Roger O Green

Getting Personal

When I’m 105

John Green, one of the Vlogbrothers, and probably no relation to me, created a post called Getting Personal about Getting Personal. He talks about the transactional nature of media. John is promoting the movie Turtles All The Way Down, based on his novel, even though he has no great financial incentive to do so. He just likes, no, loves the movie.

He was asked an innocuous question by a PEOPLE magazine reporter about what keeps his 18-year marriage strong. The answer doesn’t just reflect on him but delves into his wife Satah’s life. Ultimately, he shares a story he had told before, but he mused on it first.

Likewise, last year, his brother Hank shared his cancer diagnosis, in part because he’s part of a Nerdfighter community but also because he had to cut on his responsibilities for a time.

A friend of mine is going through a very serious family tragedy. Though they have alluded to it, they haven’t said it outright, probably because writing it makes it too real.

Formerly known as

I saw Chanel Miller on CBS Mornings recently. She was sexually assaulted by Stanford frat boy Brock Turner in 2015, though he got an outrageously light sentence. She was described as Emily Doe then.

In 2016, her victim impact statement at his sentencing hearing went viral. She outed herself in 2019 when she released Know My Name: A Memoir, which I thought was gutsy.

But she was on the program promoting her new children’s book, Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. She was happy to be there because she didn’t want to be just known as a crime victim. And she looked joyful, which made me quite happy.

So there may be value in sharing, but that’s not going to be everyone’s choice. And frankly, I see a lot of TMI, especially online.

Where’s the line?

Almost every week, I struggle to figure out the line between sharing and oversharing. I figure if I get to be 105, I’m going to publish my no-holds-barred book, the consequences be damned. Until then, I straddle the line when it comes to other people’s privacy and my own. You just have to wait another 34 years for my tell-all.

The Civil War is not over

163 years and counting

The Civil War is not over. I’ve known this for a while, but something triggered this reaction. Doug, the Weekly Sift guy, gave a sermon at the Unitarian Church of Quincy, Illinois on May 5, 2024, titled Hope, Denial, and Healthy Relationship with the News.

I related to this part particularly. “Today… I’m talking about an experience that I know is personal, but I’m only guessing about its universality… The experience is an intense spiraling downward that gets triggered not by anything in my personal life, but from my interaction with the news. I hear about something in the outside world, the public world that we all share, and then the walls come tumbling down.”

Frank’s trigger was Robert Hur’s investigation of “President Biden’s unauthorized retention of classified documents.” While he “found nothing that would justify pressing charges,… along the way, he took a swipe at Biden’s mental competence,” and others piled on.

“And that’s when the bottom fell out of my mood. The effect lasted for several days. I would seem to be coming out of it, but then something would remind me and I’d sink back down again… that experience, that sudden mood collapse touched off by something in the news. The something doesn’t have to relate to politics or elections. It could be about climate change, the Supreme Court or what corporate capitalism is doing to our culture or whatever else you happen to worry about.

“One minute, you’re sailing along calmly, thinking, ‘Yeah, there are problems, but we’ll be OK.’ And then you hear or see something…
And in an instant, the bottom falls out… I experience this as depression and despair, but I know other people for whom it manifests as anger: How can so many people be so stupid, self-centered, or short-sighted?”

Mine

For me, it was something that, in the grander scheme of things, isn’t desperately consequential. But it hit me. A Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to two schools.

There had been an acknowledgment that the war was fought over the issue of slavery. And oh, and by the way, slavery was BAD, despite the attempt of some to put lipstick on a pig; “They learned marketable skills!”

But the “school board members who voted to restore the Confederate names said the previous board ignored popular sentiment and due process when the names were stripped.” Yeah, their “heritage” was intruded upon.

So that war which killed over six hundred thousand Americans, the deadliest military conflict in US history, is still being litigated. In the Gettysburg Address, Abe Lincoln noted, “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”

Shortly after that awful war, Memorial Day was established, “honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.”

As we relitigate voting rights and other issues of once-settled policy, it makes me feel what Doug feels, “depression and despair.” The mourning isn’t for the dead per se as much as it is a feeling that in some substantial way that I would not have expected twenty years ago, the fight continues.

Lydster: home for the summer

jury duty?

The Daughter came home for the summer on Saturday, May 4. She’d gotten most of her schoolwork done, and whatever she needed to finish, she could complete online.

She also applied for several jobs in our area. The job she had in the summer of 2023 was with rue21, a “fast-fashion retailer” in one of the malls. The chain is shutting down nationwide.

Unfortunately, she ran out of time to finish her packing. It wasn’t the first time I’ve helped someone move and ended up sticking stuff in boxes as well.

She had decided that she wanted to rent a space in a local U-Haul to store some of the stuff to use at college in the autumn. Her mother and I are of the same mind about this. 1) Is this REALLY necessary? 2) She made the arrangements all herself, and we see this as a good learning experience.

But it DID add to the time, especially since there was but one overworked clerk at the rental space.

We put the items in storage, headed back to a very crowded downtown Amherst and had pizza with one of the daughter’s fellow art students, which was nice. Back to the college, but it was clear that the three of us were running out of gas.

Back at home, the Daughter spent some hours cleaning her room to make room for the additional items, aided by her favorite father. She also helped her mother with various projects, many of them work-related.

The three of us went back the dorm on the afternoon of Friday, May 17. The rest of the work was not as onerous as we all had recalled. She dropped off items at the U-Haul, but this time we were closer to home.

Summons

In September 2023, the Daughter got a jury summons. I got it postponed for her. Then she was scheduled to report for jury duty on May 29, 2024. But when she called the weekend before, she was informed that NONE of the 240 people in that pool had to report. Not only that, she won’t be in the jury pool for six years.

Sunday Stealing: Nell Stokes

strawberry

Before I get to this week’s Sunday Stealing, something hyperlocal, curious, and time-sensitive. There is an exhibit called “Nell Stokes: Stories of an Education Advocate” at the Albany Institute of History and Art, an entity my wife and I have supported financially. The exhibit was mounted by Lacey Wilson on December 19, 2023, and was scheduled to be up until December 2024. (Here’s an interview with Lacey from January.)

However, by chance, Nell, a local treasure, learned on May 19, 2024, that the exhibit will be taken down in a few days (i.e., tomorrow, May 26.) She posted about it on her Facebook page and received questions on why it was being removed five months in when twelve months was promised. She believes, and I agree, that it should stay up as promised until December, and we need to know, if not, why not.

Her request to you is to call Diane Shewchuk at 518.463.4478, Ex 441, and ask the Question.

And now back to our regular quiz

1. Have you ever been stung or bitten by an animal?

I’ve been stung by bees, or probably wasps. While my dog, an Alaskan husky, bit me when I was a kid, it was the fact that my parents (probably my father) thought it was no big deal until Lucky Stubbs bit one of the pastor’s daughters, that really irritated me. Only then he gave him to one of his co-workers who had more property to allow the dog to roam.

2. Do you have a favorite bird? Do you feed the birds at your house or park?

Of the ones I never see: ostriches, penguins. In the I’ve seen them category: blue jays, cardinals, et al. And eagles. Frankly, if it weren’t for neighborhood standards, I’d never mow the lawn so the creatures could forage. BTW, the question reminds me of the song My Conviction from the musical Hair.

Specifically: “There is a peculiar notionThat elegant plumageAnd fine feathersAre not proper for the maleWhen actuallyThat is the way things are in most species”

3. What is the last thing you said to somebody before replying to this email?

To the Daughter: “Take the Zyrtec first.”

I remember sleep

4. How do you get yourself ready to sleep at night?

This probably requires its own blogpost. Short answer: there’s no consistent pattern in terms of when I go to bed, or how long I’m off my computer, or whether I watch television first. Usually, I watch a recorded episode of JEOPARDY, because I get teases on my phone which reveal TMI. I have what they call bad sleep hygiene, and it’s gotten worse in the last several months. I do take a battery of Rx pills and brush my teeth.

5. When was the last time you wrote a proper letter?

“Proper” is an interesting term. I did write a Christmas letter at the end of the year and even snail-mailed it to several people who had sent me cards over the past two or three years.

6. What is the worst injury you have ever sustained?

Our contenders: June 1972 – I was getting out of a car when it was rear-ended. I spent a day and a half in the hospital, then six weeks in physical therapy. 1994 – I tore the left meniscus sliding down a mountain in Utah. 2009 – I broke a rib while on my bicycle, trying to avoid a car. We’ll go with the knee, which troubles me to this day.

7. If you could choose your career based strictly on what you think would be fun instead of your qualifications/salary/etc., what would it be?

I wish I had been a public librarian rather than working in a closed environment.

An alternate Earth

8. You can live on another planet, which one and why?

There’s probably a planet somewhere in the universe that has to have a similar ecosystem as Earth. Maybe the people there haven’t mucked up the environment as much as we have.

9. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Strawberry. There was a place in my college town, New Paltz, where I’d have a sundae, and it’d be strawberry ice cream and strawberry sauce.

10. What do you think of tattoos? Do you have any?

I’ve mellowed on tattoos. From not liking them at all to finding some quite appealing, though usually not the full-body jobs. But I’m never getting one.

11. Are you very active or do you prefer to just relax in your free time?

I don’t have any free time. Some items sit on my to-do list for months while more pressing items muscle their way onto my calendar. This is related to my bad sleep patterns. Maybe when my wife retires.

12. If you could bring back one TV show that was cancelled, which one would you bring back?

There are plenty of shows. But a lot of reboots, even with the same cast, they are lesser efforts. Murphy Brown was a prime example.

No surprise

13. Do you prefer to watch movies in the theater or in the comfort of your own home?

In the cinema. I simply have no patience/discipline to watch a movie at home and watch it in the way it was meant to be viewed, which is straight through.

14. If you opened a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?

First, I would never open a restaurant; it is way too much of a hassle. That said, something like Sabor a Campo, which is “an eat-in buffet, carry-out style restaurant, specializing in value-driven multicultural foods, and set in a relaxed, homey, and familial environment.”

15. What do you think is a common thing that is shared between countries despite language barriers?

Most people just want to be left alone to work, raise and feed their families, with respect, civility, and peace.

I see there’s a new final question:

15. If money were no object what would you do for your next birthday??

Right now, I have no idea. It’s in the middle of my wife’s work year and my daughter’s school year. Under the right circumstances, I’d travel somewhere I’ve never been, maybe Ireland and Nigeria.

Harlem Hit Parade of 1944

1942 recording ban

Album cover, Ink Spots Ella Fitzgerald Souvenir Album by Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald, outside, front cover. Decca Records. 1981.0656.497, 1981.0656.498, 1981.0656.499.

As I’ve described, soul music/rhythm and blues/et al. has been described by many different names. Here’s the Harlem Hit Parade of 1944.

I noticed a couple of interesting features. Most of the performers we would now consider jazz musicians. Also, some of the songs crossed over to the pop or country charts; the ones that hit #1 are designated with a P or C followed by a number for the number of weeks at #1 on the applicable chart.

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall – Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald, 11 weeks at #1 (P-2)

Straighten Up And Fly Right – The King Cole Trio, 10 weeks at #1 (C-6). I DO so love this song.

Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me – Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, eight weeks at #1. Instrumental. Trumpet solo by Cootie Williams.

G.I. Jive – Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, six weeks at #1, written by Johnny Mercer (P-2)

Hamp’s Boogie Woogie – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra – six weeks at #1, unsurprisingly co-written by Hampton

Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good To You – The King Cole Trio, four weeks at #1

Main Stem – Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, four weeks at #1. Recorded in 1942. “After sitting on the shelf for well over a year, this track was finally released by Victor in early 1944 during the Recording Ban

I’m Lost – Benny Carter and His Orchestra, vocals by DickGray, two weeks at #1

A single week at #1

Ration Blues – Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five (C-1)

G.I. Jive – Johnny Mercer with Paul Weston and His Orchestra

Solo Flight – Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, featuring Charlie Christian on guitar, written by Christian, Goodman, and James Mundy

When My Man Comes Home – Buddy Johnson And His Band, vocals. by Ella Johnson. ‘Though recorded just prior to the beginning of the 1942 ‘recording ban,’ this track wasn’t released until well over a year later, entering the national record charts in February 1944.”

Till Then – Mills Brothers

The strike

I suppose I should mention the 1942 recording ban which didn’t end until November 11, 1944. Per Wikipedia: “On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians, at the instigation of union president James C. Petrillo, began a strike against the major American record companies because of disagreements over royalty payments. Beginning on midnight, July 31, 1942, no union musician could make commercial recordings for any commercial record company. That meant that a union musician was allowed to participate on radio programs and other kinds of musical entertainment, but not in a recording session. The 1942–1944 musicians’ strike remains the longest strike in entertainment history.”

From Jacobin: “Demanding a bigger cut of the profits created by new recording technologies, the AFM’s roughly 136,000 members refused to produce any recordings for two full years. And they won. Following the ‘recording ban’ …, the AFM secured contracts with over six hundred record labels that required each company to cough up a royalty fee for every record sold. The royalty fund was then used to pay musicians across the United States and Canada to perform free public concerts. For decades, the union-controlled fund was the largest employer of musicians in the country.”

From the University of Maryland: “By 1943, then-smaller record labels such as Capitol and Decca had reached settlements with the AFM but RCA Victor and Columbia continued to hold out. The back-and-forth grew so contentious that the case went before the National Labor Relations Board and moved President Franklin D. Roosevelt to write the AFM pleading ‘what you regard as your loss will be your country’s gain.'”