Folly

“People cling to folly as if it were their most prized possession. Defending it, sometimes with violence, against the possibility of wisdom.” Richard Russo, “Intervention”

In a recent New York Times column discussing Trump’s foreign policy blunders, Jon Meacham referenced Barbara Tuchman’s “The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam” (1984), which concluded that folly begins with a self-destructive will to power combined with “wooden-headedness,”or “assessing a situation in terms of preconceived notions while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs.”  Meacham sees folly at work in Republicans’ blind tribal loyalty -  the refusal of most to acknowledge that their leader might not only be wrong but truly dangerous.

 Kendall Svengalis

In a scathing rebuttal to a Timeseditorial endorsement of Gary Emergency Manager Peggy Hinckley’s hare-brained plan to auction off the school city’s valuable art collection, including a bust of Superintendent William A. Wirt, to pay off “a miniscule fraction of its $98 million debt,” Gary native and historian Kendall F. Svengalis wrote:

  If it hadn’t been for William A. Wirt, Gary would have been no more than a blip on the national educational landscape.  He alone is responsible for building a school system on national renown, one that expanded the curriculum of his day, achieved remarkable economies so that schoolchildren could have access to first-class facilities and equipment, like swimming  pools and auditoriums.  His K-12 “unit school” concept helped encourage students to go on and graduate from high school at a time when barely 9 percent of students did so.

  As this gritty industrial city became home to thousands of immigrants and southern blacks, he gave them art and music that would be the envy of many suburban schools today.  Gary had band and orchestra throughout the city, beginning in the fifth grade, and city-wide festivals that allowed students to showcase their talents.

  And Gary had art, not only in the classroom but original art on the walls of many of its schools.  For Wirt, art was not a frill but an essential element of a well-rounded education.  And that art was paid for, not with taxpayer funds, but with the three-fourths of a cent earned on each lunch served in the school cafeterias.  Wirt gave as much attention to the arts as he did athletics. Gary had much of which to be proud. This legacy should not be sacrificed due to mismanagement by successive waves of school administration.  Where would we be as a civilization if, every time a municipality experiences fiscal challenges, its first thought is to sell off its history?

Toni and I attended a Gary SouthShore RailCats baseball game as guests of Dick Hagelberg, whose company, Kidstuff Playsystems, reserved a party deck for the families of its employees. The pitcher for the visiting Sioux Falls Canaries walked the first four RailCats betters, all of whom scored in a 4-3 victory.  On the centerfield wall were retired numbers 23, 42, and 45.  I knew 42 stood for Dodger pioneer Jackie Robinson and learned later that 23 was for pitcher Willie Glen, who led the team to Northern league titles in 2005 and 2007 and was 2010 Pitcher of the Year. Number 45 honored Joe Gates, a Gary Roosevelt grad, former White Sox second baseman, Wirt baseball coach for 28 years, and RailCats coach from its initial home season in 2003 until his death in 2010. The postgame fireworks display was the best that Toni could remember.

Joe Gates in 2006 with South Holland mayor Don DeGraff; Times photo by Natalie Battaglia

At Abuelo’s in Merrillville, Angie Stojanovic, who used to work in Admissions at IUN, waved, and I stopped to talk with her. Friends with favorite student Shannon Pontney, Angie, despite misgivings (she was very religious), came to my retirement celebration at Mark O’s Bar in Portage, where Voodoo Chili performed.  After a great meal, eight of us played party bridge at the Crown Point home of Connie and Brian Barnes.  Evelyn Passo mentioned accompanying Herb on several business trips to Guangzhou (formerly Canton), which I visited during my 1994 China trip with 15 others, mainly Aussies and new Zealanders but including a young guy from Berkeley who was persistently tardy getting back on the bus, usually carrying a bunch of presents.  We both got a kick out over how horrified the other were about Chinese traffic and bathroom facilities.  One afternoon he had the hotel concierge send a masseuse to his room.  A beautiful young woman gave him a “happy ending” and then asked whether he knew anyone who wanted a similar experience.  He dutifully knocked on my door accompanied by the eager hooker, all smiles and hands extended toward my crotch, but I declined.  Later, the guy confessed to having shown the woman a necklace intended for his fiancé that she snatched up as her tip.

In Richard Russo’s short story “Horseman” a brilliant, compassionate African-American English professor named Marcus Bellamy has a profound influence on grad students Janet and Robbie Moore, who later named their son after him.  In a Proletarian Literature seminar, Janet wrote about John Dos Passos, knowing the novelist was a favorite of Bellamy.  I, too, am a big fan of his early work, especially the U.S.A.trilogy, written before Dos Passos became disillusioned with radical causes as a result of experiences during the Spanish Civil War. At a bar people were reciting their favorite poem.  Bellamy chose “Windy Nights” by Robert Louis Stevenson because his deceased father read it to him as a child. It became the favorite poem of young, autistic Marcus Moore:

Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?
Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again. 

I wonder if Russo named Marcus Bellamy for Black nationalist Marcus Garvey and utopian novelist Edward Bellamy, author of “Looking Backward.” In “Horseman” dilettante Tony Hope was a corny comedian (a la Bob Hope) who drank with his students, and seduced female faculty and staff.  House-husband Robbie Moore, an arrested adolescent, played in a garage band and could recite by heart the opium-inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge dream vision “Kubla Khan.”

IUN Elementary Education major Amber Ortiz’s journal described being married, the mother of two-year-old Lily, and working at Eagle Park, a special education school for kids with developmental and physical disabilities:

  Introduction:  I first attended IUN after graduating from Crown Point H.S. in 2010. After several semesters I lost interest in school and stopped enrolling in order to focus on work and my relationship with my boyfriend and now husband Javier. I became passionate about special education from peer tutoring in high school. At Eagle Park I have the title of Premier Sub and fill in when a teacher or paraprofessional is absent. I have been there for 4 years.  My desire to have my own classroom is one motivation for completing my education. Another is to be an example for Lily. 

  February 14, 2018:I enjoy Valentine’s Day because I have two loves, Javier and Lily. Today the kids in my class, grades 3 to 5, shared Valentine cards. The excitement caused some anxiety and physical aggressiveness.  It made for an exhausting day that required doing control techniques on some students. During my lunch break I picked up a Valentine’s Day treat at CVS for Lily for when I pick her up from her grandma’s.  Once home. it was time to unwind and start my daily chores, clean up and make dinner, and keep Lily entertained. Javier arrived home bearing gifts, a card and chocolates for me and a card and stuffed hippo for Lily. She was so excited. We ate dinner, played in Lily’s room, and then watched a bit of TV before he called it a night since he gets up at 4 a.m. when on day shift. 

  Feb. 17:Since Javier was off work, I made Belgium waffles and sausage links for breakfast. We spent the day chasing our crazy 2-year-old around as she climbed on furniture and put stuff in her mouth. While Lily napped, I washed dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. After I fed her chicken nuggets and cut up fruit, we dropped off Lily at her grandmother’s and started our night. At Longhorns in Portage I ordered a ribeye with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. After we stuffed our faces, I dragged my husband to Portage Imax to see 50 Shades Freed.He was dreading this movie all week, but I thoroughly enjoy chick flicks and had seen the previous 50 Shadesmovies. Once we sat down with popcorn and drinks, I noticed the theater was filled with women and a few random me.  Javier hated it, but I enjoyed it.  Lily was still wide-awake running around like the Crazy Carl nickname we gave her when we picked her up. 

 Feb. 27:I had lunch at House of Kobe with two close friends whom I have known since kindergarten. One lives in New Chicago and the other in St. Charles, IL.  Lily cried the entire time, starting when they lit the fire. Her previous time there, she was fine. At IUN I got a ticket from not properly displaying my parking pass. At home Javier had cooked hamburgers on the grill. He sensed my sour mood from the ticket so our night ended abruptly. I put Lily to bed and went to sleep myself.

  March 9:My sister, aunt, and I attended Nordstrom’s Spring Makeup and Clothing Trend Fashion Show.  I got my makeup done at the Bobbi Brown and M.A.C. counter. I missed my appointment to get my hair done since there were so many people they could not fit me in. My aunt considers me and my sister as her little babies.  We’d play with her makeup and put curlers in our hair like she did. At a boutique I found a cute bathing suit for Lily and a spring jacket for myself. At Star of Siam I ordered a dish with glass noodles, shrimp and chicken. My usual Thai item is just Pad Thai noodles, so I am proud of myself for trying something new. At the parking garage our validated parking ticket expired an hour before so instead of paying $15 dollars, the total was $49. It’s amazing how much Chicago visits cost, but if I could have my way I’d definitely live downtown. 

  March 15:I got to work a little late because Lily has been sick with a fever. Work was stressful. We had 3 control techniques (holds or restraints) after the students became aggressive or unsafe. Thursdays the kids usually have art class as well as gym so that helps the day go by a little faster. Before going to bed earlier than normal, I packed Javier’s lunch and got Lily’s outfit and diaper bag ready for her grandmas

  March 16:Work today was fairly easy; the kids will make up for it another day in the future.  I visited my mom in my old Crown Point home. Now divorced, she lives by herself. For dinner, she ordered Chinese food from a nearby restaurant, so I was pretty excited. My mom is very introverted and has anxiety when around people. I am a quiet person but still likes to have a good time. I have tried to talk her into joining a gym but she worries people will think she’s fat. 

 March 17:Being 50 percent Irish, I was planning on doing a St. Patty’s run in Crown Point but it was raining and I didn’t want to take Lily outside and risk her getting sick.  She drags baby dolls with her everywhere. After her nap, we drove to Miller. My dad, aunt, and grandparents all live with a few blocks to each other near the beach. My dad grew up on Gary’s north side and went to Holy Angel’s and then Andrean. My sister came up from Indy.  I have never met someone in today’s age care so little about having a cell phone. Once home, Lily ran to Javier like she hadn’t seen him in ages. She really is a daddy’s girl; when he’s around, I’m chop liver. 

  March 18:After a full night’s sleep, I made chorizo and eggs and gave Lily a bath.  At the mall I picked out a birthday gift for my mother-in-law. We found a nice necklace and then I took Lily to the Disney Store and Build-a-Bear. She picked out a stuffed animal character in the Disney Store from the TV show “Puppy Dog Pals.” I despise stuffed animals since she has so many, yet I have the hardest time throwing any of them away.  After Lily’s nap, I made her a grilled cheese with pickles for lunch, one of her favorites. Then she colored a birthday card with finger paints. Needless to say, she made a masterpiece but a mess as well! When Javier came home, we met his family at Cooper’s Hawk. Lily ran up to her grandma and gave her a hug and her special card. I ordered the soy ginger glazed salmon. We sang Happy Birthday with chocolate covered strawberries and gave her the necklace.   It being her 50^thbirthday, next weekend friends and family will celebrate at Bar Louie’s in Merrillville. 

  March 29:Tomorrow is Good Friday so no school; the following week is spring break, which means 10 days of freedom. Lily and her cousin Kai who is a year younger got pictures taken at J.C. Penney with the Easter bunny.  Unlike her Santa pictures, when she cried, this time they came out cute. She and Kai wore matching dresses and hair bows and my heart just melted all over the floor. Back home I made homemade pizzas and a garden salad.  It was a successful day in my book.

  April 1:On holidays we usually invite my mom to join us as my dad’s.  She lives alone and her family is in Ireland, where she grew up.  On the rare occasions when she has come, she doesn’t say much. On top of that, most holidays my mother cooks an excessive amount of food and then expects me to take home the leftovers. After breakfast at Jelly’s pancake house, Lily received an Easter basket form my dad and grandma and her eyes lit up.  Next stop was to my mom’s for lunch.  She had an entire couch covered in Easter baskets and gifts plus more food than necessary as usual: ham, green beans, Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, and dessert. After dinner Lily opened all her gifts. When Javier called to say he was on his way home, I loaded the car with leftovers and Lily’s Easter gifts.  We said our thank yous and goodbyes, met Javier at home, and headed to his mom’s. Awaiting us was a ham, 7-layer salad, green beans, cheesy potato casserole, and dinner rolls. I brought over a carrot cake for dessert. Lily had another Easter basket and emptied everything on the floor. Back home, we FINALLY gave Lily her basket from the Easter bunny. 

  April 8:Kid’s Day at Chicago C2E2 is an entertainment convention at McCormick Place. We have gone the past 2 years. Javier is into comics, video games, and anime. Though not my cup of tea, it still is a cool event.  People dress up in creative costumes. The first year Lily went as Minnie Mouse, then she was in Power Ranger Gear; this year’s theme was Star Wars. At Suicide Squad photo booth one could pick an outfit and props and take an action shot in front of a green screen.  At a New Orleans seafood restaurant called Pappadeaux we waited almost an hour to get seated.  The mussels we ordered had a fishy odor and seemed extremely slimy. We let the server know, and he took them off the table. The manager confided that she receives several complaints about the mussels daily but each shipment they keep getting bigger and bigger.  When I lifted a drink menu, I noticed a big dead sider on the table. The waiter quickly removed it with a plastic bag. When our meals finally came, but I had completely lost my appetite. Though the bill was on the house, I doubt we’ll ever go back.

Becca and James at Chellberg Farm

Sunday we had Dave’s family for dinner.  Toni served delicious mussels and scallops with mango salsa and a salad. For the fourth straight game the Cubs manages just one run on a solo HR.  Nonetheless, the split the series with the Pirates thanks to shutout performances by John Lester and Cole Hamels.  James and Becca are back to school already, and Dave has been coaching tennis since the beginning of August.

Rituals

“We associate the ritual with a major life passage, the crossing of a critical threshold, or in other words, with transformation.” Abraham Verghese

The “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin, is dead, felled by pancreatic cancer.  Former Star Plaza Theater CEO Charlie Blum recalled Franklin’s many performances to packed audiences in Merrillville.  Because she hated to fly, Blum sometimes arranged for a limo driver to transport her from Detroit. Her demands included no air conditioning in the dressing room (it being bad for her vocal cords) and to be paid in advance in cash.  Blum would deliver the considerable sum of money to her dressing room; she’d carefully count it and stuff it into her purse, which she’d take with her on stage and place on the piano.  Declining Blum’s offer to keep the purse in a safe, Franklin would say that having it within sight was motivation for putting on a good show. “The King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley, and "The Sultan of Swat,” Babe Ruth, also died on August 16.

On September 16, 1909, President William Howard Taft attended a Chicago Cubs home game at West Side Park.  When he stood to stretch in the middle of the seventh, the fans joined him.  He did this again the following year on opening day in Washington, DC, and a ritual was born, the seventh inning stretch, celebrated at Wrigley Field to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”  The Cubs won 104 games in 1909 but lost the pennant to the Pirates. They won 104 games again in 1910; this time it was good enough to get them into the World Series.  Unfortunately, as the regular season was coming to an end, second baseman Johnny Evers broke an ankle and missed the Fall Classic, won by the Philadelphia Athletics in six games, as 31-game winner Jack Coombs pitched three complete games in six days.  It was the “Last Hurrah” for the Cubs dynasty featuring double play legends Tinker, Evers, and Chance.

In a journal Alison Cruz wrote about a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and spending Easter at an aunt’s:                                           

  Background:When I was just 3, my Mom decided to take me and leave my Dad, who was from Mexico and had very strong traditions which often caused issues with my Mom. They wanted different roles in the marriage and also had with financial issues. We moved in with my Grandparents in Chesterton until my Mom graduated and got a job. In the middle of my third grade year, we moved into a house in Valparaiso with a man I call my Stepdad, but my Mom never married him. They subsequently had three children together.  I started becoming best friends with Emily, who wore plaid high top Converse sneakers and had crazy curly hair. We’d have sleepovers, and she still to this day is my best friend. She still has a piece of paper with my name and phone number that I gave to her in third grade. Throughout high school I got good grades, played volleyball, spent time with friends, worked, went to proms and homecomings, and was involved in student council and clubs. I spent a year at IU and then moved back home and went to IUN to pursue an Education degree. A year ago, I moved into a townhouse with 2 other girls I work with at Ricochet Tacos in downtown Valparaiso. I’ve been there for 3 years. I’ve met most of my friends, my roommates, and my boyfriend there.          

 March 23, 2018:I took my Mom, my brother Ryan, and sister Kamryn to Gulf Shores, Alabama. It’s their spring break so I took a week off from school. This is the 4th year they’ve gone but only my second time. My stepdad and brother chose not to go. We left Valparaiso at 5 a.m.  My Mom got us through Indiana and I drove the rest of the way even though I didn’t get much sleep the night before. We arrived at our rented condo around 11 p.m.  It was on the beach, and I could hear waves from right outside our door. As we were walking up the stairs, Ryan tripped and scraped his face up. It looked painful, but he laughed so then we all lightened up. We unpacked and then I got some much needed sleep.                                   

 March 24:Mom ran to the grocery and I threw my bikini on and took my sister outside. We laid our towels out on the sand and put tanning lotion on but, in my case, not enough. I have really dark complexion but this winter lost it all and was really pale. I went in the water periodically to cool off; even though it was only in the mid-70s, the sun was hot. I fell asleep and an hour or so later took my brother for a walk along the shore. Afterwards, we went in to shower and get ready for dinner. I WAS BURNT. I have never ever been so sunburnt before.  At the restaurant my legs seemed on fire. I ordered shrimp, oysters, and crab legs and later bought aloe infused lotion.    

  March 27:It was too cold for the beach, so we went to a brand new amusement park. Everything smelled like fresh paint, and the handful of rides were mostly for little kids.  Thankfully, my burn is pretty much gone.          

 March 29:We had beach days yesterday and today, but the riptide was crazy so I had to stay close to my brother and sister while they were boogie boarding. Afterwards at an outlet mall I bought a nice leather bag and wallet but otherwise just browsed around.  

  March 31:I drove for 13 hours straight with only four stops, itching to get home, having missed my friends, my boyfriend, and my own bed. Everyone was ready to get home. We were home around 8. I couldn’t wait to crash . Right after my boyfriend arrived, a roommate came home and filled me in on all the drama from work. I can’t wait to sleep tonight. 

Alison (above, right) and friends, Jan. 2, 2018

 April 1: My boyfriend and I watched a few hours of Broad City,my favorite show, about two girls in New York who are really funny and kind of vulgar.  Then we went to my Aunt’s for Easter. Each year we have an outdoor egg hunt for the kids.  The lucky ones find the gold and silver eggs filled with money. I was always the one to find the golden egg, so now I am the one who hides it.  I put it inside a bird feeder. It stumped them until someone gave my sister an obvious clue.  Since it was April Fool’s Day, my Mom had put rice and beans in the gold and silver egg. My sister found both but gave the silver egg to my brother. When they discovered what was inside, my sister was shocked, and my brother threw the rice at us. My Mom ended up giving them the money and explaining that it was only a joke. 

Harvard Square Hookah

Ivory Jones’s journal mentioned hanging out at a hookah bar, where patrons share a water pipe for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco.  The ritual started in India, spread to the Middle East, and has become popular in American college towns and multicultural areas. There are several such lounges in Northwest Indiana. They are generally exempt from smoking bans.

  March 15:I had McDonalds for breakfast on break. My shift is from 5 am till 11 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My usual task is to make drinks and take orders on the headset for the drive thru. Today the line was literally all the way to our entrance.

  March 16:Friends and I went to the hookah bar and played Uno. We had a nice time but I didn’t get home around 1 am and have to be at work at 5. 

  March 17: My feet hurt, and I smell like French fries. After being pretty hung over, I worked about 10 hours because the new people don’t know how to do anything and my manager begged me to stay. I feel like I may pass out.

  March 18:I hung out with my dad. We had a couple beers and watched football. It was a chill day. It’s been so cold; I can’t wait for it to warm up out, so that I can finally show some skin and wear shorts. 

 March 19:My boyfriend and I had a sleepover at his place. My parents are strict and do not want my sister and me to smoke, stay out too late, or have sex. I’m over 18 and pretty much do all of the above, but I do respect them and don’t come home smelling like smoke. I lie about where I’m going when I spend the night with my boyfriend. 

 March 20: My workout routine is to walk about a mile on the treadmill and then work on my abs and arms. It helps to relieve stress and get my body ready for summer. 

 March 21:I had a bad break-up, so that sucks really bad but I’m not going to let it get me down. I lost about 5 pounds in a few days but know I’ll bounce back. It’s hard to feel independent after being with someone for 6 months. 

  March 22:I’m definitely still depressed. I’ve been catching up on The Walking Deadand trying to eat. My mom told me to stay busy and just do things that I love. I have been talking to other guys to keep my mind off my ex. I am too young to be wasting my time upset over this. 

  March 24:I played Fortnite on my Xbox. I started back in August and within a month it seemed like everyone was playing it. You can play with friends online and it’s addictive. 

  March 25:Work was stressful; a couple buses showed up full of travelers. People were throwing trash on the floor and not cleaning up after themselves. How can people be so rude? I’m at a party in a hotel. It’s Girls Night, and we got three rooms to play drunk Uno and drink shots and coolers. 

   March 27:My head hurts from last night. We had so much fun and didn’t even leave our rooms even though there was a pool. Now I have the worst hangover and have been in bed all day. A couple days ago, I found out that my ex had a terrible accident and got thrown out of his truck. I texted him, and he responded but didn’t want to be with me. This feeling sucks. I have been doing everything possible to move on. It's hard to love someone who doesn't feel the same as you.

  March 29:I cooked eggs and sausage for me and my dad. My mom usually works mornings. I need a hobby. I used to be in orchestra in high school but I haven’t played my cello in so long. It used to be my outlet to kept stress down.

  March 30:I worked 8 hours and it took my mind away from thinking about my personal life. I enjoyed pouring coffee for the older customers. 

 March 31:I worked another 8-hour shift. Managers love me because I’m pretty much the hardest work there and make few mistakes. I want to be a teacher, so I need to have patience and control my anger if somebody is rude or disrespectful. 

  April 1:Every Easter my dad and I watch the Ten Commandments, the story of Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt. Even though it’s too long and the quality is horrible. I still love its message. I’m a youngest child and sometimes my dad feels like we’ve outgrown him. I try to keep traditions, like watching this movie with him. He’s been wondering why I’ve been so depressed. I can talk to my mom about that but don’t want my dad to know.

  April 3:I’m planning on going to Wisconsin Dells with my sister and some friends. I can’t wait to just get out of Indiana for a week and not work and just chill by a pool.

  April 4:I haven't smoked in a few days and don’t miss it, so I don’t think it has a hold on me just yet. My parents see me typing on my laptop every day and think I have a blog.  When I explained about the journal, they started referring to it as my diary.  Come to think of it, that is sort of what it is.

 April 6:I feel like an old lady sometimes, working so early in the morning.  Most young people work at night.  My co-workers are diligent and don’t play on their phones or stand around. The main drawback is getting up early after partying.

  April 7:My ex and I used to get sonic, watch a movie, and cuddle all night.  It’s hard to believe that it’s all over. I do wonder if he is thinking of me. I really miss him and it feels good to type it instead of keeping it in my mind. I would literally do everything to cheer him up when he was down and couldn’t find work. I’d give him gas money when he had none.  Men are users and don’t have deep feelings, obviously. That’s why I’ve been so depressed .

 April 8:Another ex-boyfriend still talks about me, but I don’t get why. I don’t understand men and why they treat women like toys. I just want someone to love me the way the way I love them.  My generation has sex and thinks that’s love, and not just the boys anymore, girls too. I don’t want to have sex with a boy I just met.  

  April 9:I’m in such a dark place it’s scary. I feel so alone even when surrounded by those I love.  I can’t allow friends and family to see me so torn down. I don’t even feel like myself. I’m thinking about how worthless I am. What keeps me going is that I know in a month or 2 I will be happy again, not fake happy either, really happy.

  April 11:I love music by Adele and Sam Smith. It is so relaxing and I can listen all day without getting tired of them. Our music is filled with songs about being mistresses and not having commitment.

  April 14:I slept in and got a friend to work my shift. I have to take my dog to Petco for a bath  He’s the smelliest dog ever, like I’ll wash him and he’ll take a nap and wake up smelly. I love my dog though, he is like my therapy dog. He always wants to jump in bed with me and cuddle. My dad used to hate dogs, so our family was shocked when he allowed it in the house. Now he loves him, too.  My mom’s birthday is coming as well as Mother’s Day so I need to order her some things.

  April 15:I prefer Mike’s Hard Lemonade to beer. I just realized that I never watch TV, only shows on like Netflix or Hulu. I don’t even turn on the TV unless I’m playing Xbox. 

  April 16:I got my mom shoes, a jean jacket, and a bracelet and earrings. She is super spoiled so hopefully she likes what I got and doesn't chew me out.  My dad gets mad at me for ordering stuff online because he feels like it’s unnecessary.  

  April 21:Oh my God, was I tired at work, with only about 3 hours of sleep because of partying with friends.

 

Ivory Jones

On the cover of “Hurrah for Liberals” by James A. Haught (which the author’s sister-in-law Helen Booth lent me) are Frederick Douglass, Margaret Sanger, Martin Luther King, and five Presidents: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, TR, FDR, and LBJ.  The book contains a quote by former Minnesota senator Al Franken, pressured into resigning when a couple incidents of stupid behavior toward women surfaced dating back to his days on Saturday Night Live. Franken asked: “Does the mainstream [press] have a liberal bias?  On a couple things, maybe.  Compared to the American public at large, probably a slightly higher percentage of journalists, because of their enhanced power of discernment, realize they know a gay person or two, and are, therefore, less frightened of them.”

Helen Booth also lent me a December 1928 issue of National Geographic, which featured an article titled “Renascent Germany” and over 40 pages of advertisements for such products as Campbell’s Soup, Gillette razor blades, Prudential Life Insurance, and National City Bank.  Holland-American Line touted luxury Mediterranean cruises starting at $955, and Chrysler offered roadsters starting at $1065, while Dodge countered with a touring car for just $995.  A land company selling plots in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix made this pitch, leaving out that temperatures often exceeded 100º in summer:

  Chandler, Arizona, where winter is one continuous June; max. temp., November to March 63º to 74º, favorite wintering place of leading Americans – statesmen, authors, capitalists, business men; all year crops; unusual opportunities for farmers, dairymen, orchardists, orange grovers, and men with capital; hotels and other lines needed.  Come, make money, and add 10 to 20 years to your life.

Chandler had a mere 1,200 residents in 1940; the population has since ballooned to a quarter-million.

 IOHA officers; photo by Donald A. Ritchie

The Oral History Association (OHA) August Newslettercontained an article by fellow University of Maryland PhD Donald A. Ritchie about the international conference in Jyväskylä, Finland that Dave and I attended, as well as a photo of its newly elected IOHA officers from Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Iran, Mexico, Singapore (site of the 2020 conference), South Africa, Spain, and the United States. Ritchie wrote:

 Under the theme of “Memory and Narrative,” sessions ranged broadly, dealing with subjects from immigration to pandemics, civil rights and gender identity.  This year being the centennial of the Finnish civil war, speakers introduced the international audience to memories of events in the host country. Finnish history was represented in memories of wars in song, Finnish design and the circumstances of sharing a border with Russia.  With more than 20 hours of sunlight a day at Midsummer, delegates enjoyed a leisurely boat ride on a Finnish lake, dinner on an island, music and a sauna followed by a plunge into the lake, for those who chose.The meeting was a testament to the spread of oral history internationally and to the vitality and versatility of its practice.

Ritchie will be chairing a session in Montreal that I’m participating in, put together by Anne Balay, who is about to embark of a book tour for “Semi Queer” that will include a talk at IU Northwest. Coming across my past, Balay credited me with getting her started in oral history and added: “I can’t wait to hang out in Montreal!!!”

Post-Tribune columnist Jerry Davich repeated motivational speaker Mehmet “Memo” Dalkilic’s advice to incoming IU freshmen to“be uncomfortable” and wrote:

  Last month I wrote about the new book “Semi Queer: Inside the Lives of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers” by Anne Balay.  A reader asked why Balay used the word queerin her title.  Balay explained: “Saying gay, lesbian bisexual, intersex, etc. takes too long.  But, more seriously, it’s way more inclusive than other terms I know.  And it makes people uncomfortable, but that’s something I don’t try to avoid. Discomfort can be healthy.”

Bonehead Play

“A dispute historic in baseball, which enriched the language with two exceedingly forceful words, ‘bonehead’ and ‘boner,’ arose over whether Frederick Charles Merkle did or did not touch second base.” Mark Sullivan, “Our Times”

As a baseball historian, I knew about the bizarre conclusion to the 1908 National League season, when a make-up game between the Cubs and the Giants was necessary to decide the pennant due to 19-year-old Fred Merkle’s “bonehead” baserunning mistake. With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth at New York’s Polo Grounds, Giant shortstop Al Bridwell hit an apparent game-winning single, sending Moose McCormick home from third.  On first, Merkle saw fans swarming onto the field and ran into the dugout without first touching second base, a common practice in those days. Cubs second baseball Johnny Evers, however, noticed the gaffe and brought it to the attention of the umpires.  In fact, in a recent game against the Pirates the exact thing had occurred only there had only been one umpire, Henry O’Day, who missed what happened so the rule wasn’t enforced.  Largely because of the fuss Evers put up at that time, two umpires were assigned to the Cubs-Giants game, including the one who’d failed to see what happened against Pittsburgh.  According to David Hinckley, details of exactly what happened are hazy, “lost in the mists of time – mists that closed in rapidly”:

  In most accounts, Giants pitcher "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity dashed from the first base coach's box to intercept the ball Art Hofman threw back to the infield and fling it deep into the stands. That was that, McGinnity figured, except Evers was still yelling. If that ball was gone, he wanted another one. Eventually he found one. Some say it was the real one, ripped away from a fan in the stands by little-used relief pitcher Rube Kroh. Others say it was another ball, relayed to Evers by shortstop Joe Tinker and maybe even third baseman Harry Steinfeldt, in a bizarre alternate version of the Cubs' famous Tinker-to-Evers-to Chance double play combination.

  Whatever the ball's origin, Evers secured it, touched second base and asked the umpires – R.D. Emslie at second base and Henry O'Day behind the plate – to call Merkle out on a force play, which would nullify McCormick's winning run. Emslie, who fell to the ground avoiding Bridwell's single, said he didn't see whether Merkle touched second and therefore couldn't make a call. O'Day said he did see and no, Merkle did not touch second. Therefore, yes, he was out. 

Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem, known as the “Old Arbitrator,” who officiated games for 36 years beginning in 1905, decried the decision as “the rottenest” he’d ever come across.

Prior to the playoff game a week later, “Iron Man” McGinnity, who wasn’t scheduled to pitch that afternoon, attempted to pick a fight with Frank Chance, hoping that both would be ejected; but the ruse didn’t work.  The Cubs went on to defeat Giants ace Christy Mathewson, 4-2, setting off a riotous aftermath, as described by David Rapp:

  The bad feelings ran so high, acknowledge a New York paper, that “the Chicago men were bombarded as they left the field, kicked, and reviled.”  Hundreds of rabid fans took to the field, growling and out for blood. Tinker, Sheckard, and others took hard knocks to the head, while someone slashed Pfiester on the shoulder with a knife. Another hooligan chased down Chance from behind and delivered a wicked chop across his neck.  The blow broke some cartilage and temporarily snuffed out his voice.

  When the team made it to relative safety in their dressing room, the doors barricaded, armed guards had to stand outside to hold the mob back.  The Cubs eventually were secreted back to their hotel in a patrol wagon with two cops inside and four more riding the running boards.  They hustled out of town that night for Detroit, site of the upcoming World Series, by slipping out the back door and running down an alley, escorted by a swarm of policemen.

The Cubs went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 1, their last championship for 108 years. Chance outplayed future Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, garnering 8 hits to his 7 and swiping 5 bases to his 2.

Baseball historian Trey Strecker wrote about another unfortunate incident involving Merkle in the deciding game of the 1912 World Series against the Boston Red Sox:

  Fred was poised to be the hero when his single in the top of the 10th inning scored Red Murray from second to give the Giants the lead. The bottom half began with Fred Snodgrass' infamous muff in center field, allowing pinch-hitter Clyde Engle to reach second base. After Harry Hooper flied out and Steve Yerkes walked, Tris Speaker hit a high foul near the first-base coach's box. Though most observers agreed that it was his ball, Merkle backed away when Christy Mathewson called for the catcher, Meyers, to make the catch. The ball fell to the ground, giving Speaker another chance, and this time he slashed a long single to right that started the Sox's winning rally. In New York, the headlines the next day read “Bonehead Merkle Does It Again.”

Sports writers employed “bonehead” during the NBA playoffs when Cleveland Cavalier J.R. Smith grabbed an offensive rebound in a tie game with seconds remaining and dribbled away from the basket rather than attempt a shot.  Even more egregious was Michigan All-American Chris Webber calling time-out with 11 seconds remaining in the NCAA championship against Duke when his team had none left, resulting in a technical foul and loss of possession.

Bridge Bulletin used this Larry Sherman letter under the heading Déjà vu?::

  I was called to a table at a game I was directing. North said someone had scored on their line.  East then chimed in that they had already played this board.  I tried to clarify whether East-West had played this board at another table.  North then realized that the handwriting on the traveler line was her own.  They had played the same board twice at thistable with a different contract and a different result.  That was a first for me.

In duplicate Dottie Hart and I finished with a 57.29 percent, good enough for third place and half a master point.  My only bonehead move came after Dottie opened one No-Trump and the person on my right bid 2 Diamonds.  I held 5 Hearts but just 7 points and using a transfer system would have said 2 Diamonds had my opponent not beat me to it.  I bid 2 Hearts and Dottie, believing that indicated a five-card Spade suit, responded 2 Spades.  When I bid 3 Hearts, she raised to 4 Hearts and I got set 2.  What I should have done initially was double 2 Diamonds. Then when Dottie bid 2 Hearts, I could have passed. On another hand, I got high board holding 6 Hearts, including the Ace, King, Queen, 5 Spades to the Queen and 2 singletons. I bid Hearts 3 times while Dottie kept passing and the opponents bid Clubs and Diamonds. Dottie had only one Heart, but a lucky 3-3 split enabled me to make the contract. Last week in a similar situation, a 5-1 split proved disastrous and resulted in a low board.

Bridge opponent Helen Booth mentioned having been a neighbor of Post-Tribuneowner H.B. Snyder, who committed suicide by walking into Lake Michigan.  Snyder’ss wife socialized with Heywood Braun and other members of New York City’s “Smart Set.” She’d write Post-Trib“Travel” columns about her trips abroad. Gary Mayor George Chacharis nicknamed Snyder, his arch-enemy, the “Duke of Dune Acres.” IUN professor Garret Cope’s parents worked for the Snyder family as cook and chauffer.  Helen lent me “Holy Horrors: An Illustrated History of Religious Murder and Madness” by her brother-in-law James A. Haught. The title seemed particularly relevant given the horrific headlines about atrocities committed by hundreds of Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania and subsequent church coverup. Haught signed the copy, “From a total heathen.”

 above, Christy Mathewson; below, Fred Merkle

Baseball goat Fred Merkle was an avid bridge player, often partnering in the New York clubhouse with Christy Mathewson, born in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, a graduate of Bucknell (my alma mater), and winner of 373 games during a stellar career.  Mathewson enlisted in the army during World War I and was accidentally gassed, resulting in tuberculosis and an early death in 1925 at age 45.  He was buried in Lewisburg Cemetery near Bucknell’s campus, known in the early 1960s as a “make-out heaven.”

Bonehead was the name of a children’s TV series that ran for three seasons on BBC beginning in 1960 and featured a dim-witted trio of crooks, Boss, Happy and Bonehead. 

All in Good Humor

“These are the saddest of possible words:

“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”

         F.P. Adams, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”

In 1910 New York Evening Mailcontributor Franklin Pierce Adams, a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, penned a couplet for his “All in Good Humor” column that was destined to become, next to “Casey at the Bat,” the most famous baseball poem of all time. The Cubs had just defeated their archrival New York Giants, thanks to a rally-killing, shortstop to second to first double play. At the behest of a copy editor, Adams added six lines, making use of a medieval Italian word – gonfalon -  meaning a banner or flag:

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,

Tinker and Evers and Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,

Making a Giant hit into a double-

Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:

“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”

F.P. Adams in the 1920s was a charter member of the Algonquin Round Table, matching wits with the likes of Dorothy Parker, who once said, “One more drink and I’ll be under the host,”  and Robert Benchley, who quipped:“I know I’m drinking myself to a slow death, but then I’m in no hurry.” Adams once defined middle age as “when you are too young to take up golf and too old to rush up to the net.”  Hard to imagine that golf was once considered an old man’s sports.  F.P. Adams probably never dreamed that thousands of fans would pay to watch 43 year-old Tiger Woods finish second to 28 year-old Brooks Koepka in the hundredth annual PGA Open.

Baseball’s first matinee idol, according to David Rapp’s “Tinker to Evers to Chance,” was Michael “King” Kelly, who during the 1880s led the forerunner of the Chicago Cubs, the White Stockings, to five pennants. A charismatic showman and vaudeville performer during the off-season, Kelly was the first sports celebrity to sign autographs for fans.  He invented the hook slide and inspired the 1889 hit “Slide, Kelly, Slide.”  Prints of a painting showing Kelly sliding head-first into second adorned countless Windy City saloons. A catcher when not playing the outfield, he kept up a line of patter to distract hitters, a favorite tactic of my old Porter Acres battery mate Omar Farag, whom I ran into at Miller Sunday Market, carrying a bouquet of flowers.

As the contestants on Jeopardy’s 2017 Tournament of Champions, a summer rerun, were introduced, one covered his eyes, the second his ears, and the third his mouth, referencing the 3 wise monkeys who embodied the proverb, “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”  Nobody knew Final Jeopardy, the state capital since 1805 whose first four letters were the same as the state’s last four letters.  Answer: Montpelier, Vermont.  Final Jeopardyin this week’s initial college Tournament of Champions was: which twentieth-century U.S. president was inaugurated twice within 14 months?  Easy: LBJ. Two young folks (a math and a science major) got it incorrect, guessing TR and Grover Cleveland.

In Richard Russo’s “Voice” a brilliant but mute college student with Asperger Syndrome suffers a breakdown in an English seminar.  Nate, the instructor, is blamed for the incident and replaced in mid-semester.  Given Russo’s comic sensibility, “Voice” contains humorous asides, such as comparing a jealous husband to a neighbor’s dog who bit you once and acts like he’s still got more unfinished business.  And this: “Next year, in place of the Jane Austin seminar, he’d been offered a section of comp, an indignity that put him in mind of e.e. cummings’s Olaf, who from his knees declares there is some shit he will not eat.”  Sensitive Nate has an obnoxious brother, Julian, who calls him “Prof” in a pejorative manner (Nate: “How the word rankles”),uses words likeuncuntedand befucked to describe him, and is seldom right about anything but, according to Russo, never in doubt, much less self-doubt.  On a tour in Venice, Nate comes upon a so-called art piece that, in essence, is a half-ton of dirt poured onto the floor, which gay guide Klaus, whom Julian continually mocks, calls provocative.

“FOX and Friends” commentator and former Trump aide David Bosse told African-American Joel Payne, “You’re out of your cotton-picking mind.”  Payne responded: “I’ve got some relatives who picked cotton, and I’m not going to sit here and allow you to attack me like that on TV.  You better watch your mouth.” Just months before, FOX sports announcer Brian Davis was reprimanded for using the exact phrase to describe Russell Westbrook’s high level of play. And that was meant as praise while Bosse’s intent was clearly ridicule.

On the cover of Time: Spike Lee, director of “BlacKkKlansman,” based on a true story about African-American policeman Ron Stallworth going undercover to join the KKK. “BlacKkKlansman” stars John David Washington (Denzel’s son) as Ron Stallworth. It opens with a scene from “Gone with the Wind” and closes with the 2017 alt-white Charlottesville riot.  At times bitingly funny, like the 1963 Cold War critique “Dr. Strangelove,” the film, to quote critic Simon Miraudo is also “stunningly effective as a call to arms” – as is true of most all Spike Lee pictures.

Joaquin Phoenix assumes the role of quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan in the biopic “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot,” the title a punchline from a cartoon panel showing a posse coming across an empty wheelchair in the desert. Before he killed himself, Robin Williams was set to play the part in tribute to his friend Steve Reeves.  Disabled at age 21 due to an auto accident, Callahan employed a unique brand of “sick humor” in such publications as the New Yorkerand Penthouse.Callahan’s first published cartoon was of a panhandler holding a sign reading, “I am blind and black but not musical.” A subsequent one had the caption, “Refuse to have a nice day.”   In one depicting two cowboys in wheelchairs an old-timer draws a gun on the other and says, “This town ain’t accessible enough for both of us.”  New Yorker cartoonist Sam Gross recalled this Callahan anecdote:

  He was waiting for the light in his electric wheelchair, and some evangelical comes along and goes, “Boy, boy – believe in Jesus and get up and walk!”  And John looks at him and says, “I have five thousand dollars invested in this chair!”

 Sean Penn as Spicily

On TV I watched two Eighties comedies, “Back to the Future” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” the former with only mild interest and the latter with my interest piqued upon learning that it was written by Cameron Crowe.  Sean Penn played stoner Jeff Spicoli, whose character reminded me of Jam in “Detroit Rock City,” my favorite comedy of all time, along with “Fargo,” the Coen brothers darkly comedic murder tale.  While Roger Ebert called “Fast Times” a “scuz-pit of a movie,”it had its funny moments and the music was great, especially numbers by the Go-Gos, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, the Ravyns, and, of course, the Cars’ “Moving in Stereo” during the pool fantasy scene.

Former Cubs hurler Rick Sutcliffe, 16-1 during the memorable 1984 season, was in the broadcast booth prior to singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” He recently worked a game with Cubs 2016 World Series hero David Ross, who evidently takes frequent bathroom breaks.  One inning Ross got back late and Sutcliffe asked, “And what do you think of that, David?”Ross had no idea what he was referring to. Sutcliffe got a laugh, but I didn’t think it was funny.  In the rubber game of a series with Washington, Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins sang during the seventh inning stretch. The Cubs trailed 3-0 in the ninth when Jason Heywood scratched out a hit and, with two out, Nationals closer Ryan Madson plunked two batters in a row.  Then rookie David Bote hit a 2-2 pitch into the bleachers for a walk-off grand slam. I immediately called Dave, who said he’d almost turned off the TV when Washington scored 2 runs in the top of the inning. Next morning on AM 670 Lin Brehmer played Vince Lloyd’s dramatic home run call, culminating with these words: “It has a chance.  Grand slam. Cubs win. (pause) Listen to this place.” Pretty moving.

High school friend Vince Curll sent me an article by historian William H. Thiesen that appears in the current issue of Sea History entitled “First Lady Harriet Rebecca Lane and the Cutters That Have Borne Her Name.”  The first Harriet Lane, commissioned for the Revenue Cutter Service in 1858 while Harriet’s Uncle James Buchanan was President, was an 180-foot side paddled steamer that fired the first naval shot of the Civil war in Charleston Harbor near Fort Sumter. Harriet Lane II was commissioned in 1926, designed to interdict whisky smugglers during Prohibition and later a Coast Guard air-sea rescue vessel.  During the 1990s Harriet Lane III helped rescue thousands of Haitian and Cuba migrants and is still in use, primarily in counter-drug operations but also, sadly, to catch Latin Americans fleeing from poverty and tyranny.

 USS Harriet Lane forces USS Nashville to show its colors in 1861

Harriet Lane III

I haven’t seen Vince Curll in over 50 years, but he obviously recalled that President Buchanan was my ancestor (great-great-great uncle).  His accompanying note indicated that his politics differed from mine, as he wrote: “In your own inimical way, feel free to use the enclosed material to exaggerate, embellish or create however you deem appropriate.  I have yet to encounter an avowed “Lefty” that allowed confirmable facts to interfere with the attainment of his target.  Lineage be damned.” I replied: 

  As you were my good friend and mentor in high school in the ways of the world, I must defend “Lefty” historians.  I believe our quest is for the truth, and where politics enters the equation is in the choice of subjects to research: poor people, minorities, immigrants, women, environmental inequalities, etc.  Most classmates that I’m in touch with are, lamentably, conservative, including Skip Pollard, Phil Arnold, Wayne Wylie, even onetime bad boy Pat Zollo.  That doesn’t prevent me from enjoying their friendship.  Chuck Bahmueller broke off communication with me after we argued politics at our thirtieth reunion (how sad).  Among the few liberal exceptions are LeeLee Minehart, a Peace Corps grad whose father was a Democratic officeholder, and Gaard Murphy, whom I talk with weekly and shares my distaste for our current administration.  

I’d like nothing more than to rekindle the friendship with Vince.  He taught me that it was more important to be yourself than to follow the crowd. In the late 1950s, while we were in high school, the swampland where Vince used to trap muskrats (I occasionally tagged along) became an industrial park.  One summer  the two of us made the rounds looking for employment and we got hired by the company that published the weekly Ambler Gazette to work the overnight shift once a week during the press run. In tenth grade, after I had my driver’s license, we double-dated and ended up on adjoining couches in my date’s rec room.  Vince seemed so self-assured, I copied his every move.