The hardest thing about writing about our week at Chautauqua was figuring out how to order it. After the weekend there, I ended up with categories. More people talking could have been labeled miscellany, but that seems dismissive.
Monday July 22nd 3:30 PM
I tried to go to Islam 101: Koran and what it says about other faiths at the Hurlburt church, the Methodist Church. Alas, a group of us realized it had been inaccurately posted on the calendar. It had taken place earlier in the season but no longer. So, I had to look to see what else I might do. At that very same time, there was a discussion on the courageous conversations on death and dying by Shadid Aziz, MD, not to be confused with the New Jersey dentist or the Pakistani military leader. Oddly enough, it was in the Presbyterian House Chapel, where I just came from.
Some of the discussion concerned advanced care planning for the end of life in the inpatient setting and a similar item for outpatient. The three questions are: to establish minimum living goals for supporting life by artificial means. For example, what is the minimum level of mental functioning that is acceptable to you with the help of life-prolonging treatments? What is the minimum level of physical functioning acceptable to you with similar treatments? What life-prolonging treatments are you willing to use or not indefinitely or for a trial period if they can get you to your minimum acceptable level of functioning? Dr. Aziz says as a physician, you always work off the patient’s baseline function. If you do not know the baseline, you do not know the possible goals.
The gift of palliative care
I liked the talk so much that I bought his 2018 book Courageous Conversations on Dying. Here are some chapter titles: Basic Rules for Having Courageous Conversations and Giving Bad News; The Power of Touch; The Power of Prayer; Creating a Document of ACP Advanced Directives; Preparing for dementia – the slow downward spiral; Helping Surrogates Make Decisions; managing cross-cultural issues; the hard talks with parents and children; words, words, words.
I have long been interested in this topic, so I’ve been participating in those Death Cafes I mentioned previously.
Tuesday, July 23, 12:30
Chautauqua Dialogues. Presbyterian House
Several times a day, there were discussion groups about how people felt about what they were experiencing at CHQ. It was mildly interesting.
Weekly speaker reception
Tuesday July 23nd, 3:30 PM
Pierce Freelon, Grammy-nominated artist; author, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Daddy and Me; Side by Side; and Daddy-Daughter Day African American Heritage House, 40 Scott.
This was an actual house, with several chairs available and hors d’oeuvres, wine, and other beverages at a table.
Pierce’s family, both his ancestors and his children, are very important to him, particularly his grandmother. He would run with his brother, Deen, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, once a week when they could.
He mentioned that his father appeared in a PBS documentary Matter of Mind: My ALS, which the family appreciated. “In Durham, North Carolina, renowned African-American architect Phil Freelon receives his diagnosis of ALS on the eve of completing his life’s work: The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. As he inches toward paralysis and loss of speech, he and his family grapple with the illness’ erosion of control, reflect on what it means to live and die with dignity, and lean on one another for support and strength.”
(By happenstance, my wife brought to CHQ a book we were gifted, A Fool’s Errand by Lonnie Bunch. In it, Bunch describes the challenges of getting the museum built. Phil Freelon is mentioned, of course, and his photo is included.)
At the talk, someone asked Pierce what his father’s name was. Pierce replied, “My father’s name IS Phil Freelon,” noting the present tense. He also helped his mother, Nnenna Freelon, assemble her album, AnceStars, which he said “She needed.” See this video.
Here’s Pierce Freelon’s YouTube channel, featuring hits such as Tooth Bruh and No Is A Love Word.
Hall of Philosophy
Thursday, July 25th, 3:30 PM
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Author Presentation. Geraldine Brooks, author, Horse, Hall of Philosophy and CHQ Assembly
The Hall of Philosophy, with its pillars and open-air access, reminds one of the Greek Parthenon. It was SRO, big time.
Geraldine Brooks grew up in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Her father, Lawrie Brooks, was an American big-band singer stuck in Adelaide when his manager ripped him off. He stayed in Australia and became a newspaper sub-editor. Her mother, Gloria, from New South Wales, did PR for a Sydney radio station.
After graduating from the University of Sydney, Geraldine became a rookie reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. After asking for an assignment based on her interests and expertise, she was tasked with reporting on horse racing. This involved providing great detail regarding the wagering and the position of the horses at every turn. When she left the paper, she knew she didn’t want to have anything to do with horses ever again.
Living in the USA
After receiving a scholarship, she moved to the United States and received a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1983. The next year, she married American journalist Tony Horwitz.
The couple were award-winning foreign correspondents. She covered crises in Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East for The Wall Street Journal. After writing one non-fiction book, she wrote five novels, mostly historical fiction, often relying on deep research.
After spending three days in an African jail, she decided it was time for motherhood. Her son Nathaniel was in the audience.
She overheard a story about a once-nationally famous racehorse named Lexington at an event. Eventually, though, his skeleton became the example of a generic horse at a museum. This led to her next book, Horse. She learned that the groom was the most important person in a racehorse’s life and that many grooms were enslaved black men. A mysterious painting of the horse figures into the narrative.
And now Geraldine Brooks owns horses.
Her next book is called Memorial Days, about grief tied to the death of her husband at the age of 60 of cardiac arrest in 2019. She was a great storyteller in her remarks and in answering audience questions.
It was an interesting summer for our daughter. For one thing, she got her driver’s permit and decided to learn how to operate a car. She enlisted her mother in the teaching experience. I don’t think this was something that my wife was particularly looking forward to doing, but our daughter has skills in this area.