Events to Note

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Today is International Women’s Day.

The following is self-explanatory.  I am planning a followup on my impressions near three weeks after surgery.  This will likely be titled “Reflections” and publish on Sunday March 13.  Check back at the blog on Sunday, or later if not there.

  1. Louisa Hext is offering a free on-line workshop on Forgiveness, Thursday, March 10, 6 p.m.  All details here. I am familiar with Louisa’s work and the Forgiveness Project, and I recommend this.
  2.  PLEASE NOTE DATE.  PREVIOUS INFO FROM ME WAS INCORRECT.  THE DATE IS MARCH 17.  MY APOLOGIES. Important on-line talk on Thursday, March 17, 7 p.m. CT, featuring Thomas Hanson program, all details here.  As with Louisa, I have heard Thomas Hanson speak, and he is a very well-informed voice.
  3. Dr. Paul Farmer memorial on-line is Saturday, March 12, 10-noon ET.  Details here. 
  4. I am adding material about Ukraine periodically.  I try to emphasize items less likely to be seen in the general media.  The Ukraine blog is here.  Most recent additions are at the beginning of the post.

Ukraine

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March 11, 2022:

from Stephanie:  I don’t think you are on facebook — I post way too much, I think, but there are a few posts I have made recently that I think might interest you.  The first is from a friend who is a psychologist in Moscow.  He had posted on facebook a petition signed by more than 100 Russians, listing their names and professions.  It has since been taken down…I don’t know whether my friend took it down, or facebook, or if it is blocked by Russia. Here it is:

FRIENDS, YOU CAN COPY IT, POST IT ON YOUR PAGE AND SIGN IT.
ADDRESS OF THE RUSSIANS
“Compatriots!
Russia’s war against Ukraine is a SHAME.
This is OUR shame, but unfortunately, our children, generations of very young and unborn Russians, will also have to bear the responsibility for it. We don’t want our children to live in an aggressor country to feel ashamed of their army attacking a neighboring independent state. We urge all citizens of Russia to say NO to this war.
We do not believe that independent Ukraine is a threat to Russia or any other state. We do not believe in Vladimir Putin’s statements that the Ukrainian people are under the power of “Nazis” and need to be “liberated”. We demand this war to end! “
It is incredibly brave of these people to post this, as they have put a target directly on them and their families.
The second, posted below, is something I posted a few days ago:
In 2007, I went to the Republic of Georgia to teach negotiations skills to 22 members of the teachers’ union. On the evening of July 4, my hosts held a wonderful outdoor dinner to celebrate my country’s holiday. The setting was beautiful, overlooking the capital city of Tbilisi. The city lights sparkled. My hosts predicted that the lights would soon go out. Why? Because the US embassy was hosting a party with many important Georgian guests – and the Russian government, which supplied electrical power to Georgia – wanted to remind everyone of the power it held over that country. The struggle is now in Ukraine but it is real for the nations that once made up the USSR. Please stay updated, contribute to worthy relief organizations, and understand that this fight stretches far beyond the borders of Ukraine.
One of the participants in the class, an attorney for the union, was recently elected to the city council in the second largest city in Georgia. Her son, who was 8 or 9 at the time I was there, attended the classes because it was summer and he was too young to stay home on his own. He became our “mascot”! I have stayed in touch with him and his mom…he is now in law school. His mom is in the minority on the city council…54% favor Russian ties; she and the other 46% are definitely against. The 46% wanted to hang a Ukrainian flag from the city hall; they were opposed…but the did it anyway. They are having demonstrations daily throughout the country and are, again, so brave in the face of what would be frightening retribution from Russians.

March 9, 2022:

from Howie:  not about Ukraine, but could as well be.  Here

March 8, 2022:  from time to time I will continue making additions here, from other than major media sources.  Here are a few from the last few days.

from Norm: from friend Barry Levy M.D., MPH:

I thought you would be interested in my letter to the editor of the New York Times about Ukraine last week [follows]:

The explosive weapons attacks that are killing and severely injuring Ukrainian civilians are attracting much media attention. Whenever explosive weapons are deployed in war, civilians are likely to be killed and severely injured, even when they are not targeted.

But most civilian deaths in war result indirectly from damage to civilian infrastructure, resulting in reduced access to food, safe water, medical care, electric power, communication and transportation. Civilians become ill and die from diseases, malnutrition, and maternal and neonatal disorders. At especially high risk are mothers and young children, people with disabilities and older people.

It is critically important that steps be taken now to protect civilians and critical elements of civilian infrastructure, and to deliver humanitarian assistance to those in need.

Barry S. Levy
Sherborn, Mass.

The writer, a physician, is a past president of the American Public Health Association and an adjunct professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is author of the forthcoming book “From Horror to Hope,” about the health effects of war.

I’m also writing to let you know that I have authored a book, entitled From Horror to Hope: Recognizing and Preventing the Health Impacts of War, that will be published by Oxford University Press next month. More information is [here]..

from Carol:

A Ukraine refugee photo

from Remi, some of his ancestors from Ukraine, sends this sketch of some of his family links to Ukraine.  This only one of many assorted links between what is now Germany and Ukraine: Three of my mother’s grandparents came from Landau Ukraine, Russia, now called Shyrokolanivka, about 55 miles northeast of Odessa.. Their ancestors came from Landau Alsace, now Germany, in 1809. The other grandparent (a grandmother) came from Krasna Ukraine Russia, now Krasne, about 70 miles southwest of Odessa. Her ancestors were Warsaw colonists. They left German states, mainly Saarland, between 1785 and 1795 to settle in Prussian Poland. In 1814-1815 they went to Krasna in Bessarabia that the Russians had just taken from the Ottomans. My mother’s father was born in Caramurat, a Tatar town in Romania, about 50 miles from Russia.I have enclosed a depiction of a funeral there at about the time of his birth. His father had come from Landau Russia and his mother from Krasna. His German patois had many French, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian,Yiddish, Tatar and Romani words embedded in a fossilized Saarland-Alsatian  dialect. His ancestors dressed like Russians and had adopted many Russian traditions and folk remedies. I have attached a photo of one of his grandfathers in Romania wearing a Russian shapka (hat), third from left.. Also of his great  grandparents in Russia with cross necklaces and prayer books. He came to Canada in 1907. My mother’s grandparents on her mother’s side came from Landau, Russia to Canada in 1901 through Ellis Island, New York.

Photos from the olden days in Ukraine:

from Annelee:  Former President Donald Trump called Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine savvy, the work of a genius.  Fox Commentator Tucker Carlson and several Conservative Republican Senators agreed with Tucker and said that it was the right of Putin to invade the peaceful, democratic Ukraine so Putin could  restore Russia to it’s former greatness.

Millions of American citizens, the  European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada firmly stood/stand against such wrong support.
It is reassuring that our current Democratic administration stands and supports the courageous Ukrainian Nation as they fight Russian aggression.
We, Americans are infected with disunity.  Hopefully, our elected officials will put personal ‘get even’ atmosphere aside, and bring forth what they were elected to do: Republicans should work together with Democrats and our elected president. Only then, will we again be America one Nation under God.

from Rich: Surgery and Covid ended my tenure with the Minnesota Orchestra’s Audience Services. Thus our paths have not crossed for several years as they did at the door to the concert hall.

Thank you for your remarks on Ukraine. When I read them I wanted to be sure you were aware of this moment with the Met Opera. The arts have always been there for us. Hope remains!

March 6, 2022:  Great friend Lydia sends  a couple of personal recommendations for those who wish to be involved in Ukrainian humanitarian efforts:

“People in Minnesota that want to help with HUMANITARIAN AID to Ukrainians fleeing or still in-country, can donate to:
UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTER
301 Main Street NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
FEEDING REFUGEES: Chef Jose Andreas’ organziation (has helped after natural disasters in the past–such as HAITI):
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN
200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20001
I’ve already donated to BOTH of these organziations. Please publish, post & share!“
Today’s Washington Post has an important article advising on our approach to Ukraine and the future of democracy.  It is by Robert Gates, and can be accessed here.  WaPo, NYT, Minneapolis Star Tribune and other very legitimate news organization generally require at least an on-line subscription.  Consider supporting these most important portals for democracy.
This is a time for deep reflection and vigilance.  The struggle is between authoritarianism and democracy itself.  A large percentage of our population has had a flirtation with authoritarianism these past few years, and they seem not yet to have learned its downside.  We are not Russia nor China, and we should never forget the basic values that created our nation in the first place.

PERSONAL UPDATE, March 4: Two weeks ago today I was in surgery for colon cancer at University of Minnesota.  Nine days ago I came home.  Healing is going well, but it is not the “piece of cake” one would like.  Anyone who’s a veteran of major surgery can doubtless attest!  I am active every day, but still require lots of rest.  I try to follow recommendations, and I will take it easy.  Thank you for your interest and support.  Personally, it was good to be invited to and attend Ash Wednesday with daughters Lauri and Heather and Lauri’s family, and Cathy.

*

Thursday evening I listened to a phone message from my long-time friend, Jim, calling from his home on a beach in a deeply rural part of deeply rural Molokai, Hawaii.  Jim has lived on the island for many years, and enjoys its isolation and deeply rural character.

If you want to get away from it all, you go to a place like Molokai.

I talked in person with him this afternoon.  It was a good conversation.  Ukraine entered the conversation, but was not the main reason for the call.  We’re just catching up.

That is how it is in today’s world.  We are all connected, instantly, regardless of where we live.  There is a blessing and a curse to all of this of course, and source of infinite threads of conversation.  It was good to hear Jim’s voice, from Pukoo on the east side of Molokai.

*

from Carol, Mar 5:  a Ukrainian rfugee

Ukrainean refugee

UKRAINE: I have struggled with how best to engage with and for the Ukrainian people, and yes, for the Russian people now under siege by their own dictator.  I am still thinking about this.

Just now, I decided what better a tribute to Ukraine from me, than Minnesota musician Peter Ostroushko.  There are many selections at YouTube. Here’s one of his best, from a 2004 performance of his 1995 composition Heart of the Heartland.    Peter died Feb. 24, 2021.  He lives on in his music.  [Lydia sent an interesting MinnPost article about the Minneapolis Ukrainian community of which Peter was part.]

I am including with this post, just a few off the beaten path commentaries which have come from/about Ukraine.  You know what you’ll know from the TV.  These are items which may or may not catch the wave of news priorities.  They are not prioritized here.  I’ll expect to do a few more posts like this.

I agree with parts and disagree with others in these writings.  That is very normal in debate in a civil society.  We are a huge, complicated world, and our institutions reflect this.  There is no magic pill to solve everything, or even most things, but when any individual, institution, country or coalition of countries deems itself above, or in domination of, common Law regulating a civil society,  we are all in trouble.

We are not immune from criticism: In my Feb. 16 post, Preparedness, about war looming in Ukraine, I said this: “war or threat of war, or an enemy, is very helpful politically no matter the country or the system or the time in history.  Chris Hedges War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002) always comes to mind at times like this.  This came along about the time of our Iraq misadventure – a solution to 9-11-01.  War is Good…not, but yes…it is useful to politicians currying favor with people like US.”

A most common institution for humans, by whatever name or whatever tradition, is marriage – where two people in some way or another pledge common cause.  A long-time Catholic Priest friend and I were discussing this some days ago in a post hospital conversation.  I said to Vince that a good share of his work as a pastor was probably dealing with marital conflict within his own flock.  He laughed.  If two of us have troubles between ourselves on occasion, how can we expect 194 countries and over 7 billion people to just get along?  We are a work in progress, and we will always be so.  The tribal alternative is one which cannot be accepted.

Have a good weekend.

received from Molly: “Stay Calm”, by Tom Nichols in the Atlantic: Tom Nichols, Stay Calm, The Atlantic

from Fred, March 6: Interesting details [here] about the Russian military and its organization.

from Carol, a letter from a young person in Kharkiv:

“I can’t sleep tonight. Not that I slept well for the last 6 nights but tonight is particularly heartbreaking. My home city is being destroyed by Putin. I am not going to put pictures of horror, it’s plenty of them on bbc. Instead I will tell the world about Kharkiv. 

So Kharkiv is educational and scientific centre, it has 59 (!) universities! 59! We call the city “students’ capital”. One of them is one of the oldest in Ukraine, been partly destroyed today by missile from Putin. Another – National Law Academy, my alma mater, is in Ukraine’s top law universities (I am being polite here, it’s number 1))) Commentaries to National laws made by academics of the Academy are being used in the courts, that’s how highly they are rated. 
Kharkiv is heavy and military industry centre, there are factories to build tractors, tanks, plane turbines etc. You can see why Putin is so desperate to occupy it.
Kharkiv is arty and not only with clever and funny graffiti but with more than 20 (!) theatres including one philharmonic. I am glad my mum went to the philharmonic theatre just few days before the invasion. I have also personal dear memories and stories connected to it. At the high school I have been asked to do a journalistic project – to write about one of the heritage in danger sort of sights. I chose philharmonic theatre. At that time it was in a horrible state with leaking roof, needing immediate renovation as it’s hall was a copy of one of the halls in Tuileries Palace. Being roughly 15 years old I found the main conductor at the time (the head nowadays) and asked for a video interview. Being a very passionate about the theatre person he agreed. We made a lovely video showing how important it is to restore our city and national heritage. I don’t know how much of a difference it made but years later the philharmonic theatre with amazing architecture has been renovated. Guess what, you know already, don’t you? Yup, Putin dropped the bomb on it today. 
Kharkiv is also a centre for trade. We have Barabashovo market which I think is called the biggest in Eastern Europe! It is huge indeed. 
Recently Kharkiv also became an IT capital of Ukraine, having had a nickname of Ukrainian Silicon Valley. 
And last for this post but not the least my school of yoga – Ukrainian Federation of Yoga has started there. Our studio was located right next to the local government building, on the Freedom Square. No need to say what happened there today…
But you know what? I AM OK. Seriously. I know that we will rebuild it and that Kharkiv is free = Ukrainian. Just wanted my English speaking friends to know more than “second biggest city”.” 
Citizens for Global Solutions, a state and national group I’ve long been part of, issued its own commentary on Ukraine today.  You can read it here. Note especially the first two articles.
COMMENTS:
from Peter: me on Ukraine here.
from Judy: Thank you Dick for the update……….yes, surgery recovery is longer than expected.  If they told us what to expect they fear we would not follow thru on the surgery…………….you will get there!

As for Ukraine, I do not know what to say.  On September 23, 2012 I visited Babi Yar outside of Kiev and now its memorial has been attacked.  It is the first of the WW11 sites I have visited that has seen a follow up of this nature.

I am stunned that we have learned so little as a society This is a time when a joint lecture with Michael and Joseph would be so helpful to us all.

We shall stay in touch.

from Jane:    Glad you are healing.  Sorry you seem to believe the BS about Ukraine.  NATO has been crossing Putin’s red line deliberately for the past eight years.  Trying to provoke a fight.  Well they got one — and the Evil Globalist Bastards couldn’t be more pleased.  What is WRONG with the “left” these days!  First the COV$D myth and now this.  So frustrating.
response from Dick: I understand where you are coming from, let’s leave it at that.  We’ve been friends on-line for years.
Covid is very real.  My five days in hospital were roommate with a young man, a ‘long hauler’, who’d passed over 40 days in hospital, and had no early prospects for release.  He’d been fully vexed when infected by someone who’d been exposed and probably didn’t know.  He was very scared.  I considered it a blessing to meet him.  Obviously he wasn’t contagious; his problem was with the aftermath.  He has multiple serious pre-existing conditions.
from Fred: My friend Bill has been sending me precise daily Ukraine combat briefings. You’ll see the source. Well worth a look. Of course, Bill adds his own analysis of the situation with a study of the German invasion of Poland and points east! Also quite insightful.
Here’s the current day’s map of the Ukraine situation, which accompanies the daily assessment published by UnderstandingWar.org.  If you follow the narrative:
  • the Russians have made quite limited progress in recent days,
  • they’ve sent for reinforcements from the Eastern Military District (eastern Siberia), and
  • the analysts can’t make sense of their strategy.

The map similarly conveys the general impression of an unconcentrated, unfocused, overambitious plan of attack that has stalled in the borderlands.  Of course it’s still early days, and I don’t really have enough knowledge to generalize, but in 1939 the Germans were in the outskirts of Warsaw within a week, not hanging about the periphery of the country.   As the map below shows, their attacks all promptly penetrated deep into central Poland and converged in the heart of the country, bypassing much of the Polish Army in the western bulge.
Here is the March 8, 2022 map
The failure to make deep penetrations may have something to do with the reorganization of the Russian Army around Battalion Tactical Groups.  Each of the various offensive thrusts itemized in the UnderstandingWar.org campaign narrative is being carried on by 12 to18 BTGs.  These are relatively small (800-man) units consisting of a company of tanks, three companies of mechanized infantry, two or three artillery batteries (tube or rocket), plus antiair and antitank support.  They have a lot of firepower for their size, and are manned mainly by professional soldiers. The BTG concept was evolved in the wake of the Chechen debacle, and was used effectively in the Donbas War to give the pro-Russian militiamen mobile support against the Ukrainians.  The trouble with BTGs is that 1) they are small and can’t stand casualties, 2) they lack such supporting elements as medical and maintenance detachments, 3) they are relatively independent and don’t combine particularly well into larger units, and 4) they were designed to reinforce local militia and guerrillas, while depending on them for intelligence, reconnaissance and security.  So they are perhaps less than ideal fighting formations for mass invasion of a hostile country.  Here in PDF format is a US Army publication describing their strengths and weaknesses in considerable detail.
This suggests that if the Ukrainian army still possesses something like a mobile masse de manœuvre, it might be able to strike a really telling blow against one of the Russian battle groups.  The most obvious target is the group on the extreme Russian right, that detached comma-shaped blob north and west of Kiev. It consists of some 15-18 BTGs.  It has been described in several accounts as confused, bogged down, and in the throes of reorganization.  On the west side of the Dnieper, it is to some extent cut off from the rest of the Russian Army.  It is operating on the Belarus border, where it is very likely deprived of the intelligence and security support that BTGs are supposed to get from locals.  And perhaps most importantly — something I haven’t seen anyone mentioning so far — it is backed up against the great Pripet marshes, which extend along the Belarus-Ukraine border from the Bug to Kiev.  The western end of the swampland is indicated on the German campaign map above.  On Google Earth you can see it easily, extending from Brest-Litovsk to Kiev; and the worst and most roadless terrain lies directly in the rear of that right-flank Russian battle group northwest of Kiev.
I don’t have any idea whether the Ukes have been able to assemble an army corps behind Kiev, or whether they’re in any condition to stage a real counteroffensive.  But if they are, the destruction, against the Pripet marshes, of the disorganized Russian battle group sent to outflank the capital would be a worthwhile objective, and might even alter the course of events.
If the world were properly organized, we’d be discussing this over drinks in front of a fireplace in the smoking room, with maps hung on the wall.  What’s the fun of armchair generalship in the absence of armchairs?

Cancer

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POSTNOTE:  See “Reflection” here.

My surgeon called with the pathologist report yesterday.  More on that in a moment.

This post may be amended later.  Check back, if interested.  [Amended by addition below, Wed. a.m. Mar. 2, 2022.  Comments are solicited and will be added to this post as received.]

My time in the hospital coincided with Ukraine, and the untimely death of Dr. Paul Farmer.  Respectfully consider working into each of your days some overt ways of promoting respect for peace and justice and a better world for everyone.  I’m not talking rocket science here.  We need to learn again how important each of us is to the others in our lives.

Colon Cancer:

My report is going to be minimal.  I am open to any questions about anything from anyone.

My surgeons verbal report on March 1 was good (caution: this is my interpretation of his words).  The cancer was stage two, about one inch, had not spread thus no need for chemo.  I’m told the surgery was difficult and it was successful.

My history in a few words:  I was a regular with colonoscopies for many years, since the disease took my mother and others in the family circle.  It is a family disease.  The last scope before C-day was 2015 when I was 75, and it was, as had become typical, clear.   Of course, we all know how Covid-19 arrived in 2020 and upset everyone’s notion of normal, especially the medical sector.  In 2021 I was overdue.  It was nobody’s fault.

The alarm bell rang in mid October 2021, and the system, including myself, sprang into action, and was extraordinary.   This was only my second personal close encounter with major medical procedure – the first was 2018 – with a similarly and possibly even more difficult open heart operation.

I have no words other than gratitude for the “system” of medicine.  We have no idea how fortunate we are.

Community:

I’ve come to look on medicine as an extraordinary collection of human beings with all the potential and dilemmas such a collection entails.  Every single person is there for a reason.  Every one is human.  Nothing is ever perfect.

The ‘town’ called ‘hospital’ and like is full of people who are very, very sick; and armies of those who care for them.  The patients and their next of kin are hurting and scared and feeling out of control, literally, perhaps for the first time.  It an be wearing on anyone.  I’m grateful it exists.

I took a few photos in my environment, Unit C – Surgical Oncology, 7th floor University of Minnesota Hospital.

Here are two:

Above, the entry to the Unit, taken on one of my walks near time of discharge. Below, a nurse assisting a patient in the same exercise that I’d become an accomplished veteran in two days.

1965.

I have previously noted that my first wife died at this very hospital, possibly this very Ward, July 24, 1965.  My gift to the staff will be my recollections, as a spouse, of that very difficult summer, where my wife spent her last 57 or so days of life.  For me, compared to her, my ordeal was a walk in the park.  She was there for a kidney transplant, then being performed, but still new.  Questions?   Ask.  I will answer.

Blessings. 

Initially, I had hoped for a single room in recovery.  That dream vanished within an hour of my coming out of anesthesia.  My roommate was my sons age, long haul struggle with Covid-19, hospitalized over 40 days, and about to be moved to rehab.  Multiple and very serious medical issues.  Yes, he was fully vaccinated at time he contracted Covid.

He and I had brief opportunities to talk a bit, and of course, there was absolutely no privacy behind the curtain separating the two of us, other than we couldn’t see each other.

I felt and feel blessed to have met him, and I think he feels the same.  We saw each others face one time only, and that was when I was about to leave.

He will always be in my mind, indeed in my heart.  His will probably be a long, long haul.  He has a survivors heart, I think.  But his struggle will be daunting.

In peace.

Dick

ADDED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022 11 A.M.

24 hours ago I published this post, and in the afternoon I went back for a scheduled medical appointment at the University Clinic which includes my surgeon.  I decided to bring along the report referred to in “1965”, above, for the surgeon, and for the Nurse Manager of the Surgical Oncology Unit which was my post op recovery area.  I will be distributing this to other medical persons as well.  And to you, if you have a particular interest and so request.  There are lessons to be learned from the past, (which for me, in this case, are 57 years ago, and last week, from a phenomenal institution and its people.)

In the multi-page document I referred to my first wife’s funeral in Valley City, North Dakota, on July 29, 1965.  I noted that the Medicare Act was signed into U.S. Law a day later, July 30, 1965.  I also noted that during Barbara and my brief marriage, even if I had purchased hospital insurance (I had not), Barbara would have been excluded from coverage because of pre-existing conditions which were unknown to us at the time of our marriage.  Which brings to mind the Affordable Care Act of 2010, Obamacare, which some still love to hate.  Barbara was 22 when she died; Medicare was for old people like my grandparents back then.  The wheels turn slowly, but the safety net extended down to people like Barbara when enacted in 2010.  It is still a resource to be protected.

*

Last night happened to be President Biden’s State of the Union Address, which I watched in its entirety.  I wanted to see what he had to say.

The State of the Union is an aspirational event – where the President in effect presents his wish list for the people of the United States, as represented by elected persons and promoted by the people who elect them, like me.  It goes without saying that we are a deeply divided country at this moment.

I will not list what the President had to say, nor catalog the reaction to the assorted items, nor point out who came, and who didn’t.  Everyone can read these on their own.

What I did note was the ordering of the items:  Ukraine led, of course; and Oil was right at the top.

Closer to the end, and lengthy, and notable by their appearance, were what I would call the “we, the people” items: child care, prescription drugs, Covid-19, medical service and such.  The positioning, etc., was conscious and deliberate in my opinion, and It is worth reading the Presidents words as presented, and to lobby with your own representatives at state and national level as time goes on.

*

I am fully aware of the ‘base’ of my personal perspective.  I grew up in the old days in a very rural environment in North Dakota.  We are middle class, we deeply benefit from and always supported Medicare and related programs, have great supplemental medical and Pharma insurance, have long lived in a major metropolitan area in a generally progressive state.  I have seen the alternatives, both long ago and in the present day in less affluent areas and countries.  I don’t take any of what I have for granted.  I certainly don’t covet my benefit as a birthright, that others should not have.  We are an extremely wealthy county, and we must share both within our borders and with others.

“We, the people” are each and every single one of us.  There is no acceptable cop out.  Barbara did her part 57 years ago and before.  We share her and others legacy.

COMMENTS:  more at end of post

from Christine: It is good to hear good news from your condition. I admire your sensitivity when you mention your first wife and also your wisdom in commenting personal family events and political ones too…

You are somebody I enjoy talking to and exchanging ideas. You are always positive and reserved.
from Judy: you have my prayers and I am sending God’s blessing to you.  Please take care, rest and know you are loved and celebrated by so many people.  Love and peace
from Jane: Do take care!  I love getting ashes on my forehead every Ash Wednesday.  This time I’ll think of you.  Please give up cancer for Lent!

from Gail: Glad to hear your report sounds good.  We have been grieving for Paul Farmer, too.

May your recovery continue without complication!

from Denise: Thank you for the update!

I appreciated your thoughts about the state of the union address. I always tear up when the president is announced and walks in. I was watching with other labor activists in an online setting. There was a lot of joy and positive thoughts, compared to the last state of the union we watched.
Looking forward to more updates. Take good care.

from Jim: We are all praying for you

from Bob: Good to learn of your positive reports and post-surgery path to recovery.   Keep resting and praying; stay positive and know many are praying for you, including me.

from Terrence: Keep fighting. My Grandmother and my dad both had colon cancer. My grandmother had a colon resection with the “unpleasant bag” from the late 1920s until she died in 1951 at the age of 85.

from Sharon: So glad to hear of good results from your surgery. I know what you mean about having a colonoscopy in 1922.  I was having complications and had to have a colonoscopy, which I do every year or two. I had to go to Melrose Hospital as I could not go to St. Cloud Hospital because of COVID. Luckily, the cancer had not come back, but now have colitis.

My brother lost his wife at age 38. It changed our family. Your wife needed a kidney transplant? My brother, Dallas, died during a liver transplant.  .We have had similar health issues in our families. I can tell that you have remained a positive person as I have and lived a great and full life.
Gpd bless you.
from Mark: Good news Dick!!  Wonderful!
from Bruce: Lenten Blessings on you Dick. Thanks for the update.
from David: Thanks for sharing your journey my friend. Be well.

from Annelee, 95, who grew up in Nazi Germany :Dick, I am so happy you are doing so well.Sorry, I haven’t been more attentive.  You are still in my thoughts and prayers.

I am also very concerned. We, America are infected with disunity. How several GOP Senators could side with Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine is beyond me. I listened to Tucker Carlson tonight, I wonder if he ever listens and checks what he is saying.  He rambles on,repeats his statements that have no fact behind them  He is Rush Limbaugh  reincarnated, only worse. The Senators should at least bow their heads in shame and try to get some work done that benefits the people who voted them in.

So much reminds me of Germany. My papa and Uncle Pepp would have a hard time, I wish they were here, at least they could voice their thoughts. I think they would be worth being listened to.  Annelee

Dick, with daughter Heather, and spouse Cathy at St. John Neumann, Eagan MN, Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022. The church was packed.

Vladimir Putin

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Prenote:  my good friend Louisa has a session on Forgiveness in which you might be interested.  The dates Wed March 2, noon; Thursday March 10 6 p.m.  Details here.  I can attest that Louisa conducts an excellent program.

Here is the initiating post about Ukraine, published Feb. 16, including the Ukraine National Anthem.  A Feb. 28 post from NBC on the situation in Russia, thanks to Carol.

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In the end analysis, Vladimir Putin and all others of his ilk anywhere, including in our own country, is a human being just like us.  But….

When I was looking for the book Dr. Paul Farmer autographed for me in 2013 (yesterdays post), it was his “Pathologies of Power” c2003.  It has not been out of the bookshelf for years.  This might be a good time to reread.

Most all of us are open books, a sum total of our individual lives with all the component parts, our personal history in the universe as it were.

So it is with Vladimir Putin.

At the very least, check out Putin’s early life and background.

A decent, convenient source is found at Wikipedia: Vladimir Putin.  Scroll down to the two short sections on Early Life and KGB Career.

Just get a feeling of this current tyrant.  It won’t solve anything, but might help understanding as others wrestle with the immense issues we are witnessing live on television every day.

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I had a couple of close calls with the person who is Putin back in 2003, when we went on a Baltic Cruise with my Winnipeg cousin and her husband as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

We had two days in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) and in my recollection we signed up for two day long tours.  I have the photos, but I can’t access them at this moment so my memory will have to suffice.

June, 2003, was a less than calm time in our own country.  On March 19, 2003, the bombing of Iraq began.  “Shock and Awe”, you might remember.  You might remember, as well, the Project for a New American Century.  It may not be mentioned often, but our own skirts are not so clean.

A quick takeout of Iraq by the United States, marketed as a reasonable response.  You remember.

Honestly, we were essentially doing the same thing then, which are now being done by Russia re Ukraine.  I haven’t heard this being mentioned in my news media.  Doubtless it has come up in conversation at the highest levels everywhere.

Anyway, one of our early stops that pleasant late spring day in 2003 was at a hotel, where we were shown (I kid you not) the door of the elevator ascended by President Bush a few weeks earlier, when to my memory, he had first met Putin, then in his first round as Russia’s President.  There was nothing more.  We saw the elevator door.  No, no touching it!

Some time later we were in our bus being shown around the city, and went by one of the immense bland apartment buildings, and it was pointed out that Vladimir Putin had grown up in a particular building.

The next day, the lunch break was at a country restaurant proudly presented as being Putin’s personal favorite.  We had our lunch, and moved on.

*

The only reason we were in Russia on those June days was the 50th wedding anniversary of Canadian relatives.  We saw much much more.

But at this moment in history, getting to know something about the latest international terrorist is important.

Take some time.

POSTNOTES:

MEDICAL AS OF SAT. FEB. 26: I came home Wednesday about noon, with no restrictions, but very tired.  My recovery is emphasizing rest.  My first outside foray was brief and independent on Friday.  First stop back in the house was bed rest!  Oh, so marvelous.  I will probably write a followup blog on the medical within the next week.

A REMINDER ABOUT HOW ALL OF US FIT IN TO WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR WORLD CAME ON FRIDAY AS WELL.

One of my French-Canadian cousins, a retired professor of political science in Montreal, had asked me to trans-ship some books he had ordered in the states.  They arrived before my surgery, and had titles like “from Catherine to Khruschev The Story of Russia’s Germans”.

I sent them off Friday, and in letting him know they were on the way sent a brief e-mail: “Sometime let me know your take on Ukraine at this point in history“.

Here was his response: “Thanks I will send you the money. All of my mother’s grandparents [his home province is Saskatchewan] were Germans born in Russia from the same town. Their history is even more fascinating than my father’s [French-Canadian] side. I am writing about it. 

[My spouse, who is Russian] and our children are very traumatized. They are ashamed of being Russian. Ordinary Russians are also victims. Children with Russian names are being bullied at schools in Montréal  like my mother was for having a German name. On the other hand it is heartbreaking to hear some of our friends in Russia repeating the disgusting propaganda they see on TV. It is also appalling to have loved ones in Canada saying that Trudeau is a much worse dictator than Putin or Hitler. They get this from Fox news.
Bon rétablissement !”

Cover of one of the books sent to my cousin.

Postnote from Dick: I grew up in North Dakota, which has a very large population of people we called “German-Russians” (another story for another time), now I think referred to as Germans from Russia.

One of the towns we lived in (1951-53), Karlsruhe, was virtually 100% Germans from Russia, whose first language was German.

I didn’t appreciate at the time, of course, the business of language.  We were new in town; we had to pay our dues before kids, even, would talk English to us (which they knew, of course, but you know, kids….).  I was a 6th grader.

My friend, Christina, brought the issue home to me some years ago.  She’s 90 now, and she was recalling childhood in rural Berlin ND (yes, Berlin).  Her ancestry was German from Russia, and her parents had purchased a farm east of their home area not far west of Berlin.  My grandparents were, like her, 100% German ancestry, but their ancestors had migrated to the United States from Germany beginning in the 1840s.  Their home territory in Wisconsin was heavily German and many of their homies to this new land had come from the same place they did.  They were Catholic, so was Christina’s kin, so St. John’s in Berlin, North Dakota, was faith home base.  They were almost certainly bi-lingual, judging from books, etc.  Each had a parent born and raised in Germany.

But it wasn’t quite so simple, Christina related.  Both German constituencies spoke German, but their German was different.  One group had difficulty understanding the other.  Simple as that.  I suppose that ‘social distance’ impacted the community. It was easier to associate with those you most easily understood, who had the same general background.  Then there was the matter of fitting in – the newcomer dilemma.  The Wisconsin Germans came in the early 1900s. the North Dakota Germans from Russia, later.  In a sense it was like our dilemma in Karlsruhe ND.

Memories of community….

COMMENTS (more at end of post): 

from Joyce: Heather Cox Richardson Feb. 26.

from John S.:   I think Putin has gone too far but I also support the separatist cause.  The media aren’t telling the whole story i.e. the oppression of the Russian minority.  Also why isn’t Biden also outraged by the continual systematic Israeli invasion of Palestine?

from Terry:  I think Putin has tried to use the “separatist cause” as a justification for his invasion.  Christopher Miller from BuzzFeed News posted this video a few days ago.  РИА Новости  is Russian state funded media.  It’s telling that Russian media couldn’t find more than 10 people to “celebrate” the “independence” of Donetsk (part of Donbas).  Donetsk has a population of 900,000 people.

Also the current president of Ukraine, Zelensky, who is Jewish, was born in a Russian speaking area of Ukraine.
from John:  Thank you for all you’ve done to make this planet a better place.  I am especially admiring your spiritual expression.

from Mike, responding to John S. re Ukraine:  There is also a long and strong response from Joyce below in the on-line comments.  Make sure you see that one as well.

Mike: I agree John [apparently responding to first comment].
The government of Ukraine fell on February 22, 2014. Call it a coup, or call it an revolution. Either way, it was an unconstitutional transfer of power, and it was encouraged and supported by the United States. It is under these conditions that Article 2 of UN Charter may be invoked; respect for the principle of equal rights and the self determination of peoples. The 1975 Helsinki Accords are also relevant. That treaty broadly affirmed post WWII borders, but also allowed for boundaries to change by peaceful internal means.The eastern regions of Ukraine objected to the violent ouster of their democratically elected president, and were aware that neo-Nazis comprised the tip of the spear. They recognized the new government as illegitimate and hostile to their language, culture, and well-being. Yet, they did not send their armies to Kiev to restore democracy, they simply said they wanted no part of it and would govern themselves.

The coup regime was not so peaceable. On April 15, 2014, it sent military and para-military units to reclaim the Donbas by force. That was three full months before Russia intervened militarily in support of the separatists.

The Ukrainian Civil War settled into a stalemate with a recognized line of separation. In November of 2021, Kiev began sending reinforcements to the line. Fearing a renewed offensive by Kiev, Russia responded by massing troops on its own territory, and with war exercises in Belarus.

The days prior to yesterday’s invasion saw a significant increase in ceasefire violations. The OSCE reported that the overwhelming majority of attacks occurred on the Donbas side of the line, indicating that Kiev again was the likely aggressor. This was the immediate trigger to Russia’s invasion.

The war did not begin yesterday. For eight long years the breakaway provinces have been besieged by an illegitimate government that has been in perpetual violation of Minsk II. This is where all the fighting and dying have occurred, 14,000 people to date. This past week, Russia said enough is enough.

The UN Charter allows the use of military force under three conditions:

  1. As a response to a military attack that has already occurred.
  2. To thwart a military attack that is imminent.
  3. When the UN Security Council has authorized it.

Russia’s invasion would have been entirely lawful if had it been limited to the breakaway provinces, where attacks had already occurred and were intensifying. The larger invasion of Ukraine falls into the gray area of what constitutes imminence. If one were to accept the amorphous definition of ‘imminence’ put forth in the 2013 DOJ White Paper on targeted assassination, the invasion of greater Ukraine would also be lawful. I rejected that definition in 2013, and I reject it now. Beyond Donbas and the immediate area around the line of separation, Russia’s military action constitutes aggression.

When this conflict is over, the prospects for peace will be determined by NATO. It poses an existential threat that Russia will not tolerate on its borders. Nor should it, considering the NATO wars of aggression that have devastated Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Africa in this century alone.

I call on my government to halt the transfer of weapons to the region, rejoin the INF Treaty, sign the ICAN Treaty to abolish nuclear weapons, and disband NATO.

from Jeff: Thanks.  Interestingly the critique from the far left has been about saying this is what the USA did in Iraq.  (my comment is yes, two wrongs don’t make a right)  Col. Francis Wilkerson was on MSNBC or CNN yesterday and made that point forcefully.

Putin: the latest info on him is since Covid he really went into a long period of isolation.  He didn’t have hardly any meetings with anyone in person.  Exceptions some internationall events.  but all  his internal Russian meetings were “zoom” type meetings… he isolated from people to avoid the virus mainly.  But isolation is not good for dictators…we saw what it did for Hitler in 1943-1945.    I am sure there many other examples…but it breeds delusional thinking.  I suspect he hasnt taken the long view on this whole thing.   I also think he looks physically bloated…it’s possible he has some conditions that would be not good if he caught covid, and also could explain this seemingly strange and impulsive move into Ukraine.
War is terrible. in my short career as a masters candidate and teaching assistant in History at the Univ of Oregon, I had to do one lecture to an Amer. Hisstory 101 class…and it was on the prelude to WWII and the USA’s decisions not to enter and what led up to Pearl Harbor.
It makes me wonder sometimes if the USA had entered on the Allied side in 1939, it would of course had meant more dead Americans, but maybe less dead European civilians and Jews?  I dont usually like alternative theoretical histories as they are mostly meaningless…but it is a point to ponder. It is totally barbaric to me that the world is essentially replaying what happened in WW2 to some extent. a bullying dictator with a stronger military threatening and invading on behalf of “Russians ” in the Ukraine (like the Germans in Czechslovakia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, etc. )
Russian Germans: I think alot of these peoples ended up in the Great Plains of the USA and Canada…primarily Manitoba/Saskatchewan/Alberta and North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.   I have dealt with many of them in business.  Also some of them were Mennonites and there are still significant Mennonite “colonies”  in Canada
and the Dakotas…at this time its not as it was in the 19th century, but many towns are primarily populated by descendants of these immigrants.  Being an old North Dakota
hand I know you are aware of this…..kuchen, runza, redeye…hahaha…these are all foods and drinks of the Russian Germans.
Catherine the Great.  two recent tv series about her.  the first was more serious, I think it was on HBO, but I am not sure, 3 parts,  Helen Mirren is CAtherine, in her later reign…..    and the other is on HULU, it is “The Great” which is a much more tongue in cheek satirical quasi history of Catherine’s early years in Russia…its a bit of a romp and not for the straight laced…but it is delicious if you like that sort of thing (I do) and it has some history within.  In both cases and the book you show…the German influence on Russia is very much pronounced.  Frederick the Great of Prussia was the great nemesis of Peter the Great…Prussia blocked Russian expansion west (Poland, as usual, paid the price) and after Peter died , CAtherine came as the wife of his son, bringing German and Western European ideas into still feudal Russia.  Then of course the Germans were invited in to modernise
agriculture and the country.   There was always a backlash to the Germans despite they prospered as middle class farmers, and also as a professional class and military class in Russia …but Mother Russia had a way of defining them (and of course Jews) eventually as the “other”.  Hence the emigration from Russia in the late 19th century.
I read a good novel that is about Russia over a couple generations…”The Goose Fritz” by Sergei Lebedev.  Essentially the onset of WWI spelled the end for the German heritage population in Russia..further after the Bolsheviks took over Russian nationalism became important…and German Russians were further marginalized.   The novel essentially traces one family’s descent during this period from the 19th into the mid 20th century….  it is a very interesting read.
from Joyce:
IMG_3138.JPG
from Carol: Have you seen this?

Putin meeting with business executives at the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022

from Bruce: This American Life [article here] had an interesting episode on Putin’s history of aggression to other border countries.

Paul Farmer

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Pre-Note: The last week has been occupied.  As regular readers know.  I was hospitalized for major surgery.  Surgery last Friday was successful; came home Wednesday; now spending my time resting and regrouping.  Questions?  Ask.  I’ll reflect on my experience at this space in a few days.

Meanwhile, the assault on the senses on the TV screen was Vladimir Putin playing emperor of a world no longer existing.  My comment on the Ukraine situation is to see in my mind the grotesquely long table in the Kremlin, with Putin at one end, and somebody else at the other end.  Horrible but accurate visual.  It says Pathetic, not Imperial.

(Ukraine is about the size of Texas; Texas has a little more than half Ukraine’s population.  Previous post here.)

There are tens of thousands of highly informed and expert people giving conflicting advice all over the planet, no less so here.  Messy as our world is, it is our world.  It is no longer one country, one empire or another.  The past is passed, though some like to live in it.  There’s lots of work being done behind the scenes.  Be informed.  Don’t panic.  Sends LOTS of positive thoughts to the Ukrainian people.  We can only imagine.

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DR. PAUL FARMER:  I’ve had a fair number of years on the planet, and some months ago I started a list of people I consider “heroes”.  Most of them wouldn’t consider themselves heroes, but that is what they are: ordinary people who inspire me.

Paul Farmer is one of these.

Most recently we watched, and I highly recommend, the Netflix film “Bending the Arc“, essentially about Paul Farmers life and work.  It is perfect for this moment in time.

For the moment, it is best to leave the eulogies to people who knew best.  I’d recommend reading the Partners in Health link.

I learned of his death in my own hospital bed on Monday when my wife noted seeing the obit in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  Here it is: Paul Farmer.

Personally I learned of Dr. Farmer’s work through the Tracy Kidder book “Mountains Beyond Mountains“.  I was introduced to it by Paul Miller who was preparing several of us for a memorable trip to Haiti in December 2003.  (Michelle Karshan, mentioned in the STrib obit, is one of the people we met on that trip.)

In 2006 we went again to Haiti, and this time visited Cange, Haiti, Farmers flagship, as well as a new satellite community clinic, and a conversation with a women’s group of AIDs survivors. in a rural village in the vicinity of Ench (Hinche) in the interior.  Success comes in small steps, and we were witness to a small part of that.  We Americans cannot imagine how good we have it when we come to general access to health care, period.

A few years later, In 2013, I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Farmer speak in person at the Nobel Peace Prize Festival at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.  Afterwards many of us stayed in line for hours to have an opportunity to greet him personally.  This was an atypical book signing, which started after his talk.  He gave each of us whatever time we desired to interact with him.  It was probably midnight when I finally reached him.  I was near the end of the line.  I don’t know how long I talked but I’d guess it was like everyone else, minutes not seconds, regardless of age or importance.  We waited our turn.

I note he died at 62, my oldest sons generation.  When I met him 8 years ago he was 54….

Here are two photos from that memorable evening – standing in a line that I will never forget.

Paul Farmer and Dick Bernard at Augsburg University Minneapolis, near midnight, March 9, 2013.

The autograph: “With gratitude for your interest in health and human rights” Paul Farmer

COMMENTS:

from Chuck: A hero of mine too!  I only met him twice…but those short minutes led me to believe he was the second coming!

from Carole: broken hearted about the death of Paul Farmer, my hero too.

from Nancy:  Amy Goodman’s blog about Paul Farmer is here

from Jermitt: I’m pleased your surgery went well.  Yes, we lost another wonderful person, Paul Farmer.  HIs life’s work saved many lives.  He too, would be saddened by the conflict by Putin’s cold heart.  Thanks for your post, Dick.  As always, I greatly appreciate your thoughts and opinions.

from Jane: Tragic news about Paul.

response from Dick: My oldest son is near Paul’s age, and recently a friend’s son and another’s son-in-law died at 59. It reminds me of a funeral over 40 years ago where a teacher was killed in a car accident taking students to Boys Nation.  The teacher was probably in his 40s.  The pastor eulogized the teacher simply: “Myron lived before he died, and he died before he was finished….”  He admonished all of us to live life while we can.  Today is all we have….

from David: Glad to hear that everything went well and that you are at home. Doubly glad that the prognosis seems very positive at this early stage. While we may legitimately complain about the cost and inequity of our health-care system, the skill and caring of the people delivering care is truly amazing—from the doctors all the way to the people who pop into the hospital room to tidy up.

Be a patient patient. Don’t push things, listen to the pros, including your wife. Looking forward to your return to Caribou.

from Jane: Remember that Crossing Boundaries  show in 1995 was at the Ukrainian American Center?  [A cross-cultural event in which I was involved.]

response from Dick: Yes.  This is definitely a lose-lose for Putin and all of us.  I have no idea what things will look like a week or month from now, but it certainly won’t be over if the Russians take over.  I can guarantee that the Ukrainian community here and everywhere LOTS of Ukrainians in Manitoba are having lots of meetings.

from David: So glad you are well Dick. Dr. Farmer’s loss is a shock.

from Bob and Deann: We are grateful to learn you are recovering well.

from Hector: I’m so glad to hear you are recovering nicely. Thanks also for this post on Dr Farmer. I am looking forward to watching the video. Our church supports an orphanage there. Thank heavens there are people like him helping that desperate country.

from Brian:  That’s a wonderful piece, thanks for sharing!

So sorry to hear about your major surgery. Glad you got out quickly, hope the resting and regrouping leads to a rapid recovery.
Kenbe fem, Brian

from Maria: Happy to know you are already back home after surgery. I was on PBS evening news when Judy Woodruff announced the death of Dr. Paul Farmer, and my heart jolted. A beautiful presentation of his life and work with ‘Partners in Health’ followed, complemented by pictures. I have the habit to take significant pictures from TV. I will try to send you some, one splendid!

Dick: Here are some screen shots of the PBS News Hour sent by Maria.  Maria was part of the group we were with when we visited Cange and other places associated with Dr. Farmers work in 2006.   I was doing video of the trip, but I just couldn’t turn on the camera in the hospital area.  It was too difficult, emotionally: patients young and old, were standing quietly in line for perhaps only a single visit with a medical professional, and had travelled a long way to even get to the clinic.  There are a flood of visual images of that few hours at Cange.  Perhaps I’ll add some later.  Here’s some of Maria’s screen shots thanks to PBS, no id provided.  Dr. Farmers main focus countries seemed to be Haiti and Rwanda, which is where he died:

from PBS

I believe the above photo is Paul Farmer and his family.

from Jim and Priscilla: So glad to hear that surgery went well.  Take care and heal up fast!

from Jay: I am thankful your surgery has been successful. We need you to get back to your good work of promoting and urging peaceful coexistence.

from Mary: Sad about Paul Farmer’s untimely death but we should all leave even a fraction of his legacy.  Sometimes the type of work he was involved in was pretty unappreciated and misunderstood and it takes strong commitment to make it possible.

from Suzanne: Glad to read that all went well with your surgery, and that you are on the road to recovery. Incredibly tragic news regarding Dr. Paul Farmer. With regard to the above post, I will make a donation to Partners In Health.

from Bruce: Dick, glad to hear of your successful surgery and sending positive thoughts for a quick healing process.  I read Dr. Farmer’s book many years ago and also have much admiration for his courage and commitment.

from Rebecca: Dick: Glad you are home and getting your strength back. Yes, what a shock –Paul Farmer dead such a young age. His legacy for humanity is huge; his legacy for Haiti so poignant–we must keep going to lift up Haiti. Thanks for all you do.

from Judy:  Dick, so pleased for your successful surgery….but I send my tender care for the loss of your friend.  God’s blessings,

 

 

Ukraine and Preparedness

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PRE-NOTE: February 27, 2022: Much has happened since this post was published Feb. 16.  Here is the Ukrainian National Anthem, in solidarity.  Related post here.  Moving speech by President Zalinsky to his colleagues in Europe, here.

Heather Cox Richardson’s column for Feb. 27 here.

I have had two subsequent blogs on the topic: here and here.

I decided to use my 1961 Life Atlas to pinpoint Ukraine, Kiev and Moscow, because in 1961 Ukraine was part of the USSR, until the breakup about 1989. This might help define this particular time of grievance – not justifying it, but at least identifying it. The map quoted is on page 326 of this Atlas, which I bought when I was in the U.S. Army

Today is supposed to be the shock and awe day in Ukraine, when the Russians invade.  Maybe diplomacy worked.  I don’t know. It’s 6:05 a.m. here; 2:05 p.m. in Kyiv.  I haven’t looked at the morning news here or the morning paper so I don’t know what has actually or will happen.  It is mindful of March, 2003, and our own shock and awe event in Iraq over supposed weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein.    It’s mindful of Pearl Harbor Dec. 7 1941.  It was 8 a.m. there; afternoon the same day, here.  Calendars and clocks can be tricky when reporting global news.  I don’t minimize the issue:  big boys with lots of “power” and expensive toys and all the rest of the ingredients necessary for war make this another dangerous time in world history.

Will we ever learn?  All I can offer is this note at this time of my day in Minnesota USA.

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Possibly there might be someone out there who takes at face value the narrative about Ukraine-Russia-the U.S.- NATO.   I would guess (that’s all someone like myself can do) that all parties in control on all sides have a pretty good idea of the final outcome.  In this high tech era, I’d be shocked if they didn’t know all of each others secrets, and that high level diplomacy won’t resolve the issues.  Nonetheless, war or threat of war, or an enemy, is very helpful politically no matter the country or the system or the time in history.  Chris Hedges War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002) always comes to mind at times like this.  This came along about the time of our Iraq misadventure – a solution to 9-11-01.  War is Good…not, but yes…it is useful to politicians currying favor with people like US.

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Just in my own life experience, I’ve been old enough to hear about testing of new and ever deadlier bombs; the ever-present Commies; etc.  My headline, “Preparedness“, is actually a word, rooted in military might.  (I looked it up to make sure it even was a word.)

Early in the Fall of 1957, October 4 – I was a senior in high school, Dwight Eisenhower was President – the Soviets announced the launching of Sputnik, a beach-ball sized satellite orbiting the earth.  A month or so later, a second, larger, Sputnik was launched, carrying the first space passenger, the famous but unfortunate dog, Laika.  And later a third still larger Sputnik.  The U.S. couldn’t get in orbit, and thus the space race began.

It only took the first Sputnik, which I actually saw blinking across a brilliantly dark night sky above my grandparents farm, to start the space race.  That first one was tracked and publicized in the newspapers.  We knew where to look.

While the Cold War had been background noise in life since the end of WWII, actually getting something into orbit, albeit only a short time, set off the alarm bells.

In the farm junk several years ago, I found a 46 page booklet, published in 1961, that gave helpful tips for surviving a nuclear blast, even on the farm.  It was published by the Department of Defense, Office of Civil Defense, and was serious business.  I’ve included four random pages to give an idea of its contents.  I would guess every adult saw this, and paid attention.

Dec. 1961 booklet 47 pages. Here are two pages, pp 20-21 and 40-41, from the above pictured booklet: Fallout Protection 1961.  (In response to a request, I’ve pdf’ed the entire booklet, here, in two parts: Fallout Protection 1961 complete; and Fallout Protection 1961 complete (2)

Dec. 1961 happens to be the month I graduated from College.  The next month I was in the Army, and in October of 1962 we soldiers were mobilized in case the Cuban Missile Crisis would be trouble.  It was a serious problem, but ultimately resolved by diplomacy at the highest levels.  There are books about this.  For we soldiers, it meant some days of hurry up and wait.  Cheyenne Mountain Colorado – a prime target – was the landmark we woke up to each day.

*

So…We’re in it again.  Nowadays, of course, the weapons of communications and implementation of disaster have changed, and they are worse than in the olden days of simply blowing somebody to hell and solving nothing in the long term.

We seem to choose not to learn.

Today the word is Cyber, and the media is another potent weapon to sew fear and dissension.  Somebody has to be blamed.  The world has no borders: note the Covid-19 Pandemic, diminishing to potentially Endemic after two long years – sort of like a permanent hurricane downgrading to a tropical storm, doubtless to be followed by similar events down the road.

We can’t evade this stuff.

But we are the ones – you and me – who can make for a better or worse future: a future we’re stuck with…together.

As I said at the beginning, I don’t know what happened overnight in the Ukraine area.  I’m sure I’ll read and see all about it shortly.

*

Today begins my own adventure towards surgery on Friday, so likely this space will go dark for awhile.  Plans are to be back on screen in a few weeks, or maybe even earlier.  If interested in my status, check beginning this weekend at Caring Bridge, Dick Bernard-MN.

COMMENTS:

from Joyce: Comment from Heather Cox Richardson for Feb. 16, here, about President Biden’s approach.

from Peter: Commentary by Greg Palest,  7 Facts about Ukraine Deadly Men in Funny Hats**

from Jay: The following from FAIR is the most accurate report on the Ukraine crisis I have seen: here

from Greg:  So it is Friday evening in October 1957 and I am watching TV in downtown South St Paul when a news bulletin interrupted whatever I was watching to inform that Sputnik had been launched.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I will be praying for you for success Friday, my Friend! God bless you, and your anesthesiologist!

from SAK:  Thanks for that Mr Bernard & hope all is & will be well with you!Attached, I just rotated the nice map you sent & highlighted some places that are being mentioned in the news.

Minsk is the capital of Belarus where manoeuvres are taking place.

Krym is Russian for Crimea.

Lugansk is in Eastern Ukraine & is currently not ruled by Kiev – Russia supports the “rebels” there.

Stalingrad was the location of one of WWII’s largest sieges by the German army (along with Leningrad) & battles. Renamed Volgograd in 1961.

Kursk is where the largest tank battle (in history?) took place between Germany & the USSR.

I am reminded of how Germany before WWII said that Czechoslovakia was like a dagger into the German belly & later attacked & captured the Sudetenland – similarly Russians can say the same of Ukraine.

Sooner or later these things end badly unless sense prevails. There is hope.

Annotated map from SAK.

from Jermitt: I want to wish you a quick recovery from your surgery tomorrow.  I greatly appreciate your position on war and peace.    Your attitude toward war is similar to mine.  I have to be hopeful that war in Europe is avoided once again,

 

A Valentine Wish

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Previous related post, Yesterday, Feb. 5.  additional Post re Ukraine et al Feb. 16, here.

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Happy Valentine’s Day, Monday.  Six days to surgery.

One additional post earlier this week, Welcoming Afghans Feb 11.

We attended Friday’s Minnesota Orchestra program, and it was phenomenal, especially  the final piece, the original 44 minute reading of Stravinsky’s “The Firebird”.  Orchestra and conductor earned the ovation they received.  (The You Tube rendition from 2011 by the Vienna Symphony can be watched here.  The Minnesota Orchestra program about Composer Igor Stravinsky is here: Stravinsky.)  (See Postnote below as well.)

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Valentine’s Day is tomorrow.

As I was listening to the orchestra Friday night, I looked through the program booklet for February, to see if there was anything with a Valentine’s Day theme.  The closest I came was a marvelous Essay “Washing for the New Year,” by Mao Kalia Yang, a tribute to the Chinese New Year, which began Feb. 1.  The Essay is here: Washing for the New Year.  It is a single page, concluding with this: “That in all the bitterness of the world there remains: a source of sweetness in our lives, love.  Always the love, first and last, a love that lasts”.

That’s a powerful Valentine wish for all of us.

Personally, acknowledging the deep dysfunction in which we live these days, what this boils down to for me is that all of us, wherever we live on this planet, are part of a single community which is ours, not mine, not them (whoever that is), or any artificial divisions.  Our contemporary society, seems easily led to revere competition over cooperation, to the detriment of us all.

Today is the ultimate and annual example of our national top priority: the Super Bowl, this year, LVI.  Tomorrow, someone will have won…but what?  And for how long will it endure?

LVI?  That’s 56 in English.  Even the vocabulary reminds us of the late, great Roman Empire, which didn’t last.

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Do have a great Valentine’s Day, and make it a beginning of a really good year for everyone.

Handmade card from young friend to young friend, about 1912, with help of Mom.  Both were girls, neither yet in country school.  (This was written by a farm Mom for her daughter to the daughter of another farm Mom nearby.  It would be interesting to know if the writing is original or from a poem seen in the time around 1900-1912 or so.)

The youngsters lived about two miles apart.  The handwriting: “Because I love you, if there were paths to Fairyland or to the brightest star, I would turn from them all and go the road to where you are.”

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My date with surgery seems set for Feb 18.  The week to come will be busy.  A Caring Bridge site has been established for updates.  Don’t expect anything until Feb 18.  I guess I’m Dick Bernard-Mn at Caring Bridge.

POSTNOTE: The officious review of Stravinsky in today’s Minneapolis StarTribune doesn’t agree with me, but, so, what else is new?  I was in the same hall, heard the same performances, and saw and felt the reaction of everybody else.  Reviews are always personal opinions!

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

from SAK:  Many thanks for the uplifting post for Valentine’s – lovely card by the little girl (with help from mum).

Stravinsky is one of my favourite composers. He is music’s Picasso: different styles but hugely successful in all.

Picasso when asked about style said: “God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.” May God carry you safely through the week ahead.

& like you I wouldn’t worry about the review of the Stravinsky concert – has any statue been put up for a critic!?

All the best.

from JSD: Best of luck with your surgery. I pray that you will do well like I did. I have been 14 years cancer free of colon cancer.

from Judy: such lovely thoughts.  My prayers are with you as surgery approaches.  God’s blessings to you.

from Lee: Good luck with your surgery Dick. I will be keeping you in my thoughts.

from John: Sending love and healing thoughts. There are many of us who will be thinking of you this week and always.

from Jeff: Good luck Mr B….i have no doubt a stout German Frenchie like you will come thru just fine….blogging from your recovery bed…thinking of you….

from Larry: Dick, back when I was teaching storytelling and video, I would tape the Superbowl, then isolate some of the most fun ads that were appropriate for kids to watch (obviously in my opinion, because many of them would have already seen all of them).  Then I’d show some of them and talk about how much companies paid for a minute of advertising time (back then it was “only” a million dollars a minute.  Then talk about a few things, like people being homeless, and a decent house, nothing fancy, was then about $100,000.  Then ask them to think, IF YOU HAD A MILLION DOLLARS TO SPEND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO, IF YOU WEREN’T TELLING EVERYONE TO BUY FRITOS?   Some papers were pretty self indulgent, but a fair number would also be quite socially conscious, etc.

Happy Valentines Day, and may your surgery go well, and make everything better.
from Rosa: Our thoughts are with you in your upcoming surgery. Hope that everything will go smoothly, and, as one of the people who commented on your blog, that the prognosis after surgery will be a good one.
from Anita: Happy Valentine’s Day, Dick.  My thoughts and prayers are with you, especially on the 18th.  Hope everything will go well.
from Fr. Harry:  I appreciate, Dick, your sharing this with me and others. I am praying for your healthy recovery and will offer Mass for you on February 17th, the day before your surgery.

from Jerry:  Dick, thanks for reminding us of your surgery date.  You know I will be praying for you and checking on Caring Bridge.  Get well quickly as we value your input with FAHF as well as your blogs,

from Beth:  Star Gazer will be looking after both of you this week.

Star Gazer resides on my kitchen table and  “Looks Out” and “Looks After” me, and people I care for.  “All will be well”

Star Gazer from Beth 2/13/22

from Kristi: Wishing you all the best for a smooth surgery and a fast recovery. Please let me know if I can do anything to help you.

to Kristi from Dick: Many thanks.  It’s Monday, and absent changes, the surgery is Friday.  No one knows for sure what the future holds, for myself, themselves, or anyone else, or for our nation and world – this is a very troubled time.  You and I and many others shared a lot of time over the past 20+ years since 9-11-01 in the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers and then Citizens for Global Solutions, and other related common ground, and regardless of what my personal future holds, let’s keep working for a better and more workable world.  It is possible, but it will continue to take effort, lots of it.   I’m an optimist, but my optimism is tested these days, not for myself, but for all of us, everywhere.  Keep on, keeping on!

from Jermitt: I appreciate your comments on what we value in life.  Each of us are different, but our basic interests are the same or at least similar.

I wish you only the best in your upcoming surgery.  In many ways, you are my valentine.

Portion of letter from the Minnesota Orchestra to subscribers Feb. 14:  “Happy Valentine’s Day!  I’d like you to have Besame Mucho from the Minnesota Orchestra. It’s the classic love song “Besame Mucho.” Written in 1941 by Consuelo Velazquez, this achingly romantic tune became a global phenomenon performed by The Beatles, Elvis, Frank Sinatra and dozens of other artists. Trumpeter Charles Lazarus and the Minnesota Orchestra teamed up to make this rendition part of the 2021 Symphony Ball, with Tommy Barbarella on piano and Music Director Osmo Vänskä on the podium.With gratitude for your generosity and all you do to sustain the Minnesota Orchestra, I hope this adds to the sweetness of your day.”

from our next door neighbor, a photo of a rainbow, with best wishes.

Rainbow on Romeo Road

from Kathya:  I know your surgery is on Friday, so I wanted to say that I have been praying for you, for the doctors to do a perfect job and for you to be promptly recovered.

My husband Fred and I are sending you good thoughts and prayers and wishing you to be healed with this medical intervention.
from Len: Good Luck. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
from Claude: The best of luck, Dick. You’re in good hands, I’m sure.
from Sean: Prayers to you!
from Beth: All the best wishes, love and prayers to you, Dick, as you journey through this surgery process. Lifting Cathy and the rest of the family up, as well, as I know good and well it’ll be weighing on them too. Take care & God bless.
from Pat: Keeping you in our prayers Dick, hope all goes well with the surgery!
from Jane: Blessings to you on Friday and after.
from Maria:  Tomorrow is your day and you will be in our thoughts and prayers.   I liked the picture you posted of myself with your family. I have fond memories of the time spent with your parents in North Dakota and the time with your family in Anoka. Your mom was so good at playing scrabble and I learned a lot from her to improve my English.  All the best tomorrow and I hope you feel well enough to continue your blog.
from Jim: …And best wishes to you, too, Dick!  Looking forward to hearing from you again real soon!
from Gene:  Best of luck with your surgery on Friday. Jackie and I will be thinking of you and surrounding you with white light.  All the best from one tough North Dakota boy to another!
from Donna: We will be going to mass on Friday to pray for you.  Best of luck.  I feel so fortunate that we both attend the Basilica.
from David: Wishing you all the best with your upcoming surgery. Hopefully they’ll have nice sharp tools to cut into the tough old curmudgeon. Fred says to remind you that he’ll be buying coffee this coming Wednesday.
response from Dick: from occasional coffee buddy, what more needs to be said?
from Eric and Holly:  Hi Uncle Dick!   Just wanted to say ‘hi’ and let you know we’re thinking of you.  We look forward to our next brunch!
from Myron: Good health to you with successful surgery.
from Barry: Hope for the best Dick.
from John: Best wishes and prayers go out for you, Dick. We fought the good fight together advocating for teachers, quality public schools and sought to create an environment for protecting the special relationship between the student and the teacher. As you and I have discussed many times, we did make a difference and we had lots of fun and learned much about people and relationships. I admire your indomitable possitivity in working in the peace and justice movement and the example you have set by recreating yourself and never giving up your passion to make this a better world. So, after you have recovered, get going and keep the fires burning.
from Gail:  You will be in our prayers for a healing outcome and journey in the hands of very capable and respectful medical personnel.  God bless,
from Kathy: Blessings to you Dick as you make your way through surgery into wellness. You are loved!
from Mary: have a good time is not appropriate but it is appropriate to take this next event one day and a time and look towards the open door at the end!  Best always!
from Molly:  Good Morning, Dick, On this pre-surgery day, I’m wishing you love & prayers, & superb outcomes. In fact,  into the mix of prayers for you, I also am offering of one of the loveliest (& upbeat) pieces I know–Beethoven’s 7th Symphony because it has such power, and such beauty, that I’ve always felt a Divinity about it.  And, I’m guessing that you know this music, too. And it’s wonderful upbeat & triumphant lift seems like prayer/faith/joy…
from Bruce: I’ll be thinking about you tomorrow.
from JoAnn: Wishing you well on your surgery.  Prayerfully,

from Sandra: Best wishes for your surgery.

from Paul: We will be thinking about you while you have your surgery and recovery.  Wish you the best possible outcome and look forward to hearing from you soon.

from Sue: Best wishes, Dick.  Your first name will be added to the prayers for the prayer group at Assumption.

from Mary Rae: Hope all goes well for you.  Take your time to recover as I think there may be spring/summer to enjoy this year (I hope).

from Denise: Thinking of you during your surgery and recovery.

from Annelee, Feb. 16, 2022

Annelee spent the first 21 years of her life in Germany, leaving for America in 1947.  She knows of what she speaks, at 95.

from Christina:

I’m just letting you know I have my altar area all set up With the blessed Virgin Mary, candle, and rosary.  I will be praying for you tomorrow for your surgery.
Remember…All things work for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Welcoming Afghan Refugees

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Our parish, Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, was an early and enthusiastic volunteer to host new arrivals from Afghanistan last Fall.  Donna and her husband Rich were among those who volunteered to welcome the new members of the community.  Donna’s photo and comments follow.   Basilica has long been ‘on the court’ on this issue.  Here is a commentary in recent months: Janice Andersen An ever wider we.

Jan. 22, 2022 Lake Harriet, Minneapolis (kites in background)

from Donna: I wanted to share a picture of the Afghan family and some friends.  We continue to be amazed by their sense of hospitality each time we go there.  The kids are all in school and the dad got a job as a cultural advisor.  I think with 8 children he is always worried about the future and I know there had to be a lot of trauma for them on this journey.  

We invited the family to a kite festival on Lake Harriet.  Because it was so cold,  the Dad said his wife and baby would not be going, so he told us about 7 of them would join us.  When three of us from the Basilica arrived at their house with vehicles we ended up with 15. Cousins and friends all wanted to go.  We had read that kites are a big deal in Afghanistan so what you see in the sky is a kite.  I did feel bad for all of them because it was so very cold.  

The biggest thing any of us can do is call our senators and congressmen. The tens of thousands of Afghans arriving in the U.S. need a pathway to real and lasting safety. Most Afghans are arriving with humanitarian parole, which only temporarily allows people fleeing danger to remain in the U.S.  To ensure that Afghans find real, lasting safety in the U.S., Congress must pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow Afghan humanitarian parolees to seek legal permanent residence in the U.S.   They are such good people.  He told us last night that their family came to America with nothing.  Now he said ‘we are safe so even though we have little we give thanks’.  In their faith he said they always are thankful for everything and then God will give them more. 

We feel like we are the lucky ones to be helping.
Traveling sculpture on immigrants and immigration at Basilica of St. Mary August 1, 2021.

Yesterday….

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Yesterday, literally, I was at the University of Minnesota for some more medical preliminary before surgery now set for February 17.  I went down a little early so I could take a photo of the old University Hospital as it appears today:

Feb. 4, 2022, old University of Minnesota Hospital

My date with the surgeon is at the old hospital.  I first saw U Hospital in late May, 1965.  The exterior remains the same.  The inside and surrounding area has changed a great deal over the years.

57 years ago I brought my then-wife to University Hospital for a hoped for kidney transplant.  She spent most of that time on the first floor of the wing to the left in the picture, and my recollection is that she died on the 8th floor of the hospital on July 24, 1965.  It was a very long two months for two young people from North Dakota, who’d never been to Minneapolis before.  Our son, then a year old, turns 58 this month.

I think my surgery is on the third floor of the wing where Barbara was hospitalized.

Time flies.

Memories come back from that very difficult summer.

I recall that the summer of 1965 was when a strip of homes, a couple of blocks wide and several miles long, between downtown Minneapolis and Hwy 62 to the south, were razed for the pending construction of the southbound and now old I-35W.  My minds-eye has a photo of the clear-cutting of neighborhoods to build that freeway.  The first place we visited on arrival in Minneapolis was an apartment on Clinton Ave S near Honeywell, which was one of the first to be demolished that summer.

The Foshay Tower was still the skyscraper of Minneapolis, its 28 or so floors now dwarfed by surrounding buildings.  Somewhere is a photo I have from back in that day, taken by brother John in 1968, but it’s not nearby.  Below is a family picture I took at Christmas 1969.

About Christmas 1970 suburban Minneapolis.  My parents, Maria, Joni, Diane and Tom. Maria Eichperger was later Joni and Lauri’s Montessori teacher.  Also at the dinner were my siblings.

Dick, Florence, John, Henry, Frank, Esther Bernard

John, Mary Ann, Frank, Tom, Florence Bernard 1970 Ramsey MN

University Hospital stood out in 1965.  The surrounding area is still recognizable but barely.  Back then, it was possible to park near the hospital entrance – no more.

Back in 2015, I went back to this hospital just to look around inside the building I’d first seen in 1965.  It had changed a great deal of course, though the exterior remained the same.  There has been much more change in the last 7 years. The surrounding area I saw in 1965 is still recognizable but barely.

In the entrance area to today’s facility, which used to be the lounge area for hospital visitors, I saw a couple of signs about the history of U Hospital, now part of the large M-Health complex in Minnesota.  Here are the pictures, which speak for themselves.

2015. Plaques at University Hospital entrance

Now it’s my turn.  There’ll be a Caring Bridge portal for me which will initiate after February 17, or whenever the surgery is actually done.

An early Happy Valentine’s Day wherever you are.

Early 1900s Valentine Card at the Busch farm LaMoure Co ND.

And as a gift: “Yesterday” as performed by the Beatle’s in 1965.    A couple of months ago we watched the three-part “Get Back” film about the last Beatle’s concert in 1969.  I blogged about it then.  If you have even the slightest interest in the Beatles the film is very much worth your time.  Disney Channel.  As it happens, the Beatle’s performed in Bloomington MN August 21, 1965.  At the time I was back in the Cities after my wife had died, and was working at the old Lincoln Del in St. Louis Park.  Survival was the main theme of my life at that time, so I have no recollection of the Beatle’s being almost in the neighborhood that night at the old Met Stadium in Bloomington.

PS: If you’re interested, my Caring Bridge page will be Dick Bernard-mn.  I don’t expect any content to be placed there until Feb. 17.  Many thanks to daughter, Joni, for setting it up.

Bernard family Nov. 7 2015. from left Lauri, Tom, Heather, Dick, Cathy, Joni.

POSTNOTE: To my friend Norm, who sent “Best wishes, Dick, during your undercover review of the health care system“:  Norm,  I’m very impressed with the system I’m experiencing.

Nothing is ever perfect, of course, since there are very many moving parts when a major surgery is undertaken, and of course, nothing can be guaranteed.  There is meaning to the phrase “the practice of medicine” or practice of anything else, for that matter….

The upcoming procedure is the second major one I have personally encountered.  I think I’ve been very fortunate.  The first was Dec. 4, 2018: aortic valve replacement.  During the time period between then and now have been two major events.  The first is the Covid-19 Pandemic which began in early 2020, and has no predictable end date at this writing.  It has been a major disruption in ordinary medical practice.

The second is the continuing consolidation of medical facilities and medicine, generally, which is good and essential in many ways, but a problem in others.  Integrating systems is a long-term process; integrating large systems is not for the impatient or faint of heart.  M-Health, which I knew as Fairview has been my medical provider system for over 30 years.  When I first was a patient, it was primarily a couple of hospitals and a few more clinics.  Today it is a consolidation of hospitals systems and a large number of clinics in a metro area of nearly 3.5 million people.  What used to be a paper based record keeping system is now 100% technology driven, which presents its own set of problems.

So, is it perfect?  Absolutely not.  Is it better than it was when my 22-year old wife waited near two months for a never-to-be-realized kidney transplant at U Hospital in 1965?  Quantum leaps better.  My prospects for success are far, far greater than they were for Barbara in 1965….  And her prospects were quantum leaps better for a patient similarly situated 50 years before 1965 – ironically about the time U Hospital began in 1916.

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

from Vinnie: My prayers and very best wishes for a successful surgery on the 17th. Thinking of you.

from Maria: Thank you for signaling the ‘Bending the Arc’ documentary. I watched it with great interest and emotion, remembering our 2006 visit to Cange with Fondoze’. I have the Feb. 17 marked on my calendar and will be thinking of you sending waves of good wishes.

from Mary: You will do well-and of course be even more imminently able to write the next chapter of “life from the other side of the hospital bed rails”.

from Laura: You know I will have many prayers for you and of course I will check the CaringBridge.  And thank you for the Valentine. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, my friend!

from Harry: Many thanks for this email, Dick. It reminds me of the saying: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”

from Beth: Dick, I’ll light a candle for you on the 17th.  Peace be with you, all will be well.

from Gail: Thanks for the info, Dick.  You’re much loved!  Everyone hopes things will go smoothly and you’ll be able to join us again post haste!

from Annelee: You’re much in my thoughts and prayers. I am so happy to hear that you are feeling well. Like you say, life is a journey filled with hills and valleys that we have to endure and master. With Cathy and your family beside you, and your friends being as near as we can be, with our best wishes and prayers, we  also be therein thoughts and prayers for guidance for your surgeon on the 17th, love Annelee,

from Catherine: My thoughts are with you, old friend

from Rebecca: By “big event” I guess you mean colon surgery to remove the cancer. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers (even secular humanists pray–or at least I do). I will be looking forward to hearing from you whenever you are ready to get back to your blog. Best to you and your family.

from Virgil: I wish you the best. I will keep up with whatever information there is. See you on the other side of recuperation.

 

Black History Month

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The month of February has a long tradition as Black History Month.  There seems to be an extraordinary portal, here, for information assembled from many sources.  The site itself is hosted by the Library of Congress.

I have my own feelings of course.  I will restrict them to a little personal exercise I did back about Martin Luther King Day in 1995, when I was asked to comment at my Church by a young parishioner.  Here was my brief summary for my brief remarks: Race, a personal view.  I’m forever grateful for taking the time to rethink the matter of race as it applied to my own personal history.  1995 was not the beginning of my introspection, nor has it been the end.  I recommend the exercise for everyone.