Runaway Train

“Wrong way on a one way track

Seems like I should be getting somewhere

Somehow I’m neither here nor there.”

    “Runaway Train,” Soul Asylum

In the middle of the night on June 22 1918, the engineer of an empty troop train fell asleep and his locomotive smashed into a Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train near Hammond, knocking over kerosene lamps and causing a fire that killed 86 people and injured more than a hundred others.  Based in Peru, Indiana, Hagenback-Wallace at the time was the second largest traveling circus, surpassed only by Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey.  Among those who later performed for Hagenback-Wallace were lion tamer Clyde Beatty, clown Emmett Kelly, cowboy Hoot Gibson, and comedian Red Skelton.

Tuesday morning fire ravaged an apartment near Purdue North Central in Westville.  Fortunately nobody was hurt. Former softball teammate Terry Hunt and his family live three units down from the blaze; Terry's son Travis captured several vivid shots.

From Anchorage, Alaska, Bill Pelke sent me a copy of “Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing.”  The moving memoir contains a foreword by Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking.”  The grandson of murdered Bible teacher Ruth Pelke, Bill fought successfully to prevent Paula Cooper, 15 when she and others stabbed their victim to death, from being executed in the electric chair.  In a chapter entitled “The Epiphany in the Crane,” the former steelworker described imagining his “Nana” with tears flowing down her cheeks and discerned that, in his words, “they were tears of love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family.”

I mailed Pelke a copy of my 80s Shavings, entitled appropriately “The Uncertainty of Everyday Life,” which includes an article Bill wrote entitled “Forgiveness,” where he describes writing and visiting Paula and working successfully to get her death sentence reduced.  The issue includes a memoir by Stephanie Ledbetter entitled “School Days,” about being a student at Lew Wallace, where some of Ruth Pelke’s assailants attended. Ledbetter wrote: “The despicable crime brought shame and humiliation to the entire student body and staff.” Kids from other Gary schools dubbed Wallace “Murder High” and “Terminator Institute.” She added: “Jokes were going around that students took course, entitled Firearms 101 and Stealing Cars 101 and an honors course in Felony Crimes.  It took about three years before the teasing and name-calling died away.” 

Visiting the Archives were two researchers interested in information about bank robber John Dillinger and Captain Matt Leach, who headed the Indiana State Police during the 1930s.  I showed them “Gary’s First Hundred Years,” which mentions that both the “Lady in Red” Anna Sage and the prisoner Dillinger escaped from Crown Point with, Herbert Youngblood, were from Gary.  No doubt that’s who they were looking up in the Gary city directories strewn about near them.  FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, jealous of any potential rival who might steal his thunder, pressured Indiana officials to fire Leach in 1937.  Leach and his wife died in a car accident 18 years later.

As Clark Metz’s guest I attended the annual “Hunky Hollow Athletic Club” benefit steak cookout on behalf of cerebral palsy research at St. Elijah in Crown Point.  A tradition dating back a half-century, it originated at Country Lounge, which became known affectionately as “Hunky Hollow” when it was a hangout for prominent Eastern European politicians connected to the George Chacharis political machine.  In attendance were former East Chicago mayor Robert Pastrick, Lake County sheriff John Buncich, and Lake County treasurer John Petalas, the latter a former student who was surprised to find being mentioned in Roy Dominguez’s “Valor” (confirming Roy’s assertion that his autobiography is the hot topic of conversation at the Crown Point government center).  Petalas helped arrange a meeting between Roy and Buncich in an unsuccessful effort to have them patch up their differences prior to the 2010 Democratic primary).  Having been active in politics for many years, Clark knew quite a few folks, most of whom appeared to be in their seventies or eighties.  One asked Clark what he was up to, and he deadpanned, referring to his weight, “About 210.”

Enjoying the food, sunny weather, and overall atmosphere was George Rogge, whose insurance company goes back three generations.  He mentioned being with 98 year-old realtor Bruce Ayers the day before he died, along with 50 other friends and family members and that Bruce was sharp and witty until the very end.

Tending bar was Gary Reed, who wrote an “A” paper for me on the subject of gay and lesbian life in the Region.  I got his address and promised to send him the Shavings issue containing my “Retirement Journal” where I make mention of his and other students’ oral histories.

On “Jeopardy” nobody knew that Errol Flynn wrote “My Wicked, Wicked Ways” (someone guessed Charlie Sheen) or that Woodie Guthrie penned “Bound for Glory” (one wrong answer was Bruce Springsteen). Everyone passed on who recorded “Pumped Up Kicks” (Foster the People).  “Final Jeopardy” was a killer: the only sisters nominated for Best Actress in the same year.  I thought the first contestant nailed it with Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave; the two others had no clue.  The answer, going back to 1941, was Olivia de Havilland for “Hold Back the Dawn” and Joan Fontaine, who won for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Suspicion.”  De Havilland, who appeared in eight movies with Errol Flynn, including “Captain Blood” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” later won Best Actress Oscars for roles in “To Each His Own” (1946) and “The Heiress” (1949).

Amish in my Heart

Trying to do the right thing

Play it straight

The right thing changes

From state to state.”

  “Without a Trace,” Soul Asylum

Soul Asylum’s greatest hits has moved into heavy rotation on my CD player, thanks to “Black Gold” and “Without a Trace,” along with Collective Soul.

I tuned in the Olympic Men’s soccer final to root for the Brazilians against Mexico and found them down a goal after just 29 seconds.  Losing 2-0 with two minutes left, a Brazilian named Hulk scored and then with just seconds left Oscar mis-directed a header that would have tied the score.  And who says soccer isn’t exciting?  The Mexicans mugged Brazilian prodigy Neymar whenever he had the ball, picking up several yellow cards but no red ones.

After scrambling some eggs I went to Duneland Library and asked for them to order “Valor,” then checked out the latest issue of Vanity Fair.  In an interview National Public Radio’s Terry Gross repeated the advice of Mel Brooks to hope for the best but expect the worst.  I once looked forward to Esquire but detest its format.  The only memorable thing in the new issue was this joke: a grasshopper enters a saloon and the bartender says they have drink named for him.  “Oh, you have a drink named Steve?” the grasshopper asks.  At European Market I bought two yummy tacos from the folks who clean our condo twice a month.

Meg Grandfield Demakas was selling her children’s books at Lake Street Gallery during Pop Up Art in Miller.  Years ago, the IUN Education professor put on plays with our kids, and in a volume entitled “Hot Potato Poetry” she included an ode to her a high school teacher who inspired her to follow her muse.  Other titles include “Captain Jeb: Pirate Cat” and “Jeb Joins the Circus.”  Up the street at the former Miller Drugs were displays organized by Corey Hagelberg that included work by him and other Ball State alums.  Both Meg and Corey make use of Region themes and scenes in their work.

 

For the finale of “A Century of Music” in Highland the weather was perfect, a good crowd was on hand, and the performers shined.  In addition to “American Pie” and “Babe” solos Dave did a duet of “Don’t Stop Believing” and was in several other numbers in addition to scrambling around making sure the correct mikes were on.  Even though he got home late, Dave won two out of three games Sunday morning before attending tennis player Ashley Pabey’s graduation party.  In Amun Re Tom was way ahead after the first round, so I challenged him for most pyramids on one side and Dave edged both of us out with two power cards to our one.

Sunday while watching the PGA tournament, won by Rory McIlroy by a record eight strokes, I read an excellent afterword by Henry Farag for his autobiography “The Signal” and finished a manuscript my high school girlfriend Suzanna Murphy sent me entitled “Amish in My Heart.”  It describes her childhood friendship with a neighbor woman who cared for her after World War II while her father was in the Philippines and her mother had cancer and bouts of schizophrenia.  Now 65 years later Suzanna is living a simple life among Amish and Mennonite friends.  I told her she should get someone to help her market the story as an ebook.

On HBO’s “The Newsroom” Jeff Daniels plays anchor Will McAvoy and Sam Waterston his hard-drinking, compulsive gambler boss.  It looks promising.  Will’s ex-girlfriend MacKenzie, hired to be his new executive producer, is determined to emphasize quality over ratings.  The premier dealt with covering the 2010 BP oil spill.

Monday I appeared on Jerry Davich and Karen Walker’s “Out to Lunch” radio show at WVLP in Valparaiso.  Beforehand I chatted with Gregg the engineer about eccentric IU Northwest professor George Roberts, who helped him get into grad school and was his most unforgettable teacher. Jerry had recently visited Reiner Senior Center in Hobart and learned that I been a hit talking about the postwar “Age of Anxiety.”  After they asked me to compare those years with the present, I then brought the subject around to Latinos in the Region and “Valor: The Odyssey of Roy Dominguez.”  The 35 minutes went quickly and then the subject changed to a dress shop that suddenly closed, leaving brides who had paid for wedding dresses high and dry. 

Davich invited me back for next Monday’s show and “tagged me” on his Facebook page, thanking me for sharing my “wit, wisdom, and extensive knowledge of NWI history.”  Nice.  Next time I’ll talk about my latest Shavings, “Calumet Region Connections,” in which Jerry appears nine times.  Michele Gerke-Burton wrote Jerry that she loved my class so much she took a second one, adding, “He had crazy curly longer hair back in the day.  It was great.  He is a super hip top notch prof.”  Thanks, Michele.  Hope she tunes in next Monday.  In 1987 she wrote an article about June and Bill Fletcher that I published in my “Age of Anxiety” issue.  Due to a postwar housing shortage they rented a tiny two-room Hammond apartment until finding “a four-room shell” in East Gary (now Lake Station, but that’s another story) that “they finished themselves right before their third child Teresa arrived in 1949.”

Duke of Earl

“As I walk through this world

Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl.”

   Gene Chandler

Gene Chandler, who recorded the 1961 smash hit “Duke of Earl” for Vee-Jay records, is still performing at age 75.  Born Eugene Dixon, he is a real trooper, taking the stage complete with cape, top hat, monocle, and cane.

Closer to home 98 year-old Miller realtor Bruce Ayers died earlier in the week, and the Post-Trib obit mentioned that he was a great ballroom dancer who taught a nurse how to cha-cha the day before he passed away.  A couple years ago he enrolled in Steve McShane’s Senior College class on Northwest Indiana history, and had some great stories when I talked about the postwar period.  His son Gene told me that he loved the class.

At Country Lounge IUN’s CURE director Ellen Szarleta and I discussed the on-line South Shore Journal that Chris Young is editing and that I am hoping to put out as a special Shavings issue that would include the out-of-print “Lake Michigan Tales” issue.  She was excited to hear about “Valor,” so I gave her a copy.  Scholar John Trafny, in the archives researching a pictorial history of Glen Park, saw it on display and purchased one.  John has published Arcadia book of Gary’s East Side, West Side, and Polish Community.

On this date in Philadelphia, “The City of Brotherly Love,” a public hanging took place.  Samuel Breck noted in his journal, “Vast numbers of well-dressed and delicate looking girls were hurrying to the scene, and those who would weep over a sick bed could stand in the scorching sun for hours to see a hearty men strangled.”

Nephew Beamer sent me a package inside a priority mail container along with money and instructions to send it to his friend back east with a fake return address on it.  That way the friend won’t know who sent it to him.  I followed his instructions and emailed him, “Mission accomplished.”  His letter thanked me for helping with “this little surprise” and reported on his toddler son having “mastered about a dozen animal sounds including pigs, cats, dogs, horses, bears, ducks, and we’ve even thrown in a zombie for good measure.”

Despite a dark sky and predictions of a storm we went to Highland for Dave’s musical variety show. Right before he was to sing “American Pie” the rain came the proceedings came to an abrupt end after 45 minutes.  We did see him in two numbers, however, including a rousing Beatles medley.  Driving home on 80/94, I was reminded of a recent Jerry Davich article about septuagenarians voluntarily ceasing to drive.  My night driving leaves something to be desired although I’m OK on routes familiar to me.

Home for charismatic Usain Bolt’s historic Olympic 200 meter race.  He’s the only athlete to take Gold two Olympics in a row in both the 100 and 200 sprints.  In fact, Jamaicans finished one, two, three in the 200.  Earlier I tuned in for the live telecast of the USA women’s team’s 2-1 victory over Japan.  Near the end I was rooting for Japan to tie it up, and they almost did.  

Phil watched the game at a restaurant with his family and when Miranda posted a photo on Facebook, his old coach Bob Laramie commented, “Yea America.”

On the J.J. Cale CD that Dave Elliott burned for me there’s a version of Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “Mama Don’t Allow” that included the line “Mama Don’t Allow No refer smoking around here.”  I had Letterman on mute while listening to Cale until Tom Waits came on and performed “(Maybe Things Will Be Better in) Chicago” from his 2011 CD “Bad as Me.” 

In selecting a running mate Romney’s choice was between bland (Tim Pawlenty, Ron Portman) or bold (Mark Rubio, Paul Ryan). Since he is slipping in the polls, I thought he’d be smart to select Cuban-American Rubio.  The Florida Senator, who introduced legislation to exempt Olympic medalists from paying taxes on bonuses promised them, might have helped Republicans with Hispanic voters.  Instead Romney went with Wisconsin Congressman Ryan, a Tea Party favorite who has proposed drastic cuts on entitlement programs.  The contest will offer voters a real choice between unvarnished capitalism and a continuation of the welfare state.

I had high hopes for the new Will Ferrell movie “The Campaign,” where he plays a sleezy North Carolina Congressman facing a challenge from a nerdy rival played by Zach Galifianakis.  Turns out the funniest scenes I had already seen in the previews.  After about an hour a switched to “Hope Springs” and thoroughly enjoyed Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones a an old married couple being counseled by Steve Carell as Dr. Feld.  Jones is a revelation playing a crusty curmudgeon set in his ways until his wife threatens to tear his comfortable world apart.  Streep attempting to give him oral sex in a movie theater is worth the price of admission.

Smithereens

“I’ll see everything through

I’ll do anything I have to do.”

    “A Girl Like You,” Smithereens

Bill Pelke thanked me for my blog comments about the Paula Cooper story and her maturation in prison following conviction for the murder of Bill’s grandmother Ruth.  Pelke is president of “Journey of Hope . . . from Violence to Healing” (also the title of his book) and ended his correspondence with this message: “The answer is love and compassion for all of humanity.”  I told him his work is very inspiring and suggested he deposit his personal papers, including letters to and from Paula, in the Calumet Regional Archives.  A retired steelworker, Bill lives in Alaska but comes back to the Region periodically to see family members.  He likes my Archives idea and is sending me a copy of “Journey of Hope.”

I dropped off a copy of “Valor” with Communication department secretary Dorothy Mokry to pass on to Raoul Contreras, faculty adviser to ALMA, the Latino student group. ALMA will co-sponsor Roy Dominguez’s appearance at September’s “Soup and Substance” event at IUN’s Savannah Gallery.  Coincidentally 40 years ago the Dominguez family moved into a house in Glen Park where Dorothy grew up. 

“Valor” website guru Manuel Corazzari passed along a draft of a poster advertising the book.  Looking up Corazzari’s name on Facebook, I came across a YouTube clip of him proposing to girlfriend Lori at the Fort Lauderdale Airport baggage claim area.  He even had a mariachi band on hand, and Southwest Airlines employees passed out champagne after Lori said yes.

I purchased four tickets to a September Smithereens concert at Valpo’s Memorial Opera House. I couldn’t find any Smithereens CDs at Best Buy but purchased a Soul Asylum’s greatest hits CD for $6.99 that includes “Black Gold” and “Stand Up and Be Strong.”  The Smithereens, who rocked out at a Hobart Jaycees fest, are a New Jersey power pop band that’s been around since around 1980 and got their name from the Yosemite Sam line, “Varmint, I’m a-gonna blow you to smithereens.” The grouchy, hot-tempered Looney Tunes character bore a resemblance to Hoosier Red Skelton’s character Sheriff Deadeye.

 

The most recent Connections: The Hoosier Genealogist, an Indiana Historical Society publication, contains an article by Jeannie Regan-Dinius entitled “Escaping Slavery: Indiana’s Underground Railroad Connections.”  It includes a list of 31 historical markers noting abolitionist activity, including one in Lake County, the “First Physician Marker” in Merrillville. I passed the magazine on to Chris Young, whose students are researching historical markers.

ABC evening news led with the sentencing of the schizoid who shot Gabby Giffords and killed six others.  He got life imprisonment as a result of a plea bargain.  A headline in the background read “Judgement Day,” with the word judgment misspelled, perhaps purposely, perhaps not. There is worldwide outrage over three Russian feminist punk band members – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alekhina -  receiving three-year sentences for “hooliganism” after they took over the pulpit in Moscow’s Christ the Savior cathedral for less than a minute and performed a song and dance poking fun at Vladimir Putin.  They’ve been incarcerated since February and, according to the prosecutor, got off easy because they had no previous record and two are young mothers.  For shame!

I’ve been working on the syllabus for my fall history course on diaries, journals, and memoirs.  The biggest question is whether to have the class read the six books one at a time or several simultaneously.  I’m leaning toward the latter.  So far just two students have registered.  I need at least 15 to prevent the class from being cancelled.

After Brady Wade mentioned that 93 year-old Pete Seeger appeared on last Friday’s Colbert show, I checked it out on the Comedy Central website.  Pete talked about his great-grandfather having been an abolitionist, his father a socialist, and his having once belonged to the Communist Party.  Then he sang “Quite Early Morning” whose lyrics included the hopeful prediction that it is darkest before the dawn and the exhortation to “make those freedom bells keep ringing.”  What a beautiful man.

Jerry Davich confirmed that I’ll be on his noontime radio show Monday to discuss, hopefully, the history of Latinos in Northwest Indiana and “Valor.”  It remains to be seen how many other guests I’ll share time with, but I’m looking forward to it.  Jerry wrote, “My co-host, Karen Walker LOVES NWI history.”

 South Bend photographer Jon Gilchrist was in the Archives researching City Methodist Church, which he has used as the backdrop for some unusual compositions.  He ran across a former custodian with interesting stories to tell and is considering a documentary on the once-proud building.

I ran into neighbors Dave Elliott and Sue Harrison picking up the mail and told them I was planning to pop a beer and listen to the J.J. Cale CD Dave burned for me.  Born in 1938, Oklahoman Cale pioneered what became known as the Tulsa Sound, a fusion of blues, country, jazz, and rockabilly. He wrote several songs that others have turned into hits, including “After Midnight” and “Cocaine” that Eric Clapton covered.  After a spaghetti dinner enhanced by neighbor Gina’s home-grown tomatoes, Dave, Tom, and I gamed till near midnight.

Triumph of Love

“Suddenly I'm alive.

Given to singing a bit too loud,

Shedding my Aristotelian shroud,

Scrapping the various vows I vowed,

And quivering head to toe.”

    “Love Won’t Take No for an Answer”

Phil arrived for Dave’s birthday (August 4 is also Barack Obama’s; at 51 he’s eight years older than my son).  At Angie’s we had spring rolls with peanut sauce, a recipe from Alissa that she learned from a Michigan State roommate.  After heating rice paper wrappers, you added shrimp, raw veggies, rice vermicelli noodles and a few other ingredients.  Angie made a delicious cake and, at Dave’s request, a small cherry pie.  A storm forced cancellation of the Highland outdoor musical show Dave was scheduled to be in.  Many of his students had planned to attend.  We were disappointed, but at least Phil got to see Becca and James in “The Music Man.”

Sunday Phil joined Dave, Tom and me for gaming and won Acquire handily.  After I edged Dave out in Amun Re by a single point, he returned the favor in St. Pete. Dick Hagelberg drove us to Memorial Opera House in Valpo. “Triumph of Love,” based on an eighteenth century farce by Pierre de Marivaux, enjoyed a three-month run on Broadway in 1997.  I fought off yawns the first act, but the second was lively and quite ribald, and the performances outstanding.  The best song was “Love Won’t Take No for an Answer.”  Carly Blaine was especially fetching as Corine the hot-to-trot sidekick of cross-dressing Princess Leonide (Kyrie Anderson), who is plotting to for the hand (and more) of Agis (Michael Ohm). (Below)

With the temperature a comfortable 80 degrees we dined outdoors at Lucretia’s.  I needed doggie bags for most of my spaghetti and veal meatballs.  During bridge back at the condo I bid and made a small slam with Dick as my partner.

Turning on the news to get a White Sox score (they defeated the Angels thanks to A.J. Pierzynski’s fifth HR in as many days), I learned about the senseless attack by a white supremacist on a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee that left six worshippers dead before police killed the former army veteran Wade Michael Page.  The FBI is investigating whether this was a case of domestic terrorism.  Sikhs are mainly from India and not even Muslims.  Traditionally they do not cut their hair and wear turbans in public.  Women may also wear scarves called chuni.  On a more uplifting note NASA’s $2.6 billion Curiosity rover landed safely on Mars and started sending back photos.

Now that we have HBO again I watched a documentary about LGBT activist Vito Russo, who like many of his friends died of AIDs in 1990.  With a supportive family, he was a spokesperson for many Gay Rights organizations, including Act Up.  A film buff, after much research, he produced “The Celluloid Closet” and gave frequent illustrated lectures based on his book.  In many silent films gay characters appeared in a positive light, in contrast to depictions in later Cold War-era films.  By all accounts Russo was a sweet guy who struggled to keep the LGBT movement united.  Russo hosted a Public Television show “Our Time.”  Comedienne Lily Tomlin who “came out” during an interview with him.  Tomlin’s most famous characters developed on “Laugh-In” were condescending telephone operator Ernestine and precocious five year-old Edith Ann.

Having lunch at the Redhawk Café, I read an article in Atlantic by Isaac Chotiner about English humorist P.G. Wodehouse, whose most famous characters were the foppish aristocrat Bertie Wooster and his ingenious servant Reginald Jeeves.  Poking fun of class-conscious Brits, P.G. invents such comic names for his characters as Millicent Threepwood, Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright, Pongo Twistleton, Gussie Fink-Nottle, Boko Fittleworth, Stilton Cheesewright, J. Chicester Clam, and my favorite Cyril Bassington-Bassington.

The Vietnam Moving Wall came to Sharon, PA, and Suzanna Murphy did a crayon rubbing for me of the name of our mutual friend Paul Curry, an air force lieutenant whose plane went down in 1969.  I hadn’t realized he was 26 years old when he died.  He loved flying planes and must have volunteered to serve in that dirty war.  When I visited The Wall in D.C., I had trouble locating Paul’s name at first because his first name unbeknownst to me was Wendell.

Discovering that “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was playing at a Schererville theater just minutes away from where I needed to be at six o’clock, I checked out the highly acclaimed film starring six year-old Quvenzhané Wallis as Hushpuppy, who lives with her ailing father Wink in a southern Delta area ravaged by a flood.  Highly symbolic and very moving, the movie contained a cast of true characters who preferred independence under awful hardships to the protection of government aid officials.  With more than an hour to kill afterwards, I checked out “The Watch,” an atrocious, creepy comedy with three of my favorite actors, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill, fighting aliens whose brains are in their big dicks and who can only be killed by blowing away their genitals.  Enough said, but I laughed out loud a half dozen times despite myself.

In preparation for a meeting at Pepe’s in Schererville with Roy Dominguez, I had lined up dates and times for two IUN appearances where we’ll discuss “Valor.”  One is Garrett Cope’s Glen Park Conversation and the other is a Student Life noontime affair called Soup and Sandwiches.  I’m also hoping the Alumni Association will sponsor an IUN book authors evening at Lake Street Gallery in conjunction with December’s Pop Up Art.  On hand at Pepe’s were Roy’s wife, two daughters and grandson plus numerous friends and advisers, including Oscar Sanchez, Lisette Guillen-Gardner, and Manuel Corazzari.  Sitting across from me was Louisa Montemayor, who reminded me she had written an article about her grandmother that I published in my 1987 “Latinos” Shavings.  After dinner and a discussion of strategies for marketing the book, Roy and I signed copies of “Valor” for everyone.  Since I emphasized that Roy was the sole author, I wrote “Best Wishes” and my name at the beginning of my afterword.

Louisa Montemayor’s article, entitled “Night School,” mentions that Estella arrived in Gary in 1953 at age 33 from a farm in San Benito, Texas, after her husband found work at U.S. Steel.  Unable to read or write English, her life initially, according to Louisa, “consisted of staying home and taking care of her husband and seven children.  She did not venture out by herself; the only time she went anywhere was with her husband Enrique.  She did join St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and the Socieda Mutualista Mexico and felt secure when she participated in activities with people who spoke Spanish.  In 1957 Estella enrolled in a class at Froebel High School that taught Spanish-speaking adults how to read and write the English language.  Several of her neighbors attended class with her.  Afterwards, she was very proud of her accomplishment. Being able to read allowed her to see the world through different eyes.  Now she could venture out into the city without her husband.”

                                                            (Estella Montemayor, age 18)

Japandroids

“Heart’s terrain is never a prairie

But you weren’t wary

You took my hand.”

   “Continuous Thunder,” Japandroids

“Celebration Rock,” the brilliant new CD by Japandroids, the duo of guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse, starts and ends with sound of fireworks or thunder.  In between are eight power rock selections reminiscent of the Replacements. Robert Blaszkiewicz, who turned me on to them, promised that one of their songs will be on his “best of 2012” list.  My candidate, “The House that Heaven Built,” concludes, “If they try to slow me down, tell ’em all to go to hell.”  I wonder if Chris Kern has heard them.  He’s living in Japan and most of his Facebook posts are in Japanese.

If Sheriff Dominguez was wary of me at the onset of the two-plus years we worked on his autobiography, he never let it show.  The excellence of the end result redeems that faith, I believe.  More copies arrived from Indiana University Press.  I am setting up several university appearances for him.  Times writer Jane Ammeson interviewed both Roy and me about “Valor.”  I mentioned how Jesse Villalpando a quarter-century ago instilled in us the importance of documenting the contributions of Latinos to the heritage of the Calumet Region.  Jane co-edited a pictorial history of Miller Beach and is related to Dan Simon, author of an article I used in “Forging a Community” about Mexican immigration to East Chicago.  In short, Jane has an appreciation of “Valor’s” importance and is a perfect choice for doing a special feature on Roy’s autobiography.

Anne Hathaway as Selina the Catwoman stole the show in “The Dark Knight Rises.”  While Christian Bale as the caped crusader shows signs of age, she is strong, witty, clever, and blows away the villainous Bane. While the general mood of the film was bleak, there were a few campy moments, such as Bane commenting on the lovely voice of the kid singing the National Anthem before he blows up the football stadium.

Anthony Rizzo, acquired from the Padres last year, is the latest “great white hope” to join the Cubs.  Since called up from Iowa, he is hitting over .300 and has had several game-winning hits. I spotted a student wearing a Cubs shirt with “Rizzo” and “ 44” on the back, undoubtedly the first of many if he doesn’t fade like so many previous phenoms.  Meanwhile, Chicago management has traded Dempster and Maholm, the team’s two best pitchers.

Because Chick-fil-a president Dan Cathy spoke out against gay marriage, some activists are calling for a boycott of the fast food chain.  In Merrillville a crowd showed up Wednesday in support of Cathy’s first amendment rights, or maybe they were simply homophobes.  I have no plans to eat at Chick-fil-A and don’t fault gays for taking their business elsewhere.  Recently the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed its position of excluding gays, something more worth getting worked up about than the views of a greasy fried chicken mogul. 

I declined Jerry Davich’s offer to call in to his radio show Monday, preferring instead to appear in person.  He said he had already booked several other guests and that he was less interested in Roy Dominguez’s “Valor” than my views on other historical issues.  Having sent him an electronic copy of my afterword where I tried to make clear that the autobiography was a significant and original contribution to the social, ethnic, and political history of Northwest Indiana, I responded: “Let me know if you’d like me to appear in person on a future show to talk about the importance of documenting the Latino experience in the Calumet Region.”  Jerry replied, “Sure, Jim, let’s go with the following Monday.  Thanks for your patience.”  So a week from Monday it is.

Writing up minutes as secretary for the condo association board, I included this innocuous paragraph about Wednesday’s meeting: “Concerning the planting of shrubbery near the Easement behind Units 401 and 403, it was agreed that the board should comply with the assertion of Robert Lovell, Utilities Superintendent for the Town of Chesterton, that the proposed arborvitae should not encroach within eight feet of the cement easement.  In order to allow for growth of the shrubbery, the board voted 5-0 with two abstentions that they should be planted at least 11 feet from the cement easement.”  What I left out is that we have been having raucous disagreements over this for several months and that the eleven feet was a compromise that Leo Ronda and I orchestrated after much strident debate.

Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas, nicknamed the “flying squirrel,” captured gold in the women’s all-around competition, edging out Russia’s Viktoria Komova. Gabby, Jackie Gipson told me, has Gary connections.  Her mother Natalie attended Roosevelt High School, and her grandparents, Theodore (a retired steelworker) and Nadean Hawkins, still reside in the Steel City.

“A Century of Music: 1910-Present” debuted Thursday at the Main Square Gazebo in Highland.  Dave, in charge of the sound system, sang “American Pie” and “Babe” and was in a Beatles medley that allowed him to give out shine on the chorus to “Hey Jude.”  It had been a stressful day, with a folder containing about 50 jpegs mysteriously disappearing from my computer.  It will probably take ten or 20 hours to track them all down, but, oh well, nobody died.  So it was relaxing to be outside attending such a good show with family and friends, including Robert, Maryann, and Missy.  The opening number was “Danny Boy,” one of my father’s favorites.  Youngsters loved “YMCA,” especially after being invited to join the guys on stage dressed appropriately in gay apparel as an Indian, construction worker, cowboy, cop, and biker.  The final number featured Stephanie Panchisin, dressed like Katy Perry, singing “Firework” with the entire cast joining in.  

I enjoyed seeing “The Music Man” for the second time even more than last week, especially because James didn’t have a conflict with “Bard in the Park” and could be in the final scene with the boys’ band.  In one scene Amaryllis (Becca) teases Winthrop (Lucas Reinhart) about his lisp, which becomes less pronounced as the play goes on because of Professor Harold Hill (Charley Blum) giving him more confidence.  I got home in time to see Jimmy Cliff performing “One More” on Letterman.

Philadelphia Freedom

“I used to be a rolling stone

You know if the cause was right

I’d leave to find the answer on the road.”

    “Philadelphia Freedom,” Elton John

                                   Donn Gobbie (Post-Tribune photo by Andy Lavalley)

At the Valpo University tennis courts I ran into Don Gobbie, who reported that Billie Jean King was reading his manuscript on the women’s professional tennis circuit that got launched during the 1970s.  It’s been 39 years since Billie Jean won the “Battle of the Sexes” against self-styled chauvinist pig Bobby Riggs in the Houston Astrodome.  The following year she was part owner and starred for the Philadelphia Freedom of World Team Tennis.

Dave and his partner Mike were runner-ups in the Post-Trib over-35 doubles competition.  Facing the Mario brothers Saturday, they lost the first set 6-3, won the second set in a tie breaker and then prevailed in another tie breaker to win the match.  Three generations of Marios were on hand, and it was fun to see John and Mark, who got to the finals in men’s singles.  In the  finals a bad call prevented Dave and Mike from going up 3-2 in the first set, but their opponents earned their 6-2, 6-2 victory.

My mother finished reading the erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E. L. James, which was the book club selection at her assisted living place.  She told me that she didn’t mind some sex in books but that this author went overboard.  What she didn’t mention is that the book deals with BDSM (bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism).  I can just imagine the nonagenarians tut-tutting over the steamy scenes.  I’d like to meet who recommended the novel.

In the news: Hammond legislator Linda Lawson replaced Pat Bauer as minority leader in the Indiana House of Representatives.  She told a Times reporter that at first she was terrified and sick to her stomach but then “the nervous feelings turned into excitement.”  Since the Republicans were in control of redistricting as a result of gains made in 2010, it will be an uphill fight for Democrats to gain ground, but their candidates for governor and senator are superior to the crazies heading the GOP ticket.

At the Ross Summer Music Theater in Merrillville Becca appeared in “The Music Man” as Amaryllis and sang a duet with the leading lady Marian Paroo.  Star Plaza CEO Charlie Blum was magnificent as Professor Harold Hill, who had specifically requested that Becca try out for the part.  Last year he had cast her in “Annie.”  We sat in the front row near a friend of Charlie’s who had traveled from New York to see him perform and who gave out a yell each time the audience applauded.  At the end the cast received a rousing standing ovation.

I knew that I’d be hearing “76 Trombones” and “Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana” (which always leaves me slightly teary-eyed) but was surprised that “Till There Was You” was part of Meredith Wilson’s score.  It’s the only Broadway tune the Beatles ever recorded and appeared on “Meet the Beatles” along with ten Paul McCartney and John Lennon songs and one by George Harrison.

After “The Music Man” we went directly to Highland to see James in “The Bard in the Park,” which featured scenes from “Hamlet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and other Shakespeare classics.  James belted out his lines like a trooper.  Dave handled the sound system and will be performing Thursday in a production called “A Century of Music.”

It’s hard to escape coverage of the London Olympics.  It’s on all of the NBC networks, and a women’s water polo between China and Spain preempted Chuck Todd’s show on MSNBC.  What’s this world coming to?  Even “Good Morning America” on ABC led with ten minutes of Olympics results.

Steve McShane and I spent an hour with Carol Griskavich, a scholar from Michigan Tech in the Upper Peninsula majoring in industrial archeology.  She’s looking into research possibilities having to do with housing for steelworkers and was particularly interested in the historic Marktown neighborhood in East Chicago.  She claimed to have run up a hefty library fine on “City of the Century,” so I gave her “Gary’s First Hundred Years.”

On the way to Country Lounge for lunch with Anne Balay I heard a catchy New Wave ditty called “Hey St. Peter” by Flash ‘n’ the Pan.  I cannot recall ever hearing it before (at first I thought they were singing, “Hey Nikita”), but it appeared on the Australian band’s 1980 “Lights in the Night” album.  Must tell Seattle Joe about it.  Anne wants to see “Valor” and thinks Roy Dominguez and I should schedule a book-signing event in Miller.  Out jogging with her dog this morning, she encountered two foxes.  I ordered the house salad with chicken, passing up the “Hunky Hollow” salad named for the place’s former nickname when it was a watering hole for white ethnic politicians.  Anne is still learning how to get around in Northwest Indiana and wanted to know a north-south road besides U.S. 65 that would get her back to Route 20.  I suggested Route 51 (Ripley).

The five CDs I have on heavy rotation are by Owl City, Sara MacLaughlan, Accept, Fountains of Wayne, and Robert Blaszkiewicz’s favorite songs of 2012.  On the spindle is “Duke” by Genesis.  In “Wild Child: Girlhoods of the Counterculture” Chelsea Cain wrote about attending a July Fourth Rainbow Gathering during the 1990s and feeling a disconnect despite her hippie upbringing.  What struck her most was that women were still doing most of the cooking and childrearing chores.

  The Post-Trib’s Jerry Davich posted this comment on Facebook: “Anyone interested in a free copy of the new book, "Valor: The American Odyssey of Roy Dominguez," the former Lake County Sheriff, as told to this region's historian extraordinaire James B. Lane? 
I received it in the mail and it can be yours for the low price of, well, nothing.”  No indication that he will mention it in his column, and several people responded with snide comments although the book was quickly gobbled up.  With Rich James gone, Davich is virtually the only reporter left on the once proud daily.  He does want me to be on his radio show, however.

On this date in 1710 Virginia planter William Byrd wrote in his diary: “In the afternoon my wife and I had a little quarrel which I reconciled with a flourish.  It is to be observed that the flourish was performed on the billiard table.”

  Nick Perko passed along the information that history book club member Bob Selund passed away.  Years ago he was in our bridge group, and he always greeted me with a booming voice.  Bob could be counted on to actually read the books discussed at the meetings.  I was looking forward to seeing him at the September meeting when Sheriff Dominguez and I will talk abnout “Valor.”