with a portable oxygen device. Arriving home, I stripped off my clothes in the garage and jumped in the tub with my hair still smelling like smoke.

 Ben Studebaker

The father and son combination of Paul and Ben Studebaker delivered the Saturday Evening Club talk on the subject of climate change, Ben from a political point of view and Paul as an engineer.  They began by announcing that climate change is real and they weren’t going to debate it but instead deal with what can be done.  During my allotted time afterwards, reiterating that the crisis requires worldwide cooperation, I noted that 100 years ago, Woodrow Wilson attempted to form a League of Nations strong enough to deal with worldwide problems but couldn’t even convince the U.S. Senate to ratify the Versailles treaty – shades of Trump’s head-in-the-sand global-warming denials. Franklin Roosevelt helped establish the United Nations Organization in 1945, but Cold War realities kept it weak so its true potential was never reached. Ben will soon defend his PhD thesis at the University of Cambridge, and we compared notes on how the procedure differed from what I went through at Maryland.  While my final defense, arranged by adviser Sam Merrill, was largely pro forma, Ben indicated that Cambridge candidates are often required to make significant revisions. Bummer!

In Memoriam

“Police opened fire on a parade of striking steel workers and their families at the gate of the Republic Steel Company, in South Chicago. Fifty people were shot, of whom 10 later died; 100 others were beaten with clubs.”  Dorothy Day

police go on rampage during 1937 Memorial Day Massacre

I mourn for all the soldiers who lost their lives protecting America’s freedoms, Paul Curry, who died of the coast of Vietnam, and all the labor militants who sacrificed to help gain a living wage and safety protections for their comrades.  As is his annual tradition, former rank-and-file union stalwart Mike Olszanski reminded Facebook friends of the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre at Republic Steel.  He wrote: “SWOC, Lodge 1010 lost four members at the Memorial Day Massacre: Alfred Causey, Earl Handley, Kenneth Reed, and Sam Popovich. John Sargent, several times president of Local 1010, was there and survived to tell us about it.”  

I received this inquiry from Margaret Ford: 

My paternal grandfather, Joseph Zolondz, was killed at U. S. Steel in Gary in the early 1940’s when a tornado blew in and severely damaged a smokestack (chimney).In all there were four men killed that day. My mother told me the story. She said she knew my dad and his  family, but they were not married at the time. One of my brothers saw the plaque at the steel company with the men’s names on it, but I am unable to find a story on it. My grandfather and the family lived in New Chicago, Indiana at the time, and my dad had seven siblings. How do I go about finding information about my grandfather’s death? I live in Granger, IN, but have siblings still in the region. Any help would be appreciated.

I responded: “I don't know about the incident to which you refer, but you might contact Steelworkers Local 1010 (Gary Works) or 1066 (Gary Sheet and Tin) depending on where he worked.  Also Marc Chase of the NWI Times  may know something or inquire in a column if anybody recalls it.  Let me know if you find out anything.”

 Danica Patrick crash; below, Jerry Trump

Danica Patrick, participating in her final Indianapolis 500, crashed into the wall on Turn 2 of Lap 68.  In the stands, Packers QB Aaron Rogers watched.  Post-Tribcolumnist Jerry Davich wrote about 80-year-old Crown Point resident Jerry Trump, who attended “The Race” for the 70^thstraight time.  When his dad first took him in 1949, the trip took over five hours because I-65 didn’t exist. He recalled that the 1951 winner was driven by Lee Wallard and owned by Murrell Belanger, who had a Crown Point Chrysler dealership.  Jerry’s worst experience was in 1973. Salt Walther crashed and was badly burned on the first lap; then rain postponed the action for two days and shortened the race on the third after 133 laps.

 Linda Teague and Angela Lane

Linda Teague passed away; daughter Angie wrote this touching notice:

We lost my mom, Linda Teague, yesterday and we dearly miss her today and always. She fought a long hard battle with ALS, and was able to overcome obstacle after obstacle so that she could still be a part of our lives but her body finally couldn't take it anymore even though her mind was willing. Although we knew this day would come, it doesn't make it any less difficult and I wish she could have stayed with us longer. But, I know that she is at peace now and no longer in pain. She was a wonderful mom and grandma and she will live in our hearts forever. Love you Mom! XOXO

I first met Linda when she worked at the Kmart in Miller.  After it closed down, she became an A student at IUN and received a Bachelor’s degree in Allied Health with a specialty in Medical Coding.  Despite the ravages of ALS – during the past year she could communicate only by blinking – she lived to see grandkids James and Becca mature into talented and personable young adults.

photo above by Miranda, below by Alissa  (of Miranda, Carly, Jimbo, Josh)

Carly and Miranda at Krka National Park

Alissa, Josh, Miranda and friend Carly spent the night before catching flights to London.  Final destination for Alissa and Josh was Valencia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.  Miranda and Carly were headed to Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the Adriatic.  Josh has been listening to Spanish music and plans on visiting Madrid for a live concert.  One reason Miranda selected Dubrovnik is because scenes from Game of Throneswere filmed there.  Also, it’s just a day trip to the waterfalls at Krka National Park.  Phil, meanwhile, is in Long Beach, where in 1986 Toni and I attended an Oral History Association conference on the RMS Queen Mary, converted to a troop transport ship during World War II.  In 1967 the Cunard Line retired the Queen Mary after a voyage from Southampton, England to Long Beach, where it remains permanently moored.

Laura Dern starred in the harrowing HBO film “The Tale,” a true story written and directed by Jennifer Fox, about a 13-year-old sexually abused by a female riding instructor and male track coach. Fox began examining her past after her mother, played by Ellen Burstyn, came across an eighth grade paper she’d written titled “The Tale.”  In the biopic we learn that this odious behavior was common practice for the two coaches.  When they wanted to involve the 13-year-old in a four-way with a collegian, she rebelled and broke off further contact.

A conversation with a high school classmate got me thinking about my 12th grade homeroom at Upper Dublin in Mrs. Margaret Davis’ large Home Economics classroom.  It contained folks I’d once been friends with but whom I’d drifted apart from due to the school’s academic tracking system. I was particularly fascinated by Italian-American Marianne Tambourino, who talked like the girls on American Bandstandfrom South Philly, exotic, tan-skinned Charmayne Staton, who was every guy’s fantasy, and red-haired Gaard Murphy from Maine, who sported a deep New England accent.  I was somewhat of a class clown, hoping to get their attention.  I gave and received back rubs from some of the girls at day’s end but don’t think I worked up the nerve to approach Marianne, Charmayne or Gaard.  In my 1960 yearbook Marianne wrote: “To a very nice boy who made my homeroom bearable.”  So, who knows, maybe I rubbed her back.  Charmayne died young.   I’ve been friends with Gaard since the 1980 reunion and Marianne since our fiftieth in 2010.

I recall Buck Elliott saying that Mrs. Davis had a great figure.  Previously, I hadn’t noticed, but after that, I enjoyed getting a rise out of her.  Each student was required to take a two-week turn doing the morning Bible reading.  Every day I read the same verse, Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, beginning, “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for you shall find it after many days” and ending with “in the morning sow thy seed,”which I found to be risqué.   Nobody seemed to notice.  The verse is from a letter by King Solomon of Israel, son of David and Bathsheba, advising sinners that generosity and hard work will in time be rewarded.  In my yearbook Gaard wrote: “Be good to your teachers.  Think of what you did to Mrs. Davis.”  Her best friend Linda Rutherford, no doubt dating college upperclassmen by then, wrote: “To a nice boy who can really be a pest.  I’ll never forget Ecclesiastes in homeroom.”  At our fiftieth reunion, I apologized to Music teacher Mr. Foust for my at times unruly behavior.  He replied, “Oh, you weren’t so bad.” I’m certain he experienced much worse.

I spoke to Steve McShane’s students about their oral history assignment: to interview a bowler.  My main point was that memories are tricky and so follow-up is important.  One student interviewed her 93-year-old grandmother and got her aunt to provide details on things granny was fuzzy on.  Citing my own experience, I initially had no recollection of bowling with my family or being in a youth program but did recall asking Vic how he did when he’d come home from bowling, incidentally smelling like cigars (the only other time the “Old Man” smoked cigars was playing poker).  He carried an average in the 180s and threw a ball that started near the right gutter.  The only way I could have known that was to have bowled with him.  In high school I’d outbowl most of my friends, and that must have been from having experience.  While dating, Toni and I bowled on a team with two others, but I can’t recall who they were or where the alley was.  We went to an establishment in Maryland that to our amazement used miniature balls and short, squat duckpins.  I suggested students inquire about the history of their subjects’ leagues.  My Sheet and Tin League at Cressmoor Lanes once consisted entirely of steelworkers.  Our present league, Mel Guth Seniors, is named for a bowler who recently died.  Previously, it was similarly  named for Rob Tucker, Sr.

ABC cancelled the sitcom Roseanne after Roseanne Barr tweeted a racist comment about former senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarret, calling her an offspring of the Muslim brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes.” Barr attempted to claim that she was on Ambien and wrote: “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me - my joke was in bad taste.”  Ray Smock wrote:“Trump weighs in on Roseanne firing by demanding that ABC apologize to him!”  Matthew Simek responded:“Where is the vomit emoji when you need one?”  On “Full Frontal” comedian Samantha Bee is under fire for calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless cunt.”  She has also apologized and so far hasn’t been taken off the air, despite howls from Fox commentators.  In “For America” from the 1986 “Lives in his Balance” album Jackson Browne sang this final verse:

The kid I was when I first left home
Was looking for his freedom and a life of his own
But the freedom that he found wasn't quite as sweet
When the truth was known
I have prayed for America
I was made for America
I can't let go till she comes around
Until the land of the free
Is awake and can see

              And until her conscience has been found

Terry Bauer, back left; Yuan Hsu front middle

Dee Van Bebber and I finished third in duplicate after being mostly on defense.  Terry Bauer reported on competing in the Grand National Team Finals in Southfield, Michigan, with Taiwanese native Yuan Hsu, who used a strong Club precision bidding system developed in Taiwan and now very popular among experts that Terry normally does not play. Teammate Mike Brissette told Newslettereditor Barb Walczak that Terry played above his potential, gained a lot of insight and was “a big nuisance against the precision players.”  I told Terry about flying to Taiwan after a month in Hong Kong.  He said his daughter will be moving to Honk Kong soon.  “You’ll have to visit her,”I interjected.  “I’m planning to,” he replied.

Dave and I hope to visit the Estonian coastal city of Talinn while in Finland.  Rick Stevens’ Scandinavia asserts: “Getting off the boat in Talinn is a bigger cultural step than you will take anywhere else in the Scandinavian region.”  Originally called Reval, it thrived during the fourteenth century as a member of the Hanseatic League, a mercantile and military alliance centered in Lübeck, Germany. I know about the League because of my former IUN colleague Rhiman Rotz.  In contrast, two hundred years ago, Helsinki was a mere village.

It happened Today

“Out of deference, defiance, the choice
Closing on a promise after all I’ve done today
I have earned my voice.”
REM, “It Happened Today”

REM’s new album, “Collapse into Now,” has guest appearances by two of my favorites, Eddie Vedder and Patti Smith.

Made a final plea to the chancellor to reconsider an unjust decision adversely affecting the History department. Starting out “just between you and me and with malice toward none,” I proposed a scenario that might have saved the day and stated that nothing had given me more grief during my long association with the university than the way the matter had been handled. I concluded: “I thought long and hard before composing this email, and if I am out of line, I apologize.” His reply, as expected, didn’t change anything, but he did thank me for the message and added: “Please know that there is never a need to apologize for sincere advocacy in behalf of a colleague.”

I was fortunate to have been able to convert my PhD dissertation into a book and to carve out five articles from it in such journals as Maryland Historian and Social Service Review. I also adopted the gimmick of reading books of urban literature such as Piri Thomas’ “Down These Mean Streets” and Claude Brown’s “Manchild in the Promised Land,” taking notes about the author’s use of symbolism (the tree, for instance, in Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”), looking up info about them in “Book Review Digest,” and finding a suitable place to publish them (i.e., English Journal for Piri, American Negro Literature Forum for Claude). I even did one for a popular culture journal about Harold Robbins’ “A Stone for Danny Fisher.” Piece of cake.

My colleague Rhiman Rotz neither had a publishable dissertation nor the variety of journals available in which to submit articles. He did have an original insight about the Hanseatic League and spent five years traveling to Europe and perusing documents in medieval German. By the time he went up for tenure, a first-rate medieval journal had accepted his important. He was awarded tenure because P and T committee members trusted the History department – Fred Chary, John Haller, Bill Neil, Jim Newman – when they vouched for Rhiman’s scholarship. Rhiman went on to become a master teacher, founder of the History Club, and, after graduating from law school, adviser to prelaw students. Bruce Sawochka went to IUN while holding down a job thinking he wanted to be a lawyer, but in his senior year he was drawn to teaching. Rhiman told him that while there were plenty of good lawyers, there was a crying need for dedicated teachers. Bruce, like me, chose teaching and has never regretted it. Teaching World History, Rhiman became interested in the development of English Common law in the colony of Rhodesia, which became the independent African country of Zimbabwe. He traveled to London and (at great pains) to Harare (formerly Salisbury) and his research findings were truly original. Though small in number, his scholarly articles were far more important than mine. Rhiman was adviser to the campus Muslim organization, and his last words to me as he was dying of cancer shortly after the World Trade Center bombing was concern for his Muslim students. At his memorial service, the most eloquent speakers were students he had mentored.

Suzi Hummel sent me a YouTube segment on a spiral that’s a common phenomenon in nature and conforms to something known as Fibonacci’s Numbers (i.e., 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.), a sequence made by adding the last two numbers. A twelfth-century Italian mathematician studied under Arabic scholars and was responsible for much of Western Europe switching from Roman numerals to Hindu-Arabic numbers. Some see patterns based on the sequence in spirals found in everything from fingerprints and sand dollars to ocean waves and galaxies.

Sheriff Dominguez and I looked over the IU Press Author’s Questionnaire due at the end of the month. We filled out the form, which I will mail out. Recently the Mayor of East Chicago fired him from the library board in a political ploy that Roy is challenging in court. Hopefully the stupid move will backfire on the interim mayor, the successor to convicted felon George Pabey.

George Bodmer saw my blog entry on the “Forgotten Planet” documentary about Gary and Hashima and showed me a sketch he did about the abandoned Japanese community. Before Mitsubishi closed its coal mining operation, over 5,000 people lived on the tiny, 15-acre "Battleship Island."

I met Jackie Gipson for lunch at TGIF Friday. Since a kitchen grease fire in February, she and Floyd have been living in a motel suite. So far, she reports, the insurance company has been responsive to their needs. She likes Ragen Hatcher, my choice in the upcoming Gary mayoralty election, but is leaning toward attorney Karen Freeman-Wilson, a former Indiana attorney-general and city judge who has helped her in the past without expecting anything in return.

Despite the traumatic world events, the morning news shows extensively covered the death of actress Elizabeth Taylor, who seemed much older than just ten years my senior. One segment discussed her jewelry, another her eight marriages (she was a self-proclaimed serial monogamist) and friendship with Michael Jackson. I recall the fiasco surrounding the making of “Cleopatra” and her portrayal, opposite then-hubby Richard Burton, of a professor’s drunken wife in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Saturday Toni and I traveled to Grand Rapids for Phil’s forty-third birthday. Miranda was in Detroit as part of a leadership outing, but eight of us went out for Chinese food, including Alissa’s boyfriend Josh, a charming young man whom I met for the first time. He grew up in Indy a Pacers fan and is trying to woo Alissa into not rooting against Michigan, at least when they are not playing her alma mater Michigan State. Home in time to cheer on the Butler Bulldogs, who made it into the Final Four for the second year in a row.

The Times reported the resignation of Brad Cooper, an Indiana prosecutor who emailed Wisconsin governor Scott Walker suggesting he fake a physical attack on himself to discredit the public employee unions protesting his draconian anti-union agenda. Last month Hoosier Jeffrey Cox, a deputy attorney general, was fired after suggesting that live ammunition be used against the demonstrators.

Sunday:Five of us game-tested Evan Davies’ latest version of Air Lords (dubbed Zeta Beta by T. Wade), which he has been fine-tuning for over 15 years after Avalon Hill put out his game Air Baron. Tom, Dave, and I love the original version of Air Lords, but it involves lots of math, so Evan has been struggling to find a simplified modification. It went on for over two hours but was enjoyable. We had a few constructive suggestions. Tom made burgers and brats before a game of Ra that I won quite handily.

More upsets in the NCAA; in fact, for the first time ever no number one or two seeds made the Final Four. Eleven-ranked Virginia Commonwealth would not even have been in the tournament had the number of teams not been expanded to 68. During Kentucky’s win over the Tar Heels, I turned the sound down and played XTC “Nonsuch.”

RIP: Italian-American Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale’s 1984 running mate. The press raised questions about her husband’s finances and alleged mob connections. Debating V.P. George Bush, she chided her adversary for his patronizing attitude. In 2008 she supported Hillary and foolishly claimed that “If Obama were a white man, he would not be in this position.” Of course, had the three-term Congresswoman been a man, she wouldn’t have been on the ’84 ticket.

Monday: I thanked Suzi Hummel for informing me about the Fibonacci Sequence and said it would be fun to talk to our high school math teacher Ed Taddei about it. She wrote back: “Oh, I had such a crush on him!!” “Taddei-Laddie” was a spectacular teacher. I never could read Math textbooks but didn’t have to, he was so good. He taught us probability – i.e., what are the odds of drawing to an inside straight in poker or flipping heads five times in a row with a coin – and I still recall how to figure that stuff out. One time at the end of class, after I had said something insightful, he hugged me right in front of others as I was going out the door– what we call a “man hug” rather than anything sexual.

James has finished “Scat” and is now reading “The City of Ember” by Jeanne DuPrau. It’s a post-apocalyptic novel about an underground city that is running out of power. Heavy.

Ron Cohen sent me a NY Times review of old Marylander friend David Goldfield’s “America Aflame.” The reviewer called it a masterly and provocative synthesis that blames the Civil War on both Southern and Northern evangelistic extremism.

I saw that Alan Barr was showing a Richard Gere movie, “Days of Heaven,” in his Film class, and George Bodmer said was his favorite movie, so I went and loved it. It is about three people who leave Chicago and end up harvesting wheat in America’s heartland. The question the class had to write essays about involved the director’s use of animals. While the movie is a morality play involving class against class as well as a romantic triangle, the plentiful animals – buffalo, pheasants, grasshoppers, rabbits – are amoral creatures in nature following their primal instincts – mainly to eat. At one point grasshoppers completely infest the fields and destroy the crop. There are some domesticated farm animals – cows and geese – and dogs frolic with farmhands bathing in a lake or hunt game with their master. There’s a great scene where a young girl is looking at a photo of dinosaurs and realizing there are phenomena beyond her imagination. Some of the animals are meant to be symbolic – buffalo herds, for example, that no longer would have been alongside a farm, even in the Texas panhandle. Just as there are three types of animals – pets, domesticated animals, and wild animals, so one might view human beings as seen by employers in that light. The farmer (Sam Shepard) who convinces the Chicago trio of Bill, Abby, and Linda to stay on after the harvest treats the girl like a pet, hopes that Abby will become more to him than a domesticated animal, and in the end comes to regard Bill (Richard Gere) as a wild animal who – like wolves or grasshoppers – needs to be eradicated. The movie takes place in 1916 – Woodrow Wilson’s campaign train comes to the prairie – at a time when horse-drawn vehicles and farm machinery are on the way out. Director Terence Malick’s most famous previous film was “Badlands,” about the crime spree of a character based on Charles Starkweather.

Got my toenails cut for five bucks at L.A. Nails. Near me two women were getting leg massages. When I tipped the full-breasted Asian woman two dollars, she said, “Thanks, honey.”

President Obama was on TV explaining his decision to attack Libya to prevent a bloodbath, distinguishing our limited action in conjunction with NATO with Bush’s regime-change policy in Iraq that involved ground troops and cost a trillion dollars. I came away impressed and convinced that we acted properly.

Strange Days Indeed

“Nobody Told Me
There’d Be Days like These
Strange Days, Indeed.”
John Lennon

On what would have been John Lennon’s seventieth birthday Toni and I went to County Line Apple Orchard (along with half the people in Lake County, it seemed) to hear the Crawpuppies play Beatles songs on a warm, beautiful autumn afternoon. Crawpuppies frontman Chad Clifford was a student of mine in the Eighties and at that time wrote about his band Digital Hair, which once opened at Valparaiso University for the Romantics (I was there and published his article in Steel Shavings). I have seen the Crawpuppies several times in recent years at such places as IU Northwest, Marquette Park bathhouse, Mark-O’s, and elsewhere. His wife had a class with me a few years ago. The band learned a couple new John Lennon songs for the occasion. Chad’s pre-school age son joined him on stage to join in on “Hey Jude.” One old geezer about my age wore a Lennon t-shirt that said “Evolution.” His woman companion’s t-shirt had Lennon’s image and “Working Class Hero,” incidentally my favorite Lennon song. Crawpuppies drummer Mike Curtis and bass player Chris Karp are part of Drena’s house band. Dave has played with them and respects them highly as musicians. We had to park in a far-away annex lot, and seven tractor-pulled wagons took people to the orchards, corn maze, and various parking areas. Thousands of fans gathered at Strawberry Fields in NYC’s Central Park to remember him and sing songs such as “Imagine” and “Mind Games.”

Magill’s asked me to review S. C. Gwynne’s “Empire of the Summer Moon: Quannah Parker and the Rise and fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.” Chief Quannah’s mother Cynthia Ann (White Squaw) was kidnapped at age nine in a raid against the Parker compound, built dangerously close to hostile territory in west Texas. The attack left many family members dead. It took place on May 19, 1836, less than a month after the Battle of San Jacinto drove Santa Anna’s Mexican forces and left the territory bereft of protection. Assimilated into a tribal band, Cynthia married Comanche leader Peta Nocona and gave birth to three children. When she was “rescued” during the 1860 Battle of Pease River 24 years later, she was disconsolate over the butchery Texas Rangers inflicted on loved ones, refused to speak English, and tried repeatedly to escape her captors. As Gwynne makes clear, both sides committed atrocities during a 30-year war whose length far out-stretches the wars with the Cheyenne and Lakota tribes. It may have lasted even longer had contagious diseases such as cholera not ravaged many Comanche tribes.

Won St Petersburg, and Dave prevailed in the three others, upsetting Ton in Stone Age by a single point. Amun Re ended in a three-way dead heat, with Dave having an extra slice of a pyramid for the tie-breaker. On the way home T. Wade stopped at J and J Pizza in Portage for chicken wings for Darcy. Although Tom called ahead, the wait lasted 15 minutes. No biggie though. It was a glorious day, and I stretched my legs.

Bears, Redskins and Eagles all won, as did my Fantasy team (Jimbo Jammers) against Phil on the strength of a huge day for Baltimore’s Ray Rice. Phillies closed out the Reds thanks to a complete game shutout by 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels. Philadelphia players wore number 36 on their uniform sleeves to honor Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, who died in May. He was my favorite Philly growing up, a true competitor who got clutch hits and even stole bases if that’s what it took to win. In 1950 he started three of the Whiz Kids’ last five games, including a final day ten-inning, 4-1 win against the Dodgers against Don Newcombe (thanks to a three-run Dick Sisler HR) to get his team into the World Series for the first time in 35 years. The Yankees, alas, swept them. In game two Roberts and New York’s Allie Reynolds were locked in a 1-1 duel until Joe Dimaggio went yard against the Phillies’ ace. This year Jamie Moyer surpassed his record of most home runs yoielded.

Watched two outrageous episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” from season five. In one Larry invites a registered sex offender who recently moved into his neighborhood to a family seder. In the other Richard Lewis’ nurse steal a cell phone and a baseball autographed by Mickey Mantle in her huge vagina.

Victoria Woefle, an old friend of colleague Rhiman Rotz, asked for information about his death, wondering if he were a victim of 9/11. Actually he died of cancer on September 23, 2001. An adviser to a campus Muslim student group, he told friends shortly before he died of his fear that the students might suffer in the aftermath of the tragedy. I emailed Victoria that we miss Rhiman greatly and that there is a pine tree on campus in his honor. For a couple years we put Christmas ornaments on it in December, and I played some of his favorite doo wop songs. A Day of the Dead display in the lobby features photographs of Rhiman, Larry Kaufman, Terry Lukas, Robin Hass Birky, Martin Becerra, Gary Martin, Bill May, and others.

Ron Cohen told me about a positive review in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of American History (JAH) of Carson Cunningham’s new book “American Hoops: U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball from Berlin to Beijing.” At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, infamous for Adolf Hitler’s alleged snub of Jesse Owens, the final game was played outdoors in the mud, with the Americans defeating a Canadian team 19 to 8. Thirty-six years later the U.S. lost its first Olympic game ever in that same city just days after eleven Israelis were murdered by Arab terrorists. The Americans were playing without star Bill Walton, who had bad knees and refused to try out. Coach Hank Iba stubbornly insisted that if he wanted to play, he’d have to “go through the process like everybody else.” The Russians led the entire game until Doug Collins sank two free throws with seconds left (either one or three, depending on when the Russians called time out). On their second chance to in-bound the ball Aleksandr Belov made a miracle shot. Believing erroneously that they were cheated, the Americans refused their silver medals. They felt they had let the country down and rationalized that they had been Cold War victims. Losing again in 1988 led to NBA players forming the Dream Team that triumphed in Barcelona; similarly losing in Athens in 2004 led to the Redeem Team coached by Mike Krzyzewski attracting such stars as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade.

Former Purdue star Carson Cunningham taught a couple summers for us. Ron suggested we bring him to campus to talk about the book. He is a lecturer at DePaul and also coaches the Andrean High School basketball team. He grew up in Ogden Dunes and often joined pickup games against much older kids, including son Dave, who came to admire his grit and talent.

Also reviewed in the September 2010 issue of the JAH is William O’Neill popular history of the 1990s called “A Bubble in Time: America during the Interwar Years, 1989-2001.” O’Neill rails against what he calls “Tabloid Nation” for creating “media firestorms” that focused on celebrities rather than issues and that sensationalized events such as the O.J. Simpson trial and the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Lamenting a “decade of lost chances,” he blames both Republicans and Democrats for their inability to work together to reform health care or overhaul the military. Reviewer Gil troy found the book disappointing in its shallowness and sloppiness with facts. He also takes O’Neill to task for saying that in 1991 during the first Gulf War Dick Cheney “had not yet lost his mind” – a cheap shot maybe but valid nonetheless.

I was the only one attending the Portage 16 matinee showing of “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” featuring Zach Galifianakis (so funny in “The Hangover”) as psych ward patient Bobby who takes Craig, a 16 year-old depressed kid under his wing. Based on a novel by Ned Vizzini, I found the flick very touching. A teen love story develops, but we don’t learn much about Noelle in terms of why she has cut marks on her face and wrists (in the novel it is revealed that she was a victim of sexual abuse). Her musical tastes were similar to mine: Radiohead, Pixies, Vampire Weekend. The troubled characters in the ward, including Egyptian roommate Muqtada, are believable and reminiscent of the supporting cast in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Viola Davis, nominated for an Oscar for her role as a pragmatic mother in “Doubt”), is splendid as Craig’s psychiatrist. Craig’s father put pressure on him to do well academically, but in the end he decides to transfer to an art school.

Waiting for Monday night football to start (there was a delay caused by lightning), I talked with brother-in-law Sonny, who was visiting son Joe’s family in Jersey, about the Phils and Eagles. Tina and Jackie were watching “Dancing with the Stars,” but I got Jackie to come to the phone during a commercial. She is rooting for Audrina Partridge, who was in the MTV Reality shoe “The Hills” but also likes The Situation. Quarterback Kurt Warner may be in trouble, and Bristol Palin ‘s routines get more R rated each week.

I prepared something short to say at my fiftieth reunion about what happened in the world during our senior year between September 1959 and June of 1960. The main events are John F. Kennedy winning Democratic primaries in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and West Virginia to launch his presidential candidacy, the Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-in becoming the opening salvo in the Sixties Civil Rights movement, and Fidel Castro’s coming to power and the U-2 Incident heightening Cold War tensions. “Ben-Hur” with Charlton Heston was the big movie hit of the year, and in pop music news Elvis returned from his army stint in Germany and ruled the charts for a month in the spring with “Stuck On You.” Earlier Bobby Darin hit number one as well with “Mack the Knife,” a song about a murderer (despite its upbeat tempo) written in 1929 for the German play “The Threepenny Opera” and recorded in the mid-Fifties by Louis Armstrong. The Phillies lost 90 games in 1959 and over the winter traded centerfielder Richie Ashburn to the Chicago Cubs.

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).

Board Meeting

I’m thinking of becoming secretary of the Sand Creek condo board if nobody else wants to do it and if I can find someone to replace me as Court One director. In the future, should someone choose to write an oral history of our condominium, the notes would be a good supplement. Last night’s meeting was just over 90 minutes long and more organized than last month’s two and a half hour marathon. The main purpose was to set a date for the annual picnic – unfortunately it will take place on Sunday, September 18, the same afternoon that I’ll be talking to the Ogden Dunes Historical Society, but I’ll be able to be there for the last 90 minutes. Here’s my notes – pretty prosaic compared to when Rhiman Rotz was composing them in the guise of fables for IUN’s History Department (his best effort dramatized a turf battle with Afro-American Studies as a medieval gathering of lords dealing with threats upon their kingdom; I was James, the Earl of Lane and he was “this lowly scribe Rymannus Scriba”); if I get the post, I’ll try to emulate him just a bit:

Craig Henderson conducted the Sand Creek Courts board meeting because President Jamison Menacher was in Wisconsin and unable to attend. Craig mentioned that the post office reproached him for stuffing unstamped materials in people’s mailboxes, so in the future he will send announcements by email and also telephone board members if he does not get email responses from them.
Regarding the recent painting of condo units, it was agreed that in the future the painters should be responsible for removing wasp and hornet nests while doing prep work.
Leo reported that he has purchased trees to replace those in Court one near unit 415 that came down during last month’s storm and that they will be planted next week. He also submitted a bill for the drainpipe extensions installed at unit 409 to prevent a reoccurrence of basement flooding. He subsequently noticed that the mowers had moved them and not put them back properly, so he did it himself. Craig reported on the landscape estimate to install window wells (one each) in units 407 and 409 as well as bring in dirt to improve the grading and then seed the area. The board approved accepting the estimate. The work should take place in early September.
There was discussion concerning a pick-up truck that has been parked from time to time in a Court one visitor’s space. There is a by-law prohibiting commercial vehicles, but Craig pointed out that the truck in question is a fleet vehicle rather than a commercial vehicle, so the board for the time being took no action in the matter.
The owner of unit 409 asked whether he could close up his skylights if unable to prevent them from leaking. The board decided that since owners are responsible for maintaining their skylights, he could do so as long as he used matching shingles and obtained the approval of four Court one residents on a Form B Alteration Request Form.
The annual picnic will take place in Court three on Sunday September 19 from 4 to 7. Each court will be requested to bring something (i.e., dessert, salad, etc.).
Election of officers will take place at the October general meeting. Board directors will urge people to volunteer.
Prior to the fall pruning, directors were asked to survey their courts and will be notified in advance when the work will take place so that they and other interested parties can be on hand.
Because Jamison was not present, discussion of whether to continue with mulch or switch to rocks was postponed. Jamison has promised to look into the condo insurance policy to get clarification about the $5,000 deductible issue and see whether we can do better.

New Jerseyites Joey, Tina, Garrett and Jacklin Okomski arrived after a stay in Florida. They rented a car at O’Hare and drove to their favorite pizza place in Chicago before arriving at our old place, soon to be demolished. In the past before flying home they’d buy half-cooked pizzas, but management has stopped taking such orders. There’s just one bed and a single TV left at the old homestead, so most of our expected guests will be roughing it. So far UNO has been the favorite game played.

A reader wrote in to The Post-Tribune’s Quickly column about vandalism being rampant in Chesterton. I think our condo is safe (knock on wood), but soon after the Wades moved into their new house, a group of teenagers did some nasty things to their car and property. It sounds like something the police need to take seriously.

Condo Board Meeting

The Sand Creek Condominium Association holds board meetings every three months, to which all residents are invited. Since Court One presently has no representative (the previous owner of our unit having moved), I attended in order to bring up the matter of ruts made by a lawn mower in the common area behind our unit. Also I welcomed the opportunity to meet some neighbors. The meeting lasted two and a half hours (sigh!), but I did get a promise that landscapers will fix our ruts in the fall. I also received permission to plant ground cover in a bare spot along our side yard. Jamison Menacher, who recently moved into the old board president’s unit and was talked into becoming his successor despite often being on the road, asked if I would agree to be Court One’s representative. I agreed to do so only if nobody else volunteered. I’ll distribute a form to see if anyone else would do it. I hate meetings, but the board only convenes four times a year. Our neighbor Sue Harrison, who did it for a few months, warned us that people would constantly be calling with petty complaints, but I’d just be a liaison and would demand that people put complaints in writing. Being on the board would be a good way to learn more about the history of our little neighborhood. I really liked the hosts, Craig and Mary Henderson, and an old hand named Leo Rondowho also seems like someone I should get to know better. If someone else volunteers, I’ll be fine with that.

WXRT is starting to play LCD Soundsystem, the dance punk music of genius James Murphy. I’ve heard both “All I Want” and “Drunk Girls.” I don’t usually pay much attention to lyrics, but “I Can Change” contains these words: “Love is a curse shoved in a hearse, love is an open book to a verse of bad poetry.” The song ends: “I can change if it helps you feel real love.” Two bands currently on my “to get” list are Arcade Fire and The National. On “The Drive” (WDRV) on the way to work I heard “Your Wildest Dreams” by Moody Blues, a band I’ve seen a half dozen times in Merrillville and Chicago. Today was the first time in three weeks grandson James wasn’t with me. His Kids College class finished up with a show that included “Greased Lightning” and James doing a break dance. My final Pet Detective Agency story had James catching a dog thief with some help from German Shepherd Sammie.

In Updike’s “Rabbit at Rest” Janice realizes while Harry is hospitalized with heart problems that widowhood might be an interesting adventure plus allow her to eat soup straight out of a can and watch whatever she wants on TV without being subjected to ridicule. Harry’s tastes run more to sports than “Unsolved Mysteries.” Watching a Knicks – Bulls playoff game he grouses about Michael Jordon’s pink tongue “rolling around in his mouth as he goes up for a dunk.” Envy perhaps by the former round baller, but Harry always was slightly wary of blacks. As the Eighties are coming to an end Updike mentions Pennsylvania voters rejecting tax reform and concludes: “If there’s anything you can count on Americans to be these last ten years it’s selfish.” Prior to being seduced by his daughter-in-law Pru (before disrobing she produced a condom), Harry says, “Me, all they need to do is nail down the coffin. I can’t run, I can’t fuck, I can’t eat anything I like. I know damn well they’re going to talk me into a bypass.” Looking back to when he met Janice while both were working at Kroll’s department Store, Harry claims he first started realizing that nothing was permanent when Kroll’s went out of business after whites were afraid to go shopping downtown. Listening to an Oldies station playing “the music of your life” (for codgers), Harry realizes that the syrupy songs of his pre-rock ‘n’ roll era (“the doggies in the window and Mommy kissing Santa Claus and the naughty lady of Shady Lane”) were “as moronic as the rock the brainless kids bnow feed on.”

After Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died, former student Gary Hinton, who teaches and coaches at Culver Military Academy, was quoted in the paper about Culver’s famous alumnus. I contacted Gary, and he wrote: “Great to hear from you! I've thought about you, Dr. (Bill) Neil, Dr. (Rhiman) Rotz and Dr. (Ronald) Cohen often. I truly enjoyed your classes and I even borrowed your testing format (I.D.'s and Essay). I married in August of 09, and now live in Valparaiso (the drive to Culver allows me to listen to a lot of audio books)! Please send me a copy of your latest Steel Shavings magazine. I'm sure it's a great read. When time allows I'd like to visit sometime and get caught up. By the way, your Phillies are looking to make some moves here shortly - it may cost you a nice right fielder though!!!!” Despite defeating the Cardinals last night on a one-hitter by Cole Hamels, Philadelphia is mired in a slump and may not even make the playoffs. Rightfielder Jayson Werth, the subject of trade rumors, is a power hitter with speed. I’d hate to see him go.

Searching for additional quotes for my “Age of Anxiety” talk about the postwar years in the Region, I came across a photo of reporter Carrol Vertrees with county auditor Stanley Olszewski. I bet he’s related to Merrillville history book club member Mike Olszewsjki. I’ll use this quote from Lydia Grady describing segregation in Gary: “One doctor at the Gary National bank Building hired a black secretary, and the only place she could eat was downstairs in the drugstore or at the Gary Hotel restaurant because it was for people from out of town. There was a black architect whose wife was very light-skinned. She’d go to the beauty parlor in the Bank Building. I don’t know of anyone else who’d come downtown for that. Blacks were allowed on the first floor at Methodist Hospital only if they were mill employees hurt at work. If they had something really serious and had to get into Methodist, their black doctor had to turn them over to a white doctor.”

IUN student Jean Cullen interviewed East Chicagoan Bill Figueroa, who recalled: “My father thought he had my life arranged. I was to go to Mexico and study medicine, then marry a beautiful girl named Hilda whose father did business with him. My older sister got married that way. Her husband was ten years older. Hilda waited for me while I was in the service, but I married someone else. My mother’s mother came to live with us when she was in her 80’s. My father thought she came to die. She stayed for 20 years. She smoked homegrown marijuana every morning and had a daily shot of wine. She made a lot of money crocheting initials and designs on handkerchiefs. We had a very low crime rate because we were brought up to respect our parents. If I got in trouble, my older brothers got punished. It was like a spy system. Basically, that’s how it was in most families (and not just Mexican-American households). The worst thing you could do was bring disgrace to your family. The girls didn’t have much opportunity to get into trouble. They never left the house unchaperoned.”

Three books arrived in the mail from John Fraire that he and his bother Gabriel wrote, including a play entitled “Who Will Dance with Pancho Villa?” “Cesar Died Today” is of course about the great union leader Cesar Chavez. A novel entitled “Latino Jesse” has a cover photo of Gabriel with as a kid with his grandparents. I knew Gabe, whom we called Rocky, back in the days of Porter Acres, a former motel where my softball team and our many friends would have parties and picnics, often featuring live bands.

Day of the Dead

Passed an exhibit in the IU Northwest Library/Conference Center lobby containing photographs of deceased faculty. For the past several years Professor Ana Osan had assembled a display based on Latin American culture for the Tamarack Gallery, now defunct due to last September’s flood. I assume that it will run through the Day of the Dead or All Souls’ Day, which is November 2. Among those represented was historian Rhiman Rotz, who passed away of cancer shortly after 9/11/01. He kept teaching until shortly before he had to be hospitalized, and his last thought were with Muslim students (he was their group’s adviser) who might be subjected to prejudice in the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedy. Photos of good friends Larry Kaufman and Bill May also caught my eye. Larry died on a New York country road, while Bill was murdered at his condo in Miller by a car thief, who was subsequently arrested by one of my former students, Todd Cliborne.

Finished Anne Tyler’s “Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant,” which was very moving even though it was hard to identify with any of the characters. Tyler is a marvelous novelist. In the first of her books that I read, Breathing Lessons, a middle-aged woman leaves her family to start a new life. In “Dinner” a man deserts his wife and three children.

Have been reading with fascination a book William M. “Bill” Neil sent me about his World War II experiences as a bombardier. It is called “Three Crawford Brothers,” but it also contains a memoir that Bill contributed upon the invitation of his friend and comrade George Crawford. Bill’s wife Mary died two years ago, and in addition to documenting some of the dangerous missions he flew, his remembrances are truly a love story. Bill writes of joining a music club while attending Gary College and being immediately drawn to “this pretty blond girl.” He got up the nerve to ask her out for a movie and coke afterwards, and, in his words, “it was, for me, love at first date.” They started going steady and he talked his parents into letting Mary join them at a summer cottage in Michigan for two weeks. He writes: “By this time I had told Mary that I was in love with her. To my delight she replied that she was in love with me. That summer of 1940 was a truly enchanted one for both of us.” They were married two years later by an army chaplain in Montgomery, Alabama, and Mary subsequently was one of countless war brides “moving around the country by rail.” In Midland, Texas, they enjoyed three weeks of “marital bliss.” Later they had an “ecstatic reunion” in New York City. When they parted “the tears flowed” as Bill said, “Adios, mi Corazón (beloved).” When finally arrived home from Europe, Mary greeted him with “screams of delight, ecstatic embraces, [and] long, delicious kisses” – then took him upstairs to the bedroom to see his son for the first time. What a wonderful, romantic tribute to his late wife of 65 years.