50-something Moms Blog

Charity begins at home

"The world" has responded quickly and generously to the earthquake devastation in Haiti.  It feels good to be generous, to respond to human suffering, even if all we do is click a button to donate $20 to the American Red Cross. But what about the the suffering right here at home, in the United States? 

I'm not talking about the ongoing poverty in Appalachia or the relentless misery of our urban hell-holes -- you know, the kind of situation that often elicits "the poor will be with us always." I'm not talking about the 1.5 million children in this country who are homeless or the half million women who are victims of domestic violence every year -- you know, the kind of situation that stirs public debate on whether the government should spend any money to offer shelter or medical care. 

I'm talking about the current emergency in South Dakota. Yes, the emergency in South Dakota. You haven't heard about it? It's been headline news for two weeks -- oh, wait. It hasn't.

Why the Conan-Leno Battle Matters

When I was a kid I had a crush on Jack Paar.  Honest.  Never warmed up to Johnny Carson the same way, thought Dick Cavett was pretty good and then kind of gave up on everything but Nightline.

All those shows are either gone or transformed and for me late night TV is more likely to be The Daily Show and something off the DVR or, worst case (but not too bad) Law and Order, Cold Case, NCIS, Closer, Leverage etc. reruns.  Mostly though I read at the same time.  Late night really doesn't feel like home anymore.  Even so, I've been riveted by the Leno-Conan battle and not for the reason you might think.  For me, it's just another symptom of the Generation Gap - this time moving the other direction from the way it was when I was younger.

For many of us, this is simple: Jay Leno is old and grouchy (well not as old as I am but still...) and O'Brien younger, more creative and definitely holder of the "younger, cooler, hipper" mandate.  (Yes I know there's David Letterman (and George Lopez) but for now let's think about NBC.)

My thoughts are free

Like many people, I was both stunned and puzzled a few weeks ago when I heard that the infamous sign over the entrance to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz had been stolen. The sign, which said in German "Work makes you free," was a cruel lie told to the 1.5 million people who were slaughtered there.

Who would steal that sign? Who would want to have such a piece of Auschwitz? What motivated the theft? Anti-Semitism? Holocaust denial? Notoriety? Money? (But who would buy it?)  Now that the sign has been recovered -- in pieces, but recovered -- I'm sure we'll get some of those answers. 

A Woman's Nation?

Maria Shriver, the Center for American Progress and NBC have been having a party, of sorts, with the launch and roll-out of The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything. The gist of the report is this -- now that women officially make up half of the American work force, that's bound to help things change for us in terms of work/life balance, equal pay and how we as families negotiate family and work obligations.

The report contends that things are getting easier for women because more men are willing to chip in with the housework and husbands are increasingly viewing their wives differently because of their bread-winning obligations.

We should have more power because our numbers in the workforce are rising and we're the ones who make 80% of the big ticket money decisions in our homes.  But does all that translate into real change in the workplace? 

So Many People We Remember: Senator Kennedy to Ellie Greenwich

One of my friends has created a twitter hashtag #summerofdeath because of the number of people we've lost since the weather got warm.  Think about it.  Ted Kennedy, of course, and Walter Cronkite, and 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt.  New York Magazine published a list late in August declaring 2009 "officially" the summer of death.  Here's their list:

May: Dom DeLuise, Chuck Daly.
June: Ed McMahon, Ed Thomas, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, David Carradine.*
July: Karl Malden, Steve McNair, Robert McNamara, Dash Snow, Walter Cronkite, Frank McCourt, Merce Cunningham, Gidget the Chihuahua.
August: John Hughes, Les Paul, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Robert Novak, Don Hewitt.

There are a few of those you probably haven't heard of and many of them were quite old, which mutes the public reaction somewhat.  Of course, this list preceded the death of Senator Kennedy, and one other person of particular importance to me.

When our kids were little, we used to sing.  All the time.  And early on, many of the songs they loved were written by Ellie Greenwich. She was a tough cookie I think.  She was also one of the great song writers of her generation.  Ever heard Be My Baby? ("Bee my, bee my bay bee, my one and only baybee...")  Chapel of Love? ("Goin' to the Cha pull and we're gonna' get ma a a reed") River Deep, Mountain High ?("Do I love you my oh my, river deep, mountain high" that was Tina Turner.)  Ever hear of girl groups?  Then you've heard of Ellie Greenwich.  There's a reason she's in the Song Writers Hall of Fame.  She died August 26, the same day as Senator Kennedy, so I'm a little late, but I have a lot to thank her for.

Maybe Not Segregated Drinking Fountains, But Didn't They Stop the Whole Thing When We Were Kids

When I saw the story about the Philadelphia country club that threw out a group of African-American kids, I was devastated.  Thanks to EJ Graff, I found a link to local news video of the event - and children whose faces could have been on kids in Selma or Little Rock  forty years ago.  There were tears, and anger, and shame.  As I watched the video, I kept thinking "No.  Not now.  Not still."

Think about it.  These kids were in a summer program to keep them busy and productive.  The camp had paid the club in advance for once-a-week swim privileges.  Yet not only were they asked to leave, they were told not to return.  Their money was refunded.  According to one report, the club's president said "There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club." (AP quoting local TV)

Being a Baby Boomer Is Not a Bad Thing

An old friend called me the day after the Inaugural concert, to tell me she’d been reduced to tears as she watched the nearly 90-year-old  Pete Seeger, who, in addition to his later Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War work, helped organize labor unions and came from Woody Guthrie’s generation, singing alongside Bruce Springsteen, who truly does speak for today’s blue collar Americans.  One took the old words of We Shall Overcome and Ecclesiastes and made them into anthems, and created two of the greatest kids’ songs ever:  Abiyoyo and Sam the Whaler.  The other, with Born in the USA, My Hometown and so many others, has given voice to so much.

As they stood together at the Lincoln Memorial in celebration of the Inauguration of Barack Obama, they represented, to me all that I had believed and tried to help bring into being.  To many, though, they were "the ultimate in subtly old-left populism."  Speaking about the concert early Sunday before it began, I kept talking about Bruce.  A younger friend gently suggested that he was probably not the day's headliner.  That would be Beyonce Knowles, she said.  And Beyonce was magnificent.  And lovely.  And young.