Ought to Review the "Decade of Oughts"

The decade has ended, and it has been a while since I have written, and it is time to begin to reflect back. While more thought is needed to really get it right, here are some preliminary thoughts that may or may not be helpful--it was that kind of deade.

We started with fear of the Millennium in the form of y2k. And while that was a bust and a false alarm, it may have given us a false sense of security and invincibility. Time soon seemed to stop as we tried to elect a President in an election that was too close to call and got decided on hanging chads, some Florida maneuvering, and a 5 to 4 Supreme Court decision.

With a pat on the back for a system that survived a hotly contested election, we tried to recover our bearings when on a clear morning we endured an awlful attack from the skies on 9-11 and we were or seemed oh so vulnerable. It was a watershed moment and the first time since the Kennedy shooting and the Iran hostages that we and the so-called greatest country in the world seemed so open to attack. We wondered why we did not see it coming and searched for answers.

Katrina and the slow response to it just confirmed that we did not have our act together yet. But things settled down as we responded and slowly rebuilt New Orleans, and we came together a bit, and survived better in some subsequent hurricanes. The world was hit by a tsunami that reminded us that nature could always run its unpredictable course and that we are not really in control.

But the market took off in blustering confidence as did housing new and old, and we once again felt fiscally strong and invicible, until the bubble burst and we free fell into a recession of only 1929 proportions, and there were some banker bad decisions and villains and of course there was Madoff. We slowly rebounded with the historical election of an African-American president who had to tackle so many problems, that the populace wondered if were taking on too many.

We ended as we began with a small recovery, and with "google" as our word of the decade that had no name. "Unfriending" was a key word of the last year as we turned to electronic technology for our Facebook friends, and it was a decade of failure and accomplishments, artifice and reality, and some heroes and villains. No one really owned or owned up to the decade, but President Obama did take responsibility for errors in a failed December 24 attempted plane bombing and we hoped it was a good sign. As we once again breathed a sigh of relief yet knew that we failed to detect all the clues of our vulnerability. But there was next year and the optimism that buoys us up and lets us sail on to another decade with no real name.

While our lives bobbed and weaved, some of favorite institutions for leisure time, the newspaper industry, TV, movies, and the music industry lost many of its old reliable bearings and all struggled to survive in the new decade. Jon Pareles had a good summary of the music industry in his recent Sunday article at the following web address:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/arts/music/03tech.html?adxnnl=1&hpw=&adxnnlx=1262531186-lsC6H8du8UXNqY3ItRaevg

But more to come on the music and other industries...

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

It is now Thanksgiving 2009 and it has awhile since I have written. Beside doing hard and long work on education reform at the office and at home after hours, and wathcing an exciting World Series between the two clearly best teams, I attended, in early November, a few great musical events within an extended week. The events were led by the great Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Verizon Center (energetic and interactive hard driving songs working well with a lively audience) performing the Born To Run album and other bread and butter anthems of working class America; the 15 or so-members of the Arlington Symphony, performing wondrous waltzes and other danceable "pop" hits from the late 19th and early 20th Century composed by various Strausses and friends; and lastly, the topping dose of Bob Dylan performing his sly reworkings of his American songbook.

We also danced to the neotraditionalist zydeco stylings of Feufollet from Lafayette LA at Glen Echo on a beautiful November fall Sunday. Now, on to the Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends, and a visit to family in NJ. There is plenty to be thankful for.
Happy Thankgiving 2009.

Roads Not Taken

On a recent trip to California, we visited the great city life in San Fran, the winding and wonderful and sometimes foggy coastal highway, and the coastal town of Santa Monica that proclaims its non-east life style. We had the pleasure of reuniting with several people from whom we drifted apart over forty years, and made a pilgrimage to Dodgers' Stadium, the non-Brooklyn home of the ballteam of my childhood--only the announcer and part of the uniform had stayed the same.

The star of the trip was a very hospitable cousin who made the last part of the trip warm and work well. All parts of the trip were peaceful, pleasant, and enjoyable. We fit nicely into all of it and all of the past friends fit us nicely into their lives for a short time. We came back to the east richer for the times we had with the places, teams, and persons who drifted away from us--we came back with a greater appreciation of what attracts people to the West Coast.

Lessons from Last

People tend to make their judgment about a topic or person and stick with it. Gladwell would call it Blink think. I think it can be right sometimes, but it can get us into trouble, when we are not open to changing our minds.

I was reminded of this when I went to see the Nats play the Diamondbacks last night at Nats Field, and allowed for change. Earlier in the season, I had silently been boycotting Nats games, because of their poor play in the basics of the game. It was the longest I had gone into the season without seeing a major league baseball game.

I liked Manny Acta, the Nats manager, for his easygoing nature. I thought he might be good for the mix of young and older players, even though I did not think he made good strategic moves in the game situations. But under Acta, the less than mediocre Nats made many silly errors, and often missed or forgot hitting the cut off man. They would get down five or more runs and just seem to give up and lose ground, rather than fight back.

I could not bring myself to attend the loud mouth spectacle that has become live MLB baseball with all of the noisy and artificial cheer leading that goes on at today's high-def stadium. That is, I would not face it live until the level of the game got up to MLB standards.

Although I did not think that Acta was the real cause of the problems and should not take the fall for the poor team play, I was not really unhappy when the managerial change was made. Acta seemed to be an unnecessary sacrifice, but maybe some good would come out of it.

After interim manager Riggleman lost his four games and won one, I decided to be open to a change in the Nats fortunes and their state of play, and go to a game. But it was just like the earlier part of season. It was the opening game of a series with the Mets. The Mets were riddled with injuries, and their lineup was a patchwork of minor leaguers and well-travelled, itinerant veterans. The quality of the game was a disaster for even a pair of Triple AAA league teams. The fact that we sprung for seats right behind the Nats dugout, just made the experience that much closer and worse. Baseball is a business I am constantly reminded, but if this were a product I would get my money back.

Two weeks passed, and the Nats had won six in a row and in a few games, had even fought back from being down five or more runs to win. Maybe they had changed and it was safe to attend a game again. They were facing Haren (with a dominant 2.40 ERA or so) with Mock (with a 6.61 ERA). Could they beat those odds?

They could and did by a convincing 5-2. They got out to a one-run lead, and then let Arizona get ahead on a Reynolds two-run homer. But this was not the Nats of just a couple of weeks ago. They came right back with 3 runs and never looked back. Their quality of play was also outstanding in the field. Zimmerman made three Web Gem-level plays, and they all executed the basics perfectly--covering the right bases, hitting the cut off men, and doing all that a team should do and more.

So, what had changed? It was almost the same lineup with a little less, losing Nick Johnson to a late-season trade. So was it the no-nonsense interim manager? And were the players, embarrassed for how they contributed to the demise of nice-guy Manny?

Whatever it was, baseball seemed to be teaching me a few lessons of life--people deserve more chances; you can motivate and teach old players old tricks; do not stick to first impressions. It may also be teaching me that Leo Durocher may have had it right--Nice guys, unless they can be tough at times, will finish last.

DC Summer Cool and Passing

It is a beautiful DC summer; it is very cool, not the usual hot or muggy. It is very civilized on the one hand, but another DC institution of our less partisan politics past is closing. Trover Book Shop, a 50+ year institution on Capital Hill is nearing its end. We tune into the DC Examiner, already in progress:

David Aime, a retiree from Springfield, was doing research at the Library of Congress, when he stepped into Trover, purchased a chocolate bar and browsed the shelves. For him, the closing of the family-owned business marked "a blow to civilization."

"It just breaks my heart to see a small bookstore go down the tubes," he said.

According to Andy Shuman, [one of the owner of the family business] business at the store took a turn for the worse two years ago when a fire at a neighboring bar, the Capitol Lounge, caused a half-million dollars in damage to the Trover card shop, which was just three doors from the bookstore. The losses were so extensive they closed the card shop and combined its merchandise with the bookstore. Now, with the economy in a slump and online booksellers chipping away at the customer base, Shuman says the store's time is up.

"We don't want to see it go, but unfortunately with the way the industry's going and other stores closing, we'd rather be on our own terms than someone else's terms," he said. The brothers wanted to avoid bankruptcy and pay off their bills "so we can walk away with our heads held high instead of with our heads between our legs."

The full story is at: http://www.examiner.com/a-2113926~DC_book_lovers_mourn_loss_of_Trover_Shop_on_Hill.html

On their web site the shop still advertises, that, under one roof, they can help with the latest directory to Congress, the hot, new bookby Senator What's His Name, that sizzling article in your favorite (or not so favorite magazine,newspapers from across the country, and guides to lobbying, fundraising or the upcoming elections.

I used to go there for interesting magazines, books and out-of-town newspapers. The knowledgeable committed people at Trover seemed like another branch of government, in the shadow of the Capital, designed to ensure public knowledge and input. We lose a family business and an independent bookstore--two threatened institutions. Is DC life better off with so much easily available online? There are pluses and minuses and no one appears to be the villain. But are we losing some of our heart and soul?

In their own words, they sum it up and say goodbye:

Dear Trover Shop Friends,

It is with great sadness that we inform you of our plans to close our Capitol Hill location, but given the current economic climate and the changes in our industry we are faced with no other viable option.

We would like to thank our parents, Joe and Anne Shuman, who worked tirelessly for decades to grow this business. They not only enjoyed watching us grow within these walls, but had the great fortune to watch many of you come through these doors as children, as young adults and finally as parents.

We, ourselves, have now worked full time for a quarter of a century. In that time we have watched your families grow as our parents did, and we hope that we have served you well.

To those of you who have been with us over the years, please know that we have truly appreciated all of your support and friendship. Capitol Hill is one of the most remarkable places in the world to both live and work, and we have been fortunate to be a part of it for over 50 years. We hope that the Trover Shop has been a source of support, fun times, fond memories and a wealth of knowledge to this community and we will miss serving you. Thank you.

Fondly,

Al, Steve & Andy Shuman

Roger Wilco Over and In

The night was beautiful, the lawn was filled and the air above was a crisp summer sky blue. It was a huge sold out crowd (cars spilling out the parking lot into surrounding areas) for Wilco and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band at Wolf Trap last Wednesday. It had to be one of the best and noisiest rock shows at Wolf Trap.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band opened as the sunlight silently fled over the green hillside, offering up a mix of part mock serious and part light. The pleasant-enough paste of many-themed, rootsy country-rock had one notable couple blocking the view while they danced away.

Wilco took to the stage and suddenly the wooden spaces filled in with a wave of cheering humanity that rose and never sat again, as the group opened with the title track ("Wilco," the Song) from their latest studio effort, Wilco (the Album). Cheers followed with favorite "Shot in the Arm" where many sang along repeatedly with the lines "Something in my veins, bloodier than blood!"

The show become one part intimate and upbeat Jeff Tweedy, and one part skilled and showoffy riffs of string-jointed, lead guitarist Nels Cline on "At Least That's What You Said" and new album jam "Bull Black Nova," which reverberated through the surrounding woods of darkness. Favorite 'You Are My Face' followed and led easily into "I'm Trying to Break Your Heart" and "One Wing."

Tweedy then took the crowd aside and promised “the most requested song in the history of our Web site”--36 votes, and delivered a quiet "How to Fight Loneliness." This led to the melodic "Impossible Germany" that suddenly filled easily with heroic Cline riffs before the newer "Deeper Down," and fan favorites "Jesus Etc,"' "Sonny Feeling," "Handshake Drugs," "Hate it Here" and "Walken." Wilco closed out the set with "I'm the Man Who Loves You" and "Hummingbird," and left briefly to a cheering throng of several thousand happy fans.

After a very quick break, the band began to throw out as much musical bouquets as possible to the enthusiastic crowd before the curfew came. The band played the new "You Never Know" "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "Misunderstood." A strum and drum "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" followed by "I'm a Wheel" ended the night on the right note.

Tweedy proudly announced “[t]he last time we played here was nine years ago...we were opening for Natalie Merchant.” Time has flown by and Wilco has grown up into a very skilled band with many dedicated fans who enjoy the large catalogue of interesting Wilco songs. Wilco and the fans were a pleasant force on a fantastic summer night.

Dark Moon Over a Perky Storm

The perky star of 50's TV, Gale Storm, died at age 87. She was one of the early stars who went from radio to movies, to radio again, to television, and ultimately to rock 'n roll.

The roles she played in TV--Margie Albright, daughter of a wealthy playboy investment banker in the television situation comedy "My Little Margie" and Susanna Pomeroy, social director of the S.S. Ocean Queen in "The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna"--displayed her as a woman very much in control of the male characters in her life, and in control of her life well before women's liberation. Margie was her own person and did her own thing long before TV or society blessed this role for a woman.

In each episode, no matter what her father, Vern, (who tried to reign her in, in the same way he tried to run his business) and hapless boy friend Freddie wanted or expected her to do, Margie plotted her own course and that of her male counterparts. She had some similarities to the quirky lead characters in "I Married Joan" and "I Love Lucy," but Margie and Susanna were more in control. Her characters were fine role models for children growing up in the 50's. Ironically, "Margie" started as a summer replacement for the wildly popular "I Love Lucy," and in 1953 a poll listed Storm as television's most popular star following comedienne Lucille Ball. Margie usually had the last laugh, and we laughed with her.

Gale Storm was one of the earliest television stars to crossover to rock with her cover record of Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knocking," which hit No. 2 on the Billboard charts, followed in 1957 by "Dark Moon" that went to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. I have many pleasant memories of Margie and Susanna, and Gale Storm's hit records.

As the media pores over the talent and excesses of the immensely gifted Michael Jackson, another trailblazer passes on with little notice.