Recent Articles
Look Both Ways
On Wednesday, the second day of my 10 day tour of Scotland, we were heading up to the Isle of Skye and we made a few stops along the way. It was very beautiful. And at one stop, which was pretty close to our final destination, at Fort Williams. We pulled over on the left side of the road to look at some mountains. I thought I would get a nice picture of the whole group, including the bus, with this stunning scenery in the background.
So I ran across the two lane highway and stood on the shoulder on the other side to take a picture. It was a fairly busy road. I took the pictures, and I looked to my right. There was a line of cars coming towards me, but there was an opening between two cars wide enough for me to shoot across, and so I ran to beat the car on the right, oblivious to the fact that this was the UK and the greater threat was the cars on the left. I did not see the car that hit me at about 35 miles an hour.
The driver never touched the brake. She never had a chance, since I just ran out in front of her without warning. One of my many regrets is the trauma she will carry from that moment.
I remember the impact, the thud, and felt oddly at a peace as I flew in slow motion into the air. I thought “Hmm, I’ve just been hit by a car and feel no pain. That’s nice.” But I also said to myself, “This can’t be good.”
Then, once I hit the ground, things went from slow motion to normal speed. I was on my back in the middle of the road with a group of very, very anxious people gathering around me. I wanted to assure them that I was okay, and tried to get up. Unfortunately, my voice was a hoarse whisper, at best, and my legs would not comply. Even trying to say the words, “I’m okay,” revealed that I wasn’t okay. I’d had had the wind knocked out of me, and I couldn’t really speak,
People were running around insisting that I not be moved. One of the first people to come to me was our brilliant 27 year-old tour guide, Declan, with the first aid kit. He assured me that the wound on my arm was superficial and I would be fine. Rita came by, obviously very concerned.
What happened from then on is a bit of a blur. I was frankly surprised with how quickly the ambulance arrived with the paramedics and a very, very competent, in-charge guy took control. It was odd I didn’t feel as badly as I thought I should, given the impact of the accident. I didn’t feel great but was pretty confident I would recover. However, I did begin vto get concerned when the paramedic told me, “Don’t worry. The helicopter is on the way.”
“Helicopter?!” I said. “That seems kind of excessive.” .
“Well,” he said, “we won’t use it if we don’t need it, but we just like to have it available.”
Next up, a doctor, who was just driving by, came out to offer help. His name was Joe. Another guy showed up with blankets and a pillow that he had in his car for his very pregnant wife in case she went into labor. The blankets were returned pretty bloody.
Dr. Joe asked about my condition. Declan told him that there was a severe wound on my forearm that had “subcutaneous” damage.
I teased him by looking at him with my shocked face and said, “Declan! You dirty liar! You told me it was a superficial wound!” The look on his face was a combination of sheepishness for being caught in a white lie and anxiety that said to me, “Hey buddy, If you could see what I’m seeing, you wouldn’t be joking about it.”
I also kidded the lead paramedic. When he asked what happened I facetiously blamed the accident on their crazy rules where cars drive on the wrong side of the road.
His deadpan response was, “Did anybody ever tell you to look both ways?”
“Touche’,” I responded.
I never saw the woman who was driving. I was told she was unsurprisingly hysterical. I was comforted a bit when I was told that the police said that she would not have any problems with liability because I had immediately admitted fault. But, as noted before, I do grieve the psychological impact it will have on her.
I was loaded into the helicopter and, after a pretty long wait, we took off for the hospital in Glasgow. According to Rita, traffic was completely stopped in both directions and was backed up for miles. A Good Samaritan named Craig drove Rita the two hours to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow. I landed on the roof and spent the next four days there getting excellent care from the Scottish National Health System.
I had a lot of fractured ribs and the aforementioned deep wound on my forearm. Various scrapes on my legs and feet. The arm needed a skin graft. Only pain killers for the ribs. Arrived at the hospital on Wednesday. Released on Saturday. Back on the tour on Monday.
Oh what a lucky man I am.
Tom Squitieri, A Man in Full, RIP
I met Tom Squitieri when he was a young reporter for the Lowell Sun newspaper covering the Massachusetts congressional delegation, including Barney Frank, for whom I worked at the time.
We bonded at the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco. He was covering the Convention and we tore up the town. He convinced his editor to let him do a story after the convention on Ken Kesey, the beatnik writer from Lowell who gained fame in the 50’s and 60’s as a precursor to the hippie generation. He got the paper to pay for a convertible that he drove down the California coast re-enacting some adventure that Kesey wrote about. Tom invited me to join him. It turned into a full page spread in the paper. It is one of the regrets of my life that I couldn’t go.
He went on from there to have an extraordinary journalism career, including stints as a war correspondent and cable news talking head during the Clinton Administration. After he left journalism, he took up poetry and gained renown, having many of his poems published. He also had some poems performed both live on stage with musical accompaniment and in at least one movie. He leaves his former wife and two children, who he adored.
He was a humble man who packed a lot in what turned out to be his too short life. He covered the breakup of Yugoslavia, which turned out to be extremely violent. I had a hard time imagining him in the middle of a war zone, like some real-life Rambo. But he did it at extraordinary risk to life and limb.
For all his courage professional accomplishments, Tom had a child-like reaction to praise. Watching him react to the deserved accolades for his poetry, he seemed genuinely abashed. Frankly, when complimented for his work in journalism or poetry, he would acknowledge it and quickly turn the conversation to his admiration of others, rather than drink in the praise for himself.
And what a sense of humor. Laughter came to him easily, and often at his own expense. I will miss his laughter. He had a face that begged to be caricatured. The thick hair, the bushy eyebrows and the broad smile. I can’t believe i won’t see that again.
While I knew Tom for 40 years, our friendship was episodic. We would connect for a while and then drift apart, sometimes for years. Our most recent reconnection, the one that endured to this day, happened some years ago when I saw him in Trader Joe’s. I spotted him from across the store and went over to say hello, thinking he was, like me, a shopper. I was surprised to see he was working the cash register. Another guy, with a career like his and not as comfortable in his own skin, might be embarrassed to encounter an old friend in this manner. But not Tom. He was in a situation where that was the job he needed at the time and he was grateful to have it. He claimed to enjoy the work and, particularly, the people he worked with. And he proved he wasn’t bullshitting because when he got back into journalism, covering the Pentagon, and kept the TJ’s gig.
I visited Tom in the hospital about a month ago when he was being treated for a sudden onset of leukemia. I was thrilled to get his text on August 3rd reporting that the cancer was gone and he was in remission. We were in the middle of scheduling a celebratory lunch when I got news of his passing. The leukemia came roaring back and took him. I’m still reeling.
Tom was a great friend. A good man who made an impact on the world, which will be a lesser place without him. And I have a hole in my life that can’t be filled.
Explaining Bill Barr
One of the most famous quotes of the Vietnam War was published in an AP story by Peter Arnett on February 7, 1968. Describing an operation at the village of Ben Tre, an unnamed American army major said, “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.”
It was a sentence that seemed to capture the insanity of American policy with respect to the whole Vietnam War. It also explains the insanity of Bill Barr’s support of Donald Trump for president.
Bill Barr is prepared to destroy the country to save it from progressive policies.
He knows that Trump is a danger to democracy. He accused him of “abuse of power,” called his claims of voter fraud that denied him victory as “bullshit” and compared a second Trump term to the country playing “Russian roulette.” Yet, he has declared that he will vote for Trump because the “progressive agenda” is even more dangerous.
One wonders what progressive policies are so threatening to America? Student loan forgiveness? Infrastructure spending? Child development subsidies? Reproductive healthcare for women? (Yeah, that’s probably it).
In a way, his position on the presidential race is a huge compliment to Joe Biden. He said, “I think it’s my duty to pick the person I think would do the least harm to the country.” He’s betting that Trump’s incompetence will save us…again. While that may have saved us in his first term, the team around Trump this time will be fully prepared to impose authoritarian rule in the second term. While Trump is busy nursing and massaging his many grievances, his army of wannabe-be fascists will be relentlessly dismantling the “administrative state.”
What Barr really fears more than Biden’s ideology is his effectiveness. Biden gets shit done!
That’s why Barr is willing to debase himself before Trump. Trump has rewarded Barr for his endorsement with ruthless ridicule. Here’s Trump’s thank you note:
“Wow! Former A.G. Bill Barr, who let a lot of great people down by not investigating Voter Fraud in our Country, has just Endorsed me for President despite the fact that I called him ‘Weak, Slow Moving, Lethargic, Gutless, and Lazy’ (New York Post!),” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Based on the fact that I greatly appreciate his wholehearted Endorsement, I am removing the word ‘Lethargic’ from my statement. Thank you Bill.”
Fortunately, nobody really cares what Bill Barr thinks about the presidential race. The rest of us just have to make damn sure that Biden wins.
Democrats Win in a Landslide. A Realigning Election
OK, I’m dreamcasting (new word I’ve just learned). But I really think it’s a possibility, albeit remote. I write it just to see it in print. And as a response to all the talking heads that are forecasting how this election is going to turn out.
I’m tired of hearing how close it’s going to be. Or what this or that state is going to do. Or how this or that development will have a minimal impact on the outcome. All of these analyses assume that the political situation is largely fixed and that we will only see movement by the electorate on the margins. What all this commentary does is normalize a political situation that is simply not normal.
I like reading the Hopium Chronicles by Simon Rosenberg. He is both optimistic and realistic. But his main case is that nothing will happen to Trump between now and the election that will help him politically. Trump has a high floor but a low ceiling. He’s never been above 50%. And the more visible he is, the less the voters like him. Things could happen to Biden that will help him politically, like a health issue or an international crisis. But Trump, for himself, is facing nothing but bad news, day after day, week after week, month after month. Combine that with the utter clown show that the Republicans are running in the House of Representatives, and it could be a perfect storm. Maybe political gravity will reassert itself.
It makes my head explode to see that the polls are tied now. The fact that half the country wants Trump back in the White House again is beyond stunning. It validates a good description of America passed on by my friend Luke as the United States of Morons. I just have to believe that the steady diet of information about Trump’s loathsomeness will take its toll. And, by the time November rolls around, the voters will come to their senses and reject Trump, MAGA and the whole Republican Party. I can dream, can’t I?
If not, i guess i will have the benefit of having lived to witness the decline and fall of a once great country.
Come and Get Your Love, Chapter 2
A couple of years ago, I did a series of posts on great musical moments in movies. These were scenes in which the movie incorporates a piece of music into a scene that captures and emphasizes the emotion that the movie is evoking. I absolutely love it when a movie does that well. I am invariably moved to tears and not necessarily because the scene is sad. It is just the artistic power of combing storytelling with the exact right song that touches me so deeply.
One of my favorites of these kinds of moments is from the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie begins with the main character as a 10 year old child at his mother’s deathbed. He refuses to take her hand and runs out of the house in grief. He is then beamed up to a spaceship.
The scene switches to a very dark ominous place, some kind of ruin, with a spaceman character walking cautiously through the rubble. Suddenly, the mood changes and the song Come and Get Your Love blasts on the soundtrack and the credits start rolling.
I’ve already spoiled too much, so I’ll stop there. But it’s a brilliant use of music to set the tone of a movie. Click here to read the post and watch the scene.
Well, here we are, two years later and we have “the rest of the story,” as old timey radio man, Paul Harvey, used to say.
The song, Come and Get Your Love, was recorded by a band called Redbone in 1974. The band was comprised of American Indians. In order to mark the 50th anniversary of the song, NPR did a story on the song and the band. It’s a fascinating account of how the band was formed and some challenges they faced due to their heritage. It also has a link to a video of the band performing the song that begins with one of the band members doing an amazing tradition Indian dance.
The endurance of the song is reflected in the fact that they only did an official music video after the movie. That is posted above and includes references to the movie and the band’s Indian heritage. Funky, but good.
A Morning Walk with Rozzie
Today, I walked with Rozzie in the park. Listened to the Irish novel called Bee Sting. A Luke recommendation. I enjoy Irish novels, mostly due to the brogue on the audiobook. It’s about two teenage girls in Dublin. Both are wealthy, though one, the main character, is on the downslope. The other is a superficial pretty girl. Hijinks ensue.
A Visit to One Vanderbilt Summit
One Vanderbilt
As part of our GRE meeting, the Council did a little field trip to a new skyscraper called one Vanderbilt. It is described as an “immersive experience.” When you arrive, you are herded through some lines into a dark tunnel. You watch a loud video on a surround screen that shows the construction of the building. You wait in another line for an elevator and the immersive experience begins.
The Elevator
The elevator has mirrors all around, walls, ceiling and floor. As it ascends,there are loud sounds and flashing lights. The motion of the elevator is barely perceptible, but it must be moving fast since you get to the 91st floor in less than a minute. You exit the elevator on to an observation deck that is all mirrors and stainless steel….and people. The view of New York City is spectacular.
The Observation Deck
You walk around wide-eyed, trying to orient yourself. Your brain has trouble processing what you’re seeing. There are a number of rooms and levels. One room is full of silver balloons that people are batting around. Another exhibit is a huge screen depicting rolling clouds that form into the faces of the people viewing the exhibit. That one’s pretty creepy.
It was a great experience. I found out later that it cost $46 a person. Good as it was, I would never have paid that out of pocket. But it was a good take and I got some pretty good pictures.
Call Me Dancer Movie
Jenny Hauge, Steve Berk’s wife, invited us to a documentary at the Silver Theater this evening. It’s called Call Me Dancer and it was great. It’s about a young Indian man who follows his dream to become first a ballet, then a modern, dancer. It was brilliant. A tremendous story told in real time.
The young man overcomes a number of obstacles to achieve a career in dancing. He was under significant pressure to choose a career that would allow him to support his parents. His father was a cab driver. He was forced to compete against another dancer who was more naturally gifted than him. He injured his shoulder in a way that required surgery. The producer/director followed him for five years. So, when all of these challenges occurred, it was not preordained that he would over come them.
There are vivid characters in the story, including the main character, the dancer (whose Indian name i can’t recall). His teacher/mentor was an Israeli who couldn’t find work in Israel and moved to India where there was no real tradition of ballet. His parents and grandparents are also compelling, demanding but loving.
The movie was followed by a panel discussion including the producers and the main character. He was as charismatic in person as he was in the movie. I didn’t know what to expect, which is a great way to see a good movie.
The Best Artist Interview Ever
Steven Colbert’s interview of Paul Simon was the best interview of an artist I have ever seen or heard.
I came across an interview that Stephen Colbert did with Paul Simon yesterday that really moved me on a number of levels. It is posted above. It is worth watching in its entirety.
Colbert starts out asking Simon about his artist inspirations. Simon talks about the song that introduced him to Rock and Roll at 12 years old. Then he talks about his effort to educate his father, whose musical tastes were very sophisticated, about early rock and roll through the song Earth Angel.
I love watching Paul Simon. He is clearly a genius, but he has such a humility about him. It’s very touching.
Then Colbert asks him whether, in the process of writing a song, the song goes in a different direction than he intended. At that point, Simon describes the process of writing a song called Darling Lorraine, a song I’ve never heard. It was beyond brilliant. He starts out light and by the end of the story, Colbert’s audience was in stunned silence and i could feel tears welling up in my eyes.
The next high point was when Colbert described an incident when he was 13 and a Paul Simon song gave him a profound insight into his mother’s life based on her reaction to it.
Finally, and appropriately, the interview ends with the most profound question of all, ‘Do you believe in God?’ Simon answers the question as mostly yes, but turns it on Colbert and Colbert gives an answer for the ages.
Just watch it.
Bridget Got the Job!
Bridget accepted the job at the Zoma Foundation and I couldn’t be more proud of her. It’s a huge accomplishment for her. She had decided that Soccer Without Borders was not giving her what she needed. It simply could not pay her a “living wage.” So, even though she loved the organization and its mission, she decided she had to leave. And she took the bold step of announcing her departure date before having another job.
Since the departure was three months hence, she did have hope that she would have gotten a job before she left. Unfortunately, that did not happen, so she’s been plagued with self doubt (a hereditary trait) throughout the process. Fortunately, all her decisions and choices have been vindicated, at least based on what we know now. Zoma, a foundation started by an heir to the Walton family fortune, looks like an awesome organization that is new and growing. Focusing on child welfare, it is an innovative nonprofit that is going to teach Bridget a lot. They seem to be on the cutting edge of many new approaches to philanthropy. I’m so proud of her and very happy for her.
Oh, and by the way, she will be almost doubling her compensation. So, there’s that.
