(*Note: In honor of Al Franken’s victory for the Minnesota Senate seat, I have reprinted here a piece that ran on www.blogforiowa,com during the 2004 campaign, and a piece which still makes me laugh. ENJOY! And congratulations to Senator Franken, whom I supported with front-row tickets in Chicago at the Chicago Theater when he was mulling a run. I am so delighted that we will have an intelligent person in the Senate who also has a well-developed sense of humor.]

Connie Wilson: Jefferson/Jackson Democratic Dinner in Des Moines

by Linda Thieman on Mon 18 Oct 2004 08:39 AM CDT | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Jefferson/Jackson Democratic Dinner in Des Moines

By Connie Wilson

Keynote Speaker – Al Franken

AND YOU ARE THERE!

Or

”A Mush Mute, a Big Hat and a Plum”

Just a few comments about the October 16th Jefferson/Jackson annual Democratic dinner at Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.

1) The acoustics at Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium suck.

2) Because the acoustics suck, the large TV screens have captioning. The captioning must be done by a machine. This can lead to much merriment. Especially if you have made it your goal, after at least three hours of waiting, to obtain and consume a minimum of three glasses of white zinfandel prior to Al Franken’s appearance.

Connie and Al Franken, the camera lens no
doubt covered in white wine (see below).

3)   “Ed is the Governor of Pencil.” I think the machine MEANT to say that Ed is or was the Governor of Pennsylvania.

4)   The word “Dear” is listed as “Deer.”

5)   The machine cannot make up its mind whether the choir of Gospel Singers is from the Maple or Elm Street Missionary Baptist Church Choir. At this point, the machine is introducing various tree types. Things are very confused.

6)   We are asked to join hands with the person next to us. The person next to me, on my right, is Thomas Fischermann, Economic Correspondent for the German weekly “Die Zeit.” I tell Tom that holding hands in this fashion in America means that we are now legally married. Tom tells me that he knows this isn’t true, as he was raised Catholic. I admit that I lied (which is more than I can say for George W. Bush). Tom turns out to be a delightful seat-mate for the dinner, which we are not eating.

7)   At one point, after the droning of fully two dozen would-be Democratic candidates, none of whom any of us knows, Tom says he might have to go back to his hotel room and watch Al (Franken) on TV. (He doesn’t.) He is disappointed that Sharon Stone isn’t going to appear (aren’t we all?) I ask Tom whether he thinks Vanessa Kerry is wearing nylons. He is too much of a gentleman to comment. Oh, those European men. Especially those who had English teachers from Wisconsin.

8)   After about 2 hours of the droning and bellowing (the sound system is REALLY bad), I say that it is going to be my goal to drink three glasses of white zinfandel before Franken takes the stage. I am actually doubting that Franken will EVER take the stage. This turns out to be a really bad plan. Why? I have taken my college roommate as photographer-in-residence, and, when I put my camera and the wine glasses (small plastic cups at $5 a pop) on the floor, she accidentally kicks a glass of white zinfandel over my camera and it completely soaks it. Thomas rescues the camera from the ever-widening pool of wine. The strap is soaked and the lens is “cloudy.” I do not get one single usable picture from my trusty Canon after the unfortunate wine incident, henceforth known as “Zinfandel-gate.” As I did manage to secure two glasses of zinfandel prior to Zinfandel-gate, I don’t care. Later, I will rue the day. Or night.

9)   To my extreme left is “Jane,” correspondent for “People” magazine. She is covering the candidate’s children for a story. Jane is very nice. She is dressed in black. She would like some food. We do not get any food. We would not get anything to drink, either, if I hadn’t made the infamous “Zinfandel-gate” run. (*Kids: Take note! Do NOT try this at home!)

10)   Other errors on the sub-title machine that amuse me: “Fill” for a candidate whose first name is “Phil.” “He is a man of grass.” (This may actually be accurate; we don’t know. Perhaps he meant that “W” is an *ss? Or a man of *ss? Very confusing. Don’t know; can’t tell you.)

11)   When someone says, “The future of this country is at stake. The future of the world is at stake,” Thomas leans over and says, “The sky is falling.” I laugh. Perhaps I should write this down? Again, don’t know; can’t tell you.

12)   More machine sub-title errors: for “pirate suit,” (which is connected to Al Franken’s remarks about George W. Bush wearing a ridiculous flight suit with a huge cod-piece on his now-infamous “Mission Accomplished” battleship appearance). The machine spells out: “pie rat.” Perhaps this machine is smarter than anyone realizes.

13)   Other errors that I cannot explain, from the sub-titling machine: “sash and acute” (?) “A mush mute, a big hat and a plum.”

14)   I enjoyed Al Franken’s remark that, after 9/11, the country was very united. “My college roommate even got out an old T-shirt to wear that touted America. Of course, it took him four hours to white-out ‘sucks.’”

15)   What have I learned from this experience? Never trust sub-titling machines. Always trust the German correspondent for “Die Zeit.” He is very knowledgable, very handsome, and we chat at great length about the Diebolt voting machines and the potential for voter fraud in the upcoming election. Please give Thomas a raise; I think he likes Vanessa Kerry, and he will need it to win her heart.

16)   Never try to drink three glasses of white zinfandel while simultaneously shooting film and taking notes. But it’s ok to laugh. A lot.

Sex in the Senate, the Governor’s Mansion in South Carolina, Etc., Etc., Etc.

By Connie Wilson

On June 26, 2009

In Politics

There are so many scandals involving politicians that to try to list them all would make this article a book in no time. However, the news conference that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford held on Wednesday, June 24^th, was one of the more bizarre “fessing up” sessions seen to date, even by Washington standards.

I watched the FOX news conference “live” and, at first, could not figure out exactly what Mark Sanford was confessing to. He talked about his love of hiking. He talked about how he had let people down, naming some of them by name. His wife was nowhere around…always a bad sign for the candidate. Then, he (finally) got down to brass tacks and admitted that he had cheated on his wife with a woman from Argentina (no less) whom he had known for 8 years via e-mail, although he said that he had only been “with” her (I assume this means in the Biblical sense) 3 times. Kind of a meager amount of poon tang for the destruction of a political career that some said had him as a front-runner for the presidential nomination for the Republican party in 2012. But, then, if you want to talk about meager amounts of sex giving you major-league headaches, John Edwards would be a good one to ask.

Edwards, as we all now know, was involved in an affair with a woman whose “adopted” stage name was Reille Hunter, formerly a videotographer for his failed presidential bid. This was while cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth Edwards’ disease was in remission, so John apparently felt that was a green light of some kind. All I know about the Edwards’ decision to keep on running in the aftermath of John’s infidelity is that I sat next to people from North Carolina at Invesco Field, and they were thoroughly disgusted by the entire mess, especially since many of them felt that Elizabeth was aware of the extent of John’s philandering but advised him to still keep on in his quest for the presidency, which would have been a fatal mistake for the Democratic party had the revelations that were triggered by stalking Edwards’ into a hotel room where he had arranged a tryst with Ms. Hunter (and her newborn child). John did the normal thing: he ran like a rabbit for a nearby restroom and barricaded himself inside. It didn’t help. He was “outed” and his career was in shambles, not to mention his marriage. In one fell swoop on Wednesday, with Mark Sanford’s revelation that, over Father’s Day weekend, he went off to South America for 7 days to be with his lover, leaving the other Carolina a rudderless ship of state, he destroyed the Carolinas’ reputation for clean-living politicians. You’ve got Edwards and you’ve got Sanford and baby makes three!

Lest we forget that these things have been going on for a long time, let’s go all the way back to Earl “Huey” Long (Louisiana, 1939-1940; 1948-1952; 1956-1960) who had an affair with a Bourbon Street stripper named Blaze Starr in the 1950s. (In the movie, Paul Newman played Huey and, later, Sean Penn.)

Strippers seem to have a sort of magnetic attraction for Washington’s finest. Back on October 16, 1974, 65-year-old Wilbur Mills was found, intoxicated and with cuts on his face, in the company of one Fanne Foxe, aka “the Argentina Firecracker,” aka Annabell Bathstella. Ms. Foxe had 2 black eyes, which were never really explained, and she had jumped into the Tidal Basin after a car crash. As facts emerged, it came to light that Ms. Foxe worked as a stripper at the Silver Slipper at 815 13^th St. N.W. in Washington in 1973, a fine family-oriented establishment (not) that was located between an adult movie house and an adult bookstore. [The place charged $5.80 minimum cover charge, so you know it had to be a family kind of place.] There had been some problems with the location, including 2 revocations of their liquor license and an allegation that prostitution services were solicited by some of the girls. But Wilbur had been marching in the front door and proudly shelling out $1,700 a night in cash (in 1974!) for magnums of champagne. Other strippers at the club said that Fanne and Wilbur, although a contentious couple that fought a lot, had been keeping company since July of 1973. Soon after they met, Fanne quit stripping and became a resident of the Crystal Towers, the very same apartment complex to which Wilbur and wife Polly had moved, from Arlington. Why wasn’t Polly along this night? According to Wilbur, she had a broken foot. So, the Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, who had dined with a party at the Junkanoo Restaurant just 5 hours before, was now junkaroo, himself. (*An interesting personal note: I know someone who actually dated Fanne Foxe…after Wilbur’s indiscretion. He said she had an early…and bad…boob job, which caused her breasts to sort of become bi-level, with the implants drooping below the real breasts. She was 38 at the time of her liaison with Wilbur, so implants might have come before…or after…but the Argentina Firecracker’s breasts did sort of explode…or implode.)

Then there was Gary Hart, D, Colorado. Remember when Gary Hart was the leading contender for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1988? According to John Steele Gordon in “Gary Hart’s Monkey Business: How and Why a Congressman Got Caught” on American Heritage.com, the former Yale Divinity student (and none-too-happily married man) said, to the news media (in particular, ABC anchor John Chancellor), “You should follow me around. You’ll be very bored.” And, as John Chancellor retorted later, “We did. We weren’t.” Even Hart’s own former aide Jim McGee was quoted in Steele’s article saying, pre Donna Rice, “Hart is going to be in trouble if he can’t keep his pants on.” Hear! Hear! Hart and so many others, it would seem.

There’s little reason to belabor Bill Clinton’s extra-marital love life, “Troopergate” or Monica Lewinsky. That’s been done to death, but suffice to say, in recap, he did also have alleged liaisons with Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones before Monica and the blue dress. And those are just the ones we know about!

And what about Kirk Fordice of Mississippi (1992-2000), that staunch Republican Governor who was hospitalized after he ditched his security guards and drove himself 200 miles to Memphis, Tennessee to have lunch with a woman who was not his wife…then. When he was photographed coming back from a Paris trip with the same woman, the proverbial s*** hit the fan, his wife of 40 years divorced him, and he married the mistress from Memphis.

Then, there was Bob Wise of West Virginia (2001-2004), a Democrat who acknowledged in 2003 that he had not been faithful to his wife and family after he had an affair with another government employee’s estranged wife. That was the end of Wise’s political career, as he (wisely) did not run for a second term in 2004.

In New Jersey, James McGreevey gave this old familiar refrain a new twist when he admitted to being “a gay American” and cheating on his wife with another man. (New Jersey Democrat, 2002-2004). He and his wife, Dina Matos, were divorced in August of 2008 and, really, who can blame her?

Paul Patton of Kentucky (D, 1995-2003) had served 7 years of as Governor, in terms that focused on economic issues and education, when he also became interested in nursing homes, apparently, and took up with a western Kentucky woman who was owned a nursing home. After a tearful admission on national television not unlike the embarrassing Edwards interview, he finished his term and then folded his tent and did not seek reelection.

So far, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s hiking trip to South America has not caused him to resign the governorship, although he did give up his post as Chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association, but, really, I can’t think of a person better suited to represent Republican politicians, in general, than someone who admits that he is screwing other people while on the job, as Sanford did. However, you really have to hand it to Eliot Spitzer of New York after this.

As we all know, by now, Eliot Spitzer was that crusading New York Governor (2007-2008) who was elected on an anti-corruption platform and became famous as “Client #9” of a call girl whose name was Ashley Dupree. Supposedly, Spitzer, who was married with two daughters, spent tens of thousands of dollars to arrange visits with prostitutes and law enforcement officials were only too happy to expose the hypocrisy of his “Crusader Rabbit” rants against corruption. His wife, a fellow lawyer whom he met in law school, stood awkwardly by his side (unlike Sanford’s, who asked him to move out of the house and not speak to her) while he confessed all and resigned, taking full responsibility for his actions. Spitzer, today, blogs and deeply regrets his downward mobility, but, when it comes to “keeping it in their pants,” the days of JFK’s philandering with Fiddle and Faddle while the White House Press Corps looked the other way are long gone.

Politicians: let this be a lesson to you. Do NOT take up hiking to South America! It will end your careers.

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon Die Within Hours of One Another

By Connie Wilson

On June 25, 2009

In Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television, Uncategorized

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon, three icons of the entertainment business, died within hours of one another. Only Jackson’s death came as a shock to the world. He supposedly died of cardiac arrest, having been worked on by his private physician at his rented house near the hospital and by medical personnel in the emergency room, who pronounced him dead at 2:26 p.m.worked on him over an hour, pronouncing him dead at 2::26 p.m. He had taken a prescription medication, but the announcement also seemed to indicate that his personal physician was with him in his rented home at the time he collapsed from apparent cardiac arrest. That doctor also attempted to revive Jackson, unsuccessfully.

It’s hard to know what to say about the death of a pop icon who rose—and fell—so far. The talented little boy who sang with his brothers as “The Jackson Five” had disappeared many years ago, buried under numerous botched plastic surgeries and aberrant lifestyle eccentricities that had him inviting underage children into his bed, cavorting with a chimp named Bubbles, founding a veritable circus at Neverland Ranch, complete with a zoo and rides, buying the Elephant Man’s bones, and sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber. In the end, Michael Jackson, like all of us, proved to be mortal, no more immune to death’s reach than a Kennedy or a Beatle or a President.

May all three of these icons of our culture rest in peace.

Chicago “Letters to the Editor” Decry Parking Meter Sale

By Connie Wilson

On June 21, 2009

In Uncategorized

The backlash from Chicago residents against the privatization of the Chicago parking meters and lots continues.

In the June 21, Sunday, Chicago Tribune, a parking poll by Tribune reporter Mark Caro (conducted online) had the following results. In response to the question, “Are you spending less time at entertainment venues because of the cost of parking?” 91.4% of readers said yes and only 8.6% said no.

Then came the irate letters from actual Chicago residents.

Vicki Quade, who creates and produces the “Late Nite Catechism” and other “nun” comedies at the Royal George Theatre wrote as follows: “My shows run about 1 hour and 45 minutes, with intermission. That means that the patrons must run out at intermission to feed the meters along Halsted or Clybourn. An additional problem is that my actresses also have to run out and feed the meters! And they’re dressed in a full nun’s habit. Yes, patrons are affected, and we need those patrons to keep the business of entertainment in Chicago alive. But I also am concerned about the performers, the stage managers, the ushers, the box office staff…the people who bring you that entertainment and don’t often have the kind of funds to valet their cars six, seven, eight times a week or pay outrageous parking rates in the private garage complexes.”

Another Chicago resident, Brian Suste wrote: “If we cannot find the restaurant in the suburbs, we go to the city, valet, and leave town immediately. No more leisurely shopping on Michigan Avenue or walking from the Loop to North Michigan Avenue for us. Between the cost of parking and the exorbitant tax rate, we are shopping in the suburbs. It is sad, because we love Chicago.”

Nancy Krauss of Rockford wrote, “We love Chicago and have family in the suburbs and for people like us public transit is not an option. We drive in for events as often as our budget allows, and with the parking costs skyrocketing, the number of visits will be fewer. We have tickets to take a grandchild to ‘Mary Poppins,” but are debating our traditional visit to Taste of Chicago. Please continue to hold the mayor’s feet to the fire on this issue. We can’t even vote against him!”

Said Robert Hirsch, a Lyric Opera fan, “Mayor Richard Daley’s terrible decision and LAZ Parking’s ridiculous rates and 24-hour meter schedule are going to greatly hurt Lyric Opera and the downtown restaurants. The great ‘Live from the Met’ operas for $20 with free mal parking will take away thousands of Lyric subscribers. All Chicago restaurants and theaters will suffer.”

Linda Catalano put it this way: “I definitely make many of my entertainment decisions based on parking costs and options. I avoid Chicago movies if I can help it—it’s just too easy to park in the suburbs for free. I could easily take the CTA but don’t feel it’s safe in the evening. Easy for the mayor to say take the CTA, but he’s got a chauffeur, and I think he’s out of touch with reality.”
To get in touch with the reality of the outrage of Chicago residents over both the latest parking fiasco (reported on in a previous article, which was rejected by AC after I researched it until 4 a.m., because I’m too old to know how to “work” the hyper-links well enough), you can read all these and more on page 5 of the Father’s Day issue (June 21) of the Chicago Tribune, by Mark Caro, Tribune reporter.

Chicago Residents Outraged Over Sale of Chicago Parking Meters and Garages

By Connie Wilson

On June 21, 2009

In Uncategorized

Remember the name William Blair and the firm name Morgan Stanley when you’re plugging 28 quarters into a meter in the Chicago Loop for 2 hours of parking, because those are the culprits who have put the people of Chicago in the position of staging a rebellion against the sale of the city of Chicago’s parking lots (in 2006) and meters (36,000 of them, in February) to private contractors.

Let me explain.

Like all cities, Chicago is cash-strapped, and it seems, according to Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke’s article (“The Insiders”) in the June 18, 2009 Chicago Reader that we may have William Blair to thank—or blame—for the fact that in the city of Chicago, since Mayor Daley inked a deal leasing the city’s parking meters to a private company for 75 years on February 13, 2009 for the sum of $1.2 billion upfront, “parking rates have doubled, mislabeled and malfunctioning meters have let to citations, and response from LAZ Parking, the firm contracted to run the system, has been less than acceptable.” (LAZ Parking is a firm formed by Morgan Stanley, the purchasers, to handle the meters for the next quarter century).

And was this sale of the city’s parking meters a good deal for the cash-strapped city of Chicago?

According to Joravsky and Dumke’s “The Insiders” June 18, 2009 article, “Inspector General David Hoffman’s office ran a study, announced on June 1^st, and concluded that the city may have leased the meters for $974 million less than they were worth.” (Joravsky and Dumke, “The Insiders” in The Chicago Reader, June 18, 2009 p. 22).

So, whose big bright idea was it to sell the city’s parking meters to the Morgan Stanley group in the first place? The answer that Joravsky and Dumke provide on page 20 of their expose goes like this: “And there’s one more thing: William Blair & Company originated the idea for the transaction.”

That’s right: the very same William Blair who received 0.375% of the payout ($4.3 million). The very same William Blair who was the “outside expert” that Mayor Daley commissioned to analyze whether it would be a good idea to sell the parking meters (36,000 of them, which were sold on February 13, 2009, according to Jon Helkevitch in the Friday, March 20^th, 2009 Chicago Tribune.) (Archives.Chicagotribune.com ch-parking-meters-20-March20).

So, who is William Blair, exactly, other than the scion of William Blair & Company? Well, for one thing, he’s a member of Mayor Daley’s inner circle of good buddies who form a sort of “kitchen cabinet” that regularly goes out 3 times a week. He’s the very same William Blair who was hired in June of 2007 (according to Joravsky and Dumke), a good 4 months before Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun Times first made public the plan to privatize the city’s parking meters. He’s the very same William Blair whose company was also instrumental in leasing the city’s downtown parking garages in 2006 for 99 years to a partnership led by Morgan Stanley, in return for $2.2 million for work on that deal. He’s the very same William Blair who donated $104,500 (according, again, to Joravsky and Dumke’s article) to Mayor Daley’s wife Maggie’s favorite charity, After School Matters, a charity she founded and runs. He’s the very same William Blair whose chairman, Edgar D. Jannotta, now serves on the board of directors of AON, which Patrick Ryan retired from last year so that he might serve as chairman and CEO of Chicago’s Olympic bid committee.

Why did the city sell the parking meters so cheap?

The reason, says this City Inspector General June 1st report, was that “William Blair’s calculations of the system’s value were all done from the perspective of an investor,” not from the perspective of the seller. The Blair figures were based on what an investor might be willing and able to pay for the meters, not their actual value to the city. Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced at the end of May that she was launching an investigation into the “transaction and implementation of the parking meter deal” (Joravsky & Dumke, p. 17)— and the Inspector General’s office (David Hoffman) reported “The City should have conducted this analysis so that its decision about whether to lease the parking meter system now—and if so, under what terms—could be made in the most informed fashion possible. The failure to conduct this analysis strongly suggests that the decision had already been made that the City was going to lease the meters for the best available price on the market.” (Joravsky and Dumke article “The Insiders,” Chicago Reader, June 18, 2009, p.22).

So, what has this parking fiasco meant to the residents of the city of Chicago?

For openers, according to a Friday, March 20, 2009 article by Jon Helkevitch in the Chicago Tribune (archives.Chicagotribune.com ch-parking-meters-20-mar20):

1) There was a fourfold increase in parking rates at meters in Chicago this year.

2) Those attempting to park are being deluged with tickets, as the meters don’t work or are not emptied faithfully enough. After all, you now have to drag along 28 quarters for just 2 hours in the Loop! The meters were not built to handle all that change, and they are frequently not emptied often enough, so that they are either broken or jammed.

3) If you want to park in the Wells Street area, meters have escalated from $1 for 2 hours to $2 for 2 hours.

4) If you want to park in the central business district, be prepared to shell out 16 quarters for 2 hours of parking. Business is down in that area, as a result, and one of those businessmen who spoke to the Tribune and said so is Dan O’Donnell, owner of Armitage Hardware and Building Supply at 925 West Armitage.

5) Parking in city neighborhoods is now 8 quarters for 2 hours. However, sometimes the meters aren’t accurately marked. According to the Tribune article, meter #279089 in the 1800 block of Clybourne Avenue, which was supposed to give a person parking their car 15 minutes for a quarter gave only 7 minutes for that quarter. And that, of course, would lead to a ticket for the person parking the car who mistakenly believed the labels on the meters, according to the Helkevitch Tribune article (March 20, 2009).

The parking meter situation, coupled with the 10.25% highest-in-the-land city sales tax, has Chicago residents boiling mad. As Carol Marin, political blogger for the Chicago Sun Times said in her article “Chicago Parking Meter Rebellion” (blogs.suntimes.com/marin) on June 20, 2009, in referring to “the city’s long and dubious history of rewarding the politically connected with lucrative opportunities,” raising the parking fees, blanketing cars with tickets and eliminating free weekend parking (fees are now payable 24/7, whereas, previously, there was free Sunday parking, at least), “In 1979, lousy snow removal sparked a voter rebellion and booted a Mayor. Could parking meters by the new snow?”

Long-time Chicago Mayor Daley said, during a press conference held on June 2^nd, the day after being slammed by City Inspector General David Hoffman regarding the “dubious” (Hoffman’s term) deal, “My chief of staff detailed—detailed!—why we think this is a very, very responsible agreement. As Mayor, it is my job to be responsible.”

[Hear! Hear! Your Honor! So, let’s see some responsibility coming the way of Chicago residents, for a change, and not just payback for your political cronies.]

New York City: May 28-June 1st

By Connie Wilson

On June 21, 2009

In Uncategorized

Harlem Shooting, Queensboro Bridge 100th Anniversary, Israeli Day Parade, BEA: All in NYC

By Connie Wilson

Mew York City was abuzz with a variety of stories while I was there for five days.

First, there was the apparently accidental shooting of an off-duty black police officer in Harlem by a white police officer. The Reverend Al Sharpton was out in full force. As I understand the story, the young black officer was in plainclothes and off duty when he emerged to find his car being broken into (smashed windshield, etc.). He drew his service revolver and gave chase. This is when the white police officers arrived and, failing to recognize that a black off-duty officer was on the scene and chasing the perp, fired and shot and killed the black officer, who had his gun drawn as he pursued the individual trying to break into a car.

Second, they closed the Queensboro Bridge for its 100th anniversary and both pedestrians and antique autos were on the bridge, with a spectacular fireworks display visible in the night sky over the Hudson late that night. There were re-enactors celebrating the bridge described in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby.”

Third, the Israeli Day Parade snarled up traffic in much of the city as the Jewish community and others turned out by the thousands to celebrate the establishment of Israel as a Jewish state. (A Jewish friend commented to me that it made him nervous to be anywhere near the parade because of possible terrorist attack). The parade blocked access (from one side of the street to the other) to get to the Central Park Zoo, where I am going as you see me in this photo with Lady Liberty. (Attractions: polar bear, snow monkeys, penguins, seals, among other animals). You could cross at 60th street with police assistance, but, generally, it was difficult to get across as thousands swarmed the parade route. Three people asked me how to get across: a woman from Connecticut; a woman pushing a baby stroller, who described herself as “a tourist” and a couple of locals who had no idea where they would be allowed to cross the street. So, I inferred from this that I must have looked at least a little bit like “a local.”

Fourth, a plane carrying 228 passengers on an Air France jet disappeared over the Atlantic with all passengers presumed lost at sea during what was probably a lightning-related accident (although news reports said that there had not been a domestic incident of an aviation fatality attributed to a lightning strike in this country for 40 years, pointing out that lightning strikes. My son actually knew one of the passengers aboard, a gentleman who was an executive in a Brazilian steel firm, ThyssenKrupp Steel, named Erich Heine (CEO of CSA, which is ThyssenKrupp Brazil).,

Fifth, I took in an exhibit on Friday at the Whitney on Madison and 75th. I always like to visit the Whitney when in New York City because it is not overpoweringly huge and it always has film and avant garde, cutting edge displays. (Once, recently, a display that recreated Andy Warhol’s studio of the sixties and had various album covers and film(s) from the 60’s).

Likely Page Break

This day (Friday), it had both electronic LED light art display but, also, actual letters regarding terrorist interrogations. These were mostly handwritten letters, blown up and printed on a variety of surfaces, that indicated that a variety of individuals, both foreign nationals and American boys trying to serve their country the best way they kinew how, had reached the end of their respective rope(s) in a variety of ways that were described in heartbreaking detail. These were unclassified documents that turned a harsh light on practices like waterboarding. I couldn’t help but think of the Chicago morning disc jockey (“Mancow”) who had (originally) made fun of the outcry over waterboarding on the air. As I remember the story, Mancow, on his morning radio show, had said something to this effect: “They cut our heads off. So, we put a little water on their faces. So what?” As a result of his (original) stance, Mancow agreed to be “waterboarded” to prove it was not really torture. (This stunt was done earlier by “Vanity Fair” writer Christopher Hitchins, as well). After about 9 sec onds, Mancow changed his mind, called a halt to the proceedings, and said that it was “definitely torture.” (Or so I read in reports of the fiasco.)

Sixth: at 8:17 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, the city (Manhattan, anyway) experienced something they referred to as being like “Stonehenge.” The sun was supposed to line up with the buildings in a unique way. I went outside at 8:22 p.m. and it looked the same as it always does. Either I was too late or it just wasn’t that “unusual” an effect, after all, despite the on-air news hype.

And, last but not least, I was present at the BEA (Book Expo America) on Saturday, handing out free copies of Out of Time (www.outoftimethenovel.com) at the HWA booth and listening to the heroic Captain “Sully,” of the Hudson River landing, talk about his plans to write a book. (See entry on www.weeklywilson.com).

The weather in New York City was gorgeous on Saturday and Sunday (high 70’s to 80’s and sunny), but, by Sunday night there were actually frost warnings in some places in New York state and the temperatures, generally, were dropping as low as the forties, possibly rivaling records.

When I flew back to Chicago, it was noticeably colder. At about 4:00 p.m. (Chicago time), it poured rain. Violent weather that had hit the eastern part of the state of Iowa (north of Cedar Rapids) on Sunday night seemed to be affecting the Chicago area. The skies had the look of tornado weather. But I was home, after a visit to a mid-town Manhattan dentist to fix a tooth ($500), never fun while traveling, and back to the slower pace of the less-hassled and ever-so-much gentler pace of Midwestern life and Midwesterners, in general. Mid-town Manhattan is a fascinating place to visit. Might be different, one always says, if I lived there. Still, all-in-all, it was a productive trip and one I enjoyed immensely, although, towards the end, I was running out of cash in this pricey city.

Resources

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Takeaways

“Stonehenge” in Manhattan didn’t really pan out the way it was described…

Did You Know?

“The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.” (“The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Sunset Boulevard Pictures: June 13

By Connie Wilson

On June 20, 2009

In travel

“Like A Virgin” (Records) Means Extinct As Final Virgin Record Store Closes in L.A.

By Connie Wilson

On June 15, 2009

In Music, News, Pop Culture, travel

I was in Los Angeles and witnessing the death of Virgin Record Stores, as the “final 2 days” of sales of all merchandise in the Los Angeles store sounded the death knell of a once-thriving industry,
First, it was Denver and Orlando Virgin Mega-Stores that closed. Chicago soon followed suit. Word was that Virgin Entertainment Group North America was getting extremely low rent in very desirable locations and, as a result of that and the general struggling of the music industry, Virgin was bought out by Vornado and related real estate companies in 2007. In New York, for example, the store was only paying $54 a square foot in an area where rent easily runs $500 a square foot.

The demise of Virgin in Los Angeles (pictured here during its final 2 day sale at 80% off) follows on the heels of the closing of Tower Records in 2006. Tower had been established in 1960. In England, a similar closing Zavvl Music occurred, and FYE closed very recently as well.

The high cost of CD’s, the advent of downloads and MP3’s, a glut of product on the market, and the economic crisis can all be blamed for the fall of Virgin in the United States, but, with the closing of the Los Angeles store, a once-thriving business with locations in major cities has joined Tower Records on the scrap heap.

Writers’ Conferences in NYC Worthwhile

By Connie Wilson

On May 30, 2009

In Books, Reviews, travel

I’m here in the Big Apple and have attended both the Backspace Writers’ Conference and the BEA (Book Expo America). The Book Expo is an event I have attended for the past 5 years, ever since it was held in Chicago at McCormack Place. Then there was one in Washington, D.C. and a couple in New York City at the Jacob Javits Center.

One thing is for sure: you are going to have top-notch authors everywhere and there will be interesting programs and speakers. The morning Master of Ceremonies last year was Stephen Colbert, and the author of “1000 Splendid Suns” spoke. This year’s M.C. was Craig Ferguson, and the advertised author was Pat Conroy (“Prince of Tides,” “Beaches”). Unfortunately, Conroy—who had Davenport ties with his (now deceased) brother a priest at St. Anthony’s in Davenport at one time—was ill and, at the last minute, unable to attend the luncheon. (Rumor I heard was that he had surgery 2 days prior).

Still, the Backspace Writers’ Conference being held on W. 32^nd Street at the Radisson Martinique Hotel featured keynote speaker David Morrell (“Rambo”) and at least 12 separate agents visited and shared wisdom with the would-be authors. Morrell was receiving an award for being so supportive of the conference, initially, but there were other speakers throughout the day.

Unfortunately, I was unable to hear his keynote address today in the afternoon, as I was helping hold down a table at the BEA for one hour (2:30 to 3:30 p.m.) advertising my first collaborative novel Out of Time and meeting and greeting a variety of authors, booksellers and readers.

One notable event occurred with “Sully,” that would be the pilot who put his plane down safely in the Hudson River, saving all 155 passengers onboard, spoke to the assembled crowd. (See photo). On Saturday night, musicians Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Clarence Clemmons, “the Big Man” of E-Street Band fame were speakers.

All-in-all, with the weather improving to perfect by today, it has been a busy and fun-filled 5 days, and, except for having to find a dentist in midtown Manhattan to fix a tooth that flossed into oblivion, a very productive trip.

Jury Duty Reveals UTHS Violence

By Connie Wilson

On May 19, 2009

In Uncategorized

I was on Twitter…or was it Facebook? Whatever it was, I read David Burke’s comment that he had just concluded a week on jury duty, and I was in Chicago and the words JURY DUTY flashed before my eyes,

I had been sent a summons for jury duty, but I totally forgot about it…didn’t submit it…didn’t remember where it was.

I called home from Chicago to the spouse, who was told to look on the desk for signs of a jury summons. He located same and sent it in and, following my return from visiting the new Chicago Modern Art Gallery (10 years in the making) and other such trips, I called and got a message on the phone that my number was, indeed, “up.” I had to report at Monday (today) at 8:30 a.m. to the fourth floor of the Rock Island County Jail building.

This, of course, is about an hour and a half earlier than I would prefer to get up, and would require me to be up no later than 7:30 a.m. I asked my husband, “Should I set my alarm, or will you wake me up?”

He promised to wake me up at 7:30 a.m. Instead, he woke me up at 6:30 a.m., a time of day when it is best not to do this. (He said he “misread” the clock; next time I will use the alarm clock.)

So, I trotted on over to the jail and parked fully a block away in the parking lot behind the old County Office building, because there is no parking anywhere near the new jail building. I took: my jury summons, 3 magazines, a sweater, an insulated bottle with ice in it, 2 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper for much-needed caffeine input, a pair of heels that went with my understated, black-on-black outfit. I left my cell phone in the car, as instructed.

Up to the fourth floor I went, with my large bag and my large purse. About 50 people were gathered, and, after a rather long wait, during which only half of the light panels in the room worked (7 were out and the attendant was calling for help in replacing the bulbs or light rods or whatever they run on), I sat and read my “People” magazine. A man next to me asked if he could read one of my other magazines. It was hot in the room at that time. As the day went on, it would become cold in the room and I would lend my black-and-white sweater to a woman named Mary Leach, who was the sister of the former Mayor of Moline, Stan Leach.
Mary and I turned out to be spectacularly bad candidates for this particular jury, because both of us had close ties or were teachers.

The case involved a young man named Trent Mooney who was charged with assault for decking two teachers at United Township High School. One of the teachers was David Maccabee; one was a counselor, Patrick Green, whom, the initial complaint stated, Mr. Mooney had “struck in the face.”

Now began the division of the jury pool into smaller groups. My group was the petit jury afternoon after the 12-member jury was selected, and the group would have to return on the morrow to render a verdict. Still, it would chew up 2 full days of time.

The other group was taken somewhere else…the Court House, I think, and they would be Grand Jurors who could expect their trial experience to last a week. This did not thrill me, as a prospect, as I have airline tickets to go to New York City on the 27^th and that would be cutting it close, as I plan to drive to Chicago a day or so in advance of my flight time,

Now began the questioning of we prospective jurors. Certain numbers were called to take a seat in the jury box. I was not among the first eight. The questions seemed rather dim (“Have you ever known a teacher?”) Who among us has NOT known a teacher? This question came from State’s Attorney (prosecution) assistant Margaret Osborne, who would be the prosecution. An attorney named David Hoffman represented the defense. Mr. Hoffman has curly white hair and seemed rather full of himself. He did make fun of the question I just mentioned, and he seemed sharper than the opposition, but, having said that, he let a woman who taught for 34 years in the Moline Public Schools remain on the jury, while kicking off a man who worked for Deere who once knew someone named Patrick Green. (It was determined that, through sheer age alone, they could not be one and the same individual).

I was troubled by the prospect that the David Maccabee in question might be the band director my daughter had been First Chair Alto Saxophone for. I even accompanied a few of his students at contest(s), but I was not the most active band parent, and I was not sure if he would remember me. For my part, I remembered him by face, but the name did not immediately ring a bell. I asked the bailiff if that person was the instrumental music director at UTHS. He did not know, but he asked the prosecution attorney, and they were one and the same, so I knew I must recuse myself, when asked.

I was called to the jury box, and, when they asked if anyone knew the individuals involved, raised my hand and said I knew Mr. Maccabee. The Judge (Michael Meara or O”Meara) then asked me if I was ‘close” to Mr. Maccabee, and I said it had been four years since my daughter had been in his band. He then asked if I could be impartial and consider the defendant to be innocent until I heard the evidence, and I answered that, as a 36-year-veteran teacher, I could not. I don’t think hitting your teachers (two of them) in the face is a good way to resolve conflict. I don’t condone teachers hitting students, either. When I said this, the Judge immediately excused me.

A different person took my seat and the questioning continued, with me in the courtroom as an observer. Then, we were excused for a 2-hour lunch (11:30 to 1:30 p.m.) and Mary and I went to Bennigan’s, where we shared our thoughts on students hitting teachers in the face, which were remarkably similar in nature. (Summary: not a good idea).

We returned to the holding area at 1:00 and were the first ones back, so I decided to go up to the 5^th floor where testimony was being given. Instructing Mary to tell them I had gone to the rest room if asked, I left my gear in the holding area and went back upstairs to the courtroom, where the trial was now in progress and Mr. Maccabee was testifying. The bailiff kicked me out, because I was supposed to stay in the holding area until released. I returned to Floor 4 and, as I entered, learned that we were all free to go…the jury on the other side of the street had been selected.

I then went back to the 5^th floor, now a free woman, and sat in on Mr. Maccabee’s testimony about the altercation, which did, indeed, seem to involve “policing” the halls of UTHS. Mr. Maccabee was saying that Mr. Mooney was trying to get to Mr. Lopez, who had been “taunting” him verbally.

Question from Defense Attorney Hoffman: “What was he attempting to do?

Mr. Maccabee’s answer: “He wanted me out of the way. There’s no question about that at all.”

Mr. Hoffman: “If you had been disengaged and gotten out of the way, would he (Mr. Mooney) have gone for you?”

Mr. Maccabee: “No.”

Mr. Hoffman: “Did you continue into the Art Room?”

Mr. Maccabee: “Yes.”

After this, Mr. Maccabee was excused from the stand and strode right by me, seated in the back pew.

I got up and followed him into the hall, expecting to share a few words about my daughter, his former First Chair Alto Saxophone. He did not recognize me by name, I’m sure, and I doubt if he recognized me, period. He blew me off and muttering something about “having to go” did not give me the time of day.

I did some further research on the UTHS situation and the best I have been able to determine, the inmates may be in charge of the asylum. My daughter told me, over four years ago, that she did not want me to substitute teach there, as the kids showed the teachers no respect and were unruly and difficult to discipline. I have heard rumors that the administration does not “back” the teachers and that physical altercations, while perhaps not the norm are not that unusual.

It was always my belief that, if you hit a teacher (let alone two teachers) you would be expelled. For how long you would be expelled was open to question. Often the length of the expulsion was not long enough, in the teachers’ eyes. (One semester? Two?) One teacher (male), who was known to be the type who can take care of himself physically, got tired of being hit and quit his job. (He went to work as a prison guard, instead). He returned, briefly, but ultimately left for a better job elsewhere.

In short, what is happening at United Township High School and why was this case in Rock Island County Court on Monday, May 18, 2009? It would seem, to me, that the student in question should be expelled. Two wrongs do not make a right. While Josh Lopez should not have “taunted” anyone, hitting not one, but two teachers to get to him to retaliate seems a case of “two wrongs do not make a right.” Is it the school’s intent to see the student do actual jail time, as well as to suffer expulsion? If so, was it because the hit to the face broke teeth or did serious physical damage? Obviously, there is an issue within the school if the band teacher, who is a mild-mannered individual who doesn’t even have to control the kind of class that students usually rebel against (i.e, the kind where you have to sit quietly and think and concentrate) is struck AND a counselor, who was described as “trying to calm Mr. Mooney down,” is struck in the face during the fracas.

Mr. Mooney might also be well advised to dress up a bit for his court appearance. He was wearing tennis and a hooded sweatshirt. Did not exactly scream” solid citizen.” I would not want either one of these attorneys to defend me in court. The prosecution seemed dim and the defense seemed to not be using his challenges wisely. It will be interesting to see how the case turns out. Personally, I don’t think the kid has a chance in hell of getting off.