#727 – Dick Bernard: The Disastrous 2012-13 Minnesota Orchestra Season. A subscribers view.

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Note comments as received which are included at the end of this post, and as Responses.
Prior Post: here
Musicians website here.
Tonight, June 1, was supposed to be our last concert for the 2012-13 season of the Minnesota Orchestra (MO).
Yesterday, May 31, I went down to view the under-construction area at Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis. Here are three photos:
(click to enlarge photos)

The vision of the building. I was most struck by the police sign on the fence surrounding the illustration.

The vision of the building. I was most struck by the police sign on the fence surrounding the illustration.


The north end of the hall, the under construction new lobby would be to the left.

The north end of the hall, the under construction new lobby would be to the left.


Orchestra Hall from 11th Street. The sidewalk immediately in front of the hall has no holes for "sidewalk superintendents" and security is tight.

Orchestra Hall from 11th Street. The sidewalk immediately in front of the hall has no holes for “sidewalk superintendents” and security appears tight.


Of course, there is no concert tonight. The entire season was cancelled, bit by bit, over the last eight months. The Orchestra was locked out, as was, to little apparent notice, everyone of us who normally fill the auditorium seats.
There have been occasional appearances by the LoMoMo (Locked Out Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra). We were privileged to attend the first one October 18, 2012.
Earlier this week I submitted a perspective on the Lockout to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It was apparently declined. My proposed column is found following the photo of the tickets (below).
I don’t feel as moderate as my commentary suggests.
Seeing angry comments in print in Minneapolis’ major paper was unlikely as this lockout has been and remains a “mover and shaker” issue, and my criticism would be of the “movers and shakers” who make up the invisible Board of the Orchestra, and by extension the downtown Minneapolis and Hennepin County Power Structure. (One of those invisible MO Board members is the Publisher and CEO of the Star Tribune.)
These 80 or so MO Board members are the folks who decided to authorize and to continue the Lock Out. (A lockout is simply a management version of a Strike.)
This management strategy has failed, resulting in an entire season destroyed, and the future is very uncertain.
Revisiting my long career in collective bargaining, I cannot recall, ever, as incompetent a bunch as this Minnesota Orchestra Board when it comes to the most basic of customer relations.
This very large Board seems to have no sense whatsoever about, or no interest in, its real base, we people who pay to come to hear and appreciate outstanding music performance.
The MO Boards apparent devotion is to its immense endowment (investments), and new lobby. Both are useless without an orchestra to showcase world class music, and an audience to appreciate it.
In struggling for an analogy that might give context to non-MO readers of the proposed article (below), I finally compared the 2012-13 fiasco to a theoretical similar scenario in a small school district somewhere in the metropolitan area. How would the community accept a decision to close the schools for an entire year made by a faceless School Board unelected by the public and thus unaccountable to the community?
Not well, I reckon.
Would what happened in that single school district impact on the other communities?
Ubetcha. Communities, even large ones, do not live in isolation from one another.
Over the months it has occurred to me, a long-time subscriber, that I wouldn’t recognize any current Board member if I ran into them on the street or, for that matter, at Orchestra Hall. They may as well be anonymous.
It is unlikely that there will ever be admissions that any mistakes, even small ones, were made by the large MO Board. The “wagons are in a circle”. But it was the Orchestra management who created this lockout, and thought it could force capitulation by its musicians.
I congratulate the musicians.
There will be a settlement, sometime.
Whether there will be a recovery is another question.
We ordinary folks, one by one, need to find our voice and act in the many ways that we can to save this Orchestra. It is not enough to blame, or say we can do nothing. We need to act.
Tickets to the last scheduled concert for the 2012-13 season of Minnesota Orchestra. Like all the other concerts, this concert was cancelled due to the lockout.

Tickets to the last scheduled concert for the 2012-13 season of Minnesota Orchestra. Like all the other concerts, this concert was cancelled due to the lockout.


The submission to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 29, 2013:
June 1 is our last Minnesota Orchestra Concert of the 2012-13 season: Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” plus other pieces.
We’ll do as usual: come in from Woodbury, attend afternoon Mass at our Church, Basilica; have a light dinner at the Hilton Saturday evening….
That’s been our pattern this year, as it has been for many years: six concerts (plus occasional other miscellaneous programs at Orchestra Hall); seats in Row 4, directly behind maestro Osmo Vanska’s stand. Good seats.
Oh…I just woke up.
That June 1 concert I mention was cancelled a few weeks ago, and before that, the 5th program; and before that the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st.
This year our tickets were to be at the Minneapolis Civic Center auditorium while they built a new lobby at Orchestra Hall.
But we and our colleague concert goers (some might say “customers”) were Locked Out an entire season by the management of the Minnesota Orchestra, and we’re supposed to believe the narrative that it is the Musicians Union who are at fault.
We know better.
My file labeled “MN Orch 2012-2013” keeps growing.
Minnesota Orchestra is more than just an Orchestra – it is a world-class Orchestra.
But most people in this metropolitan area probably don’t much care about what is happening down at 11th and Nicollet Avenue.
As I’ve witnessed the destruction of the season this year, I’ve tried to put this unique community of MnOrch in some understandable perspective, if only for myself.
What does this disaster mean to our metro area and to our state?
Imagine a school district with about 150 teachers, whose School Board simply shuts down the entire system for an entire year, then blames the teachers union for the shutdown. What about the students and their parents, who are the customers? [edit June 1, 2013: I think the actual Orchestra – the Union – was less than 100 when this lockout began, and has already shrunk considerably as members leave for other places.]
That’s a reasonable comparison.
Full disclosure: I spent 27 years full-time in and around collective bargaining in Minnesota. It was my career. My colleagues and I managed in many assorted ways negotiations and administration of literally thousands of Minnesota school district labor contracts.
I thought we saw it all, one time or another.
Never in my experience, or in “war stories” we shared, have I heard anything similar to this wreckage of my Orchestra by faceless people – the Orchestral Association Board – none who I’d recognize if I ran into them on the street, anywhere.
Months ago, I wrote each of them – over 80 – a real letter, with stamped envelope, sent to the only address I had: Orchestra Hall.
Not one sent so much as an acknowledgement.
Quite often in my own personal experience with collective bargaining there were bruised egos and even, on very infrequent occasions, a strike, though never anything even remotely approaching the length of this lockout.
Bargaining is not a simple conversation, where one side dictates the answer.
But always there was a settlement. Seldom were there strikes preceding; never were there lockouts.
At some point – maybe tomorrow – there will be a settlement to end the Minnesota Orchestra disaster of 2012-13.
Will we be back in our prime seats whenever the settlement happens?
If it’s up to me, I’ll be back only if the musicians through their union ask us to return.
We don’t go to hear the Management, or to sip wine in a fancy lobby; we go for the Orchestra.
There will be no Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” on Saturday night.
The movers and shakers of this state best get their act together and settle this conflict. The reputation of our community is damaged.
Downtown Minneapolis MN from Orchestra Hall May 31, 2013

Downtown Minneapolis MN from Orchestra Hall May 31, 2013


From Alan, June 2, 2013: I just cannot believe how disrespectful this board is towards their musicians and their patrons. I cannot believe that they have any understanding about what these musicians go through to get to the level so that they can perform in the blind auditions and get acceptance to be hired at that level.
What kind of management would spend 50 million dollars to improve their plant, Orchestra Hall, which I believe is the most pathetic building that houses a major orchestra in any city in the country for a city of our size. Over 10 % of the seats cannot see the entire stage. On the third tier, close to the stage, you have at the most a 20 to 25% view of the stage, and the sound there is pathetic.
The building should have been built like the Ordway, not as deep and twice as wide so that every seat in the auditorium would have a straight on view of the magnificent orchestra that we used to enjoy. The plaza could have been designed to be in the rear of the building. After this building was built, and it was discovered that all of the seating did not have a complete view of the stage, the words architectural blunder appeared in the paper just once, and then never again.
4th row is great seats. We used to have seats in the center section on the left aisle in that row for many years. I myself never went to hear music, but to watch music being made. That location allowed me, if there was a pianist, to see his or her hands on the keyboard.
My own daughter performed as a sub (violist) with that orchestra when Leonard Slatkin was the conductor. One of the letters stated that only 52% of the seats are filled for concerts, Are they blaming their marketing shortcomings on the orchestra members? It appears that to me.
Cancelled Concert Nov. 30, 2012. This was a special event including our 83 year old friend, and his friend.

Cancelled Concert Nov. 30, 2012. This was a special event including our 83 year old friend, and his friend.


from John, June 4, 2013:
Beginning last September when I got first word of this lockout I have been
“on this case.” Likely you have the MOMO website, and there you can see
among “replies” my letters there. From the outset of this mismanagement’s
lockout it has been clear that they own no loyalty to our musicians and to
Osmo Vanska. For me this string of lockout cancellations has been one of
the major disappointments of a life that has been, since my mother’s
teaching of music, altogether fascinated by the world of classical music.
Anger about this is mine as well. I am also fully embarrassed by the
inaction of the powers that be, including our governor whose former wife has
been such a loyal supporter of the MO.
From the start the faceless Board has aimed to destroy the musicians’ union.
Years ago I served on the Board of the Inter-Faculty organization, a
thoroughly weak representative of faculty on the then-seven campuses of the
Minnesota State University System, and I have seen mismanagement in church
settings as well. Dick, the barbarians are storming our gates. Perhaps not
even the group of attorneys that I have repeatedly invoked, could turn
around this situation.
In any case, there is no publicly visible effort to
do that. Not only are we losing our Minnesota Orchestra as we have known it
under Osmo Vanska superb world-class leadership as Music Director. We are
also witnessing another terrible blow against unions and workers’ necessary
right to organize for their own right to exist.
Many thanks for your outrage and its effective expression, John

#725 – Dick Bernard: Sheroes

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May 20 a massive tornado devastated Moore OK. Two elementary schools were in the path of the tornado, and in the wake of the storm the heroism of school employees in shielding their children was deservedly high-lited. The same thing occurred in the wake of the horrific Newtown CT carnage in December, 2012. There, too, teachers who were killed by the assailant gave their lives protecting their charges.
“Weren’t nuthin”, they might all say in unison. In times of crisis one of the natural human emotions – to protect the more vulnerable – kicked in. Oh, they could have fled, too, but they didn’t. Because these were elementary schools, and elementary school teachers are ordinarily mostly female, the heroes were women. And they were deservedly celebrated for their heroism.
A few days prior to the Moore tragedy I had been to Coon Rapids for the annual Recognition Dinner of the Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota, the union representing the teachers in Minnesota’s largest school district. I had been part of Anoka-Hennepin from 1965-82, both as teacher and as union staff; and since 1999 the union has always had its annual event, which I try to attend every year.
The dinner is a brief interlude in a long year to celebrate the good people who stand up and stand out in their commitment to their colleagues and to public education generally. It is always uplifting.
This May 15, one of the first people I ran into was Joan Gamble, a lady I had first met in the mid-1960s when we both taught Junior High School in Blaine.
Joan and I didn’t know each other well; she taught 7th grade Life Science, and I, 8th grade geography.
But schools are their own communities and in assorted ways people become familiar.
Joan hadn’t been to many of these annual Union gatherings, so it was a good chance to catch up, and we sat together at the same table.
Dinner over, the program began and President Julie Blaha announced that there were, this year, three recipients for the “Lifetime Achievement Award”, an annual award given to people who have made a difference. The names were not on the program.
The first Award was granted, then the Second.
The third Award was, the President announced, to Joan Gamble, the lady seated to my right.
(click to enlarge)

Joan Gamble, May 15, 2013

Joan Gamble, May 15, 2013


Joan, Julie announced, was the first woman to be President of the Anoka-Hennepin Education Association back in 1975-76, and it was during her active time in the Association that women everywhere were standing up for their rights: little things like maternity leave, etc., etc., etc. It was not a kind and gentle time. To change the status quo is never easy. The task to fell to quiet, powerful witnesses, like Joan, who did the work of making a difference.
Gentle, quiet Joan Gamble, who I knew both as classroom teacher, and as Association President and active Association member back in the 60s and 70s, was finally being recognized for being the “shero” that she was – blazing a trail for other females, including Julie Blaha.
Sitting at the table I looked at the list of other retirees like myself who were in attendance May 15. There were numerous other women who in various ways had “stepped up to the plate” when hard things needed doing, and they did them: People like Darlene Aragon, Dee Buth, Linda Den Bleyker, Sue Evert, Betty Funk, Kathy Garvey, Julie Jagusch, Vick Klaers, Sandy Longfellow, Kathryn Pierce, Linda Riihiluoma, Laura Schommer, Kathleen Sekhon, Sandy Skaar, and Kathy Tveit.
There were men on the list too, of course, slightly less than half.
But this was a day to celebrate the positive accomplishment of women, following in the difficult footsteps of many other women in history who said “it’s time for a change”.
It was great seeing you Joan, and all.
Again, Congratulations.
Mark McNab, Vicki Klaers, and Joan Gamble, lifetime achievement awards May 15, 2013

Mark McNab, Vicki Klaers, and Joan Gamble, lifetime achievement awards May 15, 2013

#724 – Dick Bernard: Memorial Day

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U.S. flag at Hennepin County Government Center, May 7, 2013

U.S. flag at Hennepin County Government Center, May 7, 2013


“I decided to ask about the flag. The first person, a receptionist answering the phone, had no idea why the flag was there; the person to which I was first referred had no idea either. The third person I talked to said the flag had been there for years, and had been put up in the wake of 9-11-01: “they had to do something“, she said.”
Memorial Day is an important day for me. I almost always participate in some way. For the last ten years or so, you can find me at the grassy area adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial on the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul (9:30 this morning). Normally there will be about 50-100 there; the original organizer and many of the participants are Vietnam War vets (I’m a Vietnam era Army vet – I didn’t realize that at the time, 1962-63, but I was). The sponsoring organization is Veterans for Peace, a group I’ve long belonged to for many years.
This morning will be a somber, gentle time. There’s “open mike”, and almost certainly someone will pop up to defend war, and we’ll listen respectfully.
It’s that kind of bunch.
Almost certainly, a few feet away from our site, right after we adjourn, the more military remembrance of Memorial Day will take place, uniforms, martial music and the like. This is also a tradition.
The observances are the same, but very separate, marking unity and disunity….
Over 100 miles north of here at Big Sandy Lake, today, my 92-year old friend, Lynn Elling. and his family will dedicate a place for the ashes of his beloved spouse of 68 years, Donna. Donna died last June, and it was a family decision to bury her ashes on this weekend, near their lake cabin.
Lynn, a Naval officer in the Pacific in both WWII and the Korean War, became and remains a lion for Peace, becoming a regular protestor during the Vietnam War and a very large presence for alternatives to War, especially related to Law Day May 1, and Peace Sites. Perhaps a culminating event for him was two weeks in Vietnam last month, with the Vietnamese orphan he and Donna adopted from My Tho Orphanage in 1973. Tod, now 43, went on this grueling excursion with his Dad, April 15-30. It was something Lynn seemed compelled to do, this year. Some of his words about the trip are written at the end of this post.
My memories of war past are quite vivid also. Quite often I remember one or another.
Most recently May 4, 2013, the first Memorial Day I remember came to mind. It was on the grounds of Sykeston ND High School, and it was Memorial Day, 1946. I remember it as a six year old. Others there would remember it differently, including my Dad, whose brother was killed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941; or my Uncle George, my Mom’s brother, who had just months earlier returned from three years as a Naval officer in the Pacific, and taught in the high school.
There were the wooden crosses on the ground, and the traditional rifle salute. It was a never-to-be forgotten memory.
And another memory, 36 years later, November, 1982, when by chance I happened to be at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington on the weekend it was dedicated: Bernard card 1982001
That, too, is never to be forgotten.
So it goes. I could add more memories. So could you.
But the conversation needs to go on about what it is we are considering or remembering or celebrating or whatever we are doing this Memorial Day.
This is a prime time to enter, and not leave, an essential conversation of what we are about as a nation: are we a place permanently gripped by fear of possible “terror”; or are we a nation working together towards a time of peace.
If you’ve got some time, here’s a long post I read just this morning which may help bring the debate into focus. It is long, but sometimes long items are useful.
Terror, and it’s first cousins Fear and Loathing, are useful emotional hooks on which to hang the argument for perpetual war.
I think there’s a better way. Indeed, there has to be a better way, otherwise we cease to exist.
Make this Memorial Day a Memorable Day.
ADDENDA:
Some of Lynn Elling’s memories of the trip of he and his son, Tod, to Vietnam, April 15-30, 2013:
The trip that Tod and I took to Vietnam April 15-30 was an incredibly wonderful experience for both of us. The local hardware store owner, Jim Logan, lo and behold, made all of the arrangements including round trip tickets, hotel reservations, etc etc, once we knew what our basic plans were.
We took off from the Minneapolis airport on the 15th and landed in Chicago. There we had a 2 1/2 hour layover and when it was time to head for the gate the captain of our plane identified me and escorted us right ahead of everyone so we were the first to board the plane. The reason for this was that I had written to the CEO of United Airlines and told him our story, which was referred to one of his lieutenants. We were treated royally by UA during more of the flights with them.
We had a 5 hour layover in Hong Kong and got into Vietnam in the middle of the night on the 16th. The hotel was modest but very nice. Very few people, even at the hotel, could speak English but we got along okay.
We ate most of our breakfasts and some of the dinners across the street at the hotel over there–great food and more people who could speak English.
After visiting several key areas in Ho Chi Minh City, which were very impressive, we checked out after 5 days and headed south to My Tho with a cab driver that could speak English. The trip lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Again the hotel was nice and the food was good. After two days of exploring we found the Catholic Church, school and former orphanage that Tod stayed in for his first three years. The Mother Superior and two other nuns provided great hospitality and we had the opportunity to visit several classrooms. The kids went wild over Tod, sang songs and we very friendly though they only spoke Vietnamese.
In most of the areas that we visited they have very few stop signs and the traffic involved motor scooters and bikes going quite fast and carrying a number of people–even small children and babies. In order to cross the street I would hold Tod’s arm and we would start walking very slowly. We never had any problems or witnessed and accidents because they were all very careful not to come too close to us. It was a fantastic experience.
One day we went by boat out to an island in the bay and there went ashore, had refreshments and walked about 2 blocks through the jungle in the rain. We finally came to another boat landing with long, narrow canoes that had seats only about 7 inches from the hull. Can you imagine me trying to get down the stairs and finally sitting down in this boat without falling in the river? I was ready to call it off but Tod said, “Dad, you’re okay. I will help you along.” So I started down the slippery slope, wondering if that might be the end of our trip, but I made it. We took off with 3 other passengers and a female paddler in the front and a male paddler in the back. We went through the jungle and expected to see crocodiles and other wildlife. This is where the Americans fought the Vietnamese during the war and the Vietnamese had a substantial edge. Again, this was a great experience.
UPDATE 11:30 a.m. May 27
Veterans for Peace at Minnesota Vietnam Memorial
(click to enlarge)
Barry Riesch at 2013 Veterans for Peace gathering at MN Vietnam Memorial.

Barry Riesch at 2013 Veterans for Peace gathering at MN Vietnam Memorial.


Memorial organizer Barry Riesch set out to lower our expectations this morning. This and that hadn’t worked out: no musicians, guy who was going to set up the sound system hadn’t showed, etc.
I’ve been to a lot of these gatherings. Each year they’ve been better, and this year was the most outstanding one yet. Sometimes that’s how failures go….
Perhaps, tonight on Twin Cities KARE-11 news, you’ll see a snippet from the event. A cameraman spent a lot of time with us today.
Becky Lourey, whose son Matthew died in Iraq eight years ago yesterday, spoke incredibly movingly about her son and survival. During her talk she mentioned going through his duffle bags, sent home to his widow, and finding his poncho, which she took out of a ruck-sack and wore during much of her talk. She shared with all of us a recent e-mail regarding her son, sent to another of her sons. It speaks for itself: Lourey Mem Day 2013001 The website is here.
Becky Lourey May 27, 2013

Becky Lourey May 27, 2013


The event closed, as it always has, with a solitary bagpiper walking into the distance playing “Amazing Grace”.
I thought, how appropriate a time to start changing the conversation. But how difficult that will be.
In our culture, to change conversation has come to mean to win, which means someone else has to lose.
You don’t change a conversation by planting feet righteously in cement, but actually listening.
Are we up to the task?
Close of todays Memorial

Close of todays Memorial


Postnote: There was no dissenting voice today, had there been he/she would have been welcome to speak. The usual event which followed Vets for Peace didn’t happen this year. Likely it was at some other place.

#719 – Dick Bernard: A Right long denied, finally granted.

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Back in 2000, my college, Valley City State University, endeavored to publish an Alumni Directory. To my knowledge, this was a first time venture for our institution, and when the opportunity to participate came, I, and a lot of other folks took the risk of spending a few dollars, and revealing a little bit about ourselves.
I had been nearly 40 years out of college when the Directory came, and I had rarely been back. I looked through the index for names I recognized, and one of them was my college roommate for three years at “STC”. His was a terse descriptor: he was a Media Specialist (librarian) in a large urban high school. His listing did not include spouse or children (a common addition), but did include an e-mail address.
We made contact, and at some point along the way, we met for lunch.
Our single meeting was one of those “long ago and far away” kinds of conversations…yes, we had shared a college dorm room for three years those long years earlier, but we had come to the college as strangers, and while we got along well (I think), and participated in some of the same kinds of things, after college we went our separate ways.
I don’t recall that we got into the nitty gritty of personal lives at that lunch, but at some point along the way, my roomie mentioned his “partner”. It was not till then that I had an inkling that my roomie was gay. That made no difference to me. He was then, and obviously now as well, a good guy and I was simply glad to have become reacquainted.
Fast forward to 2012, and the second edition of the VCSU Alumni Directory. Another risk, taken.
Presently the volume came, and this one included more personal information IF one so elected. Quite a number of us went into quite a bit of detail in the 2012 volume, including my college room-mate from 1958-61.
In relevant part this retiree said this about his personal life: “… I’m in a 29 year old relationship with my partner, Sam. When Sam retires, we are moving to the farm. No, actually a real farm…you know, chickens, ducks, geese, cows and stuff. Don’t ask what it too to talk me into this. My best wishes to all….”
I’ve not seen Dick since that one meeting some years ago, and I’ve never met Sam, but hope to. Dick and I are in touch on occasion by e-mail.
There are many other thoughts about others I’ve known which I might share, but I’m making this Dick and Sam’s day.
My thoughts are with my college roommate and his partner today, more so than most, since the Minnesota Governor has signed into law new legislation that appears to give gay couples the rights that straight couples have always had.
Something that seemed impossible a year ago has now come to fruition.
I don’t know enough about the details of the new law to comment on it, but I am absolutely delighted that it passed and was signed.
What made the difference between ten years ago, last year and now?
In my opinion, it was the gay population “coming out”, everywhere.
It had to be a horribly difficult first step for most, but it was the absolutely essential first step.
Once family members, and co-workers, and friends, and fellow parishioners and others in our many “circles” found out that that the fine person they knew was gay, they could accept him or her as no different than they were – another human being with feelings and rights to express those feelings, and not to be discriminated against because of sexual preference.
We all can learn a powerful lesson from seeing what happened when people got their voices and spoke up.
My guess is this change is a permanent one, and it won’t be long before people wonder why we waited so long….

#718 – Dick Bernard: Flowers at the Ramsey County Workhouse

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A couple of years ago, Kellee, who is one of my favorite (tongue firmly in cheek) “bloodletters” at the Woodbury branch of Memorial Blood Centers, told me about the spring time flower sale at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility at Lower Afton and Century Ave in nearby Maplewood, a couple of miles south of 3M world headquarters. We went over the next day and bought Mother’s Day flowers for our gang.
It was a great decision, and each year it’s becoming a tradition. Today we went over again, and if you’re still looking for some nice posies at a very affordable (and partially tax-deductible) cost, check them out.
(click to enlarge)
Flower sale001
There’s nothing dramatic to this story.
Yes, the helpers are inmates, as polite and respectful as any you’d find in your usual retail outlet. Yes, they’re doing time for something or other. But no matter, they’re somebodies child and this is mothers day weekend. They made some mistake, and maybe the sentence will change their life….
And the flowers are, well, flowers, nicely put together, as in any greenhouse.
I haven’t inquired about the story behind this small treasure in our midst. There’s time to do that.
We’ve not regretted making purchases there…and now we notice that they’re going to do a fall season as well.
To our mind, it’s win all-around.
If you’re in the area, stop over, if for no other reason than to look around.

May 10, 2013

May 10, 2013


IMG_1276
May 10, 2013, Greenhouses at Ramsey County Correctional facility

May 10, 2013, Greenhouses at Ramsey County Correctional facility


We give the big commercial establishments plenty of business. Once or twice a year at the Workhouse is very much worthwhile.

#715 – Dick Bernard: On growing Elder.

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This afternoon, at the annual Heart of the Beast May Day Parade, the obvious salute at the end of the regular parade was to “Grandmas and Grandpas”
(Click on photos to enlarge them)

Near end of May Day/Cinco de Mayo Parade, south Minneapolis, May 5, 2013

Near end of May Day/Cinco de Mayo Parade, south Minneapolis, May 5, 2013


A Grandpa (at left) and a Grandma honor the May Day Parade as it nears its end, May 5, 2013

A Grandpa (at left, partially obscured by a lady) and a Grandma are honored by, and honor, the Minneapolis May Day Parade as it nears its end, May 5, 2013

.
It was an especially nice, and particularly pertinent, touch to a topic that has been much on my mind in recent days, but has been on my thought screen for many years: how elders fit in (or not) in our contemporary American society.
In the last week or two I’d been concentrating on a long remembrance of past days at tiny Sykeston ND High School: the place I had graduated from in May, 1958.
Among many other memories, it occurred to me that at the time of my high school graduation 55 years ago, my Dad and Mother – he was the Superintendent and one of my teachers – were 50 and 48 years old respectively.
My oldest son is now 49. And my parents seemed plenty old, back then in May, 1958.
Then in mid-week last week, more or less impromptu, I had something to do with a gathering on Law Day, May 1, which by design celebrated several Elders, most over 90, all of whom had been prominent in their working lives, and now are part of the huge category called “who’s he?”, or “she?”.
In conversing with one of them – a man I scarcely knew before April, 2013 – I had occasion to remember a workshop from 1998, which became my Christmas card in 2000.
The topic was “Canyon of 60 Abandon”. The card is brief and can be read here: Canyon of 60 Abandon002
The premise of the Canyon story is really very simple: ours is a society which tends to discard its Elders at an arbitrary time called “retirement”. Oh, we give them things like Social Security and Medicare, but basically they’re marched off into a remote area to their old person thing, and (I suppose) hopefully leave behind a substantial financial inheritance.
The story goes on about one family who violated the society rules, and hid their Elder under their porch, ultimately to their great benefit.
In my recollection of that now-15 years ago workshop, the story-teller, Michael Meade, didn’t go into specifics about what value their Elder added to the family that benefited from his or her presence.
That is the essence of story-telling. It is left to the listeners to create the real-world basis of the story.
I’ve now been in that “Canyon of 60 Abandon” for over 13 years, and it has been a most interesting and extraordinarily enriching life experience.
There is something that the Elders possess that those younger cannot, and it is important that the Elders be valued and included and not discarded.
How our society relates to those “out to pasture” tells a great deal about us.
And it is important for us to really pay attention to these relationship questions, as we struggle, ever more, with an uncertain future, and with difficulties in inter-generational communication (think Facebook versus the face-to-face word-of-mouth) that our ancestors would have relied on not too many years ago.
Who do you know in that Canyon? How can they be more truly valued while they are living. And if you’re in that Canyon, what is important about not isolating yourself?
Can we talk?
ADDED Posts on this topic: June 7, 2013, September 1, 2013

#714 – Dick Bernard: The Youngers restore my hope.

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Today was the 10th annual Diversity Day at Jefferson High School in Bloomington MN. I’ve been to the last six. Today did not have the annual outdoor fun-run between Jefferson and rival Kennedy due to inclement weather. Snow in May is not impossible here, but it is unusual. It was unpleasant enough to force most activities indoors, but not enough to dampen spirits.
Being in the presence of enthusiastic kids is like an elixir.
It is nice to see a society of kids at their functional best.
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Rededicating Thomas Jefferson High School as a Peace Site May 3, 2013

Rededicating Thomas Jefferson High School as a Peace Site May 3, 2013


Inside, there was an alternative run around Jefferson’s ample indoor track. Everyone could participate. You can see my the smile on the young lady’s face, that she was glad she could make the rounds with the rest of the students who wished.
A special abilities student participating in the May 3 indoor run.

A special abilities student participating in the May 3 indoor run.


Out in the commons area, 42 student groups sponsored and staffed tables about their particular special interest. Damon Cermak (below) did a more than capable job of representing his Mdewakanton Sioux Indian heritage. Like most young Americans Damon has multiple ethnic heritages. His include Czech and French-Canadian, along with Native American.
Down the commons, another group of students were doing some kind of dance improv, and having a great time, a real credit to their school.
Damon Cermak tells the story of his roots.

Damon Knight tells the story of his roots.


A group of students dance in the commons area.

A group of students dance in the commons area.


Students of French display about things French.

Students of French display about things French.


World Citizen display table. (peacesites.org)

World Citizen display table. (peacesites.org)


Walking around I came across a table I had not seen in previous years.
White American table

White American table


The table was staffed by a couple of boys, and attracted a fair amount of interest from, as best as I could tell, only other boys who were curious. It was a simple table: an NRA hat, some pictures like Iwo Jima and Ronald Reagan, that sort of thing.
One of the boys had a guitar.
There was a certain irony in this new entry into this years Diversity Days conversation, I thought. Best as I could determine, the table was by and about White American Men, or at least a subset of those men who are angry and terrified of losing control to various “others”, like “minorities”, or “women” or such.
White American Men (I’m one of these) have controlled things so long, that it is hard for some of them to become part of the entire fabric that is contemporary America. This year at Jefferson they seem to have joined the other “minorities” that make up the rich American “stew” – though my guess is they didn’t perceive their new position that way.
But that “White American” table, along with the others representing other cultures and beliefs, was totally in keeping with the rich diversity that is America. White American Men are part of, not dominant over, the rest.
Before leaving I decided to go to the all-school assembly program for Diversity Day.
The speaker was Jane Elliott, 58 years married, wearing a T-shirt she says she always wears while speaking “Prejudice is an emotional commitment to ignorance.”
She’s very well known, for many years, and is a spell-binding and powerful speaker. The assassination of Martin Luther King April 4, 1968, changed her life as a third grade teacher.
A tall white man, school administrator, and a female student of African descent were her “props”, and she used them extremely effectively.
In only a few minutes she powerfully took on and effectively many stereotypes and prejudices we hold dear.
Walking out the door to the parking lot I went past the Peace Pole I had photographed earlier in the day.
The side I photo’ed had “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in Vietnamese.
It all seemed to fit.
Just a couple of days earlier, my friend Lynn Elling, who had earlier talked at the rededication at Jefferson, had returned from a two week trip to Vietnam with the Vietnamese son, Tod, who the Ellings adopted 43 years ago.
Tod is as American as any of us.
Diversity is all of us.
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#713 – Dick Bernard: Some thoughts after World Law Day, May 1, 2013

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About 40 of us gathered at the Gandhi Mahal Retaurant last evening, May 1, to Reflect On World Peace Through Law.
The event was one of those that just came together; in this case, less than three weeks. Law Day has been a part of the American tradition since at least 1958, when President Eisenhower proclaimed it, and in fact Law Day was made part of U.S. Law in 1961.
Of course, May 1 has many different emphases:
There is the annual May Day Parade in South Minneapolis, both serious and whimsical – we often attend: (This year it is Sunday May 5). I highly recommend it.
As a Catholic kid in the 1940s, I remember May Day for May Baskets, and “Mary, Queen of the May”; May Day is a long-time international Labor Day. In the Communist days in the USSR and the Soviet bloc, May Day was a day to parade out military hardware in huge parades….
I suppose someone knows exactly why President Eisenhower proclaimed Law Day for May 1, 1958. My personal speculation is that the proclamation had something to do with the successful launch of Sputnik by the USSR in October, 1957. There needed to be a counter to the Soviet May Day.
Whatever the reasons, competing themes give an opportunity to fight over what May Day is or should be…
The May 1 event I was part of was an opportunity to reflect on World Law and its relationship to Peace.
As best as I can tell “World Law Day” has been a particularly Twin Cities interpretation of Law Day (and a most relevant interpretation).
May 1, 2013 evolved into an opportunity to honor the contributions of our elders who possess much accumulated wisdom.
World Law Day was formally celebrated in Minneapolis-St. Paul from at least 1964 through 1996, and was largely the creation of several persons, including Lynn Elling. (page four of the 2013 program has a timeline: Law Day Prog May 1 2013001
David Brink (93) former President of the American Bar Association was our speaker May 1; an impromptu decision was made to call the event the “1st Annual Lynn and Donna Elling Symposium on World Peace Through Law.” Donna passed away in June, 2011, but Lynn, at 92, was there, less than 24 hours returned from two weeks in Vietnam with his adopted Vietnamese son, Tod.
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Lynn Elling May 1, 2013.

Lynn Elling May 1, 2013.


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Elder Rev. Lyle Christianson introduced Mr. Brink; Rev. Lowell Erdahl and Joe Schwartzberg, other prominent elders in the peace and justice community were in attendance, and an in-preparation film about World Citizen Garry Davis, 92, and ailing was screened after the event.
If there is to be a “2nd Annual” World Law Event on May 1, 2014 (it’s a Thursday), will depend on the interest of those who attended May 1, and others whose interest may have been stimulated by two commentaries in the May 1, Minneapolis Star Tribune. The commentaries, by Joe Schwartzberg and Jim Nelson, lay out the history and in effect the case for a continuing World Law Day.
Take the time to not only read the commentaries, but to add your own comment. And get active.
Where do you stand?
And if you’re a Twin Citian, consider giving Gandhi Mahal some of your business. They are serious about community orientation (and an excellent restaurant, too!)
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#709 – Dick Bernard: The Boston Marathon

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Yesterday morning, before 9 a.m., I was at the gym exercising at my usual place. Behind me, visible in the mirror, were two women, exercising beside each other and quite loudly chatting.
One of them mentioned to the other that her husband was in Boston, running the Marathon, checking in from time to time.
A few hours later I heard the news of the bombs at the finish line at the Marathon. This probably changed the woman’s conversation. Perhaps I’ll read in the Woodbury MN news something about this today or maybe next week…. Such is how communication goes these days. Instant and worldwide.
I got to thinking about two happenings in my own life.
Back on April 20, 1999, I was in the car on the freeway in north Minneapolis when I heard that there had been shooting at a school in Littleton, Colorado.
Littleton. That was where my son and family lived.
Soon enough, I learned my granddaughter, then 13 and in Middle School, was safe. No cell phones then. It was via e-mail.
I tried to find where Columbine high school was on the then-version of Mapquest. The school location on the map was misplaced, I soon learned. My son and family, it turned out, lived only a mile from the high school, and later he said he probably had seen the two killers the previous day in a local McDonalds restaurant – just three of the customers at that time, that day.
But in those days, communications was not quite so convenient or instant (though it was pretty good.) There were cell phones of a sort, but not ubiquitous like now. There was cable, but not hundreds of stations vying on the competitive edge for news. I don’t think I was thinking, then, about what has since become something of a mantra for me: “too many news people, too little news.”
Then I thought back further, to December 7, 1941, when my Uncle – Dad’s brother – went down with the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
I was alive then, just 1 1/2, so I didn’t pay much attention.
Dad told me about his memories of that awful time years later. They didn’t know for certain that his brother, Frank Bernard, had died until some weeks later. The time was so chaotic that I don’t think there was even an organized Memorial Service for Frank. His parent were in Long Beach for the winter and had no car (they traveled by train, then), his sister in Los Angeles, and his brother in rural North Dakota. Making even a phone call was not a routine matter. No television. Less radio. The news coming via newspaper – I have the clippings.
We tend to forget that.
And now we are besieged for hours upon hours by repetitive images of the same exact thing; by speculation by experts about who done it, and why it was done. Everybody with their own agenda for communicating whatever it is they choose to communicate.
We’re a big country, and such incidents will happen from time to time.
We used to worry about the Russians bombing our school in central North Dakota in the 1950s; now, well you know….
We need to get a grip and keep things in a bit better perspective.
It was bad, what happened in Boston, yesterday.
As a city and as a nation and as a world we’ll survive it.
We really have it pretty good, here.