May 2019 - Page 6 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Looking for Roger Green, but not me

The Legacy page includes an obituary for a 59-year-old from Pennsylvania who died this past February. Damn kidney cancer.

For no particular reason, other than I needed an R post for ABC Wednesday, I thought it was time to Google Roger Green, done from my computer on April 21. The second natural hit was the Wikipedia “Roger Green may refer to:

Roger Green (rugby league) (born before 1915), Welsh footballer
Roger Lancelyn Green (1918–1987), English writer
Roger Curtis Green (1932–2009), American archaeologist
Roger L. Green (born 1949), American politician
Roger Green (sailor)

The FIRST natural hit was for the said politician. When he was a New York State Assemblyman from Brooklyn, I’d get an occasional call for him in Albany.

A top hit was to a Visiting Professor in the nursing department at SUNY Poly in Utica, NY. I had never gotten this person before.

Also on the first page was the founder of Roger Green and Associates, Inc. (RG+A), a marketing firm. The perennial is also high on the paid search results. And his Glass Door page ranks well.

The feng shui guy is still around.

PAGE TWO

I’d never seen the MACHINE SHOP MANAGER at the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara.

Another new page to me: the guy who retired from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, Professor Emeritus of Biblical and Theological Studies, and a “longtime member and a scholar of The Salvation Army.”

A familiar site: The gunmaker.

Oh dear, the Legacy page includes an obituary for a 59 year old from Pennsylvania who died this past February. Damn kidney cancer. Then an 87-year-old from Texas, also in February, and a guy from England, who passed away on New Years Eve. Plus 95 more.

The Amazon page for the 2003 hardcover Hydra and the Bananas of Leonard Cohen by the English poet.

A recently deceased guy from Indiana leads the obits on Tributes page. At least his has content; another one merely reads: “Roger was a resident of Utah.” I checked; I’m not on the list.

Here are 21 sermons. I’ll have to give a listen sometime. Or not.

BTW, a lot of photos of people with my name are from departments of corrections,, i.e., prisons. Make of that as you will.

MOI

Most of the rest of the hits are of me: my underutilized Times Union blog, then this blog.

Finally, the local cable news station recorded my 2017 recollection of the October 4, 1987 snowstorm. They reached out to me based on this 2012 blog post.

For ABC Wednesday

APL Foundation Celebrating Literary Legends

Peter Golden, Lyn Lifshin, and Dan Wilcox

The Albany [NY] Public Library Foundation will be hosting several events in the upcoming months to celebrate the 2019 Literary Legends, Peter Golden, Lyn Lifshin, and Dan Wilcox.

Save the dates!

Thursday, May 30, 2019 – An Evening With The Authors

An Evening With The Authors is a wine and dessert reception will begin at 6:00 pm, followed by a special toast at 6:30 pm. Following the toast, Literary Legends Dan Wilcox and Peter Golden will hold court until 7:30 pm, reading from their work and talking about their craft with APL Foundation Director Alexis Bhagat.

Dan Wilcox

The event will take place in the Community Room in the Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at any branch or online at literarylegends.org after April 30th. Proceeds benefit the Albany Public Library Foundation.

Friday, May 31, 2019 – Leaves of Grass Bicentennial Reading

Literary Legend Dan Wilcox and the Poetry Motel Foundation present their annual reading of “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman each year on his birthday, rain or shine. Whitman turns 200 this year, so this should be an extra special reading. The event will take place near the Robert Burns statue in Washington Park at 6:00 pm. It is an outdoor event, so bring your own blankets or chairs. This event is sponsored by the APL Foundation and the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.

Thursday, June 13, 2019 – Lyn Lifshin Not Made Of Glass Film Screening

Lyn Lifshin

“Lyn Lifshin: Not Made of Glass” (Karista Films, 1987) is a documentary about one of our Literary Legends. Readings of Lifshin’s poems are interspersed with her own and others’ observations about her life and work. The documentary was produced, directed, and edited by Mary Ann Lynch. It is 55 minutes long and will include a Q&A. The screening will take place at the Opalka Gallery, 140 New Scotland Ave. Albany, NY 12208 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

Friday, June 14, 2019 – Poets from Albany Read Their Favorite Lyn Lifshin Poems

Literary Legend Lyn Lifshin has written more than 125 books and edited 4 anthologies of women writers. For this special reading, local poets will select their favorite Lyn Lifshin poems to read aloud. The reading will take place in the Large Auditorium at the Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Please contact APL Foundation at 518-427-4367 if you are interested in reading!

Allowing people in prison to vote

Fourteen states and DC allow voting rights to be restored automatically upon release from prison.

Hmm. The idea of allowing people in prison to vote had never really crossed my mind before recent events.

Now the notion that people who were OUT of prison regaining the franchise HAS been an issue for me. For instance, voting rights can ONLY be restored through an individual petition or application to the government in Iowa and Kentucky, a draconian process.

This was also the standard in Florida until 2018, when the people decided to change it. Voting rights are now restored automatically upon completion of sentence, including prison, parole, and probation.

The right to vote is restored automatically once released from prison and discharged from parole – probationers can vote – in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Oklahoma, and New York. I can support this.

Fourteen states and DC allow voting rights to be restored automatically upon release from prison. Hey, this appeals to me even more.

But in Maine and Vermont, voting rights are retained while in prison, even for a felony conviction. This partially explains the position of Bernie Sanders, Presidential candidate and the US senator from the Green Mountain State

In an interview with Truthout’s Amy Goodman, Ari Berman, senior writer at Mother Jones, notes: “Prisoners are already counted for redistricting purposes, so they are already counted where they are incarcerated, but yet they’re not allowed to vote. So it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

“And if you believe the purpose of prison is not just punishment, but rehabilitation, then allowing people to still have one of their most fundamental civic responsibilities is a key aspect of rehabilitation.”

Of course, this gets into the whole conversation about whether prison is designed for incarceration or rehabilitation. Check out this 60 Minutes story about how a Connecticut prison is trying to implement a German-style (i.e., civilized) system.

How do other countries deal with the voting issue? Here is a chart of how 45 countries regulate the ability of felons to vote in or , out of prison, or not at all. Note that Canada and Germany are among the least restrictive.

This Truthout title caught my attention: Allowing People in Prison to Vote Shouldn’t Be Controversial. “The mass disenfranchisement of incarcerated people [in the United States] has a racist past and a racist present, and has been used in particular as a tool to suppress the Black vote.” This is clearly true.

“The denial of the vote to people behind bars takes a sharp toll on many marginalized communities, subjecting them to what many call ‘civil death’ — depriving a person of all legal rights.”

Naturally, Arthur chimed in on this issue – in fact, his post popped up as I was writing this piece. “Incarceration is disproportionately directed at people who aren’t white. But that’s an issue on its own, and not, by itself, a reason to let all prisoners vote. Or, maybe it should be?

“Maybe it could help restore justice to the criminal justice system by letting the victims of that system have a say. I don’t yet know what I think, but I’m listening.” That’s about where I’m at. But I’m leaning towards Bernie’s position, significant in that I had had NO position only weeks ago.

Reasons not to ride your bicycle

The medication I was taking when I was ill was codeine based, with a warning not to operate heavy machinery.

no-bike-riding Whether or not I ride my bicycle to work, or to church, or around the neighborhood, depends on a number of factors that you can imagine: too cold, too rainy, too slippery.

However, as spring arrived, I had some situations that I had not experienced before. I should note that my bike resides in the shed in the back of the property.

The walkway was a sheet of ice in the alleyway that separates our house and the next door neighbor’s. I managed NOT to fall down all winter, compared with the two spills I suffered the previous year, and I didn’t want to chance anything.

The ground was frozen around the gate between the backyard and the alleyway, and I just couldn’t open it. It had rained heavily, then got very cold.

The medication I was taking when I was ill was codeine based, with a warning not to operate heavy machinery. I was loopy enough that I decided not to operate light machinery either.

There was a skunk in the backyard, near the back porch, sniffing and burrowing. Nah…

Then there was the time I probably SHOULDN’T have ridden. I was feeding one of the cats at one of the dishes to the right of the refrigerator, as usual. I stood up and banged my head on the footing of the folded up ironing board. Those of you who think I do not curse would have been proven wrong that morning.

I was seeing stars, and had developed a huge lump; to boot, my head was bleeding. Somehow, I lost about 20 minutes, which made me late for work. So I hopped on my bike and rode about four blocks before I realized I was unfocused and needed to stop. Fortunately, a CDTA bus came by. I put the bike on the conveyance and continued to the office.

It wasn’t until I got home that night that I realized that I had cut my head on the jagged footing. My wife and daughter insisted that the ironing board has ALWAYS been there, to the right of the refrigerator. I wouldn’t know since I never use it. That’s why God invented permanent press. But the cat dish must have been further to the left.

There is a photo of me at work, with a used Rite-Aid bag full of ice, covered by a couple more plastic layers, on my head. The bags were held in place by my headphones. It is a stupid-looking picture.

War protest songs, just a few

Business Goes On As Usual was originally performed by the Chad Mitchell Trio back in 1965.

For some, May 4 has that Star Wars thing going. But for me, it’s always about Kent State, at least since 1970, when four young people were killed at a university in Ohio for conducting a war protest. I’ve written about it before, most extensively here.

Since it’s Saturday, and I usually write about music then, I thought I’d include some songs about war protest. There are SO many of them, covering several wars, or war in general.

I limited my list to songs of which I own a physical copy and those I thought of without picking through the list. I left off the irritating Student Demonstration Time by the Beach Boys, which I described here.

I skipped Give Peace A Chance by John and Yoko because I’ve linked to it plenty of times. Ditto some of the general protest songs; What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye I linked to this spring.

War – Edwin Starr,#1 for three weeks pop, #3 soul in 1970. One of the most successful protest songs commercially. It was recorded by the Temptations first, but Motown decided to withhold their version from single release, fearing a conservative backlash. Bruce Springsteen recorded a live version. I own both of those versions too.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy – Pete Seeger, 1967. Even though the reference is to 1942, I remember quite well the controversy over Pete banned from performing this on the Smothers Brothers show in September 1967. But CBS relented and allowed him to sing it in February 1968.

Alice’s Restaurant Massacree – Arlo Guthrie, 1967; shortened studio version #97 pop in 1969. A Thanksgiving favorite. Every year for at least the past decade, someone posts on Facebook a newspaper clip showing the littering charge REALLY HAPPENED.

I-Feel-Like–I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag – Country Joe McDonald and the Fish, 1967. Famously performed at Woodstock in 1969 with an augmented Fish cheer.

Unknown Soldier – the Doors, #39 pop in 1968. Vietnam was the first television war.

Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival, double-sided single with Down on the Corner, #3 in 1969. Class warfare as well as the military kind.

Business Goes On As Usual – Roberta Flack, 1970. This was originally performed by the Chad Mitchell Trio back in 1965, which I had never heard. This version is from the great Chapter Two album.

Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues – Tom Paxton, 1971. I’m high just thinking about it.

I’ll finish with the obvious, and its B-side:
Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, #14 in 1970.
Find the Cost of Freedom – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, 1970.

There are a couple more which I am withholding because tho artists are turning 70 this year, and I’ll mention the songs then.