Ed Murray (Music Director) on Adventures in Liturgy:  Indigenous Languages

Back in October we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month both in our Tod@s Junt@s/All Together service and in a festive convivio.  The date of our celebration happened to nearly coincide with the Central and South American observance of Dia de la Raza

– briefly a counterpoint to the better-known Columbus Day, but focused on the native peoples impacted by European exploration and domination.  Here is a Mexican perspective on Dia de la Raza.

In keeping with our ongoing efforts to explore diverse cultures and connect with them, however intangibly, through their music, this seemed like an opportunity to sing some songs from indigenous traditions of what is now known as South America.

Three songs emerged; two somewhat familiar and one completely new to me and the music team.  We have sung the Kyrie Guarany from time to time over the years, although not previously in the Guarany language.  Its sweet melody is touching and gratifying to sing and connects beautifully to its words of supplication.  John Bell of the Iona Community, who was a pioneer in bringing “global” music into the churches of the west, writes of the Kyrie:  “Paraguay is the only country in South America which has its own indigenous language.  The Guarany are the most oppressed people living on the east coast of South American, and this song is their own.  They are a very mild people, which is partly the reason for them being scattered throughout the region, sometimes led by messiah figures and looking for a ‘land without evils.’”

In a livelier vein was Sarantañani, a relatively recent song from present-day Bolivia.  Bell writes of it:  “The Aymara people are part of the fastest growing church in Bolivia.  They – who have their own language – took over the Methodist church and ‘indigenized’ it.  This kind of crisis for the church is what must be expected if one speaks about the rights of native people.  The song goes to a dance rhythm and was indeed danced at a recent meeting of the South American Council of Churches.”

Finally the music team performed a most unusual piece, Tonada del Chimo, in the lost language of mochica.  It is in fact the only known original music composed to a text in mochica.  Its haunting and somewhat primitive style is certainly evocative of a lost world and the occasional intermingled Spanish word suggests that it may be a penitential litany of some sort.  Although the language is lost, our own Aaron Sonnenschein, who is a scholar of indigenous languages of Latin America, was able to lead us to a pronunciation guide.  Aaron has recently returned from a trip to Mexico where he was engaged in the work of recording and transcribing yet another indigenous language on the verge of being lost forever.

Stay tuned for further adventures in liturgy…

On Columbus day, some kiddos from the boys’ school were supposed to meet up for a field trip at a local exotic animal farm.  It was rainy that day so only a couple of kids came.  We still had a blast.  Hey..we won’t melt!

Us and Ang and fam with the miniature pony

Look...it's Rylan and Will! I love how Will is not too comfortable with the baby camels being so close!

I think that is a Coati?

Petting the baby kangaroo (if you are like me you are singing a Veggie Tales song right now)

Wet...but still having fun!

Oink

Oink Oink

I had an interesting discussion with one of my housemates today regarding appropriate property maintenance in the fall. Both of us are from the Northeast: me from the Mid-Atlantic region and the housemate in question from the New England territories. Therefore, both of us have basically the same reference points for most seasonal shifts. Summer becomes ungodly and the days are occassionally broken up by a late day fantastical thunderstorm. Winter is best experienced while drinking instant hot chocolate and staring out at the aftermath of a blizzard. Spring is a necessary transitional season between winter and summer: generally soggy and the only reason people care about it at all is that they are conditioned to like the thought of germanation and new growth (although it would be logical rather that this happens throughout the late fall and winter and only in spring does one see the final stage of such processes… lies taught to you in elementary school… lies).  Which brings me to autumn.

The season of Columbus Day, Halloween, Election Day, and Thanksgiving. The season in which pumpkins, turkeys, apples and assorted cider-based potent potables are consumed (most ridiculous Jeopardy category ever). The season in which students go back to school, tire of school, and cut school altogether. And the season when the natural world decides to take a psychedelic trip. Greenery is replaced by an explosion of oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. And while in mid-October, this is a breathtaking panoramic sight, in mid-Novemeber it becomes thr source of back-breaking labor, and a contast cycle of it at that.

Here was the discussion: should we pay the sub-par gardener that we did not hire and have no say in terminating his employment (hooray not reading rental agreements before signing them… fml) to do the fall cleanup, or should we simply rake ourselves. My position: I don’t rake. I don’t care who does it, but I will not be doing it. This does not (only) emerge from a sense of entitlement. Rather, it springs from the fact that I work for a living so to afford certain luxuries. Owning overpriced remastered Criterion Collection DVDs is one of them. Not having to buy non-gym clothes at Target is another one. And not having to deal with my own lawncare is certainly another one after that. So I am more than willing to pay someone (trained professional or otherwise) to rake, mow, seed, reseed, and whatever else is required for making sure that the life cycle of the lawn and plantlife that surrounds it continues to thrive. My housemate/s has/have different thoughts on the matter.

Their shared position is to declare shenanigans on the arrangement and decide to rake the lawn themselves. Fine. Have fun. Go to. I’m not going to stop them. Why? Because I don’t care. My only position is (to repeat): I don’t rake. But I don’t particularly care who does. As long as I can arrive at the house and not feel that I’m Colin Farrell stomping through the New World in search of whatever, I’m happy.

So the agreement with the landlord was as follows: we (understood as some occupant of the house that is not me) would rake and clear brush in a George W. Bush-esque manner, and the gardener would come to mow when called upon and needed. A simple plan. A fair plan. And yet there is one small conditional that needs to happen for this plan to be enacted: someone has to actually rake the damn leaves! It’s not enough to declare that you refuse to pay someone. That’s fine. But then you best be out there with your ergonomically correct lawn care implement heaving and hoing and getting that ish done. What is completel unacceptable is to simly come up with a series of excuses for why you have not raked yet in an effort to get out raking at all.

Unacceptable excuses:

1) It’s too cold (It’s Novemeber. And…?)

2) More leaves will fall tomorrow. I’ll rake then  (Right, and you’ll also be hungry again tomorrow. Are you fasting now?)

3) I don’t see why we should have to rake at all (Because you do. You unfortunately chose to live in a house surrounded by deciduous trees and grass. It’s a lethal combination. So deal)

4) I’ll find someone else to do (Ok. And you’re going to do that… when exactly? Because that equally requires some element of effort)

5) I don’t want to (See explanation #3)

6) Well, I’m busy (Wrong card to play)

All have been uttered at different pionts throughout the past four weeks. All have been met with my statement of “It’s not my problem. I don’t rake. I’ll pay the guy. You don’t want to pay the guy? You deal with it.” Which is then met with glaring, pouting, stomping of feet, and general ridiculousness.

So I am left waiting to see how all of this will ultimately play out. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will rake? Who will get paid? Will the lessons of the great shovel debate of winter 08/09 or the not so great recycling standoff of October 09 be learned, or will the dog need to have its face rubbed in its own urine again? Tune in next time for… oh never mind. I don’t care. And why don’t I care? Because as far as I’m concerned, I know what I’m doing about this. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And why is that, you may ask. It’s simple: I don’t rake.

I was torn.  Part of me wanted to take Nathaniel out for Trick- or- Treating.  Part of me said, why bother… he’s too little and I don’t have John to enjoy the experience.  I didn’t decide to take him out till after 4 PM.

I thought about last year.  John had wanted to take him out.  I kind of let John make the choice since he was recovering from his surgery on Columbus Day (to remove melanoma from a lymph node).  We didn’t have an official costume to him… just had him in his winter suit that had ears and looked like a little bear.  It didn’t go very well last year… we hadn’t fed him before we left, he probably was too hot, he’d fallen asleep in the car and then we take him into a strange house while he’s sleepy,  and it was too close to his bedtime.  He had a meltdown at the first house.  We used it as a learning opportunity.  Live and learn.

I knew if John was here, he’d want Nathaniel to go see the relatives.

I knew that the aunts would appreciate seeing Nathaniel.

I also had a feeling that once I got out that I’d be glad that I had.

I was right.

We had seen John’s Aunt Marie in the afternoon.  She even helped put together his kitchen that I got for him.  I’m looking for toys that can quietly occupy him while I nap.  Several people told me… all kids love playing with the kitchen sets and it can occupy them for hours!

Nathaniel playing with his kitchen set.

So far it seems to be a winner!  This was a relatively inexpensive one purchased at the dollar store.  I’m hoping it will hold up.

For Halloween I dressed him as a bear.  It was a hand me down costume that he pretty much fits into.  It’s a little small in parts, but others fit him perfectly.  It works and you can’t beat the price.

Nathaniel Bear, October 31, 2009

First, we walked over to see our neighbors… they were thrilled to see the boy.

Then we headed over to see John’s Aunt Linda & Bob & then stopped by to see John’s Aunt Di & Uncle Harold.  Everybody was thrilled to see him and glad that we stopped by.  It was nice to hang out and see everybody.  At the same time there was the heartbreak that John wasn’t there with us.

So many things are twofold… the joy of the moment and heartbreak of the not having John to share and experience the moment.  I can’t even describe how much I miss him.  Love always…

Alright kids I thought I would fill you in on my Columbus Day adventure known as jury duty.  Now I know some of you may quickly lump me into the ever growing group who despise jury duty.  I get it I understand, herded about like cattle, forms and papers to fill out, not so nice secretaries ( I called the courthouse just to double check that I truly had jury duty on a FEDERAL holiday and the secretary curtly replied “we wouldn’t send out notices if we didn’t want you to be here” I realized pretty quickly she hated her job….anyhoo) no I instead reveled in the idea of jury duty…I got out of work for the day, spend my lunch with a friend who I knew worked close by, and earn a whopping 9 dollars…what’s not to love.

So my day in court arrived and I headed up the steps of the courthouse with bells on my toes.  I managed to get through the doors and metal detector before being verbally berated by a security guard because I forgot to put my cell phone through the x-ray machine…I think he hated his job as well…but my excitement would not be diminished.  I arrive at my destination with what seemed like about half of Erie PA and scrabbled for a seat and began filling out paper work.  Images of “Runaway Jury” and sequestering danced in my head.  The first group was called then the second group, and then a man stormed in and demanded the 4^th group to go…apparently they had a criminal case that needed to get underway…no I wasn’t in that group, unfortunately, instead my group was called and I found out we would be potentially listening in on a civil case.  I was the 11^th person in line and even got to sit in the jury box….I was in heaven.  Then the questions began.  In the end 9 out of the 12 of us in the jury box were picked for the jury….we were walking targets…I like to think they enjoyed seeing us sit in the seats.

We started about an hour before lunch and heard opening arguments.  It was me three other gentlemen and like a gazillion women.  The plaintiff was a woman and I believe they stacked the jury for that reason.  We were informed that we would see, not one but TWO, VIDEO TAPED depositions….in heaven…and we even had an interpreter for a Spanish speaking witness.  It was all that I could hope for in terms of my first court case. 

The day was uneventful until they called the first witness whom I found out later shared a weird connection with me…so weird I ended up informing the tip staff who promptly told me if it had mattered they would have asked the question during jury selection.  The day ended and it turned out I would have to attend a second day of jury duty….it was just getting better and better.

I learned very quickly that my fellow jury members did not share the enthusiasm I did.  This was exemplified when an old man stopped talking to me when he asked me if he was the only one that didn’t want to be on jury duty to which I replied “I Love Jury Duty.”  We ended up not being BFF’s L

So the second day started and I kept making eyes at the stenographer.  I know I should have been listening but I really wanted to check out the cool type writer she was using.  So closing arguments finish up and now I’m super excited…jury deliberations would commence.  I had wanted to be jury foreman so badly that I completely considered making cupcakes with decorations that said “Sammy 4 4man” clever no?  I was the Tracy Flick of the courthouse!   Needless to say another young woman started writing and basically got the position…I guess there is always next time. 

We argued and I gave my opinion which some of the ladies did not like but we had to consider all aspects right?!  Note:  I am intentionally leaving out details about the case because I am not sure the legality of exposing case information and I don’t want to be sued).  In terms of deliberations only 10 out of the 12 of us had to agree on the settlement that needed to be given.  Let me just tell you I was not one of the 10.  Thus brought to an end my two days of jury duty.  I loved every moment of doing my civil duty and I totally want to be called again!

Here in Canada, we had our Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago – in the United States, it will be next month. Our Thanksgiving Day is the same day as Columbus Day in the US which celebrates those ships sailing in with the conquistadors. Life was forever changed on Turtle Island and it is hard to mix thanks with what became the destruction of natives throughout the Americas. In both countries, Thanksgiving weekend implies a lot of destruction of pumpkins, football players and turkeys. Holidays in general have pretty much spun out of control with commercialization, expectation and general gluttony.

I keep my own spin on things and choose to enjoy these special days from the bright side of life. I don’t need these big moments to remember to give gifts, say thanks for my good fortune, or eat too much. However, I appreciate the opportunity holidays give us for getting together with friends and family. Particularly in this season when the air is starting to blow cold, gathering around a table of hot food nourishes the soul as well as our desire to seek warmth and start laying on the winter fat.

For years I was a strict vegetarian, but returned to a carnivore diet. I’ve grown lots of food naturally, fished local waters (though never hunted), milked goats and made cheese, baked bread after grinding the grains and patted tortillas after milling the corn, picked various kinds of fruit in orchards including the grapes that make the wine. My most recent gardening involves papayas, corn and bananas in the jungle on the hot Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

My conscience has dealt with the issues of eating organic and local, whether or not to eat meat or fish, to be a polite guest or a politically-correct one, how to grow food in spite of bugs, and whether vegetables too have rights. The answers to the big questions, as in all things, are both clear and elusive. I bumble along, doing my best, but if I let it, the worry and guilt of not always keeping to what I know is right in the politics of food would probably kill me. Instead, I just try to stay aware and be smart. I don’t need to hear the reasons, I know them. I just need to keep trying to live simply and continue walking softly on our earth.  

 Then there’s Thanksgiving! I admit to partaking in five scrumptious meals with close friends, long lost friends, and friends leaving on adventures – and readily agree that it might have been more than one person should consume. Sunday dinner was with my big pretend family, the Johnston-Poags. It was the biggest table with the biggest turkey, with all the wonderful traditional dishes that include each person’s favorite. There is a new generation, bringing their own likes and dislikes – the table will have to grow even bigger!!         

My second turkey dinner was with friends in Toronto, some who I haven’t seen in years. The table came with the golden bird and many of the same vegetables, but everything was cooked different from the night before, including the stuffing. It was at my friend Deb’s house and included old friends Sally and Rob and their daughters, Robin and Clara. The family had just returned from years living in Halifax for a year’s schooling in Toronto.

We lived together in the north years ago, in these funky old log cabins in the bush. Sal and Rob are phenomenal artists, talented painters who have also built a number of large outdoor sculptures such as a memorial for miners in Kirkland Lake.  They’ve passed on their talented souls to their daughters who are both destined to a life of creativity. Robin is at a performing arts school and they both are in the Canadian Opera Company’s children’s program. Although I haven’t seen them in years, we resumed what we always did as if no time had passed – ate Deb’s great food, talked a lot and laughed endlessly.

Two Toronto friends, Barb and Peter, also great visual artists, were also with us. Barb brought this incredible pumpkin cheese cake creation. When you think you can’t eat another bite, it’s a testament to the irresistibility of the food when you can’t stop yourself from eating more. 

On the third night, I went out to Nvelte, to my friends Treeza and Rick, who were soon leaving for their second home in Guatemala. A third delicious turkey, a third stuffing, and new versions of different vegetables. It was really quite amazing that I ate all this food over three nights, and I swear no two dishes were identical, all just glorious homemade food cooked with lotsa love.

A Canadian who also lives in Guatemala, Bob, was there as well as our friend Gloria, the only one of us not about to be back in Central America quite soon. Out of respect, we kept our musings about warm weather and tropical treats to a minimum.

A fourth night I was with my old pals the Pepall brothers, Andy and Mike, along with Mike’s wife, Lisa and their kids. The Pepall’s and I met in the Temagami bush on the blockade in 1989, spending seven weeks at the bush camp together. Andy was just at the 20^th reunion, which I didn’t get to, and brought some stories from Temagami for us. Looking at photos of the mist floating on that cold northern lake in the rising sun made me weep. It is a land I need to return to often for a dose of pine scent, wood smoke and loon songs. A dose of the Pepalls was almost as sweet as a trip north.

Another dinner was with another friend from the blockade, the woman who did the initial lay out for Walking with Wolf, Laurie Hollis-Walker. Along with her husband David and her longtime mentor in psychology, Dr. Harry Hunt, we continued the feeding frenzy. We also watched the show Survivor. I studied these funny but focused academics studying the social interactions of the participants. Laurie and I met in a Survivor kind of situation, along with those Pepalls and hundreds of other activists. She now teaches a life-altering course at Brock University – Eco-psychology – and is doing her doctorate work on the activists in the Californian redwoods. 

This week of respectful but relentless gluttony was followed by several days of very humble and simple foods and then it was the International Day for Climate Change or 350 Day. I was the guest speaker that night at a fund-raising dinner at the Toronto Zoo for COTERC (Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation). They have a remote biological station near Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and do important research on turtles.

It was a friendly, committed crowd full of very interesting people, including Peter Silverman, a well-known investigative journalist and ombudsmen from Toronto, and my always dynamic friend, Lynda Lehman, from Guelph.

Earlier that day, I drove my bike downtown to see what 350.day events were going on. I couldn’t linger long as I was leaving for Toronto, but I did manage to walk into a very interesting workshop at one of our local and smart food cafes, the Sky Dragon.  Karen Burson, a woman I met on a dance floor recently, was hosting this discussion on the ever-increasing importance of eating locally and organically. We must pay attention to all stages of our foods, including how they are grown, where they are grown, how they are packaged, transported and then disposed of, including all that packaging. There was a table of green vegetables in front of me, brought from one of the local organic farms for their Saturday morning market.

Karen spoke the truth with passion and intelligence. I commend her and all folks like her who work daily for a healthier and therefore happier planet. I was sorry that I had to leave before people gathered to walk through Hamilton as they were doing all over the planet that day.

It was one more day to be giving grace for the bounty, our blessings,  life. And appreciation for every wonderful person who fed me, hugged me, made me think, or kept me laughing in this, the season of thanks giving.

In a packed lecture room at Lyndon State College in Vermont,  two colleagues met to debate whether or not we should honor Christopher Columbus on Columbus day or if we should be  ashamed of him.  Last Wednesday (October 21),  Professor Janet Bennion and Professor Alexandre Strokanov both discussed their points of view.

Bennion began.  She opened with a ten minute explanation about why Columbus should be considered a terrorist.  She listed staggering numbers of murders and rapes that all took place under Columbus’s watch.  She said that some would claim this was just cruelty of his time but she maintains that even for his time these statistics were far too high.  She recited quotes from Columbus’s men talking of the horrors they committed, all with their captain’s permission.  She brought up the point that the Native Americans were already a very successful people, saying that they bathed which the Europeans did not and respected their women which the Europeans also did not.  She brought her 10 minutes to a close by suggesting that instead of Columbus Day, we should have an Indigenous Peoples Day to honor those who Columbus had slaughtered.

Professor Strokanov then took the floor.  He opened his presentation by talking about how all great men in history have been linked to horrible things.  He Mentioned our founding fathers owning slaves and Issac Newton being responsible for the Nuclear Bomb.  He then explained why they are now seen as great men.  From a historical point of view these men were responsible for tremendous progress.  He did not deny that horrible events took place but without these men we would not be where we are today.  Strokanov believes that Columbus is responsible for bringing the Europeans to America.

After these presentations, the two Professors went back and forth in a somewhat unorganized argument.  Strokanov questioned Bennion’s sources calling them unreliable.  Bennion provided her sources and Strokanov said that they could not be credible because we have so little evidence of all of her findings.  After all was said and done, they began to take questions.  Two men seemed to stick out.  One who seemed like he wanted to lecture the room on all of his findings to impress us, and one who seemed to move the entire room.  That man was Professor Bennion’s husband.  A Native American whose name was “Walks in the Sky” (commonly known as John). He gave a long beautiful speech concerning how he hates the whole debate even though his wife is so passionate about it.  John took a very peaceful approach in that he knows and hates Columbus for what he had done to his people but at the same time he thinks it is time to move on.  He thinks it is time to celebrate life; all life, regardless of race.  He finished his speech to a great round of applause.

On October 12th, Columbus Day, I was uptown on Madison Avenue between 59th and 60th Street for a dentist’s appointment.  I was out by noon, so I went to check out the 65th Annual Columbus Day Parade organized by The Columbus Citizens Foundation on 5th Avenue.  It started at 11:30am on 44th Street and stopped at 79th Street.

“Although the focus of the parade is to honor Christopher Columbus, the annual Columbus Day Parade up 5th Avenue is a reminder of the countless Italian contributions to the world of culture, science, arts, fashion, medicine, and technology.”

I enjoyed watching the parade go by, listening to the classic and more recent Italian Songs, hearing Italian spoken, and just to see the many parade participants and watchers express and show their Italian pride loud and clear!  More than a few times, I smiled…as I remembered a trip where I visited Venice and Verona with friends as a float went by with masked men (for Venice’s Carnevale) to celebrate Veneto, one of the 20 regions of Italy, or remembering the late nights/early mornings at Italian discotheques with friends, when hearing an Italian song that was popular in 2000 when I studied in Cortona during college, or thinking of my grandmother in New Jersey who loves dogs, when I saw this dog avidly watching the parade-goers go by.

It was a bit chilly, but I am glad I went.  I have never done anything for Columbus Day before, except to enjoy a day off from school when I was younger.  But, I was happy to see the parade and celebrate the day this year, mainly because of the day as a celebration of being Italian…though, that is everyday for me!

]]> http://jaredski09.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-in-1492/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:47:51 +0000 jaredski09 http://jaredski09.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-in-1492/

Courtesy: Google Fair Use Images

Columbus Day is a holiday that is celebrated as a holiday across America. For most people, it means a day off from school. For other people, it means that Christopher Columbus arrived in America. Christopher Columbus arrived in America on October 12, 1492 when he sailed across the ocean blue. Columbus’ original mission was to find a western ocean route to Asia, and instead he found America. It was the first voyage to America and it was the first time that a European encountered Native Americans.

There has been controversy over Columbus Day. Professors Janet Bennion and Alexandre Strokanov of Lyndon State College debated Wednesday whether or not Columbus Day should be observed. The controversy stems from the legitimacy of honoring Columbus as a hero. Bennion stated that Columbus was violent with Native Americans and therefore should not be considered a hero. She said that he enslaved Native Americans and introduced diseases from Europe to America. She also stated that Columbus and his men raped the natives. Strokanov stated that Columbus made great strides in discovering the new land we call America, and that he worked with Native Americans to adventure into America. He also said that Bennion’s sources were not legitimate. The debate got pretty serious and Bennion compared Columbus to a terrorist, because he wreaked havoc with the Indians. She also had her husband at the debate, who was Native American. Strokanov said that Columbus was a hero for sailing across the Atlantic and if it weren’t for him, it would have been much later until someone other than the Native Americans discovered America. Overall the debate was intense, and both sides made fair arguments. Columbus Day will always be observed, but not without some debate.

As Columbus Day drew closer, many people were looking forward to a day off from school. I noticed that a lot of people don’t actually know a lot about Columbus and who sent him on his journey.

Person A: Ah Columbus Day. Thank god for the Italians.

Person B: Actually, the Spanish king and queen sent him on his voyage, so, you should be thanking them.

~~**LEARN**~~

From ReconsiderColumbusDay.org.

In case you were wondering, and I know you were, we DID make it to Stonington!  Hooray!  Emme and Elle hit two corners of the state in under 2 weeks… and yet it still takes 9 days to get an update post on it.  Ah well, let’s get focused.  Expect this post to be updated again soon enough, since Emme is writing it just before bed and definitely didn’t bother to proofread it, or consult Elle.  Whoops!

So we met up at the most reasonable halfway point we could think of: Westbrook.  It made for a good jumping off spot en route to New London county and the mythical, mystical, Stonington half of Mystic.  Unlucky for us, this would entail a heck of a lot of traffic.

View from the Bea-Mobile

Talk to Someone
Lucky for us, we also had some great suggestions from a Mystic-area native, Emme’s friend Dan, and the guidance of the office of State Senator Andrew Maynard.  As we’ve mentioned, Stonington is a tricky area.  So most of our talking came in advance of our Columbus Day voyage: Stonington is hard to do!

Do Something
We were able to identify B.F. Clyde’s cider mill as a great Stonington locale, touristy or not.  And SO delicious.  Even better for history buffs like ourselves, B.F. Clyde’s is a National Historic Landmark.

Emme & Elle Employ a Photographer

Emme had once heard all about it late-night on CTN, so it was a thrill to finally see the decades of hard work in action.  Of course, that doesn’t mean we had any idea what was going on.  Emme thought the signs prohibiting food and drink in a place that converts food into drink were hilarious, but our dear companion Bea made sure to set us straight.

We Have No Clue How This Works

Drink Something
Once we made our way through the mill area, we got to sample some of B.F. Clyde’s super delicious farm wines and hard cider.  If you haven’t been able to sample some of their offerings, we highly recommend.

See Something
Ah, Stonington Borough.  So, Mystical Dan had sent us a great list of places to check out, but most of the ones we found were on the Groton side of Mystic.  So, we’re definitely going to keep his list for later, but he did alert us to the quaint and super-New English (New Englandy?) area of Stonington Borough.

Cannonbaaaaaaalllllllll!

We know most Stonington voyagers would hit up the Mystic Seaport, we totally dig that suggestion.  In fact, we considered it.  But at the end of the day, we’d all been through there on field trips or something, and none of us had the cash on hand to fund a serious journey into Mystic’s seafaring history.  But it looked as cool as we remember, and we suggest that you support the state’s museums and whatnot, as they are totally cool, just totally not in the budget for all of us recent grads/state employees/people with poor money management skills.

Culture and History: Not in our Budget.

Emme felt transported back to Olde Cape Cod, and totally dug the great architecture and stonework around town.  Bea couldn’t stop complaining about the fishy smell where the car was parked.  Maybe THAT’S what prompted Bea’s Sea Captain voice… a mystery for our time.

Eat Something
You thought we’d been slacking off since our visit, but actually we’ve spent the week trying to burn off the calories we consumed on our Stonington voyage.  Thank you, BF Clyde’s, for your delicious donuts.

Healthy snacks.

No thanks, seafood restaurant, for your subpar clam chowder (not pictured).  Emme is unimpressed.

Lessons In Connecticuting

1. Never leave the house without Aoenghus, our trusty GPS guide.
2. Don’t invite Bea if you don’t want a day full of sea captain voices.
3. Find a guide who will personally show us around towns that may or may not be in other towns and may or may not clarify where they are.
4. Emme will never trust non-Cape Cod chowder.
5. Reading the notable resident section of the town’s wikipedia article would alert us to any possible Conan sightings… Emme is devastated to have missed all this: “Other famous residents have included the explorer Edmund Fanning, who discovered Palmyra Island south of Hawai’i; Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Fanning; the Beaux-Arts architect Edward P. York, of York and Sawyer; the poet Stephen Vincent Benét, and the garden essayist Eleanor Perenyì. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Merrill, whose ‘Water Street’ evokes Stonington, moved to town in 1955. Ruth Buzzi of television’s “Laugh In” was born and brought up where Buzzi Memorials sits on Stonington Road. Harpsichord maker David Jacques Way’s workshop was in Stonington. Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, also had a summer house located in the Borough. Since 1999, Stonington has been the home of 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg “Fossilman” Raymer. Stonington has also been a destination for many famous persons, such as Viggo Mortensen, who rented a home in the area, and his The Lord of the Rings costar Elijah Wood; television host Conan O’Brien, whose sister lives in the Borough; and others, such as George Hamilton, Jimmy Fallon, Trey Anastasio of Phish and Dick Vitale of ESPN. Stonington has been the home to several on-location movie shoots, including Steven Spielberg’s Amistad and the Julia Roberts breakthrough movie, Mystic Pizza.”

This is in response to a discussion about Columbus and his infamous day at New York poet Carlos Andres Gomez’ Facebook page.

Mr. M. A.:

It is IMO a mistake to speak of indigenous peoples as a civilization, and this is a separate issue from the question as to whether it’s better to “be” indigenous (assuming that possible barring a worldwide socioeconomic collapse in which the weaker members of society would suffer a mass Holocaust) or “civilized”: whether as Brecht claimed to have believed, civilization is dogshit and it would be better to revert to more local and indigenous folkways (again assuming that’s an option).

There “was” a pre-Columbian civilisation: in fact there were more than one: the Aztecs, Inca and Mayan civilizations come to mind and the first two were destroyed by the Spaniards (but not by Columbus). Also, there may have been more that we just don’t know about because as African historians caution us, tropical lands (north South America and Central America) are unkind to archeological remains, unlike temperate zones.

But depending on how you define “civilization”, what “civilization” did Columbus destroy? I’m not in the business at all of telling you how to use words, and given Ghandi’s quote about civilization being a good thing and the West should try it, then perhaps you’re on to something if you conflate, which you seem to be doing, the indigenous and the civilized, using the phrase “indigenous civilised” without intending an oxymoron.

Perhaps the Carib and Arawak were more civilized in both an honorific and real sense while at the same time being indigenous. I have been using the terms as mutually exclusive, perhaps because I am a white SOB colonialist male after all, like Indiana Jones, or Aguirre, wrath of God.

I am not going to say that writing or the wheel defines civilisation, although my Dad would, being even more of a pain in the ass than I seem to be. This is, I sincerely believe, superstition, because you can do stuff without writing and the wheel. They are accidents. To define civilization as writing in particular is a mistake because the oral traditions of the indigenous in many ways are stronger, perhaps (and this was Plato’s fancy) because the absence of writing strengthens the memory.

Or, we could follow an historian’s politically neutral usage and distinguish between local, noncommunicating indigenous and civilisations with more territory. But as soon as we do, the “civilization” becomes something mortared in blood, it would seem, since unification over any distance usually involves conquest and enslavement.

I would personally prefer to define a “civilization” as one that evolves to the point that a las Casas or Bishop Oscar Romero emerges who using the professed ideals of the civilization itself and its holy books calls that civilization to account and calls upon what Lincoln called without “postmodern irony” (it being 1865) “the better angels of our nature”.

This the indigenous does not generally do.

I would (thinking on the late Derrida’s writing on what it means to welcome the stranger) define civilization as hospitality. ‘Course, that puts me into a heap of trouble, doesn’t it? For the Indians of Massachusetts, Virginia and Hispaniola gave the Pilgrims, John Smith and Columbus welcome, to be repaid with slaughter. Therefore “civilization” might be that which evolves to allowing self-criticism from within. It isn’t hospitality, although hospitality is part of the higher received meaning.

I’d say that we call relatively mutually isolated Arcadian communities without writing or guns “indigenous” intending no disrespect: I’d say we call expanding territories with more specialization of functions (starting with the division of social roles between laboring classes, priestly classes, warrior classes and rulers, which seem to have been a feature of preColumbian Aztec, Inca and Mayan “civilizations”) “civilizations” intending no, or only some, respect until they evolve to the Abrahamite point (rejected slaughter of Isaac), this being the point at which they question themselves.

We should intend minimal respect towards “civilization” because the Arcadian-indigenous societies probably evolved without the injustice named by Marxist historians such as Chris Harman in A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE WORLD: the crushing of small farmers and their enslavement, and the monopoly of grain by priests as seen in early Mesopotamia…and probably in pre-Columbian civilization as well.

Two cheers, then, at best, for civilization and its Columbus Days and other festivals which commemorate and celebrate horror.

But it’s always been like this. What we call the human condition

the Whips and Scornes of time,
The Oppressors wrong, the poore mans Contumely,
The pangs of dispriz’d Loue, the Lawes delay,
The insolence of Office, and the Spurnes
That patient merit of the vnworthy takes,

what we know, are a human artifact, as Hamlet knew.

At the same time, you cannot run backward, and ensure that

Time will run back, and fetch the age of gold,
And speckl’d vanity
Will sicken soon and die,
And leprous sin will melt from earthly mould,
And Hell itself will pass away,
And leave her dolorous mansions to the peering day.

(Milton, Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity). It’s all one way, and I for one have no time to waste on romanticising the indigenous. Learn from it. Try to live more like it. But it’s gone, Flintstone, and no amount of dissing Columbus will bring it back.

Nor have I time to waste on Columbus. Heaping scorn on his memory is just amnesiac. It forgets the ethnic cleansing of Islam in Iberia: that was his patrons, Ferdinand and Isabella. The destruction of Mexican civilization: that was Cortes, wasn’t it? The destruction of Inca civilization: that was Pizzaro, wasn’t it? The colonization of Hispanic North America: that was Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier, and Sam Houston, wasn’t it? The economic colonization of Cuba: that was Teddy Roosevelt, huh. The contra war: that was Ronald Reagan and Oliver North, isn’t that a kiss my ass.

The fact is that the European west in recovery from the Black Death was looking for a way to the shopping mall of its time, that being China, and Islam in the form of the Turkish Caliphate was in its way. It turned around, and the indigenous societies and pre-Columbian civilizations were in its way. And what the masses do when they are either starving or just bored outa their skulls is head for horizons for better or worse.

Now, all of this sounds like “shit happens” and is not meant to, M. A. It just means that as a person of European descent, I do not celebrate a goddamn thing. I don’t celebrate the fact that my German ancestors had no land because vast tracts of the north German plain were reserved for ducal purposes, mostly hunting. I don’t celebrate the fact that they took aim at Indians in Minnesota (and probably missed if my own experience with firearms is any guide).

But I do remember. I do commemorate. And I do believe that if Latin Americans romanticise the inaccessible indigenous, their wonderful post-Columbus civilization, Las Casas, Oscar Romero, Jorge Luis Borges, Diego Rivera, will disappear in a universal Starbuck’s.

Latin America is a civilization. I want to see it preserved. Latin Americans fought for recognition of the fact that they created, from nearly nothing, a civilization from the Mission de San Francisco to Tierra del Fuego, not by eliminating the Indians (that was the NorteAmericanos) but by fusion with them. For too long, my country has thrown its weight around Central America and ignored Latin America. It pulled the plug on Argentina in 2000 destroying Argentina’s middle class because to Washington, they did not matter. It tried to have Hugo Chavez killed in May 2002 when my fellow attendees at a computer conference were Chavez supporters even though they worked at oil companies.

This is, whether you like it or not, a postColumbian civilization and in the United States, Columbus day can recognize this while at the same time being brutally forthright and honest about what happened. Anything would be better than passing over Columbus and his infamous day with a sheepish grin or a knowing smirk, because if you do this, none of your students will become a Supreme Court Justice.

In Italia vige un regime che combatte con tutti i mezzi, leciti e meno leciti, chi non è d’accordo con il loro modo di governare.

Ieri su Canale 5 è andato in onda un servizio che palesemente violava la privacy del giudice Mesiano (il giudice del Lodo Mondadori) con un pedinamento a cui ha portato l’insostenibile verità che il giudice “è stravagante” perché aspetta il suo turno dal barbiere e fuma troppo nell’attesa. D’altronde, come ha detto la pseudo-giornalista di Mattino5, “alle sue stravaganze siamo ormai abituati. Mesiano ci regala un’altra stranezza: guardatelo seduto su una panchina, pantalone blu, mocassino bianco e calzino turchese”. Oddio, dovrebbe andare in galera: il pantalone blu col mocassino bianco e il calzino turchese stonano da morire!

Vedendo il filmato sarete d’accordo che stiamo andando verso una deriva che porta ben oltre la tv spazzatura, siamo già arrivati alla tv di regime.

Non è finita qui però. Il 12 ottobre negli Stati Uniti si celebra il Columbus Day, una festa celebrata in molti paesi delle Americhe per commemorare il giorno dell’arrivo di Cristoforo Colombo nel Nuovo Mondo il 12 ottobre 1492. Come ogni anno una delegazione italiana manifesta per le strade di New York portando i nostri colori al di la’ dell’Oceano. Quest’anno il piacere e l’onore di rappresentarci lo ha avuto il Ministro della difesa Ignazio La Russa.

La Russa è pronto a partecipare alla sfilata: sorride, stringe mani, fa linguacce, prima di prendere posto su una Maserati biposto. La festa gliela rovinano i cittadini di “Qui New York libera”, associazione che in Italia, in vari episodi, ha contestato ministri e politici. I contestatori, armati di cartelli, gridano nei confronti del ministro: “Lo stato non può trattare con la Mafia. Se Mangano è un eroe, Borsellino cos’è?”. La Russa tace, e la Maserati parte. I “sovversivi” però lo seguono e, appena la macchina si ferma, continuano con le loro contestazioni. Questa volta La Russa perde la testa: mette le mani alla bocca e, in tipica posa da stadio, urla: “Mi ricordo, sei un pedofilo” rivolto verso i contestatori. Rincara la dose: “Vergognati, mi ricordo cosa facevi, alle bambine”. Fa un cenno con la mano ad un uomo del suo seguito, questo si avvicina al gruppo e dice, come se chiedesse una cortesia “Ma tu sei un pedofilo, cosa parli?”. Quelli di “qui New York libera” rimangono basiti e stupiti. Un ministro dovrebbe accettare le critiche perché fanno parte del suo lavoro, ma La Russa probabilmente la pensa diversamente.

Nei Tg naturalmente il video non è passato, e sui giornali la notizia non viene riportata perché ritenuta poca importante. Per fortuna c’è YouTube.

I’ve got a lot of questions on my mind today: Is it humanly possible to read four books and write two papers in the next 72 hours? How did it go from zero to winter in five days flat? When will it stop raining? Who is balloon boy and why should I care about him?

And I’m not the only one asking questions. Take a look at some of the burning queries that have been occupying CC writers for the past week:

- Can intercultural dating ever work out for the best?

- Is paying $89 to get a bump-free bikini line worth it?

- Will frat houses be able to survive the Great Swine Flu Freakout of ’09?

- Is it weird to have a huge crush on Aladdin?

- Can anyone afford post-college apartments?

- What’s worse: sexist iPhone apps or slutty costumes for 7^th graders?

- Where can I get an adult-sized Barbie jeep of my very own?

- Would anybody seriously buy a vagina mint?

- Should you resist the urge to go Facebook official?

- What’s keeping us from actually liking the nice guys?

- And finally: Does anyone want to get some Italian food and go sailing with me?  Columbus Day be damned—that just seems like a sweet way to start off the weekend, despite the frigid temperature.

Scoppia la pace tra Antonello Venditti e la Calabria. È bastato un buon caffè a Roma tra il cantautore e il sindaco di Reggio, Giuseppe Scopelliti, per chiudere una polemica che col passare dei giorni aveva assunto i contorni del ridicolo.

Ridicolo quando il servizio delle Iene andato in onda martedì 23 ottobre su Italia 1, in cui Giulio Golia, nei panni di Toto Fattazzo, ha intervistato Venditti mettendo in mostra, in modo sicuramente ironico e caracaturiale (anche troppo), il prototipo del calabrese “troglodita” con tanto di accento iper-marcato, soppressata, cipolla di Tropea e peperoncino. Un po’ come rappresentare i sardi con le pecore al pascolo e il pecorino in mano!

A fare da pacere tra la Calabria e Venditti è stato il giornalista Pierluigi Diaco, colui che per giorni è stato preso di mira e insultato dagli utenti di youtube dopo la sua partecipazione a “La vita in diretta”. In quell’occasione l’onorevole dj di Rtl (calabrese di origine), andando in controtendenza con il sentire popolare di chi si è sentito offeso dalle parole di Venditti, si era chiesto come mai i calabresi, così come hanno fatto con Venditti, non s’indignano per una classe politica regionale che, quella sì, ha portato la Calabria allo sfascio.

Diaco ha risposto agli insulti con i fatti. Ha messo in contatto e ha fatto incontrare il sindaco Scopelliti con il cantautore romano, a casa di quest’ultimo. Ne è venuto fuori un incontro cordiale, durante il quale Venditti ha rinnovato le sue scuse a tutti quei calabresi che si sono sentiti offesi dalle sue parole, confermando, però, che il suo voleva solo essere un grido di rabbia per una terra abbandonata da tutti, anche da Dio.

Venditti ha anche ribadito il suo amore per la Calabria («una regione che amo, onesta e pulita») manifestato l’intenzione «di fare tutto il possibile per partecipare al suo rilancio». Il primo incontro in terra calabrese avverrà nelle prossime settimane, quando il cantautore romano parteciperà a Reggio ad una conferenza stampa insieme al sindaco Scopelliti e a Pierluigi Diaco. Perché, a questo punto, non fare una proposta a Venditti: sull’esempio di Michele Placido (che a Locri ha creato un laboratorio teatrale simile a quello  realizzato a Tor Bella Monaca), Venditti potrebbe creare un laboratorio musicale per giovani artisti, non solo calabresi, magari a Reggio. Un centro dove scoprire e produrre nuovi talenti della musica.

Stanotte (dalle ore 00.00), intanto, Antonello Venditti sarà ospite proprio di Diaco ad “Onorevole Dj” su Rtl 102.5, insieme al sindaco Giuseppe Scopelliti che interverrà telefonicamente da Reggio (clicca sull’immagine accanto per seguire la trasmissione in diretta e intervenire al dibattito).

La speranza è che, archiviata la vicenda Venditti, ora i calabresi, quelli veri, tirino fuori il loro orgoglio per cose più serie, visto che mentre ci s’indignava per le frasi del cantautore, in Calabria si continuava a morire negli ospedali, nuove navi dei veleni venivano scoperte nei fondali dei marini e i nostri politici regionali, i più indagati d’Italia per intenderci, a nostre spese se la spassavano al Columbus Day!

Clicca sui link per leggere gli articoli pubblicati sui quotidiani locali:
Gazzetta del Sud 1/2/3
Il Quotidiano della Calabria
Strill.it
Newz.it

13/10/2009 http://professionals.visitcostadelsol.com/bd/mostrar_noticia.php?ident=831&tipo=eventos

Over 1,700 people came together at the reception thrown by the Spanish Ambassador in Rome, Luis Calvo, to celebrate Columbus Day. The Costa del Sol was the guest region at the reception, so the best of our land was offered to the leading personalities who attended the event.

So, I have been writing this for a few days but could not seem to put the finishing touches on it.  It’s a few days late, but, well, deal with it.

—

WOOOOOO BOY-HOWDY it sure is nice to be a part of the celebration of that time in 1492 when Columbus, in all of his magnanimous glory, sailed the ocean blue in search of the end of the world but found the amazing continent of American instead?  Is it not nice to be a part of that thing that jump-started the peaceful integration of two of humanities lost tribes into one easilycomingalable social entity?

Oh, wait… That is not at all how it happened.

In my honest opinion, Columbus day is the weirdest holiday that we celebrate here in the ol’ US of A.  This includes the fact that we celebrate things like Thanksgiving (a time when Indians gave food to cold, starving and destitute pilgrims only to be eradicated by said pilgrims a few months later), Halloween (A celebration of our dead wherein kids get diabetic and women get slutty) and Labour Day (wherein the labor unions who bilk wages from workers at exorbitant rates and use it to influence government into the desecration of the rights of small businesses are celebrated).  Let’s go over some of the reasons that Americans really have no right to celebrate, much less get out of school or not be able to conduct any banking business, the fact that Columbus sailed his rich ass all the way across the Atlantic, shall we?

Ok, why did Columbus come across the ocean?  According to popular belief it was to buck the notion that the world was flat and go find India in order to prove that you could get there from Europe.

I think not.

In all actuality he was looking for a faster way to India so that he could make more money and thus impress the court of Spain, the famous Ferdinand and Isabella.  It was a voyage of greed and notoriety, not one of discovery.  He was commissioned to get a new source of income and beat the Dutch and Portuguese to the proverbial punch in the trade wars being fought for the Indian subcontinent.  Lets face it, going all the way around Africa is way less convenient than sailing through an empty ocean all the way to India, right?

The entire thing about the Earth being flat and the sailors being afraid of falling off the edge of the world and all that crap is pretty much total bullocks, as everyone knew that there was something out there.  The Vikings had been on North America, around Nova Scotia, as early as the 10th century, and there is no reason to believe that their subsequent sacking of almost every major power that had risen since then would not have spread the knowledge that SOMETHING was out there throughout the world.  Along with this information comes the fact that Eratosthenes had calculated the circumference of the planet to within a few hundred miles in 240 BC.  Since circumference, for the uninitiated, means distance around and not across, one could safely assume that by the 1400’s people knew that the world was indeed not a big table full of warring countries, pissed off religions and crazy animals all over the place that also has water from the oceans pouring off the edges into space.

Now, what about the idea that Columbus discovered America.  While I read in the paper the other day that schools are no longer teaching this, it doesn’t stop the fact that it is celebrated as a federal holiday here, thus firmly cementing the idea that Columbus had really anything to do with North America in the popular psyche.  In all actuality, Columbus landed hundreds of miles south of Florida in the Bahamas.  He landed at San Salvador on Oct. 12 1492, and explored Hispaniola and what is now Cuba.  Notice that nowhere did I say he discovered America.  If this were true, we would be living in a place called theColumbias.

Nope, America was named, probably, after an Itallian man observing probing missions for the Spanish Crown named Amerigo Vespucci.   His name was put on some maps that he brought back after a bunch of expeditions on SOUTH America (he was the one who “found” Brazil and claimed it for the crown according to the Treaty of Tordesillas).  HE never even landed on North America, and he was doing this a decade after Columbus.  SO there is no reason that we should not be celebrating “Vikings kind of discovered Canada” day, or even “There was already an indigenous population here when other people showed up” Day.

Lastly, Let me speak to the fact that we teach our kids about Columbus day as a celebration.  We are teaching these kids to celebrate the landing of a man who routinely kidnapped people out of their villages to act as guides, savagely beating and whipping them unless they did as they were told.  They kidnapped women to be used as slaves at their camps and children to use a human shield.  Columbus and his men stole, burned and raped their way across a landscape that was increasingly – with good reason – hostile to their presence.  Teaching that to your kids is like teaching them that it isok to mix Rum, Tequila and cheap beer in the same night…  It’s just irresponsible.

While I could use this as an excuse to go off on my diatribe about the importance of teaching accurate history from updated sources in our schools, I think I’ll save that for another day.  Let’s just keep on Celebrating holidays based on fairy tales so that they grow up to write blogs expressing their bitterness at the lack of quality inherent in their education…

Is Columbus Day sailing off the calendar?

One Man’s Trash, Another Man’s Earthship

Abortion bans do not cut abortion rate

On Monday 12^th October, Columbus Day. Ingrid, Shirley, Cassie and myself decided to go to the historic Sandwich Fair. It was my first time at a “proper” American county fair, and I had a great afternoon. We sampled an array of food, mingled among many stalls, looked at the local farm life, (mostly cows) and gazed in awe at the highflying rides.  The day itself was a perfect fall afternoon -  slightly chilly – but sunny and colorful nonetheless.  It was a lot of fun overall. I felt as though I was in a rustic American movie, a great classic example of local tradition.

I have procrastinated long enough on the last 24 hours that Marcos and Wayne were here over Labor Day weekend. I also have to write about it because my weekend in Minnesota has passed, and I want to tell you all about it. First things first of course, the last 24 hours.

After waking up from out drive back from VA Beach, we had no idea what we wanted to do that Monday. It was kinda gray outside and raining a bit (on and off). Wayne had not been on the Metro yet, so we had to knock that out. The question was, where to go on the metro? I looked it up and a part of the yellow line was close that day entire weekend, a piece that we needed to get out of Alexandria. We decided to drive to Dupont, not sure why, and take the metro from there to Union Station.

When we got to Dupont, Mark wanted stop by Lambda Rising, the gay book store. He wanted to show me this bracelet he liked last time he was in town. It was still there: It was nice and manly.

Wayne on the Metro

We then headed off to take the red line to Union Station. I prefer the Metro in DC over the Subway in NYC. They are so much cleaner here.

I had never been to Union Station, so I was being a tourist once again.   The world should be seen through eyes of a tourist: everything is new and interesting! Anyways, we walked around there for about an hour or so and we also had some lunch. We skipped breakfast and went straight for lunch. There aren’t that many wonderful, appealing places to eat down there.

We went outside to have a look and so that Wayne and Mark could grab a smoke. As we were all standing around, this man comes up to us and starts talking to us. I didn’t know he was homeless until he started saying that he wanted some money for food. He was supposedly a Veteran also, who knows if that was true. After a minute of hearing his story, we give him some change and he gives us a postcard with a thank you written on it. Now, if more homeless people took postcards from the National Postal Museum and wrote thank you on them, people might actually give them some money. I think he also got a smoke from them. Whatever he got, he accomplished his mission.

Mark and the little dude!

We left after walking around more. We went back to get the car in Dupont and it was raining. We didn’t have an umbrella so after we came out of the metro, we stood under a tree until it calmed down a bit and they smoked another cig.   It slowed down, so we walked back to the car and headed home.

What do we have planned for the rest of the evening, you ask? Well, we love Wayne, but it does not include him. Mark and I had a pending date that evening. Yes, it’s gay and dorky, but you can’t have a relationship without ever having a first date. So I set aside some time for just the two of us.

After we got home, we started getting ready for our date. To tell you the truth, I had never in my life had an actual date that I dressed up for, which is sad…I guess. I was happy and excited for it though. It’s something new. I look forward to many dates and dressing up! We got ready and headed to the store to get an ingredient for the night. We went to Georgetown where I treated my darling for a round of gelato, Plum flavored of course (but he tried a new flavor, avocado with plum). We had dinner at Chipotle, which was is always a good choice: We love Chipotle!

Why would you take someone to chipotle you ask? And on a first date? It’s not because he doesn’t deserve to be treated to a fancier place, but because we both would be happy eating out of a soup kitchen bag as long as we were with each other. We also had to have a quick dinner in order to catch our movie: The Time Traveler’s Wife, which was a decent movie. Once we were done eating our tasty chipotle, we went back for some more gelato.

Funny story during the movie: While watching the movie, Mark got relaxed and layed across some chairs. He went to move his leg, which had fallen asleep, and apperantly lost control of the leg and kicked the man in front of us. Well, it’s probably not funny to the man, but it sure is funny to me. LOL!!! I did feel bad for the guy.

After the movie, we went home and I started feeling sad. Because I knew once we went to bed, he would be going to the airport. I would go another month without seeing him. This is the way long distance relationships are; difficult and patience testing! In the morning, I dropped off at the airport and said my adieu!

This year on Columbus Day, there will be memorial observance in front of the Christopher Columbus Monument on the south lawn of the Iowa State Capitol.  It is doubtful that the crowd that attends this year’s ceremony will come close to matching the five thousand who swarmed the same lawn at the original dedication of the monument on Columbus Day, 1938.  The dedication of the monument capped the twenty-year vision of one man and a two-year effort by the Des Moines-based Columbus Club and Italians across the entire state of Iowa.

The Columbus Club, an active local chapter of the National Italian-American Civic League, was actively pursuing the veneration of their group’s namesake.  In 1935, they were triumphant in lobbying the state legislature to officially recognize October 12 as Columbus Day in Iowa.  The following year, they successfully dedicated the Columbus Park (formerly the Walker Park) in South Des Moines. To culminate their efforts, the club’s vision included the erection of a suitable memorial statue of Columbus to be located at Columbus Park.

Columbus Park Dedication

Prior to 1936, however, business conditions were too poor to begin organizational work to raise funds for a memorial. Yet despite the weak economy, the ambitious members of the Columbus Club decided it was time to form a memorial committee.  They named Anthony L. Sarcone as the chairman of the committee.   Sarcone, the local publisher of the American Citizen, the Italian-American newspaper in Des Moines, dreamed of dedicating a Columbus memorial in Des Moines for almost twenty years – now he finally had the chance to fulfill his aspiration.

Sarcone began by traveling the state interviewing progressive Italians and enlisting them in the project to raise funds for the memorial.  He received enthusiastic response from all parts of the state, including Granger, Centerville, Mystic, Sioux City, Davenport and Council Bluffs.  He also received the support of Cav. Uff. A. Castigliano, the Royal Italian consul from St. Paul to Des Moines.  St. Paul, like other major cities in the Midwest, had recently dedicated a Columbus memorial on the Minnesota state grounds, despite opposition from many Scandinavians in the state.

Columbus Day Bill Signing

On April 18, 1937, a dinner meeting was held at the Stemma D’Italia Hall in Des Moines to discuss ways and means for raising funds for the memorial.  A blanket invitation was sent to all prominent Italians throughout the state.  Over four hundred Italians, representing the cities of Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Albia, Waukee, Madrid, Davenport, Mystic, and Centerville, attended the meeting and pledged over $1,000 towards the memorial.  In addition, letters from representatives in Granger, Oelwein, Fort Dodge, Sioux City, and Mason City were received expressing the wholehearted support of their towns’ Italian representatives.  The Italian-American groups in the Des Moines area, including the Garibaldi, Figlia D’Italia, Societa’ Vittoria Italiana, and the Stemma D’ Italia, pledged to bond together to work on the project.

Honored speakers at the meeting included Cav. Uff. Castigliano and Cav. Fred A. Ossanna, president of the National Italian-American Civic League.  Cav. Ossana, an eloquent speaker, remarked that the Iowa monument and all monuments to Columbus were “more than memorials in bronze and granite – they are the spirit of a movement that will go through the years.”

By Columbus Day of 1937 funds had been collected in the amount of $1,030.55.  Sketches of the memorials were submitted to the committee by some of the country’s best designers and sculptors, but it was decided that none would be selected until the memorial fund had enough money to pay for the monument in cash upon delivery.

Over the next 12 months, the Italian communities throughout Iowa announced pledges towards the campaign.  Many non-Italian individuals and groups also donated to the fund, including one man of English descent who contributed because he “had a warmer feeling for Italy on the Ethiopian conflict than the stand England had taken.”

Anthony L. Sarcone was relentless in publicizing these contributions and promoting the monument fund campaign in the American Citizen.  Frank Cortesio of Mystic Iowa, chairman of the fund committee in southern Iowa, was singled out as one who had “done more to date than any other one individual on the committee, working constantly for the fund.”

Sarcone and other leaders on the committee continuously travelled the state by train in order to solicit additional funds.   By June 10, 1938, the memorial fund totaled $1,226.00.  The financial goal of the committee is unclear today, but by July of 1938, it was announced that due to extremely poor business conditions, it seemed doubtful that the statue would be unveiled by Columbus Day.  Still, the committee planned a vigorous fall campaign with the goal of having every pledge to the fund paid by the October holiday.

The threat of possibly missing the financial goal and the  unveiling of the statue on Columbus Day must have provoked a burst of contributions to the campaign, because by late August, over $2,000 had been collected – the equivalent of over $31,000 in today’s dollars.   More contributions were expected, and the committee felt comfortable that they would now have the funding necessary to erect the monument without debt.

Columbus Monument Ground Breaking

Plans for the dedication ceremony began.  Because the memorial was made possible by contributions of Italians across the entire state, it was decided that the monument should be located on state grounds rather than in Columbus Park as originally planned.  Normally an act by the state legislature would be required to approve the placement of the memorial on the capitol grounds, but the attorney general’s office intervened and ruled that by acceptance of the executive committee, it could be erected there.

A site was chosen on the south side of the capitol, just east of the Soldiers and Sailors monument.  A ground-breaking ceremony was conducted on September 23rd and the Glendale Memorial Company of Des Moines began construction of the monument.  The cast bronze bust of Columbus selected for the memorial was commissioned to an Italian sculptor.

Columbus Day, 1938 began with a parade from Seventh and Locust Streets to the state capitol grounds where Anthony L Sarcone opened the dedication ceremonies.  Over five thousand guests from across the state were in attendance at the ceremony, which was broadcast over radio stations KRNT and KSO.   Sarcone expressed how pleased he was to see his twenty-year dream finally become a reality.  He credited the fine work of the committee and the dedication of Italians statewide in contributing to the project.  Sarcone then presented Melio Tonini, chairman of the dedication ceremony, who declared that the statue of Columbus paid “just tribute to your first Italian-American, who made possible this movement in a truly democratic republic – the greatest in the world.”

Columbus Monument Unveiling

Finally, while the Woodward State Hospital Band played “Stars and Stripes Forever”, Anne Gianni and Mary Crivaro pulled the cords revealing the monument. It consisted of two columns of granite which framed the bronze bust of Columbus. Governor Nelson G. Kraschel accepted the memorial gift on behalf of the state of Iowa.  In his speech, Governor Kraschel stated: “I am only a symbol speaking for the state and we all join you in being proud of the fact that your countrymen played such an important part in the establishment of government on the North American continent.    Your people have also played an important part in the social life of our state and we of the state of Iowa take pride in your lot in life and are grateful.”  After the governor’s speech, Monsignor L.G. Ligutti of Granger blessed the memorial.

From those who could not attend, hundreds of letters of congratulations were received, including telegrams from such dignitaries as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia of New York, Mayor Robert S. Maestri of New Orleans, and Mayor Angelo J. Rossi of San Francisco.

Following the ceremony, over six hundred people packed the Hotel Fort Des Moines for a banquet celebration.  Cav. Fred A. Ossanna reminded the crowd about the day’s events and the real reason we honor Columbus.  He said, “The soft warm rays, reflected in the sun light from the dome of your capitol, were bright in the eyes of those attending the dedication and I could even see the rays permeating the eyes of the bronze bust of Columbus, framed by the magnificent columns of granite.  In these eyes, though gentle, set in a face that was grave but determined, shone the purpose and courage and very persistency which qualifies the great.”

Information for this story was gathered from articles written in the American Citizen newspaper from 1936 to 1938. Click on photos for larger views.

Related Links:

Columbus Monuments

Columbus Monument Dedication Program