Thursday, November 29, 2012

On the Mall. . .


. . . the future Deputy White House Chief of Staff.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Color in the Capital

In Washington, D. C., this past weekend, we saw color everywhere.  The Matisse Cut-Outs at the National Gallery burst with color as did the neighboring sculptures and mobiles of Alexander Calder.  Works such as Crinkly Worm and Black Camel with Blue Head and Red Tongue made us want to laugh out loud.

But across the street at the Newseum, the displays were more muted.  There we saw a portion of the Berlin Wall, which, though covered with graffiti on one side, is blank and dull on the other.  Black and white Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs line the walls downstairs, and the horror of 9/11 is captured in a video where a NYC reporter describes the rubble of the twin towers as "monochromatic."

Life comes to us in many shades.  Sometimes black and white is all we can take.  Other times gray is forced upon us, as the East Berlin side of the Wall so vividly shows.  And other times, when life is really bleak, we can see only one shade.

If we're lucky, Matisse and Calder show up every so often, and whimsy and mirth take over for awhile.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

A Farewell to Hostess

The news that Hostess Brands would close its doors shifted last week's news briefly away from General Petraeus and Paula Broadwell.  We managed to cram two of our greatest loves--scandals and junk food--into one week.  Sing to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star":

Twinkie, Twinkie, sugar high,
Must we really say good-bye?
Hostess cupcakes up for sale
Baby boomers weep and wail.
Twinkie, Twinkie, sugar high,
Must we really say good-bye?

Yodels, Ring Dings, SnoBalls, too,
They were never good for you.
But we ate them anyway
Now we'll buy them on eBay.
Yodels, Ring Dings, SnoBalls, too,
They were never good for you.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Blessed are the Merciful

Sometimes it's hard to feel thankful when friends and family are sick, and loved ones have died.  It's wearing dealing with illness and death, even when illness is treatable and death is expected.  I'm tired of doctors' offices and emergency rooms.

A few people have made these weeks easier, however, and I thank them for their kindness:

The woman who picked me up in her car 3 weeks ago when I was running to the Duke Emergency Room, afraid that I'd be too late to see my friend Hildegard one last time.

The nurse at the Forest at Duke who, when she saw me the next day and learned that she and I and Hildegard had all grown up near Philadelphia, showed me with delight a large, framed photograph of the city.

The dermatologist I saw Tuesday who is simply the nicest doctor I've ever had.

The receptionist at the Pediatric ENT Clinic who shares my sense of humor and thanked me yesterday for making her laugh.

Our pharmacist Nancy--who I also recognized last year at this time--who is unfailingly kind, professional, and conscientious.

Monday, November 19, 2012

The Messy Way Forward

Each year the Durham County Library sponsors a series of events surrounding one book chosen for the community to read, called "Durham Reads Together."  I propose a variant of this, called "USA Watches Together," where we all watch Steven Spielberg's new movie Lincoln

For to watch this movie is to be reminded that both vision and horse-trading make democracy work.  In it, we see vividly that passage of the 13th amendment--to abolish slavery in the United States--required manipulation and compromise on the part of its main players.  The "My way or the highway" thinking that dominates our current political discourse simply didn't work in 1865 and it won't work today.

What will work is a president who has a vision, legislators who can make a deal, at least a few people who vote their conscience, and everyone willing to get their hands a little dirtier than they'd like.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Scandalous Isle

My favorite TV song from childhood is the theme song from Gilligan's Island.  It captures the spirit of growing up in the suburbs in the 1960s, when adventures seemed to come effortlessly.  Moreover, the opening line--"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale"--suggests endless possibilities.  So when the story broke about General Petraeus, I knew I had my song.  Sing to the tune of "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" (first-season version where the Professor and Mary Ann are referred to as "the rest").

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
A tale sordid and crass
That started with a socialite
Who liked to hang with brass.

The socialite was getting stalked
On cyberspace, no less
If not for the entrance of the FBI
We might not have this mess.
We might not have this mess.

The shirtless agent found some mail
Of scandalous content
A general was compromised
By emails stored and sent.
By emails stored and sent.

The story has engulfed a few notorious people
Like Jill Kelley
John Allen, too,
Paula Broadwell
and her spouse
Petraeus, yes
And the rest
Are here on Scandalous Isle.

The women's arms were toned and firm
The men were fit and strong
But when you head the CIA
You simply can't go wrong.

The general he had to quit
Because of poor judgment
He should have done a better job
Of hiding evidence.

So here we go again, my friends,
Another one brought low
Tune in next month to watch anew
This never-ending show.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Autumn: In the Garden


You find a flower half-buried in leaves,
And in your eye its very fate resides.
Loving beauty, you caress the bloom;
Soon enough, you'll sweep petals from the floor.
Terrible to love the lovely so,
To count your own years, to say "I'm old,"
To see a flower half-buried in leaves
And come face to face with what you are.

- Han Shan

Monday, November 12, 2012

Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave

It wasn't just Mitt Romney who was defeated last week.  It was also the lies he told.  Lies about his record, lies about his policies, lies about Jeeps made in China.  He and his Republican Party couldn't stop lying, so much so that they even lied to themselves--denying facts and polls and evidence that left them stunned by their defeat on November 6.

They have only themselves to blame.  The false bubble they created grew so big that it burst, like a child's bubble blown into the wind.

I hope they chart a more truthful course for the future.  Sure, there will always be politics and spin and exaggeration, but day after day of outright lies does no one any good.  Cynicism and ignorance abound, and intelligent disagreements are impossible.

Let's hope that the so-called "Party of Lincoln" decides going forward to follow the advice of Honest Abe.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Winners All

What a triumphant week!  Let's join together with President Obama to sing Queen's great song "We Are the Champions" and enjoy the moment.  These are the real words:

I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through.

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it -
 I thank you all -

But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Enthusiasm Gap? I Don't Think So

Any campaign that signed up volunteers to work in a storage unit on election day did something right.  Here we are inside Unit 10 of Ample Storage on Tuesday:


Yes, this was a temporary field office in Durham, staffed by hearty Obama enthusiasts.  The working conditions were terrible: it was cold, loud, and dreary.  But there we were, making phone calls and driving voters to the polls.

I guess we've learned something.  This kind of energy really can beat millions of dollars.

Monday, November 5, 2012

In Memoriam


Hildegard S. Ryals
July 17, 1931 - November 1, 2012
With love and admiration

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Ain't It Good to Know

I still can't get over the images of Barack Obama and Chris Christie together this week.  What an improbable duo.  Governor Christie seemed smitten with his new friend, which brings to mind James Taylor's lovely song "You've Got a Friend."

When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and phone me at any hour of day and I will be certain that FEMA's there.

You just call for Barack at my special White House number
And I'll cut through all the red tape.
Political opponents no more, we're joined together now at the core
And I'll be there yeah, yeah, yeah,
You've got a friend.

If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds
and that old north wind should begin to blow,
Wrap your fleece around you and call my name out loud.
Soon I'll be walking along your shore.
You just call for Barack at my special White House number
And I'll cut through all the red tape.
Political opponents no more, we're joined together now at the core
And I'll be there yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend?  Romney can be so cold. 
He'll hurt you and desert you.  He'll take your soul if you let him.
Oh, but don't you let him.

You just call for Barack at my special White House number
And I'll cut through all the red tape.
Political opponents no more, we're joined together now at the core
And I'll be there yes I will,
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend?
Aint' it good to know you've got a friend?
Oh yeah, yeah,
You've got a friend.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

BFFs

The skinny black intellectual from Chicago and the big white guy from Jersey make quite a pair.  Who could have predicted the unlikely camaraderie that has developed between Barack Obama and Chris Christie?  Just last week the Governor trashed the President here in the south, in both North Carolina and Virginia.  Now he's Barack Obama's best friend.

In a piercing New York Times column, "The 'I' of the Storm," Maureen Dowd explores the political advantages both men gain in their new relationship.  With biting wit she points to Governor Christie's presidential ambition as the driving force in his fawning praise of the President.  While her argument is compelling and astute, I suggest another less Machiavellian motive for Chris Christie.

The responsibility that governors must feel in these disasters has to be overwhelming.  To whom do they turn?  Other states may be in the same situation and, if not, they have their own problems.  Enter the federal government, whose role--as FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said yesterday morning on NPR--is to "support the states when the disaster exceeds their capabilities."

As Chris Christie is seeing first hand, the federal government offers a lift up to those in need, which is precisely the message President Obama has repeated throughout this presidential campaign.  Mitt Romney, on the other hand, would turn over many essential functions either to the states or to private enterprise.  A diminished FEMA, as Romney has endorsed, wouldn't have much to offer Chris Christie right now.

Best friends have a way of being there when you need them.  No wonder Chris Christie has a new BFF.