Daily Blues & Views

 They're dying a slow death.  In fact, many people are unaware they still exist.  But others, like me, refuse to let go.  I'm talking about newspapers.  In a world where it was common for a city to have as many as 7 daily newspapers, you'd be hard-pressed to find more than one.  And that lone survivor is either struggling or soon to experience its demise. I recall one teacher I briefly worked with back in the 1980s who built his entire curriculum around the San Francisco Chronicle.  In various programs that were available at the time, a class set of 35 papers would be sitting on the steps leading to his portable classroom every morning.  Many of his peers were skeptical at first, but talking to his students, and observing his class on occasion, I could see how the newspaper offered material for just about every subject you could think of.  He dis lessons on economics and math using the stock exchange.  He used photographs to develop visu...

 More proof that we don't know what many people carry within themselves surfaced when the popular TV and dance personality "Twitch" took his own life last week.  The popular DJ from the Ellen show seemed to have everything going for him, including a beautiful wife and three children.   In a series of somber, if not rambling videos he posted on Instagram, Steven Boss, his real name seemed puzzled and mystified about everything from white supremacy to the state of current affairs.  Who isn't?  Well, I know the answer to that question. Nevertheless, his fans and friends were left asking themselves, Why didn't I see the depth of his despair?" What might I have done?   I'm sure, most of us have a friend or two who took their own life much to our dismay and astonishment.  I know I do.   A few years ago I heard from a former student of mine who was contemplating a trip to Portland and wanted to meet up for coffee and a catch-up on the last...

 “What’s the most expensive coffee in the world?”  The question came at the close of a lively discussion in my International Problems class. This lively group of high school seniors included many recent coffee drinkers. In studying the relationship of poor countries to cash crops, they were eager to learn about the economics and politics of coffee. “ I guess it would be Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee,” I responded. “What makes it so expensive?” “How much does it cost. Have you ever tasted it?”  The questions kept coming.  I told my class the price is about $40-$50 a pound because it’s usually a very small crop. I tasted once when my local Peet’s coffee shop brewed some and offered small cup tastes one afternoon. It was gone in about an hour. Taking note of the enthusiasm and interest in this topic, I made my class an offer.  “Maybe we can taste it here in class.”  Quickly polling the class, I saw that most were interested. I then took up a collection of quar...

 I take my walk at about the same time every day. Early afternoon is usually enough to see if the sun will appear or if rain will accompany me. It’s 2 blocks to the main drag.  I turn right and walk past the clothing store with high-quality merchandise that few in this town can afford. They buy anyway. Literally, anyway they can. Two doors down is the music store that formerly was a boutique. COVID had its way with about half the businesses in my town. Only the 3 dive bars in the next block survived and Slims, the most favored of the trio even underwent a makeover of sorts. The facade was crumbling so the entire front entrance was closed for months. The loyal clientele easily found their way to the back entrance, so even the grizzled day drinkers who usually sip and smoke at the small sidewalk tables up front never missed a beat. There is a daycare and martial arts gym next. The kids in the daycare always prompt a glance from me. It’s a bit like looking at puppies in a pet sto...

 When I first heard the news, one image emerged in my mind. I saw my neighbors house and then the back bedroom that my neighborhood friend shared with his older brother. There, on top of Ricky’s dresser was what I was most excited to see. It was a 45 copy of Jerry Lee Lewis’ mega hit Great Balls of Fire. We had to wait for Ricky to return before we could beg and plead with him to play it for us. I lived the records label The gold and brown colors on those original Sun records really popped. Jerry Lee was something we’d never seen before. Like Elvis, he was colorful, mercurial and completely unpredictable. It was like a guilty pleasure. This was no Pat Boone. If Jerry Lee appeared on TV, all hell broke loose. Something was happening to the post war culture of this country and as teenagers, we were right in the middle of it. It didn’t take long for Jerry Lee to establish himself as a rock and roll bad boy. Marrying his 13 year old cousin sealed the deal. But with his fellow musicians...

 Woody Guthrie once told an audience:      "High prices! You talk about high prices, I went into my store to buy some eggs and the man charged me 59cents for a dozen.  I went in a week later and the price was 63 cents.  So I went in there today, and he charged me 79cents for a dozen.  I  went in there  today, and  he was there, but this time he had his money up on the shelf and his eggs was in the cash register!" Funny, but not too funny today as we seem to be experiencing the same kind of encroaching price rises with everything from a gallon of gas, to a quart of milk.  Don't even think about the cost of a college education.   In my lifetime, I recall what some prices were as a kid and then a teenager, and then growing into an adult.  I'm almost embarrassed to say what I paid for my college education from one of the finest universities in the country.  Usually, I only say that I paid for it myself by working sum...

c2022 B.L.Greene       I see the two words and delete the email instantly.  It's come to that.  I don't want to be bothered with false narratives or dubious statistics.  What do they want anyway? Funny how something once so benign can evoke such a response.  But the news is out, and the scandal is documented.  The American Dream has taken another direct hit.  The Boy Scouts of America have become tarnished.      Like the Catholic church, the workplace, the military, and the teacher's lounge, Scouting is the latest victim to succumb to charges of sexual abuse.  Over 80,000 documented cases in a class-action lawsuit have resulted in bankruptcy. Reality has a way of catching up.  Those uniforms, kerchiefs, merit badge sashes, and even the insignia seem forever tainted.      I see the email vanish abruptly and that image dissolves into a multi-image collage in my mind.  A red coffee can, a ten-dol...

 My class and I were once discussing movies.  When I mentioned that I'd recently seen a film under discussion, someone asked, "Who'd you see it with."  When I said that I'd gone by myself, they were incredulous.  "What," I said, "You've never gone to a movie by yourself?"  They hadn't. But then I realized that it just might be a matter of age.  What they saw as abnormal, if not a complete oddity, becomes less so as one ages.  In fact, I'd wager that all these years later, most of them have had the experience.   Going somewhere by yourself became the topic the other day as I chatted with a small circle of friends.  One shared that she seems more reluctant to go somewhere by herself since the pandemic and resultant lockdown.  "I got halfway there and then almost turned back," said another friend when explaining a trip to a specialty grocery store she recently made.  We all seemed to agree that a slight case of agoraphobia se...

 This is when I feel the "pull." Every August, when the Back to School commercials begin, I get the urge to go to stationery stores.  Not only do the teacher dreams continue, but so too does the desire to get school supplies.   Refreshing all the paper, the clips, the pens, and the pencils are one of the genuinely pleasurable things about teaching.  Setting up a new roll book, a grade book, whether digital or traditional, gives one a sense of order that we know will quickly deteriorate. Nevertheless, it is a pleasurable experience.   As a young teacher, I used to go clothes shopping for the new year as well.  A chance to get a few new shirts and perhaps a winter pair of pants was always part of the process.  As teacher dress standards became less strict, that seemed to become a thing of the past.   Today, when I see all the TV commercials for school supply drives, I always become puzzled.  To an outsider, it would seem that we ...

 "No one is above the law..." So say the politicos and the Attorney General, and all but a handful of Republican sycophants.  Of course, the defeated ex-President continues to act in such a way that he is much higher above the law.   Famous for his diatribe on why people plead the 5th Amendment so as not to self-incriminate, he then turns right around and uses it himself.  His hypocrisy is consistent.   He's hiding his guilt and raising millions in the process.  This is a crossroads for American democracy.  I'd add a few other things like the two-party system as well.   We are fastening our seat belts for the sure-to-come bumpy ride that will play out all the way until the next presidential election.  While Trump maneuvers state legislatures and state secretaries, he's on a collision course with the Department of Justice.  Only when the orange man is reclining in a brand new orange jumpsuit will we know for sure that he ha...

 Seems as if I just checked one off my bucket list.  Last week, my brother-in-law and I hiked a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.  All told, we did about 8 miles going from White Pass, Washington up to Deer Lake, then on to Sand Lake, and back again. This was part of our annual fishing adventure, which happened to be at another lake near the PC Trail. With perfect weather and the wind not too bad, we set out over the well-marked and maintained trail taking time to take in all the wildflowers, the beautiful overstory of Pine and Fir trees, and mindful of others going and coming on the famous path. The gradual incline wasn't too bad, but just in case a break was required, there were some makeshift wooden benches for a brief rest along the way.  This part of the trail features a couple of forks in the road, but responsible hikers had made arrow signs with sticks indicating which way to go.  Some parts of the trail are fairly easy to walk, but others have gnarly t...

 It's no accident that we often hear our current times described as dystopic.  Just look around.  On a daily basis, we see tent cities near most freeway exits, overpasses, and on-ramps.  The number of mental health crises on display as we go through our everyday routines seems to be increasing.  Gun violence is setting new records and fear permeates everyday decisions like going out at night or driving somewhere new.   In my neighborhood, a slew of businesses have gone out of business.  Consequently, the look of a ghost town prevails.  Depression best describes the nature of the economy as well as the population.   Still, there are reasons to feel better.  In times of social change and upheaval, some people respond with their best.  While the decline in democratic values has mesmerized the country, and progressive ideas continue to be repealed by the Supreme  Court, the resistance grows and people find ways to be opti...

 I like films and TV series that are period pieces.  I'm especially fond of the attention to detail that usually accompanies these shows.  It's fascinating to see the breakfast cereals of the 1950s or hear expressions that were popular in the 1930s or even as far back as the 1830s. I remember a film professor once saying that period pieces are as much about the present day as they are about the period in which they are set.  In ancient Greece or Rome is the setting, it's fascinating to see the hairstyles or the clothing and determine if anything of current value has slipped through the creators or the art designers of the film.   So it was while watching the PBS series Hotel Portofino, something recently came to attention.  This is a wonderful series set in Italy in the late 1920s and early 1930s about a beautiful hotel run by and largely for British folks.  Of course in this post-WWI period, the rise of Mussolini is paramount as well as the gener...

 I wanted to write an ode for my truck,    The truck I sold after 20 years, Can you do that?    Do Tacoma’s even know they are loved. I was going to thank the forest green Prerunner for Being there on solo fishing trips where forest roads are rough and feared. For starting while frozen and attempting the snow, The truck that shared my smiles at landing the first Brown trout or 15-inch rainbow. The truck that moved me out of my classroom, and The new to another state. Records, books, fly rods all Safely stored.  I hope your next owner will appreciate your beauty and Integrity. Long may you run.

  We celebrated the nation’s birthday with a mass shooting this year. How fitting. A young man decided to fire on a 4th of July parade.  The Ferlinghetti poem that follows seems to fog the occasion better than a concert of military marches or a star-spangled troupe of entertainers. Certainly, given the circumstances, fireworks would be inappropriate. 

 Last week I drove high into the Washington Cascades to fly fish a small lake I’d only seen in short video clips. Had I waited one week more, the weather would have been ideal. Life doesn’t work that way so I made the best of the cold wind and rain.  My destination was primarily a ski resort area, but being very close to the Pacific Crest Trail it is equally popular with hikers and sightseers I never the warmer months. The trouble is the warmer months have been late in arriving this year. In the Northwest, we call this situation June u ary   Despite battling cold, constant winds, I managed a few fish. All released to fight another day, one, the best one, of course, released a little quicker than I would have liked. Thus, no pictures of the beautiful markings on brook trout.  The brook trout shown here was not from this trip but looked similar in size and coloration.  By early Fall, the spawning colors will be very much in evidence and the greens will be offset w...

 The President has become a pleading father figure.  Some of his offspring detest him, while others cow down as with all fathers.  His complaints are predictable.  Why can't you just behave?  But he is not talking about appropriate peer group behavior.  He speaks of carnage and compassion fatigue.  He is the leader of the nation that cannot seem to ban assault rifles.  So, we set records.   We go from one mass shooting to another.  3 this week alone.   I've yet to see how anyone needs an assault rifle for anything, in any circumstances.  The public school is being sacrificed on the alter of the 2nd amendment.  As one politico recently labeled #2, the greatest hoax in American political history.  Some of us see a marked difference between a well-regulated militia and an 18-year-old misfit with an AR-15.   The President tells his story.  How the people appear before him with one request.  "...

 I recently received a youtube video link in an email from a friend.  It was a rare video of a 1952 telecast of the final game of the 1952 World Series.  Along with a small group of others on the receiving end of this clip, I began to share comments and realizations about this 70-plus-year-old game.   It reminded me of a graduate course in media and history that I took some years ago.  In that's we spent a fair amount of time looking at old film footage, most of it rare stuff that had been recently uncovered.  I recall one clip that followed a trolly car on its route in downtown San Francisco shortly after the 1906 earthquake.  Aside from evidence of the quake, we paid particular attention to the transportation facilities, the clothing, worn, and any other glimpse of a social mores or behavior that might be present.  Most notable that day was how people dashed in and out of horsedrawn vehicles without a care in the world. Watching this old Wo...

 They moved into one of the best-known houses on the block.  The one with the strange, albeit homemade TV antenna on the roof.  That's because that was the house that had probably the first color TV in the San Fernando Valley.  Hell, probably the first one in Southern California.  Rupert Goodspeed, a TV engineer for CBS and family had moved on.  As the late 50s gave way to the 60s, a new family occupied the home directly opposite my family home.   To say they were different folks would be an understatement.  Coming to the greater LA basin from Ripley, Tennessee was a culture shock at best, traumatizing at worse.  But they settled in, not exactly the stereotypical hillbillys, but not far off, either.   Homer, Ruby, and their son Eddie soon adapted to the demands and lifestyle of Southern California.  Eddie "talked funny" to most of the neighborhood kids and didn't easily fall into street baseball games or the budding adoles...

 "It's getting late, but it's not dark yet." My heroes are aging.  Strike that, they are getting old.  Very old, very fast.  So it seems.  The baseball player in his 90s can only recollect.  The boxer can barely stand.  The writers are blind and the fisherman can no longer tie a knot.   And then there is Dylan.  He announces a new tour.  It's what he does.  Still writes songs of substance and takes his show on the road. For me, it was always about Dylan.  The force that hit home at the precise moment I needed.  He is a giant redwood with roots that go deep to Woody Guthrie and beyond to Baudelaire.  Thick, gnarly, massive roots that go to the magma.  He really does contain multitudes. My intro was on Thursday nights.  At 6:55pm I would go to the backyard and ready the two trash barrels to be taken to the curb in front of our house.  I was set with earphones in place and my transistor radio in my po...

 Battle Lines are being drawn.  The Supreme Court's 5-4 majority is about to put an end to Roe v Wade.  Despite the fact that national polls show a majority of Americans are pro-choice, the stage is set.  Settled Law?  Not so, apparently.   Already many women I know are gearing up for the fight they know is coming.  This is worst-case scenario stuff.  If anything could polarize this country more than it already is, it is the question of legal abortion.   It is the slavery of our time.  The biggest moral question dividing the country...despite the polls.  For many, it appears as if our country is going backward.  So why now?  I can't help but think this move is related to other issues, most notably the agenda of what's left of the Republican party.   This is the agenda of fear and the mixture of church and state.  The ironies abound.  Liberals say that the pro-life faction is only pro-life unti...

 We've been watching a few episodes of a Japanese TV program that Netflix recently introduced to this country.  It's called "Old Enough" and apparently has been very popular in Japan for a number of years now. The premise is simple.  Young children are given simple errands to run and are followed by a camera crew to see how they do.  Some of the youthful participants are as young as 2 or 3 years of age.  Japanese culture values independence and the ability to overcome challenges, hence the popularity of the show.  We see, on occasion, that the kids are tailed by adults and cameramen on occasion so there is some sense of security. Nevertheless, there is something about watching a 2-year-old trying t cross a busy 4-lane street with nothing but a little yellow flag held out in front of him that gives one pause. The show makes for some funny moments.  Often the kids forget to get something from the grocery store and have to go back.  They talk to them...

 My generation remembers how WWII was taught in history classes in high school.  Lots of "Good War" propaganda and black and white footage of kids collecting rubber and other recyclables for the war effort.  Of course, there was plenty of film footage of battleships, parades at home, and occasionally, some very grisly footage of American troops liberating concentration camps. My high school history teachers, Mr. Rubenstein and Mr.Elcott were more like Jewish comedians who were very knowledgeable.  Elcott was a dead ringer for the late Borsh Belt stand-up comedian Jackie Mason.  When a student told him that he was doing his term paper on Indonesia, Elcott was dumbfounded because that was too general a subject.  He replied, "What about Indonesia?  Should they or should they not wear a G-string?"  Stuff like that you never forget. It was Mr. Rubenstein, who had an equally strong sense of humor, and who inspired me to become a teacher.  He was on...

 The first week of April and the world still has eyes only for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.  And why not?  It's much more important than "the slap" which will soon evaporate.  But with COVID seemingly on the wane, some things are emerging like the early blossoms and buds of spring.   Here in the Northwest, we have a false Spring before we can even think about the turning of the seasons.  We get all manner of white and pink blossoms on the trees only to see them blown and then washed away by the cold rains of March and April.  But there are other signs that life is emerging. Change is in the air, along with the pollen.  Fewer masks are worn and some restaurants reemerging give way to silent hope.  In my neighborhood, a new restaurant has graced the string of abandoned storefronts.  It's someone's dream, and with a name like the Rockabilly cafe, holds promise.  The trouble is I see far too few folks giving it a try.  ...

 I recently spent some time with my 97-year-old mother-in-law.  It was our first visit since COVID rearranged everyone's travel plan.  At her age, she's assumed her rightful place as the Grand Dame of my wife's family.  She is also a good touchstone for all the social, political, and cultural changes going on.  Her eyesight is not good, so I try to read to her on each visit.  It is always well received and much appreciated.  This time,  after a brief session, we were chatting and I happened to mention that I recently looked up the house I grew up in on Google maps.  From there I found a real estate listing and was able to see some of the sales histories since my sister and I sold the place after my father's death.  I was bemoaning the fact that there were no interior pictures but I could see that the front lawn and our big silver maple tree were gone replaced by concrete.  My father's beloved redwood on the front side had been paint...

 Hard Times.  Those two words have accompanied American history through many a decade.  When used by a noted historian like Howard Zinn, pay attention.  The quote below is currently making its way around social media and for good reason. Aside from offering hope in the midst of the current malaise, Zinn reminds us that courage and kindness exist concurrently in even the most difficult of circumstances.  Perhaps the real message here is to not freeze up, don't lock yourself away.  All around me today people are wondering how much more they can take.  With the pandemic, climate crisis, and the brutal invasion of Ukraine, which gives life to the specter of nuclear war, and perpetual racism, no wonder folks are trying to find a literal and figurative hole in which to hide.   Find the humanity, Zinn seems to say.  Like Mr. Rogers, who urged children in a crisis to find "the helpers," we must seek out those people and experiences where human l...