When a Leader Doesn't Understand Civility

The country lost a great statesman this weekend. Senator John McCain exemplified what we think of as the American politician - he was principled, patriotic, compassionate, a war hero, well-spoken, a bit of a maverick, and not afraid to speak his mind. His response to 5 1/2 years of captivity and torture was to become a public servant, when he easily could have been defeated by what was a horrific experience that left him unable to lift his arms enough to comb his own hair. He was proud to serve his country both in the Navy and in politics. He was a decent human being, who was friends with his fellow politicians, regardless of party, and was able to move on twice from crushing defeats in presidential elections to be friends with the men who defeated him.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a liberal progressive, and will understand when I say that I didn't like John McCain's politics, and he disappointed me plenty of times. But I can also say that I felt like I could trust him.

Anyone who knows me also knows that I think that I am appalled by President Trump. Apart from his administration's policies, I am simply appalled by his lack of leadership. It is never more evident than in his treatment of John McCain. 

One of the hallmarks of American politics has always been the notion of civility. That idea that the men and women elected to federal office maintain the civility of the nation by modeling civility, and that role is especially critical to the President. It is an example first set by President Washington, and is as much a part of the fabric of the country as the notion of individualism and freedom. President Trump either does not understand it, or rejects it. Either way, it is appalling.

President Trump is the man who mocked Senator McCain, saying he is no war hero because he shouldn't have been captured in the first place (and later said he did not regret saying it). Then, shades of Lady Catherine deBourgh, claimed that, if he had gone to Vietnam, he would have avoided capture. He is the man unbothered when a White House aide remarked that what John McCain had to say didn't matter because he'd be dead soon, anyway. And in his latest knuckle headed move, rejected plans for the White House to issue a statement praising John McCain at his death. The sitting president refuses to issue a statement praising one of the longest-serving, most faithful members of the party he is supposed to head. 

A hallmark of American life is that when someone is dying, or passes away, the notion of civility leads us to end the criticism, and reach for dignity. We shift our thoughts to their humanity, to the people who love them, and we allow our compassion to guide us. Our past presidents and other prominent politicians have issued eloquent statements focused on his many accomplishments. Sadly, our current president doesn't understand civility.

My Life and Times: Hunting for Treasure

My Life and Times: Hunting for Treasure: Years ago, a friend of mine convinced me to audit a poetry class at the University of Minnesota on the poetry of Tin Pan Alley songs. (That ...

Hunting for Treasure

Years ago, a friend of mine convinced me to audit a poetry class at the University of Minnesota on the poetry of Tin Pan Alley songs. (That course was the foundation for a book.) In between spirited debates about whether or not song lyrics can (or should) be separated from the music, we learned a lot of early 20th century pop culture and slang. The lyricists embedded clever puns and rhymes that often flew by unnoticed, all within the confines of a rigid 32-bar ABA structure.

Every so often, you can also hear a musical reference to great classical composers or fellow Tin Pan Alley songwriters, and I'm willing to bet that they aren't all accidental. Long before mashups were a thing, my brain used to mash up  "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" and "Stormy Weather." I have often wondered if Harold Arlen was inspired by Jerome Kern's melody, or if it was a result of a snatch of melody stuck in his unconscious.

I was listening to a "special" podcast of The West Week Weekly, an interview with The West Wing fans Lin Manuel Miranda and Tommy Kail, (creators of the hip-hop musical, "Hamilton"). They got to talking about TWW references in "Hamilton." Lin said there is only one deliberate reference, the drum roll, but that fans are constantly finding TWW references in it. (There enough that hashtags and Tumblr pages are devoted to them.) 

photo from MacArthur Foundation

 As often as I hear "Hamilton," there is always something new. Just this week, I heard variations on "Daydream Believer" and "Don't Rain on My Parade." Lin said that when he was writing "Hamilton," he purposely embedded it with as many musical and cultural "ins" as he could to help the audience accept it. Many of them he annotated in the published libretto, Hamilton The Revolution, but more are unconscious, like those TWW references the fans keep finding.

Like the great Tin Pan Alley writers, Lin's genius lies in the subtlety of the rhymes and references. He often references the middle of a lyric or musical phrase. "Hamilton" is a musical treasure hunt.

Stop demonizing Hillary Clinton

With all the outrage, especially from Bernie Sander supporters,  about how the DNC "rigged" the election for Hillary Clinton, let's remember something: This is how politics works.

Bernie is a great progressive voice. He is also not a Democrat. This is important as we look at what happened. The DNC did not have to say yes to Bernie when he asked if he could run as a Democrat, but they did, recognizing that an independent run would pull away enough Democratic votes to have the same effect as Ralph Nader's run in 2000. Let's also remember that Ralph Nader ran, not to become president, but to disrupt the system. He gave us George W. Bush. Also remember that Bernie asked to run as a Democrat because he knew that he would be given a place on the national stage in a way that an independent run would not, and to return a more progressive tone to a party that had become too centrist, especially with a president since 2008 who was a centrist and gradually moved left, effectively minimizing the influence of liberals and progressives.

I suspect that the DNC said yes to Bernie reluctantly, because influential progressives put on some pressure. It was a smart move, and Bernie succeeded in moving the discussion back to left of center. The result was the most liberal platform ever presented by the DNC. This was great news for the country, good news for Hillary Clinton, who is a liberal, and for the party. A significant number of voters supported a more progressive conversation.

But the voters are not the DNC, and Bernie's second goal, of reforming the party, was not going to be as easily done. Institutional change is slow, and anyone who has tried to change corporate culture can understand that. And, like Hillary Clinton in 2008, the power in the party didn't want Bernie to be the nominee.

Yes, let's set that wayback machine to 2008, because I saw so many parallels between Hillary's campaign then, and Bernie's in 2016. Despite what many Bernie supporters think, Hillary Clinton hasn't exactly been the darling of the party. Oh, they loved her as a campaigner, and as a First Lady but there were a lot of people unhappy with her run for Senate, and with her decision to not divorce Bill because of his peccadillos. When the 2008 election came along, it seemed a great time for Hillary to run for president. She was still a popular former First Lady, and she had shown herself to be a hardworking, effective senator. However, the party power at the time, the Kennedys (especially Ted) did not want her to be president. Ted hand-picked Barack Obama to support, and worked to undermine the other most successful candidates, including Hillary and the other should-have-been-president, Joe Biden. It was apparent, and discussed at the time, but also framed as democracy and how party politics work.

In spite of that, Hillary came very close (closer than Bernie) to securing the nomination. When it came time for the convention, the Obama campaign and the DNC did not want to allow Hillary to speak except for a quick endorsement speech, in spite of the millions of voters who supported her in the campaign, and were not excited about Barack Obama. It was only after the news leaked out that they altered the plan, and Hillary was offered a chance to speak. She refused the stage, opting, instead, to speak from the floor of the convention, from among the New York delegation, to thank her supporters and throw her support behind Obama.

In 2016, Bernie was given a keynote timeslot to speak, and was invited to help form the party platform that Hillary would run on. I have no doubt that it was because Hillary still remember how she was treated in 2008.

But let's get back to the bargains and deals that were made that made it more difficult for Bernie to secure the nomination. First, there is no guarantee that if that had not taken place that he would have won the nomination. Second, there is no guarantee that, if he had won the nomination, that he would have won the general election. I can guarantee, though, that she would have campaigned hard for Bernie, and would have put all her effort behind getting him elected. If you think that the GOP was tough on Hillary, imagine how the 3rd party PACS would have attacked a Jew. The dog whistles abound. And, third, that is how party politics work!

If you want to set the wayback machine even farther, the party nominees were only selected by the party members, with no primaries, and there really were smoke-filled backrooms where deals were made.

The present-day Republican and Democratic parties have their roots in those smoke-filled back rooms. Institutional change is difficult, and slow. If Hillary Clinton is guilty of anything, it is of understanding the system, and finding a way to effectively navigate through it.

So, don't demonize Hillary Clinton. She isn't personally responsible for the the dysfunction in the party. Do you want to see the party reformed? Of course. But stop blaming Hillary for Bernie's inability to win the party nomination, and stop complaining about the party not being a progressive party. And don't focus on removing every Democrat who isn't Elizabeth Warren from office. Concentrate, instead, on changing your local and state parties. Volunteer, and show up at every meeting. That is where the institutionalism is the most mired - and I can promise you that the reason the same people are in charge is because the same people show up.

Because I can tell you what will happen - the Democrats will split, and the GOP will rally behind Trump, who will help them dismantle the New Deal and the Great Society, and guarantee that the U.S. is an oligarchy.

Meatloaf

Last week, my favorite ex-Viking, Chris Kluwe, tweeted that he was making meatloaf for dinner. I teased him a bit, joking about meatloaf as a staple he learned in Minnesota, and claiming mine was better. (He took it in good grace, and by that I mean he didn't block me.)

But something he said to me about it got me thinking, and more than just about making it for dinner.

When I was growing up, every week we had meatloaf, pork chops (sometimes baked with cream of mushroom soup gravy, and, later, baked with sauerkraut), tuna casserole topped with potato chips, chicken (sometimes baked with rice), porcupine meatballs (a recipe I introduced from the Betty Crocker Kids' Cookbook, and a recipe my brother still makes), along with various casseroles. Saturday was leftovers night, and Sunday night was homemade potato soup and egg salad sandwiches.

We ate our meatloaf drowned in ketchup (no tomato sauce or brown gravy on this recipe!), and most often baked potatoes and canned green beans or carrots or scalloped corn. My mom baked it in an 8x8"pan, which seemed to make a pound of ground beef go a lot farther and easily feed five people with enough left over for sandwiches.

I loved meatloaf sandwiches, on white bread with Miracle Whip. We moved just before I entered the 3rd grade, and my elementary school didn't offer hot lunches; kids who had to eat at school brown bagged it, but there were only a few of them. Most of us walked to and from home for lunch, for grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, or bologna sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. But every once in a while, it was meatloaf.

Eventually I started sharing the cooking, and I learned to make it. The recipe my mom taught me was one she had learned from the mother-in-law of one of my grandmother's brothers, who was, by all accounts, the world's best cook. (Just ask my aunt.) All the best recipes in the family seem to come from her, and meatloaf is no exception. It's a simple recipe, much simpler than most recipes you will find, but anyone who tries it likes it; even people who think they don't like meatloaf.

I have changed how I make it over the years. The original recipe called for equal parts of ground beef, veal and pork. Growing up, we used ground beef; I most often now make it with a blend of ground beef, turkey and, once in a while, pork. Instead of bread crumbs, we would use crumbled saltines, fat free milk instead of whole milk.

But yet, no matter how I tweak it, it still tastes as good as it would on those cold, rainy evenings in our big, warm kitchen. If I close my eyes, I can still see us, sitting around the table with its vinyl tablecloth, and I can feel the love and contentment.

I make no promises, but if you want to try my meatloaf, here's the recipe. The amount of seasonings & bread crumbs can be adjusted to personal preference; meat can be increased by 1/2 pound, without changing the rest of the recipe, for more servings.

Meatloaf

(preheat oven to 350F)

1 lb ground beef, veal & pork

   (substitute with: ground turkey or chicken)

1 egg

1/4 cup milk (fat free is fine)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

   (substitute with: 12 saltine squares, crushed finely)

1 small yellow onion, minced

   (substitute with: dehydrated minced onion; add to milk to soften)

1 Tbsp. ground poultry seasoning

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground mustard (optional)

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Beat together egg & milk.

Add onion, breadcrumbs & seasonings. Blend.

Mix in meat until completely blended.

Spread evenly in loaf pan or casserole.

Cover pan with aluminum foil.

Bake 55 minutes.

Remove foil, bake 10 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Wrap leftovers tightly in aluminum foil and store refrigerated.

What I Saw in Beverly Hills or I Will Never Be Able To Unsee That

This morning, we were at breakfast in our swanky hotel in Beverly Hills. It was our last day, and we were having breakfast in the rooftop restaurant. The kids had eaten and left, and my husband and I were just leaving as well, when a woman walked in looking for a table.

She was wearing uber-tight brown shiny leggings and some sort of flowered shirt that was stretched too tightly on her body. "She's my age," I murmured. "How do you know?" "Women my age are the ones who dress like that." Just at that moment she turned around, and we could see that she was in her 40s. "And they should never dress like that," I commented as we stepped on to the elevator.

Later, as we were sitting in our rental car in front of the hotel, getting ready to go to the airport, I looked out, and there she was again, climbing, or trying to climb into, an SUV. Her leggings, obviously too short in the rise, had slid down, and we saw butt crack. She stepped back on the ground, and stepped up again to haul herself in, exposing an unfortunate amount of her derriere. My husband exclaimed, "I will never be able to unsee that!"

Why Every Mother Should Stop Talking About Catherine Middleton

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge

In the past few days the press has been filled with the news that their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their first child. Every detail has been breathlessly reported, and everyone, it seems, has speculated on names. An Australian radio station even called the hospital, where Catherine has been staying because of acute morning sickness, convincing the poor nurse on duty that it was the Queen calling and tricking her into giving the kind of information that should only be told to the expectant parents.

Sound familiar? Every one of us who have gone through pregnancy have fallen under the same kind of scrutiny. Not, perhaps, to the degree that the future king and queen of England receive, of course. As prominent members of what most of us, even Americans, refer to as the Royal Family, they expect to live under a microscope. But do we really deserve a moment-to-moment description of Catherine's pregnancy?

Before any mother answers, "yes," think back to your own experience. Remember learning you were pregnant, who you told first, who you waited to tell, whether or not you had morning sickness. Also think about all the advice you got, the suggestions for names, and the detailed questions from people you thought you only knew casually. If you want to know what it's like to be a celebrity, get pregnant.

I remember my first pregnancy. My husband and I were thrilled, and wanted to tell people right away. As soon as people found out I was pregnant, I was inundated with advice. And baby names. And intimate questions. It is as if a woman, as soon as she is pregnant, stops being an individual and becomes a mere vessel, a curiosity for family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers to poke, prod, and examine. People I would never have expected tried to convince me that they knew the perfect name for our baby. Strangers would offer unsolicited advice, and sometimes even ask to touch my stomach. It was as if my personal space bubble had disappeared.

I shudder when I imagine what it is like for the Duke and Duchess. How many of us would have sent out a press release announcing our pregnancy? Or welcome long articles speculating about what boy names?

So, all you moms out there, let's give Kate a break. In spite of her title and position in the royal family, she's still a mother herself. Let's all remind people that, regardless of fancy titles, she's still a pregnant mother-to-be. Just remember what that was like.

So, all you fellow moms out there. Think back

Help! My Child Doesn't Want To Read!

As a parent, there are few things more discouraging than to have a reluctant reader for a child. We all learn to read at our own rate, and everyone "gets it" at a different age. From K-2, reading levels can range within the same grade from, well, K-2. Often reluctant readers are simply still in the "putting it together" stage, where "decoding" words and sounds is still work. (Like learning to drive -- how many of us were sure we would never know how to steer, check our mirrors, monitor our speed, watch the road, etc., all at once?)

But what happens when an emerging reader becomes a reluctant reader because they have become frustated by a teacher or learning system? You can have a child uninterested in reading, who sees it as a chore, or not worth the effort.

But here's the good news -- with the right kind of support, and the right book, reluctant readers can become interested readers.

The first thing is to keep doing what you are most likely already doing -- read daily with her. It is amazing what even 20 minutes a day of reading together can do to help build a confident reader. And any educator will tell you that the key in a student's learning is in a parent's interest and involvement in it.

There are many different ways of reading with an emerging reader, and they all work at different times. Don't be worried about following a specific way of doing it. Sit side by side, and both of you follow the test. Run your finger along the words, use a ruler or other marker to underline the sentence to make it easier to read, take turns reading by the word or by the sentence or by the page. Make it a game -- have him read all the words that begin with a certain letter, or assign her a word to read every time it appears in the text. Use your instinct! You will know very quickly what he responds to, and what is working.

Be relaxed, and try to avoid frustration. Your goal is to help your child enjoy reading, so make it fun. If she struggles to read a word, celebrate it when she gets it right, even when she sees the same word for the sixth time in the text. Congratulate her for working hard to use the skills she is learning to decode the words, and reinforce that you are thrilled every time she can do it on her own.

Model reading -- let your child see you read. Discuss what you have been reading. When you do this, you are showing him what comprehension is really all about -- understanding what you read and talking about it.  And it doesn't have to be just books -- news articles (age appropriate), non-fiction books, even cookbooks. Every time you talk about what you learned from something you read, it reinforces the "why" to reading.

Play reading games! I am currently recommending Erudition, a game that makes reading sight words fun. It can be tailored to different reading levels, can be played in several ways, and can be played by multiple reading levels simultaneously. And it is fun! The amazing teacher who recommended had her 4-year-old and 7-year-old playing it together, and they both had a great time.

Have an ereader or a tablet with an ereader app? Try reading on it instead of a traditional book. There are also some great books that have interactive apps, and there are some good free games that require the player to be able to read and answer questions to advance. I have used them with competitive, impatient readers, and seen them quickly master decoding and comprehension techniques they had struggled with. Make sure, though, that it is fun for you, too.

It is okay to read a book she liked when she was younger, or has read often. Favorite books are favorites for a reason -- they resonate with us. If your child wore out that Dora the Explorer book, suggest you read it together. Those are the books that will get him reading to you.

Finally, be creative in what you offer your child to read. Anything that sparks his interest should be your starting point. Within every reading level there are books that are sure to spark your child's interest. Star Wars? Barbie? The latest Disney princess? Ballet? Soccer? Great! Go find that book genre and say, "Let's read this."

Of course, finding a book to read that will capture the imagination can seem daunting. I turned to my own panel of experts, the amazing members of the Betsy-Tacy email list, for suggestions of books that spark the imagination in readers. They are librarians, teachers, authors, moms, and readers, who all make suggestions from their own experience.

If you try them all, and nothing works, let me know!! I will keep looking and suggesting as long as there are potential readers needing something to spark their imaginations.

Remember -- have fun! Sure, it's important for our children to master reading so they can suceed at their schoolwork, but reading a book for pleasure should also be valued as highly. When you read a book you enjoy with your child, they will feel that. Their "takeaway" will be that reading is a good thing, a desired thing.

Below is my list of some "try them" picture books. All of these can be found in libraries, and many of them may even be in your child's classroom. Have a great time!

Duck at the Door by Jackie Urbanovic
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and others in the series by Laura Numeroff
Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Baby Come Out and others by Fran Manushkin
She Come Bringing Me That Little Baby Girl by Eloise Greenfield
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Suess
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Oliver and Amanda Pig series by Jean Van Leeuwen
Yoko Learns To Read by Rosemary Wells
Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel
Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik (illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish
How Rocket Learned To Read by Tad Hills
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

I Dare Congress to Listen to Women's Stories

I was raised to believe that it was impolite to talk about your health issues with people other than our doctor and those among your family and friends who absolutely needed to know.  Doctor-patient privilege has long been the accepted norm, and Congress in recent years has taken steps to protect our medical records from prying eyes. And yet, there are men right who think it's perfectly acceptable to insist that a woman talk to her employer about what reproductive medication she is taking, but explain why, and justify it.

Apart from the obvious silliness -- you hardly see them demanding that men announce that they need a penile dysfunction medication and explain why -- it got me thinking. Do those employers REALLY want to have those conversations?

I expect not. Here's an example of how I would have had to explain and justify my use of birth control pills for non-reproductive reasons when I was a young woman. Try to guess how long an employer (especially a man) is going to want to sit and listen to this:

From the time I started my periods, they were extremely heavy and lasted 8-10 days. At the peak of the flow, I would change menstrual pads hourly, and clothes almost as often because of leaking. I had severe cramping, to the point that I would stay home from school or work, taking double and triple doses of aspirin, and later ibuprofin, to help curb the pain.

When I was 18, I had a hymenectomy to help the flow stop backing up and to prevent injury when down the road I married and became sexually active. Although it helped some, I continued to experience enough cramping that I would frequently miss work for a day. Having ruled out other reasons for the pain (and given my age), my doctor put me on a very low hormone dose, hopefully to help retrain my body. The difference was amazing. While I took those hormones, I was able to go about my life normally every day.

If it had been necessary to talk to my employer to have it paid for, I would have had to explain my medical history, have my employer sit in judgement as to whether or not my doctor was prescribing the right treatment, AND I would have had to try to convince them that as a 23-year-old single woman I was not sexually active. (I wasn't.) Given that many of the people I worked with (including my boss at the time) were sexually active, it would have been a hard sell.

My bet is this: the average employer will last about as far as the word "pad", gross out and cut right to the question: "Are you having sex?"

Because that's what this so-called debate is really about. Do we really want our employer to know our private life? What employer wants that burden? There are plenty of laws on the books, as well as constitutional amendments, that support the idea that an individual can live his or her life as they see fit. One of the drawbacks to living in a free society is that other people can live their lives in a way we don't like, and we can't stop them.

I dare the men who think this is a great idea to sit and listen to the story from each of their female employees about how "The Pill" has made their lives easier. (And we might remind them, too, that unless they were celibate until marriage, it made their lives easier, too.) And then we will see how keen they will be to pass that law into existence. They won't do it, of course -- they wouldn't even let Sandra Fluke speak.

Assault on Women

Really, just about every woman will probably put her two cents in on this. And I hardly know where to start. But we all have to ask the question: Why are we allowing a fringe minority of mysoginists to dominate the dialogue and policy of our country? Since when do we allow one religious group's point of view to dictate to all?

I am sick and tired of people being more concerned with unborn fetuses than the people around them. I am sick and tired of men thinking they know better than women about what is good for their bodies. I am sick and tired of seeing men get free erection medicine and being told that women must pay for their medications and care because it's too expensive. I am sick of women earning less than men in the same job. I am sick of men being praised for being assertive, while women are criticized for being 'too' aggressive. I am sick and tired of women being expected to be housekeepers, breadwinners, childcare experts, and conform to the current standard of beauty, while men are held only to the expectation of holding down a job. I am sick of hearing girls talk about how they don't want to seem to smart because they won't get a boyfriend. I am sick of men feeling threatened by a woman making more money than him.

I am sick of women who expect men to take care of them. I am especially sick of women who spout all the above while collecting hefty paychecks for being in jobs that, if it were not for the women who came before them, would not be available.

It is just time. Time for women to stand up and say, enough. To look at their women friends who claim that birth control shouldn't be covered, that abortions shouldn't be allowed, that a woman needs a spouse/boyfriend/partner to be valid, and tell them to grow up and join the 21st century. To tell the men who want to control their reproductive systems and their access to affordable health care that we will not accept that.

It is time to stage our own Million Mom March.

Happy Holidays?

As a fan of both the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace and the Mother Daughter Book Club series, I am beside myself with excitement that Heather Vogel Frederick's latest installment, Home for the Holidays (out now, in bookstores everywhere!) is about Betsy Tacy!

So I just had to giggle when I saw the cover of the latest Lands' End catalog when I pulled it out of my mailbox. It looks like they totally ripped off the jacket cover of Home for the Holidays!

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Rocking Out the Crusaders

Friday night was Eaststide Catholic's opening football game; they opened at home.  Before the game, there was a little festival with games and free food.


Pre-game rocking

My older daughter is taking Rock Band this semester, having done her time with Health during summer school. Drama II was full, so Rock Band it was.

The only girl, and the only non-instrumentalist, she has become the lead singer. On Friday night they were given the opportunity to play at half time of the football game. She needed to be there at 5:00pm to set up. Wanting to hear her, I went with her and waited around, acting a bit as her handler while she acted as junior roadie for "the guys," making her eat and keeping her well-supplied with water as they set up in front of the Athletic Pavilion.

Although they weren't supposed to play until half time, they sneaked in a song as a warmup about half an hour before the game. I was pleased to hear how good they were -- you never quite knows how good a group of high school students is going to be when they form a band, even one for credit.

Eastside Catholic football

After the introductions (eight assistant coaches??), the coin toss, the opening prayer and the National Anthem, the game started at 7:00pm. It was a beautiful day, and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset behind the trees as the first half dragged on and on, as EC kept scoring and stopping the clock. Finally at 8:30pm with the score at something like 56 - 20, the clock wound down to 0 and it was half time.

The Pep Band played "Born This Way" and was shortly followed by the plucky drill team (which, so cool, includes a member of the Options program, designed for special needs students) performed. Then it was time for the Rock Band.

As soon as they started, people stopped to listen, kids ran over and started dancing and whooping, and parents and alumni smiled benevolently as they walked past. Although they were told to play only one song, daughter decided if they went right into the 2nd song they could do a shortened version of it, and convinced the others to do it. And to their credit, they almost made it through that second song.

After they finished, she rushed over to me with a big hug, then was surrounded by squealing friends, excited about her performance. It was almost 9:00 by the time we left -- she was tired, but in a good way. There's nothing like singing in a band.

Here's a little sample of what had everyone excited, taken with an iPhone:

They're playing music while we're fighting...

Twenty-ish years ago, I sat in a dark movie theater in a Minneapolis suburb and witnessed something I never thought I would see: the rebirth of the Disney animated musical without Walt. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken brought their magic to the Disney studios for The Little Mermaid, followed by Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (with the added genius of lyrics by Tim Rice, who stepped in to help Alan Menken complete the score after Howard Ashman passed away.)

It is no secret that Howard Ashman's expertise carried far beyond his lyrics to story structure and a belief that the animated musical was the film home for the Broadway musical. He was right -- first Beauty and the Beast and, most recently, The Little Mermaid, have played on Broadway to great success. Unlike B&B and Mermaid, Disney has no plans to take Aladdin to Broadway, but instead (according to Disney Theatrical Productions), is responding to the demand by schools and theaters around the country for a stage musical version.

Disney's Aladdin The New Stage Musical is playing right now at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, to give it a tryout before it goes to MTI or distribution.

The 5th Avenue is an ornate, restored vaudeville theater that has sent to Broadway such shows as "Hairspray," "SHREK: The Musical," "The Wedding Singer," "Memphis," and, most recently, "Catch Me If You Can," among others, well-used to mounting new musicals.



I saw it Saturday night with my family. Disney is giving it the whole Broadway treatment from cast to production team. Casey Nicholoaw directed, Danny Troob did the excellent orchestrations. Glenn Kelly, whose wonderful musical arrangements made The Producers so memorable, did the delightful dance arrangements.

Until recently, the original songs were primarily known mainly only to Disney and Disney geeks (like me) who own Alan Menken's "The Music Behind the Magic" which contains demo tapes alongside final production recordings, to give a glimpse into the evolution of the animated musical. In bringing it to the stage, all but one of the original songs were used, along with those in the film. Additional songs were written by Alan Menken and lyricist Chad Beguelin, whose book manages to merge the two concepts into a cohesive story.

Not too long ago, we had seen a middle school production of "Aladdin Jr." that was the starting point for the full two-act version. Oh, what a difference a good book and a professional touch can make!

Gone is the awkward kid-in-a-bird costume Iago, replaced by an equally annoying little man (named Iago) as the foil for the thankfully untouched evil Jafar. Absent from both versions is Abu, Aladdin's annoying monkey friend. Gone, too, is the flying carpet as a character. Restored to the production are Aladdin's friends, Babkak, Omar and Kasim, who are also the storytellers. Jasmine is also given a trio of friends, making her isolation in the palace less creepy and more symbolic. The 4th wall is almost non-existent in this rendition of the story -- the storytellers sing directly to us, and, Hope-Crosby fashion, occasionally argue among themselves about how the story is being told. The script is packed with contemporary references, some too forced, and a few perhaps to topical (the Genie says, "Oprah may be gone, but I'm heere!"), but the audience immediately bought into it and loved it. After all, how many musicals have the audience scat singing, Cab Calloway-style, with one of the characters?

Overall, the production was delightful and entertaining. Of special note was the talented cast, comprised primarily of New York actors, with a few outstanding Seattle actors.

One of the main reasons we went to see it was because Jonathan Freeman, the voice of Jafar in the film, played Jafar. He was so good that I don't know if everyone in the audience realized just how amazing he was in the role. He and Don Darryl Rivera as Iago were perfectly in tune, chewing the scenery in a satisfying way that always managed to avoid becoming hammy. I think it is safe to say that with Jonathan Freeman, there would be no Aladdin on stage.
 Adam Jacobs was a charming and appealing Aladdin, being constantly interesting in a part that has to share the stage with some pretty big characters. In his solo turn on "Proud of Your Boy" (a song mostly known for being sung by Clay Aitken), he commanded the stage and gave full justice to the song that was so important and autobiographical to Howard Ashman, while always telling the story. It is moments like those that remind us why we go to the theater.

Courtney Reed was deft, sassy and strong as Jasmine, although it just reinforces the reality that Aladdin is a man's show. She's a princess, but has only one costume change -- her wedding attire? Even when she dresses to annoy her suitors, she's wearing the same thing with a few accessories! She's a princess! Give her a costume change! She's the only woman in the show -- we won't get confused! In spite of the rampant mysogonism inherent to the story, she triumphs.

James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie was entertaining, charismatic, and every other word you can think of. He still had the impossible task of competing with Robin Williams, but took to heart the original concept of the Genie as the aforementioned Cab Calloway, and created enough of a difference that it didn't disappoint. He also made it clear that, without a good Genie, any production of Aladdin is going to fail.
 
As Babkak, Omar and Kasim, Brian Gonzales, Andrew Keenan-Bolger (my girls' favorite!) and Seattle actor Brandon O'Neill were absolutely marvelous. As both storytellers and Aladdin's best buddies, they are on stage almost the entire performance, and are high energy and entertaining without flagging.

Of special note among the Seattle actors was Nick DeSantis, who in addition to being a member of the ensemble played the role of the head guard, Razoul. All the ensemble was busy in multiple small roles, but every time I looked, practically, there he was in a different costume, dancing, acting and singing. He moved easily between each role, shifting his character to meet the moment.

What a pleasure to see a Broadway-level production. The play itself isn't perfect. If it were going to Broadway, there would be changes to the book, which could still use some work. Certainly extensive work was done on the original lyrics -- one insider says that the Disney people debated a long time over whether or not to change "it's barbaric, but, hey, it's home" (they didn't), and removed all references to Baghdad. (Get hold of a copy of The Music Behind the Magic and take a listen.) Still, it is a vast improvement over the rather weak book of "Aladdin, Jr." and if Disney changes its mind about mounting a Broadway production, it is almost there. Be certain of this -- once MTI makes it available for lease, productions of Aladdin will pop up all over.

Disney's Aladdin The New Stage Musical
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book and Additional Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre through July 31, 2011

Band Member of the Year

Last night was my younger daughter's final 5th grade band concert. I've known all along that she is a gifted flute player (and musically, in general), and that's been mentioned several times by music teachers. (Not to mention by my aunt when my daughter was 3 days old.)

But last night was especially gratifying. She was given one of four "Band Member of the Year" medals, singled out for her talent and dedication, working way beyond what is required and always challenging herself. That was evident last night when she played the Raider's March from the Indiana Jones movies.

I am very proud of her anyway; it was so gratifying to see her recognized for what I already know is true!

Here is video of Clara playing her piece.

Osama bin Laden is dead

Tonight we were tantalized and a little traumatized by an announcement that President Obama was making a late-night announcement to the world. Just last night at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, he was poking fun at the obsession with whether or not he was born in the U.S. and slinging barbs with the best of them.

My first thought was he was resigning. But why? Then we thought it might be about Lybia, but that would be something to come from NATO. Suddenly Glenn said, "Bin Laden. They caught bin Laden. It has to be." For quite a while there was no leak, which is really worrying -- it is routine to announce, or leak, the reason for the president to speak. Whatever it was, the announcement was big. It had to be bin Laden.

Then, finally, word seeped out. Bin Laden was dead. When the president finally took to the podium, there was a ragged group of people outside the White House chanting, "USA! USA!" People were already treating it as fact. Information said he was hiding in plain site in a palace in Islamabad. President Obama told us: He was deep in hiding in Pakistan. Good information started coming in last August. Just last week he had given permission to capture or kill bin Laden, and just today he gave the order to go in. U.S. operatives found his hiding place and ended up killing him as they exchanged gunfire. They had his body in U.S. custody.

It is a little hard to absorb, the news that almost 10 years after 9/11 (and eight years to the day since George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" stunt), US Special Ops located and killed Osama bin Laden.

My sense of justice would have preferred to see him captured alive and tried in court after court for years, forcing him to answer for the slaughter of people for no other reason than because they lived a lifestyle he and his followers didn't like.

But tonight, he stands before a more powerful judge, and one Who will not allow him to turn away or hide behind a false interpretation of his faith. Tonight I imagine him hearing words like, "How can you do these things in My Name?" Will those he helped kill stand before him as he is judged? Will he be forced to watch a recount of each of them dying? Or will he stand alone, face to face, just him and God?

I take little satisfaction in the idea of him burning in Hell. But I do take satisfaction at the idea of seeing him weep with remorse as he realizes the pain and suffering and indignity he effected in false cause. It is perhaps not that different than what we will all face, in our turn. I expect God to be merciful. So, too, tonight, does Osama bin Laden.

The War on the Middle Class by the Middle Class

The recent move by the Republicans in Wisconsin to eliminate collective bargaining by government-paid employees (something that has worked in that state for the past 100 years) has brought to light a remarkable reality.

Conservative, middle-class Americans are supporting policies designed to destroy the middle class.

Note the objections: Unions are the cause of the economic woes of the nation. They are the reason for outsourcing. The reason health care costs are so high. Their unreasonable demands for benefits suck the government dry.

And yet, who are these bloodsucking union members? Teachers, custodians, police officers, nurses, firefighters -- the very heart of the middle class. These are in large part people with whom we entrust our lives.

Teachers and nurses are required, even before starting their profession, to go through at least six years of schooling, most or all of which they need to pay for themselves. Police officers and firefighters are required to go through specialized training designed to eliminate all but the finest of the candidates. They all are dedicated to their work, and routinely go beyond what is required of them in order to do the best job possible. This is the very definition of the middle class.

These are not people with large pensions, stock options, expensive cars, and luxurious homes. These are not people for whom the salary is the bottom line. Those things belong to the upper-middle and upper class, people who negotiate health care, supplemental insurance, stock, moving expenses, vacation time, severence packages, and parking spaces on condition of hiring. They belong to the people who manage stock portfolios, purchase multiple homes as tax shelters, complain about how expensive it is to take a nanny on vacation, and write a check in full for a new car.

And yet, listen to the non-union members of the middle class, and you would think I was describing union members. Who is it who doesn't like the unions? In large part, it is the corporate money managers who look at the benefits portion of an employee's compensation and see it as an easy place to find more profit for the stock holders. It is the businesses who resent safety regulations they consider optional. It is the wealthy who resent giving up even a penny of their millions.

Before you continue to condemn the other half of the middle class, non-union middle class, check your sources. Who is it telling you that the unions are so bad? What is their vested interest?

Look at Wisconsin, and you will see big-oil behind that assault.

Think about it. The corporations & the wealthy must love watching the middle class destroy itself. Are you really that eager to do their dirty  work?

On Being A 5th Grader

Yes, it does sound like this will be a guest column by a 5th grader.


Instead, it's my own commentary on having a 5th grader in the house. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Just tonight:

"Today Megan and I were working on something together. We heard someone going 'unngghh! Can't fart!' We turned and looked and it was Billy."

The other morning, there were tears about not wanting to wear glasses to school. It seems that there is a boy who teases her about wearing them. On this particular day, she was going with some classmates (not all) on a field trip. Why was she in tears? Because even though he wasn't going, some of his friends would be and "They will see me in my glasses and tell Evan!" It is a real issue -- this has been going on for some time, but this was the one day he wouldn't be there to see her wear them, and she was in tears.

We find ourselves telling her things like, "Boys are stupid." "Just tell someone who's mean, 'Knock it off,' like you do the dog." "No, you can't wear purple eyeshadow to school."

"I did a dog burp. It was kind of a silent one."

"No one has glasses and a retainer!"

"But everyone has an iPhone!"

Who knew it was so challenging being the big kids in school? I just don't remember 5th grade being this sensational. But, they tell me, things are different these days. (Yeah, right.) Kids are more aggressive. More this and that. But one thing's for sure: It gets worse.

And the best thing of all: Next year she'll be in middle school.

5th Grade Band

Our younger daughter has started to play the flute. Last night the 5th grade Band (after only three months of meeting three times a week) played a concert to demonstrate what they have done so far. It is a band filled with trumpets, clarinets and trombones, and seven intrepid flutes.

Many of the kids took the opportunity to play a solo, duet or trio from their lessons, ranging from current songs to working ahead in the book. From the back of the book, here's our #2 playing "Ode To Joy" as a round:

Maisie Dobbs

I got a copy of the novel, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, for Christmas. I have only just started it, but I am already captivated. I am so excited by this book that I am going to participate in an online read-along run by Book Club Girl on her website.

The daughter of a struggling greengrocer, Maisie Dobbs is only 13 when she's sent to work in the house of the wealthy Lady Rowan Compton. A voracious reader who longs to learn, she is discovered late one night reading in the library. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she discovers that her thirst for education is to be supported by Lady Rowan and a family friend, Dr. Maurice Blanche. But The Great War intervenes in Maisie's plans, and soon after commencement of her studies at Girton College, Cambridge, Maisie enlists for nursing service overseas.


Years later, in 1929, having apprenticed to the renowned Maurice Blanche, a man revered for his work with Scotland Yard, Maisie sets up her own business. Her first assignment, a seemingly tedious inquiry involving a case of suspected infidelity, takes her not only on the trail of a killer, but back to the war she had tried so hard to forget.

I am looking forward to this read-along. If you're interested, there is still time to get involved, because questions don't start until Jan. 14.

New Year's Day 2011

Back in 1982, 2000 seemed a lifetime away, let alone 2011. I was young, good looking, single, and happy about all of it.

I mention 1982 because I just got the long-awaited DVD set of "Tales of the Gold Monkey," the best television series ever to be cancelled after one season because of politics. (The show business kind.) Back then, there were only the three major networks, and they controlled what we saw, and didn't see. If it had happened now, of course, it would have found new life on cable, and would have lasted seven years.

1982 was also the year I finally started feeling like a grownup. I turned 25, and I remember I stopped feeling like I was play-acting at being a grownup, or waiting for someone to accuse me of playing dress-up in my mother's clothes. It was the year I listened to an 18-year-old panicking because she didn't want to end up an old maid, a fate that would befall her unless she was married by 20, and laughing because she was so wrong. It was the year I decided that getting married was something you did because it made you a better person, not because it was the right thing, or the traditional thing, or the prudent thing to do. And it was the year I started to learn that being alone can be enormously gratifying.

It's 2011 now, and my life is completely different than I would have predicted (if I'd thought about it) back in 1982. But where I am now is informed by the choices I made then. And I'm very glad about it.

So, here's hoping that 2011 will be a good year, bringing challenges within our coping abilities, and joys beyond our dreams.