... I would deal with the immigration crisis in this way: I would create Welcome Centers on the border where communities large and small from all over the country would have representatives who would in essence be competing to attract immigrants to their community. There would be a degree of negotiation on both sides, but in the end, communities would get immigrants they want and need and immigrants would end up in communities where they would be welcome and would thrive. There would be a Vermont Immigrant Council that would coordinate the various communities in Vermont that want to attracts immigrants - not every town would need to have a rep on the border. There would be buses bringing immigrants to their new homes on a daily/weekly basis. Towns like Dummerston could both recruit families willing to take in an immigrant family and/or build housing where immigrant families could start out.There would be programs for English-language learning, skill development, etc., at the local level all over the United States (and the world, for that matter). Communities that wanted to remain all white would be free to do so. White supremacists could move to those communities and the rest of us could avoid them like the plague. In the end, I think there would be few such communities. Perhaps they would become curiosities like the petrified wood park in Lemmon, SD.
I guess you could say that I am for open borders, but it would be a very orderly process in which everyone would win. Is this utopian? I don't think so. I think it is very practical and doable. And we could essentially do away with border patrol and ICE. I think the reality is that this country needs immigrants to remain vital, meet all employment needs, maintain a thriving economy. This would meet that goal and would be more than humane - it would promote human prosperity and full realization of human potential.
These thoughts were prompted by an up-coming meeting at the Dummerston Church later this evening where the immigration crisis will be discussed; this coming Sunday, the service will be devoted to that theme, and the choir is singing an Elton John song, Border Song.
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Speculator adventure
We went into Speculator and walked the Sacandaga River Nature Trail, which is partly boardwalk, and partly trail. The mosquitoes were fierce. It was a perfect environment for them - standing water all over the place. Katie ran back to the car and got repellent - thank goodness! But other than fighting mosquitoes, it was a nice walk, with a diversity of flora. There were dragon flies too, but not enough to keep down the mosquito population. Brendon declined to do the walk - boring, he said - so he went across the road to the beach. But eventually he found us on the trail. I forgot the camera, but here are a couple of pics from online.
Otherwise, today was a quiet, sit-and-watch-the-lake day. Partly sunny, cool, very pleasant.
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| Boardwalk bridge |
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| Information kiosk for trail |
Stewart Letter #6
-->
Here is the newly numbered Letter #6, which is incomplete because it was folded in a way that blocked part of the text when it was copied. Letter #7 which follows this (formerly #5) is in an earlier post - June 30th.
Letter #6
July 27, 1944
Dear Dad,
The counselor at the testing bureau told me that my scores
on the Social Science tests were high enough to allow them to tell me that I
could choose whatever subject that I wished to major in, since they felt
confident that I could succeed easily in almost anything. I have decided to
work until the fall quarter begins, saving all my money in the meanwhile, and
then go to the U for a year. The
Navy V-12 test will not be given until November, and those who take it then
cannot go into the Navy until March, 1945, at which time the test will be given
again. Therefore I am going to take the test in November just to see how I come
out on it. Then I shall take it again in March, being able to go into the
service in July. The test is a combined examination for V-12 and ASTP programs, and one lists his
preferences at the time[i] ....
(lost section)
... I hope that you can keep well despite the conditions
which you are living under. I wish with all my heart that I could be with you.
Your
loving son,
Stewart
[i] At this
point in time, it seems clear that Stewart was still considering various
options for military service
(e.g., Army or Navy), and those options entailed various time-tables
(e.g., going into the service the following summer or earlier). He was juggling a number of variables: tests, his physical exam, getting dental work done, earning money, etc. As it turned out, he went in earlier than the following July - he went into the ASTRP in November and was sent to college at U of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Monday, July 22, 2019
Oxbow Lake
Today (Monday) we are at a little cottage on Oxbow Lake near Speculator, NY with Katie, Savanna and Brendon. It was about a 4-hour drive from home yesterday, a very pleasant drive. When we left, the temp was 95 degrees, but here it is in the low 70s today (and rainy) and last night it was in the 60s. Sunday morning we went to the Guilford Church - another wonderful service which featured the trip to South Dakota (which we had dropped in on last week). After church we went by Andy and Robin Davis' house to give them a hug. They were packing for a trip to Iceland! Then we went to Walker's to get flowers for Betsey's grave - today (Monday the 22nd) is the third anniversary of her death - remembering her today with love. Then we went home, had a snack and got ready to come to the lake.
Saturday was HOT! We went to Northampton because it was Tamar's birthday, and we ended up playing a new game called Dominion*, and the house was air conditioned. The game was complicated and interesting (unlike any board game I've played) and we were cool. Then we came back to Brattleboro and met John and Cynthia at an Indian restaurant, and it was air conditioned. After that we went to the movies - we saw Yesterday, which we liked a lot, and that was air conditioned. So we survived. By the time we got home, it was bearable with a fan going.
Friday was warm, but I spent the morning at John's, which was comfortable, and then I came back to the house, picked up Ellen and we went to a Marlboro rehearsal, which was not only air-conditioned but also a totally wonderful rehearsal featuring Mitsuko Uchida, in a Schubert Piano Trio which was transcendent. Also on the rehearsal program were the Schubert Ellen gesänge - a trio of songs based on Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake and includes Ave Maria, and a Mozart clarinet trio.
Now we are enjoying a rainy day at the lake and we just had a game of cards called Scotch Bridge or Oh Hell! You deal ten hands, and bid each hand, but you start with ten cards and go down to one card. Bidding on the basis of one card is tricky!
*Here is a review of Dominion:
"What else is there to say about Dominion, a game that has, in some ways, helped define the last 10 years of board gaming? “Deckbuilding” is nearly as ubiquitous in board game descriptions as “RPG elements” is in video games. While some people may be tired of the genre Dominion created, I think it’s brilliant, and I think it’s inspired some amazing games.
The concept itself works because there are so many interesting decision angles built in. First, you must decide how to play the cards in your hand. In Dominion this isn’t usually a particularly interesting part of the game, but in some implementations of the genre it’s beautiful. Second, you have to decide which cards to purchase, which is the heart of Dominion
For those who don’t know, you start with a few money cards and a couple of victory point cards in your deck. From those 10 cards you’ll build an empire of sorts, although it’s all contained within your deck. The point of the game is to get victory points, which are also cards, but you can also buy action cards (there are 10 types to choose from each game), and more money.
The decision every single turn of what kind of card to buy is hard enough, but choosing between the cards in the kingdom pile can be agonizing. You have to remember that each time you run out of cards in your deck, you shuffle in the discard pile and restart the deck with whatever new cards you’ve bought included. So what’s going to make your deck better the next time through? What might not be good now but will improve as the game progresses? Maybe one particular card is great, but if you happen to draw it at the same time as the card you just bought previously, it’ll be a dead card.
This combination of short term and long term thinking is so tough in Dominion, because while you want to think only about what will improve your deck immediately, you have to always be planning for the end game because it comes so quickly. A typical game of Dominion will last about 20 rounds. Your turns go by quickly but your deck will grow exponentially, as good purchases early game will allow better purchases mid-game, which will allow more victory point purchases late game."
The Film Yesterday:
"To call Jack (Himesh Patel) a "struggling musician" is an understatement. He plays in coffee shops, populated only by his friends. He sings on an empty boardwalk. His childhood friend Ellie (Lily James), who fell in love with him—and his music—when he played Oasis' "Wonderwall" at a talent show in grade school, acts as his manager, giving him pep talks, fired up by her belief in him. He lives with his parents in Suffolk, and is ready to throw in the towel when, one night, the earth experiences a 12-second blackout. During those 12 seconds, Jack is hit by a bus, and when he wakes up in the hospital realizes something weird has happened when he says to Ellie "Will you still feed me when I'm 64?" and she doesn't recognize the lyrics. “Why 64?” she asks with curiosity. Jack races to Google, and no matter what the combination of search terms, no trace of the Beatles is to be found. Curtis has a lot of fun with how absurd it would be if you mentioned "The Beatles” to people and they asked "What's that?" Jack makes the choice to start playing these "lost" songs, passing them off as his own."
That's the basis premise - this failing musician passes off Beatles songs as his own to a world that never heard of the Beatles and becomes an instant star. It explores some but not all the possibilities of that intriguing premise - enough to be quite entertaining.
Saturday was HOT! We went to Northampton because it was Tamar's birthday, and we ended up playing a new game called Dominion*, and the house was air conditioned. The game was complicated and interesting (unlike any board game I've played) and we were cool. Then we came back to Brattleboro and met John and Cynthia at an Indian restaurant, and it was air conditioned. After that we went to the movies - we saw Yesterday, which we liked a lot, and that was air conditioned. So we survived. By the time we got home, it was bearable with a fan going.
Friday was warm, but I spent the morning at John's, which was comfortable, and then I came back to the house, picked up Ellen and we went to a Marlboro rehearsal, which was not only air-conditioned but also a totally wonderful rehearsal featuring Mitsuko Uchida, in a Schubert Piano Trio which was transcendent. Also on the rehearsal program were the Schubert Ellen gesänge - a trio of songs based on Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake and includes Ave Maria, and a Mozart clarinet trio.
Now we are enjoying a rainy day at the lake and we just had a game of cards called Scotch Bridge or Oh Hell! You deal ten hands, and bid each hand, but you start with ten cards and go down to one card. Bidding on the basis of one card is tricky!
 |
| Mitsuko Uchida |
 |
| The little cottage at Oxbow Lake |
 |
| New flowers for Betsey's grave |
 |
| My friend in the lobby of the Latchis Theater |
"What else is there to say about Dominion, a game that has, in some ways, helped define the last 10 years of board gaming? “Deckbuilding” is nearly as ubiquitous in board game descriptions as “RPG elements” is in video games. While some people may be tired of the genre Dominion created, I think it’s brilliant, and I think it’s inspired some amazing games.
The concept itself works because there are so many interesting decision angles built in. First, you must decide how to play the cards in your hand. In Dominion this isn’t usually a particularly interesting part of the game, but in some implementations of the genre it’s beautiful. Second, you have to decide which cards to purchase, which is the heart of Dominion
For those who don’t know, you start with a few money cards and a couple of victory point cards in your deck. From those 10 cards you’ll build an empire of sorts, although it’s all contained within your deck. The point of the game is to get victory points, which are also cards, but you can also buy action cards (there are 10 types to choose from each game), and more money.
The decision every single turn of what kind of card to buy is hard enough, but choosing between the cards in the kingdom pile can be agonizing. You have to remember that each time you run out of cards in your deck, you shuffle in the discard pile and restart the deck with whatever new cards you’ve bought included. So what’s going to make your deck better the next time through? What might not be good now but will improve as the game progresses? Maybe one particular card is great, but if you happen to draw it at the same time as the card you just bought previously, it’ll be a dead card.
 |
| An Action Card from Dominion |
This combination of short term and long term thinking is so tough in Dominion, because while you want to think only about what will improve your deck immediately, you have to always be planning for the end game because it comes so quickly. A typical game of Dominion will last about 20 rounds. Your turns go by quickly but your deck will grow exponentially, as good purchases early game will allow better purchases mid-game, which will allow more victory point purchases late game."
The Film Yesterday:
"To call Jack (Himesh Patel) a "struggling musician" is an understatement. He plays in coffee shops, populated only by his friends. He sings on an empty boardwalk. His childhood friend Ellie (Lily James), who fell in love with him—and his music—when he played Oasis' "Wonderwall" at a talent show in grade school, acts as his manager, giving him pep talks, fired up by her belief in him. He lives with his parents in Suffolk, and is ready to throw in the towel when, one night, the earth experiences a 12-second blackout. During those 12 seconds, Jack is hit by a bus, and when he wakes up in the hospital realizes something weird has happened when he says to Ellie "Will you still feed me when I'm 64?" and she doesn't recognize the lyrics. “Why 64?” she asks with curiosity. Jack races to Google, and no matter what the combination of search terms, no trace of the Beatles is to be found. Curtis has a lot of fun with how absurd it would be if you mentioned "The Beatles” to people and they asked "What's that?" Jack makes the choice to start playing these "lost" songs, passing them off as his own."
That's the basis premise - this failing musician passes off Beatles songs as his own to a world that never heard of the Beatles and becomes an instant star. It explores some but not all the possibilities of that intriguing premise - enough to be quite entertaining.
 |
| Himesh Patel as "Jack" |
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Amazing Hallowell
Thursday night I went to a Halloween rehearsal at Putney Cares in
Putney. I was struck once again by what an amazing organization it is.
We sing, but it is about so much more than singing. Tonight, several
talked about a special session they had with a teen Village Harmony
camp. This was a group of adults talking with a group of teens about
death and dying! How often does that happen! They said the teens
were remarkably open and eager to share their thoughts and experiences.
Several had lost grandparents recently, some had lost peers. As the
discussion developed, it became clear that the current generation of
teens has had more experience with death than mine had had. Drug
addiction and suicide are taking their toll. But this also means that
these teens are much more interested and even eager to hear what
Hallowell is doing. This led to a further discussion among us as to
whether we might create more opportunities for that - an idea we liked.
In a separate, but related, discussion, one of our group leaders for a recent sing, Fred Breunig, reported on an unusually emotional experience. The sing was for a patient who was relatively young - in his fifties - who lived by himself and who in addition to having a terminal illness, had an addiction to alcohol. A few days before the sing, he had "fallen off the wagon" and had a drinking binge and had been found unconscious on the floor. The group knew this when they went to sing for him, and became concerned when repeated knocks on the door brought no response. Finally, he came to the door, but in bad shape. He explained that he had been drinking again, and apologized. The group went in to sing for him - as Fred put it, "we weren't there to judge him," and he responded to the sing with great emotion and gratitude. It was, in effect, an affirmation that he was a human being and had worth. This dynamic proved to be emotional for everyone. But this experience led to a question we had never directly addressed - what if he had been unconscious on the floor? What would we do as a group? Someone said, "call 911." But Kathy Leo, our leader, demurred. When you call 911, you set in motion a protocol that might not be what the person wants, and may have so stated in Advanced Directives. Our first responsibility is to sing - even if the person is unconscious - while someone in the group calls Hospice or tries to locate family. 911 would be the last resort, not the first. This led to a very rich discussion and a decision by Kathy to talk with Hospice and develop a very specific set of guidelines for how to deal with just such a situation. It would be rare - in 98% of the situations, someone else is there: a family member, a friend, a Hospice volunteer. But in this case there was not. How often does one get to participate in such discussions? Not often. So this is a special group in many ways.
On a bit less positive note, we broke into small groups to sing during the rehearsal, and I was asked to lead one. "Lead" means help choose songs, give the pitch, and keep the group together, set a tempo and keep it there. This has always been second nature for me, but last night, I found it to be hard physically and mentally. I did it, but it took much more effort than I have experienced in the past, and I didn't feel I did it well. That was distressing. How much longer will I be able to do this? I'm determined to keep trying, but at some point, I will have to recognize that I am causing problems for others.
But the evening ended well for me - we sang a song, Fear Not the Pain, in honor of the daughter of one of our members who had a baby in February and suffers from a rare condition in which pregnancy and lactation has leached calcium from her bones, resulting in 8 mini-fractures in her spine. She cannot lift anything, which means she cannot hold her baby. Treatment is very expensive and will take years, although they are hopeful. When we performed this song in River Singers a year or two ago, I read the verses of the Rilke poem it is based on, and did so again last night. That was very moving for me.
In a separate, but related, discussion, one of our group leaders for a recent sing, Fred Breunig, reported on an unusually emotional experience. The sing was for a patient who was relatively young - in his fifties - who lived by himself and who in addition to having a terminal illness, had an addiction to alcohol. A few days before the sing, he had "fallen off the wagon" and had a drinking binge and had been found unconscious on the floor. The group knew this when they went to sing for him, and became concerned when repeated knocks on the door brought no response. Finally, he came to the door, but in bad shape. He explained that he had been drinking again, and apologized. The group went in to sing for him - as Fred put it, "we weren't there to judge him," and he responded to the sing with great emotion and gratitude. It was, in effect, an affirmation that he was a human being and had worth. This dynamic proved to be emotional for everyone. But this experience led to a question we had never directly addressed - what if he had been unconscious on the floor? What would we do as a group? Someone said, "call 911." But Kathy Leo, our leader, demurred. When you call 911, you set in motion a protocol that might not be what the person wants, and may have so stated in Advanced Directives. Our first responsibility is to sing - even if the person is unconscious - while someone in the group calls Hospice or tries to locate family. 911 would be the last resort, not the first. This led to a very rich discussion and a decision by Kathy to talk with Hospice and develop a very specific set of guidelines for how to deal with just such a situation. It would be rare - in 98% of the situations, someone else is there: a family member, a friend, a Hospice volunteer. But in this case there was not. How often does one get to participate in such discussions? Not often. So this is a special group in many ways.
On a bit less positive note, we broke into small groups to sing during the rehearsal, and I was asked to lead one. "Lead" means help choose songs, give the pitch, and keep the group together, set a tempo and keep it there. This has always been second nature for me, but last night, I found it to be hard physically and mentally. I did it, but it took much more effort than I have experienced in the past, and I didn't feel I did it well. That was distressing. How much longer will I be able to do this? I'm determined to keep trying, but at some point, I will have to recognize that I am causing problems for others.
But the evening ended well for me - we sang a song, Fear Not the Pain, in honor of the daughter of one of our members who had a baby in February and suffers from a rare condition in which pregnancy and lactation has leached calcium from her bones, resulting in 8 mini-fractures in her spine. She cannot lift anything, which means she cannot hold her baby. Treatment is very expensive and will take years, although they are hopeful. When we performed this song in River Singers a year or two ago, I read the verses of the Rilke poem it is based on, and did so again last night. That was very moving for me.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Settling in
I think we have had a fairly soft landing, coming back home. The first night (Monday), was a great sleeping temperature. Since then, it has been warmer and more humid, and I guess the coming weekend doesn't look too good. But so far, so good. We have been taking it pretty easy. Last night (Wednesday), we went to an informal concert at the Marlboro Music Festival which was great: Bach Cantata # 97, In Allen Meinen Taten; a Brahms clarinet trio, The Lamentations of Saul by della Joio, and a Faurè Piano Quartet - a wonderful program. I did some errands yesterday, but mostly we've been at home, reading, puttering, watching a little TV. We've had a drippy faucet in the kitchen sink for months and I managed to fix it today! Yay! The house did well in our absence, very little sign of mice, Zach mowed. Good to be home. Tonight is a Hallowell rehearsal. Ellen feels she has a touch of a cold, so she is staying home. Tomorrow, I'll go see John. Gradually getting back into the swim of things.
Some photos from our last day on the road:
Ellen hoped to get postcards here, but the museum was closed on Mondays. From Niles, OH, we took I-80 east, went up toward New York through Kane, PA, took I-86 to Binghampton and then I-88 to Albany, and then the Mass Pike to I-91 and home. Monday was a long driving day!
On the way past the Dummerston Church today I saw that things are happening! The steeple has been dismantled for repairs, and some painting is being done as well.
Some photos from our last day on the road:
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| The McKinley Birthplace Memorial and Library, Niles, OH |
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| Statue of President McKinley at the McKinley Memorial |
On the way past the Dummerston Church today I saw that things are happening! The steeple has been dismantled for repairs, and some painting is being done as well.
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| Pieces of the steeple have been brought down for repairs |
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| The bereft steeple! |
Monday, July 15, 2019
Late arrival
We're heading home!! It will be close to midnight .
Later
We got home about 20 after midnight. We would've been earlier but we stopped in Brattleboro to do some szhopping. It is quite comfortable temp-wise.
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