Heavy Fuel

“If you wanna run cool

You got to run on heavy fuel.”

    Dire Straits, “Heavy Fuel”

 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits

Heavy Fuel” is a track on the 1991 Dire Straits album “On Every Street,” the band’s final studio effort.  I frequently play “Brothers in Arms” (1985) and the greatest hits CD “Money for Nothing,” but rarely listen to “On Every Street,” so it was a pleasant surprise discovering unfamiliar tracks. One “Heavy Fuel” couplet (“When my ugly big car won’t climb this hill/ I’ll write a suicide note on a hundred-dollar bill”) could have been the epitaph for self-destructive gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.  Mark Knopfler wrote several topical numbers for Dire Straits.  One with relevance for Gary steelworkers, “Industrial Disease,” is from “Love Over Gold” (1982)  Here is the first verse:

Warning lights are flashing down at Quality Control
Somebody threw a spanner and they threw him in the hole
There's rumors in the loading bay and anger in the town
Somebody blew the whistle and the walls came down
There's a meeting in the boardroom they're trying to trace the smell
There's leaking in the washroom there's a sneak in personnel
Somewhere in the corridors someone was heard to sneeze
'goodness me could this be Industrial Disease?

When IUN Business and economic History professor threw a farewell party before moving to Indy, I gave him mark Knopfler’s solo album “Sailing to Philadelphia” (2000), on which he sand duets with James Taylor and Van Morrison.

On Jeopardy, in the category “Second largest cities,” with the help of clues I came up with Baton Rouge (LA), New Haven (CT), and Jacksonville (FL) but not Worcester (MA) even though the hint indicated it was pronounced differently than spelled.  A famous blunder occurred two years ago in Final Jeopardy of the IBM Challenge when the supercomputer Watson answered Toronto in the category “U.S. Cities” to this clue: “Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest for a World War II battle.”  The answer, of course, is Chicago, with O’Hare and Midway airports.   The computer still prevailed.  Current champion Jennifer Quail’s 8-day winnings are well over $200,000.  On Final Jeopardy only she knew what “Woman Author” testified before Congress that “Song of Russia” (1944), directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Robert Taylor, was allegedly Soviet propaganda.  Answer: ultra-conservative fanatic Ayn Rand.

In 1824 Revolutionary War general Lafayette (Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette) commenced a grand tour of America as guest of the nation.  Congress paid Lafayette’s expenses for two years and sent a ship to France to bring him to New York, where 50,000 well-wishers, a magnificent flotilla, and the West Point band greeted him at Castle Garden. The hero of Yorktown, according to Holly Jackson’s “American Radicals,” was a robust 67 and an unabashed womanizer The French writer Stendhal described the Marquis as “solely occupied in spite of his age in fumbling at pretty girls’ plackets, not occasionally but constantly, not much caring who saw.”  He carried on an intimate relationship with notorious freethinker Fanny Wright, his frequent grand tour companion.  At Monticello Wright’s mannish attire and comportment scandalized former President Thomas Jefferson’s cousin Jane Cary.  Nonetheless, Lafayette remains enshrined in the pantheon of War for Independence heroes.  Named in his honor are cities (i.e., Lafayette, IN, Fayetteville, NC), townships (more than 50), parks (Washington, DC), and Lafayette College in my hometown of Easton.  We lived literally across the street from campus, and I recall homecoming parades passing by our house on the corner of High and McCartney.

Bette Roberts passed away at age 73, George Van Til informed me.  The daughter of Ann and Joe Domagalski, Bette was active in several IU Northwest campus organizations during the turbulent 1960s, including the Humanist Society.  She married Political Science professor George Roberts 52 years ago and became active in the Crown Point Historical Society. For an event celebrating the fortieth anniversary of IUN’s move to Glen Park, I persuaded Bette to be a panelist. In a retirement tirade Dr. Roberts had vowed never again to set foot on campus but relented then and when former student Congressman Pete Visclosky presented him with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award. Few present faculty knew George and Bette, but I called former colleagues Fred Chary, Paul Kern, and Ron Cohen to report the sad news.  The obit read in part:

    Bette and George worked tirelessly to elect Rep. Peter Visclosky, as well as candidate George McGovern when he ran for President.  One of the highlights of Bette’s life was serving dinner to Mr. McGovern in her home.

    Bette and George travelled extensively, but her true love was Paris, where they visited annually for over 30 years.  Bette was a generous, witty, loving soul who cared deeply about her family, friends, and animals.  She was a tried and true liberal, who always said “If George even thinks about a Republican, he’ll find a pair of socks and underwear on the front lawn.”

I started re-watching the seven 30-minute episodes of “Mrs. Fletcher,” concentrating on Eve’s college-bound son Brenden.  While she struggles to pack his things, he is on his cell phone making plans for the evening.  He cuts short Eve’s farewell dinner, skipping the special dessert, to attend a wild party.  Spotting Julian, whom he has bullied throughout high school, he tosses candy at him, pretends to apologize, then sticks Julian’s phone in a drink. With keen insight Julian accurately predicts that at college Brenden will by seen for what he is, a jerk.  Back home, he sends a nude photo to an ex-girlfriend, who arrives next morning to give him a blow job send-off. At the bedroom door Eve hears him moaning and calling the girl a filthy slut, a scene that will repeat itself in college with humiliating consequences. In his dorm room, as Eve makes the bed and unpacks for him, Brenden is back on his phone and impatient for her to leave.

No Billy Foster piano stylings nor choir performance enlivened IUN’s annual Holiday celebration; hence no group singing of “12 Days of Christmas.”  I spoke with Zoran Kilibarda (Geosciences), Joe Gomeztagle and Suzanne Green (SPEA), historian Chris Young (whose oldest son will start at Bloomington next year), and former Health Information Technology chair Margaret Skurka, so far as I could tell the only other emeritus faculty present.  Health and Human Services dean Pat Bankston, whose Christmas sweater lit up, thanked me for DVDs of our interview that Samantha Gauer had prepared. I also brought along free ten copies of Steel Shavings, volume 48, which were gone by the time I left with a plate of delicious buffet fare for Toni.

From nephew Beamer Pickert:  

    So, while making pierogi, I can't help but wonder what my Grandma Blanche would think of the adaptions I've made to the process. I think she'd like most of them. She did introduce me to Star Trek after all. But I use the pasta roller attachment to my kitchen-aid for rolling out my rounds, I use the mixer for making the dough, I color code my dough to indicate what filling is inside. I like to think she'd think these were good improvements.

Liz Wuerffel, Allison Schuette, and I met to discuss the VU Flight Paths interactive website grant project. When we arrived at Hunter’s Brewery in Chesterton around 4 p.m., it was inexplicably closed.  Liz Googled Hunter’s website and discovered that they’d open at 5:30, so we checked out Chesterton Brewery, owned and operated by veterans and located in a century-old former glass factory. After ordering craft beers and fried pickles, we got down to business.  One of eight scholars selected to document Gary neighborhoods and interview former and present residents, I was assigned Brunswick on the far northwest side, south of the Gary airport and bordering Hammond and East Chicago.  It was a mostly white ethnic community until 50 years ago, when massive flight transformed the district.  According to the 2000 census, the Brunswick population of 4,400 was 84.6% African American and the rest white or Hispanic.  Longtime IUN stalwart Ruth Nelson grew up in Brunswick.  In “Gary’s First Hundred Years” I wrote:

In 1928 Carl and Lydia Nelson sought to escape Indiana Harbor’s noxious pollution.  They bought a lot just north of the 5200 block of West Fifth Avenue, across from an Italian neighborhood and in a sandy new settlement populated mainly by Swedes, Irish, and Poles.  Selecting their house from a Sears catalogue, they paid 1,800 hundred dollars for a model that contained an attic, a basement, a front and back porch, and six rooms.

In “Valor: The American Odyssey of Rogelio “Roy” Dominguez” (2012) the former Lake County sheriff wrote about moving in 1962 from Mercedes, Texas, to a two-bedroom ranch house in the blue-collar Ivanhoe neighborhood of Brunswick that his father rented from a friend.  They arrived just as the weather turned cold and a couple months after school had started (Roy was in the third grade at Ivanhoe School), so, Dominguez wrote, “it was a difficult transition for all of us.” Three years later, the family moved to a three-bedroom Brunswick residence north of the Eighth Avenue railroad tracks. Dominguez recalled:

The girls had a bedroom and we five boys shared another.  Jesse and Eloy had bunk beds, and the other three of us slept in a single full-sized bed.  At the time we were the only Hispanics on the block, surrounded mostly by Southern whites. By the time we moved to Glen Park in the summer of 1970, we were still the only Hispanics on the block but had African-American neighbors. We didn’t understand the “white flight” mindset of those who did not want to live in an integrated neighborhood; but because gangs and drugs made our schools and neighborhood unsafe, we subsequently moved.

Morning fog was so thick I could barely see ten feet ahead.  Home from college 57 years ago, I visited Sig Ep fraternity brother Jack Nesbitt and came within inches of crashing into a tree on a winding country road.  In the Seventies Toni and I were on Ridge Road returning from a New Year’s Eve party at Ron and Liz Cohen’s in Valpo when I literally couldn’t see on a stretch near present-day Portage H.S.

The IUN Lady Redhawks coasted to victory against Judson University, located in Elgin, IL, thanks to deadly 3-point shooting by Michaela Schmidt and dominant inside play by six-footers Breanna Boles and Jocelyn Colburn.  In the bleachers I met Coach Ryan Shelton’s Uncle Bill Bednar, a 1963 Hammond Tech grad and, like me, a big “Hoosier Hysteria” basketball fan. We discovered that we’d both attended the 1975 and 1991 Regionals, first when Gary Emerson defeated a Hammond High squad with Rich Valavicius on a last-second shot by Emmet Lewis and 16 years later, when Glenn Robinson scored 40 points in a double overtime, one-point thriller over East Chicago Central, including a game-winning, 16-foot, turnaround jump shot.

Saturday Evening Club host Valpo doctor David Kenis, whose specialty in psychology, argued that the best film biographies, in addition to seeking to entertain and make money, strive for authenticity – what Terry Brendel called verisimilitude -  rather than complete factual accuracy as documentaries would be expected to do.  He cited complaints about “Green Book” (2018) exaggerating the degree that gay classical pianist Donald Shirley was estranged from his family and the current brouhaha over “Richard Jewell,” director Clint Eastwood’s depiction of the security guard who discovered a pipe bomb during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and went from being a hero to a suspect. The film implies that an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter got her scoop from an FBI agent whom she slept with. Even if that is not true, it is undeniable that the press unfairly tarnished Jewell’s reputation. Kenis noted that in “Hurricane” (1999), about Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a black pugilist framed for murder, the villain is a single racist cop rather than, more accurately, the entire law enforcement system.  The film also claimed inaccurately that Carter was robbed when judges ruled that Joey Giardello had won a 1964 middleweight title fight, which can be viewed on YouTube.

My remarks concentrated on sports flicks, which rarely match the authenticity of real events.  Kenis brought up “Rudy” (1993), an undersized Notre Dame practice squad senior who, with less than 30 seconds remaining, gets into the final home game and is carried off the field after supposedly sacking the quarterback.  For dramatic effect the directors invented a scene where players threaten to revolt if Rudy is not allowed to dress for the game. Coach Dan Devine, unfairly made the heavy, was not pleased.  In “42” (2013), about Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier, the film needlessly embellished events to add emotion when the truth is dramatic enough.  There is no evidence, for example, that Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese put his arm around Robinson in Cincinnati to quiet the crowd from shouting racial taunts.  The first movie 94-year-old Mel Bohlman could remember was “Steamboat Willie” (1928), the animated Walt Disney cartoon about Mickey and Minnie Mouse. His rural elementary school required those attending to get tuberculosis shots.  Mel also loved Charlie Chaplin movies, especially “Modern Times “ (1936), a critique of industrial capitalism. 

Future Teachers

“The mediocre teacher tells.  The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates.  The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur Ward

 Arielle Keller 

Airella Keller started her journal by announcing that most people called her Air, that she turned 25 in January, and that she is adopted and an only child, although the family has three dogs and a snake.  She graduated from Hammond High and has worked for Strack and Van Til for almost three years.  Here are some journal excerpts:. 

    January 10:My boyfriend of two years celebrated my birthday early because he has to work tomorrow. At his place he gave me two eye shadow sets from Too Faced, Chocolate Gold and Just Peachy Mattes.  The one smells like chocolate and the other like peaches and figs. We ate at Chilis and saw “Pitch Perfect 3,”  a good end for the series.

    January 26:While at work fixing the beer and wine shelf, I knocked a wine bottle over that went crashing to the ground.  A little later a second wine bottle slipped from my hand onto the floor.  It made me so stressed and angry, I went on break. 

    February 2:  In high school I was in Anime Club.  My mom forced me to go to the senior prom instead of an anime con (convention) I had my heart set on that was happening at the same time. I had got dumped that year by my first boyfriend of four years, which really sucked. After some time, I ended up dating this junior for like two or three months and went to prom with him.  It was held at one of the Brookfield Zoo pavilions. Supposedly peacocks walked around the area, but I did not see any since it was kind of cold that year. It was not a happy time because my date was acting like a creep.  He also smelled me a lot, which I told him more than once stop, but he kept doing it. When in the bathroom to get away from him, I walked in on a couple screwing in the handicap stall, which surprised me but gave me a laugh.  I broke up with my date a day later, which led to a three-minute voice mail of him crying and begging me to take him back.  A couple weeks later, he showed up at my house with Mountain Dew and panda snacks, hoping I’d go with him to a football game. I accepted the snacks but didn’t go with him, a bitch move, I’ll admit, but if you’re going to be creepy toward me, I’m not going to feel bad about anything I do to you.

Air with stuffed hippo and in blonde wig at anime-con

          February 3:I still watch anime and attend anime cons when I have the time and money.  Over the years I have gone to at least 15, mostly in the Chicago area but as far away as Ohio and Georgia.  There are panels, photo areas, viewing stations, and at least two or three parties, such as a soap bubble, a rave, and a masquerade ball, often with live music from Japanese or Korean musicians.  Artist alley is the place to buy pictures, key chains, bookmarkers, posters, hats, pillows, toys, stickers, pins, comic books, jewelry, and handmade items. At nearby hotels are get-togethers and purportedly sex parties that have secret codes that you need to hunt for at the con.  At the market place one can buy wigs, anime, hentai (anime porn), cute toys, anime figures, posters, J-Pop, J-Rock, K-Pop, K-Rock (Japanese and Korean music), fur suits and parts, cosplay costumes, yaoi, manga (boys love manga), clothes (like shirts, hats, sweaters, blankets), kigurumi (which are onesies), fancy swords, and anything else you could think of, including videogames, which tend to be dating simulation games in Japanese, so I am not into them that much.  I own just one, a Death Note game, but really don’t know what it is about since it’s all in Japanese. I am into yaoi. I have a large collection of the mangas and own one yaoi DVD. Yaoi comes in three kinds of manga; soft core wIth light make outs; median core, a bit heavier in the make out session and touching; and hard core, which shows everything.  I used to have a larger collection of yaoi manga then I do now. I also have some yaois in Japanese.  I am into Japanese rock groups like Gackt, Dir En Grey, the GazettE, Girugamesh, and Miyavi.  I went to anwesome Dir En Grey concert with friends at Chicago’s House of Blues when still in high school. I even got a CD signed by the whole band. I like fur suits, but I don’t have the money for a set because they cost a pretty penny. I do have a black and blue rave wolf vest that has ears on the hood and a tail. I usually go crazy purchasing items.  I like getting in big group photos of cosplayers (short for costume players representing certain characters).  I also did small cosplays like gir from Invader Zim, Gloomy Bear who eats children, and L From Death Note. I go to the raves if not too sore from all the walking. Anime viewing rooms are also fun. I pretty much do a bit of everything if I have the time.

above, Batman cosplayers; below, Payn and Creeper

    February 16:For our anniversary my boyfriend and I So, we went to David and Busters for dinner and games. I got a blue narwhal plushie from the tickets I won. Then we saw “Black Panther,” which was cool. Back at my place, my boyfriend said some sweet things and then pulled out a ring and proposed.  I said yes!.

   March 12:It’s spring break  and I didn't do much beside laze around the house, watching TV in bed and stuff on the internet. Lunch was chicken-flavored Raman with soy sauce. Dinner was strawberry-flavored mini-wheat cereal. 

  March 13:I got up before 6, made coffee and got ready for work, which I started at 8 and  lasted till 1, stocking in different areas of the store. Then I drove myself home and let the dogs out. After lunch I watched some TV with my mom - that's how we bond. We made chicken and pasta for dinner and I went to sleep around midnight.

   March 14:I spent much of the day playing Monster Hunter World.

    March 15:  I took a 34-minute shower and got to work at 7:54 for another five hours of stocking. I went on break at 9:23 and bought myself a hot pocket and green tea. I relaxed in the afternoon and hung with a friend that night in Chicago.  I had Long Island ice tea, a bit of a strawberry daiquiri, a bit of a fruity drink, a bit of a mojito, and two shots of tequila. Also, pizza. 

  March 16:I woke up with no apparent hangover and worked another five-hour shift. Stocking things onto a high shelf while standing on crates, I fell and landed on my right hand, which buckled, causing my elbow to hit the concrete.  It hurt like a son of a bitch. I ended up filling out a work injury form and talking to a nurse, who gave me an icy hot pack for my arm.  Rather than go to a hospital, like I should have, I took pain pills and kept an ice arm pack on the rest of that day. 

    March 17:  Despite my arm still hurting, I went to work. Pain pills helped me get through the day.

    March 18:My mom noticed that my elbow was a different color due to my spill. I hadn’t noticed it before.  I cracked up looking in the mirror, but  my mom wondered why I hadn’t  gone to the hospital. She made a belated St. Patty's Day meal that was very tasty, but, god, did the cabbage smell up the house.

A 24-year-old Education major who asked to go by the name of Janee’ Desire moved from Gary to Merrillville at age 13 and then to Gary’s Miller neighborhood after high school. Here are excerpts from her journal:

 March 15, 2018:Spring break is not working in my favor. Yesterday, my room flooded after a pipe burst, destroying books, school work, and clothes.  We rushed to Menards for a plastic vacuum and sucked up as much water as we could, although by the time we got home, the hallway and living room were flooded.  An insurance adjustor discovered a hole in the pipe probably caused by a gopher. Most everyone's backyard on my block has holes due to those pests.  Fortunately, the pipe will be fixed tomorrow, but meanwhile we must shut our water off.  How do 2 women and a 5-year-old survive without any water (I live with my mom, older sister, and nephew)? Well, I guess we will make do.

   March 16:The pipe hasn’t been fixed, but we have water. 

   March 17:It took nine hours, but workers fixed the pipe.According to the insurance company, it's up to us to soak the water up. I've literally been using this plastic vac for hours and the carpet still seems saturated. I cannot live like this.  Damn, spring break is almost over, and I didn’t even get a chance to enjoy it. Or catch up on assignments.  

   March 18:This the last day I can sleep in. 

   March 19:I worked all day on school assignments. I hate being such a procrastinator, but at least I finally get it done.  I make plans to get them out the way early, but time just flows by.  

   March 20:I want to be a teacher but do not know how I'm going to wake up every morning. This semester my schedule starts at 8 am and ends at 6:45 pm.  The only thing I'm looking forward to today is my counseling session.  At IUN we have access to future therapists and counselors.  My counselor since January, a graduate student, has helped me deal with issues that I face as a young black woman. Early this semester, for example, someone singled me out for being the only black person in the room.  With the help of my counselor, I was able to speak with this person privately and let known my honest feelings, which is that I am not the spokesperson for African Americans. I'm unsure if the message got through.  

   March 21: My 10-week art education course ended. The binder that contained my assignments got a grade of B. I had perfect attendance in this class, so NO WORRIES! 

   March 22:At Longfellow Elementary I observed first-grade teacher Ms. Jensen, who has great classroom management skills. For math, she has students work on tablets and with flashcards, and she goes over different math concepts with small groups at a work station. For reading, Ms. Jensen divided students into three groups based on reading levels,but downplayed how they were arranged. 

   March 23:Today is online class day.  I'm barely able to comprehend the information because we have so little contact with our instructor. 

   March 24:My mom works at St. Margaret's Hospital. Although she isn't a doctor, our family tends to think so and often come to her before seeing an actual doctor. My grandparents are in their 80s and schedule appointments at St. Margaret's, so she can be there to translate “doctor language.” My sister and I have been through so much, including our parents’ divorce. She is like my righthand. The difference we have is her hate/like of education and her temper.  Other than that, we are two different people but like one of the same.  Her son is the light of all our lives. I call him my spiritual child because he is much like me (picky eater, youngest, spoiled.) but looks like his parents. He basically runs the house. That is why went to Walmart today, because it is his favorite store plus they have all the super wings toys he could find.  

   March 25: Every Sunday the family gathers at my grandmother's house for dinner. This is like a ritual. We never go a week without seeing my grandparents. My grandfather built this house on Gary’s west side near the Tarrytown subdivision long before my mother was born.  My grandparents were originally from Missouri and Mississippi and met in Gary after they moved North for better opportunities. Locke Elementary was right up the street, and my grandfather used to take me to school and pick me up.  He continued to do that at Tolleston and West Side until my junior when I enrolled in the Gary Area Career.  He has even driven me to IUN a few times. My evening highlight will be “Real Housewives of Atlanta. ”   

Charlemagne Tha God

   March 27: My morning ritual includes watching “Breakfast Club” with Dj envy, Angela Yee, and Charlamagne Tha God. I honestly do not know how I could function in this society as a young African American without the gems and jokes they give out. They have great interviews with such artists as Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, N.O.R.E, and Cardi B. The best part of the show is when Charlamagne gives his “Donkey of the Day” award for people who made dumb decisions.  Donald Trump (not my President) has received the DOD at least 8 times already this year. Class was too long today, or maybe I just was ready to go. I think I have the flu. Longfellow’s principal mentioned that a flu and stomach virus is going around. I think I'll  leave my counseling session early. 

   March 28: Thank god for  medication! As a child, I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, so any small cold could turn into the flu. Mucus builds up in the lungs and nasal cavities, which makes it hard to breathe at night, and I have trouble with catching my breath when I'm up walking around. My doctor gave me a prescription that will control my coughing and put me to sleep like a baby. Time for a nap.  

   March 29:My first-grade students are on spring break, so no field experience today. With the flu, I’ll just rest and catch up on shows.  I am currently addicted to the “Joe Budden Podcast.” He is a former rap legend who hates the industry and gives his take on media and celebrities   His predictions usually turn out to be true. He is a “Breakfast Club” fan and friends with Charlemagne Tha God. Each podcast is 2 hours, and the episode I am watching is called "Freaky Man lmao” (Imao stands for arrogant opinion). 

   March 30: Time to catch up in my online assignments.   IWith an early start, hopefully I can watch my Friday shows “Bring It” and “Marriage Boot Camp” and maybe catch up on “Drink Champs” with N.O.R.E (formerly Noreaga ) and Dj EFN as well. They interview rap legends such as Snoop Dogg, Irv Gotti, Wu tang Clan, and Ice Cube. This show is by far the most watched show on YouTube right now. 

   April 1:Before Sunday dinner, my sister and I ran an errand to but lottery tickets for my Grandmother at gas stations on Colfax and by Lake Etta. These are the only places she’ll get her "numbers” for as long as I can remember and seems to have good luck. Playing lottery and gambling are on the agenda when we have family reunions. Hmmm, I wonder what momma is cooking today.   

    April 2:I plan to stop at JERK2GO on Twenty-Fifth, by far the best place to order anything jerked for a decent price.  Or I might go to El Nortenoon Fifth Avenue, which has the best tacos. With that being said, I  may be greedy and go by both places today just to make sure I have enoughwhile watching“ Love and Hip Hop” and “Vanderpump Rules.” 

     April 3:What a day. For starters, one teacher forgot to tell us a discussion board was closing, so none of us did the assignment. Another teacher had us reschedule most of our due dates, so we are now even more behind than ever before. At least history is well organized; we are given the information needed to study for quizzes.  I had no idea I would enjoy this class so much. 

   April 4:My favorite Wednesday show is “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” I've literally seen every episode and still am excited about what going to happen next. This episode involved an assault victim who blamed an African-American man when one of her acquaintances had committed the crime.

   April 5:Today for field, I focused on the classroom discipline aspects of Ms. Jensen's first grade classroom.  The three rules, displayed on a poster, are to “Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe.” The teacher came up with these after getting suggestions from students and had them sign the poster.   

   April 6:Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Rico's Pizza are the best places to get hot wings. Chili's and BWW are all over, but Rico’s is harder to find.  Fortunately there is one on West Twenty-Fifth, near the THIS IS IT station where my grandmother gets her lottery tickets. Since I must do online work, I’ll go to Rico’s later since they are open until 1 am.  

    April 7:Life coach Lyanla Vanzant currently had a show on OWN (Oprah's channel) called “Fix my Life.”  My interest increases when she assists people with father issues. I haven't had a father since I was about 13. I know how important it is to have a father in your life, but in my case, it’s best for my sanity that I keep this door closed. Still there is an emptiness. My therapist told me that women generally choose to marry either someone like their father or someone she thinks her father should be.

   April 11:“Law and Order: SVU” is not on today so I'll watch “Black Ink” on VH1, about a tattoo owner and his employees. Drama, drama and more drama is what this show is about, and I'm addicted. 

   April 12:In my field today, students introduced these little caterpillars to me and let me know they are raising butterflies. I think this is great idea for students, but I don’t do insects and kept my distance. The students also informed me about a field trip to the dairy farm.  I went to one as a child, but I doubt it’s the same experience today. Maybe I should talk to Ms. Jensen about it.   

   April 13:I decided to play Fortnite, a team online game that involves shooting, which was all the description I needed. OMG, this game is just as addictive as a reality show. The only problem is that you interact with different people of all ages.  I heard students talking about it one day. I was supposed to catch up on work, but six hours later I still want to play. No matter how old I get, video games will always be a secret love of mind. 

   April 14:Today we are shopping for clothes for our May trip to Missouri to watch my little cousin graduate. Boy, time flies. I can remember when his mother came to visit. He was the first baby I ever held. I'm so happy for him. He has a great head on his shoulders, and I really hope he plans to attend college.  

   April 15:My grandmother made roast and potatoes, fried/bake chicken, and, of course, greens. Collard greens are a guaranteed side to each Sunday meal.  My grandfather has two gardens where he grows greens, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and have grown pretty much everything he can. He has two tractors.  He claims one is for me and one for my sister, but we haven’t driven them yet. In the summer my grandfather drives them around the neighborhood and to and from his garden. 

    April 17:I had my last counseling session, and I am so sad that it’s over. I noticed an improvement in my behavior and self-esteem. I also like how everything is confidential, well, unless you say you're going to kill someone. 

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is touting a talk in August by IHS coordinator of multicultural collections Nicole Martinez-LeGrand titled “Our Latino Heritage.” It is geared toward those anxious to explore ways to find out about their ancestors.  I suggested she access the Calumet Regional Archives website for information about our Latino holdings and mentioned that Steel Shavings,volume 40, contained a master index covering all previous issues. She was familiar with the Shavingsissues on Latinos Louis Vasquez as well as “Forging a Community: The Latino Experience in Northwest Indiana, 1919-1975” and other books of mine on the subject, saying, “You are held in high esteem here at the Indiana Historical Society.”  I’m flattered and tempted to attend her talk and distribute free copies of my latest Shavings to participants. I’m considering submitting a paper for the 2020 IOHA conference in Singapore on interviews I’ve conducted with Mexican-Americans Jesse Villalpando, Abe Morales, Maria Arredondo, Paulino Monterrubio, and others.  Nicole Martinez-LeGrand grew up in Northwest Indiana and her grandfather was a prominent merchant in the Indiana Harbor barrio. She’s conducting interviews concentrating on old -country roots. 

Ruthellyn Hatcher (above) and Elaine McGregsry

Barbara Walczak’s bridge Newsletterwelcomed Wednesday game newcomers Elaine McGregory and Ruthellyn Hatcher.  Elaine worked for 20 years for the Chicago Transit Authority as a Senior Claims Adjustor. This what Walczak wrote about Ruthellyn:

Ruth was born in Booneville, MO, but since 1967 has lived in Gary and that is the time she began learning to play bridge.  She is currently teaching music at Banneker Elementary School. She has 3 daughters – all lawyers – and 5 grandchildren,  She has been married for 41 years to Richard Hatcher (first black mayor of Gary).  Her hobbies are bridge, golf and traveling.

In the Chesterton game John and Karen Fieldhouse finished first with 60 percent.  Oddly, their worst hand came against Dee and me when Karen bid 4 Hearts over my 3 Spades and went down 5 doubled vulnerable for minus 1400 points due, among other things to a 5-0 split in Heart. When Helen Booth and Joel Charpentier were playing the same hands as Dee and me, they were doubled a 3 Spades and made an overtrick for 930 points.  Imagine their surprise when they discovered they lost out high board to us.

 Brenda Ann Love

Brenda Ann Love’s latest South Shore lament: “It’s ‘Let your kid scream and run around on the train’ day. Oh, and if your kid shits himself, maybe take him to the bathroom.”

I’ve got the 2011 War on Drugs CD “Slave Ambient” on heavy rotation with Flaming Lips. Jimmy Eat World, Fountains of Wayne, and The Head and the Heart.  The sound of “Slave Ambient” is much like the group’s more recent efforts.  It was produced by the independent record label Secretly Canadian from, of all places, Bloomington, Indiana.  In 2011 Adan Granduciel and band members were living in Philadelphia.  Here is a verse from “Come to the City:

Burning tires on my street
Past the roar and debris, baby
All the kids dance around it
But he lacks what he sees

At an emeritus faculty luncheon, 86-year-old John Ban asked if I’d consider giving a talk to Merrillville seniors.  I suggested  I asked IUN Chancellor Bill Lowe about the possibility of having a plaque honoring Ruth Nelson’s 70 years of service to the university, an idea passed on to me by library staff member Anne Koehler that Bill said he would look into.  In 1934, after graduating from Horace Mann, Ruth became secretary to Albert Fertsch, director of Gary College and the school-city’s adult education program.  Promoted to administrative assistant when Gary College became part of IU, she was in charge of scheduling, purchasing, payroll, and veterans affairs prior to becoming bookstore manager.  After she retired, she did volunteer work in the library for many years. 

The Cubs won an exciting game against the Diamondbacks, 7-6, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth on home runs by Dave Bote and Anthony Rizzo.  They also traded  for Cole Hamels, who pitched for the Phillies when they won the World Series in 2008.  He won 14 games during the season and went 4-0 in the playoffs.  His last game with Philadelphia in 2014, he hurled a no-hitter against the Cubs.