The Passing Parade

 Jim Griffith

My good friend Jim died today.  We've known each other since college and that covers a lot of ground.  Jim was a man of moral clarity and steadfast opinions who also loved to have a good time.   Sitting at the bar, lifting his glass, and occasionally singing his Irish tunes is one way I choose to remember him.

I'm also going to remember how generous he was to me, and how much fun I had with Jim and Phyllis at their home in Wilmette.

Jim, Jean, Barb and I were a bridge foursome for many years.  Barb kept track of all the scores.  Jim was a winner. So, I'm going to ask her to hang on to them for awhile as we say goodbye.

Black Beginnings

You can cheer or blame me for Black Friday.  Yes, I was part of the creation story.  It was in Detroit where we gathered for the family feast.  "Oh look, Hudson's is going to open it's doors at 8:30am tomorrow.  Let's go!"

My enthusiasm made it happen.  Kathy, Robyn, and I piled into Carol's wagon and took off for the mall.  I still have the great sweater I bought that day.

I think I'll wear it Thursday, 

Balls and Strikes

 The World Series started last night.  It’s truly a “world” field this time: Dodgers vs Toronto Blue Jays.  (Oh, Canada.) And, this is the last all human World Series.  That’s right: next time, baseball’s version of AI will take the strike zone out of the hands (and arms) of the umpires.

Human error gives way to the machine.

My mind went way back to when Supreme Court Justice John Roberts appeared at his Senate confirmation hearing. Remember when he said he saw his job as “calling balls and strikes?”

Plenty of room for human error on that field, wouldn’t you agree?

Al Gets It

 Bill is having heart surgery today.

I can think of younger days

When living for my life

Was everything a man could want to do

I could never see tomorrow

I was never told about the sorrow

And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain falling down?

Tell me how can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go 'round?

How can you mend this broken man? Yeah

How can a loser ever win?

Somebody please help me mend my broken heart

And let me live again

                                                                            Al Green 

Reading Side by Side

 

Nexus, the new book by Yuval Harari (remember Sapiens?) is challenging.  I’m only on Chapter 4 but already the text has addressed just about every condition humans have thought about since they emerged from the cave. And, the author throws so many details into each sentence that you have to pause, take a breath, and then attempt to extract the intended idea.  Wow.

Maybe this lament comes from having just read Timothy Snyder’s book, On Freedom.  He is the thoughtful academic who wrote On Tyranny and sounds really good on TV.  This was another “kitchen sink” epic.  Philosophy, politics, religion, biography.  Another wow.

So, when I am not reading for my classes, I’ve gone back to savor the character Spenser.  He’s the Boston private detective who inhabits the long series of stories by Robert B. Parker.  I’m glad I’m reading both types of books at the same time.

 

While Spenser is landing a left hook, Parker allows him to impart the same universal and eternal truths in every tale.  Another, and very satisfying, wow.

My Mt Rushmore

 Trump is threatening to send troups into the streets of Chicago.  Another manufactured "crisis" calculated to spread his power.  I wish the young men and women in uniform could be greeted by and introduced to these home grown heroes. 

Here's my Mt Rushmore of great Chicagoans.

Harold Washington

Chicago's first black Mayor.  He was a leader for all of us with the charisma and dedication to address real change in our divided city.

Leon Despres

The Hyde Park Alderman was a voice in the wilderness throughout the stifling Daley years. Made us aware that there was another -- and better --way.

Quentin Young

Chicago's doctor for all of the people.  The first to fight for single-payer health care.  "Everybody in, nobody out" was his cry.

Flint Taylor

This "lefty lawyer" was determined to find justice for Fred Hampton and the victims of the Jon Burge torture tragedy.  Grit and patience have paid off.  But oh, the cost along the way.

Tarot

 I’m exited that my friend Kathy sent me a copy of her new novel: “Interview with the Tarot Reader”.  Looking at the cards on the cover, I had a memory from a time long ago.

My mother was a young widow who was left to support two frightened, sad children.  A woman used to come over and lay out funny cards on the dining room table. Then the two of them would get deep into conversation. I thought it was “weird” and decided that the woman was the “witch lady.”

Now, I have a more compassionate view.  Faced with so much uncertainty, maybe the cards helped my mother envision a path into the future.

I wonder if Tarot foretold business success.  Because that was indeed her destiny.