6 March 2011
Great Exuma, Bahamas
Hi Folks
After that miserable Pittsburgh winter and being confined to the house for so many months, I am most pleased to report that I'm writing to you from Charlotte and Susan's wonderful winter home in the Bahamas. Charlotte and Susan and I go way back, and we had a great trip to Ireland together two years ago. When they invited me to leave frozen Pittsburgh behind to come visit them for a week - I didn't have to mull that invitation over for long!
March has been a great month so far. I drove down to DC on March 1st to celebrate my friend Shirley's birthday with her. Elise and Karen were able to join us for dinner, so it was a festive party indeed. On March 2nd power-driver Elise drove from DC to Savannah, where we spent the night. The next day, Elise drove straight to Bob and Patty's house in Deerfield Beach, FL. We had a great night of food and song at Bob and Patty's and the next morning Elise returned to the National Labor College in DC and I landed here. Woo hoo!
The rest of the month will be pretty exciting, too ... when I get back to FL I'm planning to visit all my Sunshine State friends and at the end of the month I'll fly from Miami to Guayaquil, Ecuador to meet Dan and Monique and Sebastian. Quito is out of the question for me while my lungs are so compromsed. It's 10,000 feet above sea level... not enough oxygen to suit me. But Guayaquil is on the coast, and from there we are traveling together to the Galapagos for a week. Dan rented us a cottage. That is a 'bucket list' destination of mine, and has been ever since I read the LIFE magazine special on the Galapagos when I was about 7 years old. I'm feeling very lonesome for the world's cutest grandbaby, too!
There is a very good chance that Dan and Monique will be going next to Zimbabwe next... a destination that I will have to be much stronger than I am now to visit. So I've got to get these Sebastian visits in while I can!
You can probably tell that I'm feeling much better and stronger. It's a wonderful thing. I'm hoping to get in better shape now that I'm in good weather where I can walk and swim every day. My stamina is about 20% of what it was. But I'm optimistic that this month of good weather is going to do me a world of good.
In this issue you'll see some of my favorite news from Wisonsin, some photos from the Oscars dinner, a link to my friend Michael's wonderful guest house in Key West (he rents it out, too, if you want to stay there!), two exciting save-the-date
announcements, March birthdays and family news.
On Wisconsin!
My friends here in the Bahamas were stunned to learn that Scott Walker actually had a substantial budget surplus when he took office. Wisconsin's "economic crisis" is the direct result of a bunch of corporate tax breaks that Walker passed on to his biggest contributors after winning the governorship.
They've banned musical instruments from the Capitol in Madison. There have been some lively cultural moments in Madison.. Here are a few of my favorites:
http://vimeo.com/search/videos/search:lou%20peter%20berryman%20/97fb8bdc
The link above is to Two Traditional Songs tweaked and performed by Lou and Peter Berryman
and sung with thousands of gallant protesters at Madison's Capitol rally, Feb. 18, 2011. I've added the words below in case you can't make them all out in the video...
BRING BACK WISCONSIN TO ME To My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (traditional)
Wisconsin whose motto was "Forward"
Was populist as it could be
But now the new motto is "Backward"
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me
CHORUS: Bring back, bring back
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me
Tho we may be"God's frozen people"
We bask in the warmth of our plea
Don't bury my rights in a snowbank
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me (CHORUS)
They're trying to stifle our voices
They're trying to keep us derailed
They'll find it's not easy to do tho
McCarthy once tried and he failed (CHORUS)
-----------------------------------
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED (traditional), with new verses for today's rally
CHORUS: We shall not, we shall not be moved (x2)
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
We'll keep this rally rolling, we shall not be moved
Altho we could be bowling, We shall not be moved.
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved.
For the teachers who have taught us,
For the folks who drive the school bus, We shall not be moved...
We are teens and tweens and geezers
Like a deer tick in the tweezers, We shall not be moved...
/ Until things get much better
Like a two ton block of cheddar, We shall not be moved...
and Peter Yarrow sang my song at a rally on February 26th....
Chicago songwriter Kristin Lems penned this fine song
Scott Walker was booed and kicked out of a Madison tavern - what was he thinking??
Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Algeria, Libya
It's very exciting to watch these democratic movements emerging, but like all of you, I'm holding my breath until they resolve into stable democracies. We need a UN Peacekeeping force in Libya...
The song that keeps playing in my head as I watch these huge demonstrations is Tommy Makems:
The Winds are Singing Freedom
In the [G] battered [D] streets of [G] Belfast
You can hear the [D] people [G] cry
For [C] justice [D] long [G] denied [Em] them
And their [C] cry will [Am] fill the [D] sky
But the [G] winds of [C] change are [G] blowing
Bringing hope from [C] dark [G] despair
A [C] new [D] day is [G] dawn[Em]ing
You can [C] feel it [D] in the [G] air.
[chorus]
The winds are singing freedom
They sing it everywhere
They sing it on the mountainside
And in the city square
They sing of a new day dawning
When our people shall be free
Come and join the song of freedom
Let it ring from sea to sea.
Too long our people suffered
In misery and tears
And foreign rulers used our land
For about eight hundred years
It's a long road has no turning
And I know that soon will be
A day of justice dawning
When our people shall be free.
There's a time laid out for laughing
And there's a time laid aout to weep
There's a time laid out for sowing
And a time laid out to reap
There's a time to love your brother
There's a time for hate to cease
If we sow the seeds of justice
We can reap the fruits of peace.
Regina Polk Conference - Chicago, June 1-4
This midwest conference for trade union women is a fantastic opportunity for women seeking to be come more active/more effective in their unions. Contact Helena Worthern hworthen@uiuc.edu for more information.
New York City - May 13th - Save the Date!!
My fabulous New York colleagues are putting together a benefit concert for my unemployment fund. The concert is Friday, May 13th - and Pete Seeger is performing!!! Also Bev Grant, George Mann and more tba.
Local 1199's Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium
310 W. 43rd Street
New York, NY
Oscars Party Photos...
MARCH BIRTHDAYS
Wendyl Jay Mar 10th,Griffin Lane McCahil Mar 13th, Rob Shepherd Mar 14th, Ron Berlin Mar 15th, Tom Weldon and Suzie Edkins Mar 17th, John Cunningham Mar 20th, Bette Jacobson Godfrey Mar 26th, Martha Shunn Mar 27th, Mary Weldon Mar 29th, Kelly Grefenstette Mar 31st
FAMILY NEWS...
Sebastian is Six Months Old!!
http://www.flipshare.com/view.aspx?nRecipient=&nFrame=RjdFQTIyNEQtNzJCMy00OTE4LTg3RDQtNzMxNDNBMkY4QTI3&nMedia=RjU1MEFBNkMtMkFEMS00NzQ0LUIzOUYtMTQxNzk1MUU2RDRE&nT=
Looks like Dan and Monique will be headed for Harare, Zimbabwe this summer. Oy, I will miss them sooooooo much! And, to add insult to injury, they're taking my grandbaby with them!
I'll be catching up with my FL cousins soon...
I'm not going to push my luck on this tempermental computer...
My next destination is Michael's place in Key West
http://vacationhomesofkeywest.com/select_property.php?id=175
You can rent it!
That's it!
Love
Anne
Great Exuma, Bahamas
Hi Folks
After that miserable Pittsburgh winter and being confined to the house for so many months, I am most pleased to report that I'm writing to you from Charlotte and Susan's wonderful winter home in the Bahamas. Charlotte and Susan and I go way back, and we had a great trip to Ireland together two years ago. When they invited me to leave frozen Pittsburgh behind to come visit them for a week - I didn't have to mull that invitation over for long!
March has been a great month so far. I drove down to DC on March 1st to celebrate my friend Shirley's birthday with her. Elise and Karen were able to join us for dinner, so it was a festive party indeed. On March 2nd power-driver Elise drove from DC to Savannah, where we spent the night. The next day, Elise drove straight to Bob and Patty's house in Deerfield Beach, FL. We had a great night of food and song at Bob and Patty's and the next morning Elise returned to the National Labor College in DC and I landed here. Woo hoo!
The rest of the month will be pretty exciting, too ... when I get back to FL I'm planning to visit all my Sunshine State friends and at the end of the month I'll fly from Miami to Guayaquil, Ecuador to meet Dan and Monique and Sebastian. Quito is out of the question for me while my lungs are so compromsed. It's 10,000 feet above sea level... not enough oxygen to suit me. But Guayaquil is on the coast, and from there we are traveling together to the Galapagos for a week. Dan rented us a cottage. That is a 'bucket list' destination of mine, and has been ever since I read the LIFE magazine special on the Galapagos when I was about 7 years old. I'm feeling very lonesome for the world's cutest grandbaby, too!
There is a very good chance that Dan and Monique will be going next to Zimbabwe next... a destination that I will have to be much stronger than I am now to visit. So I've got to get these Sebastian visits in while I can!
You can probably tell that I'm feeling much better and stronger. It's a wonderful thing. I'm hoping to get in better shape now that I'm in good weather where I can walk and swim every day. My stamina is about 20% of what it was. But I'm optimistic that this month of good weather is going to do me a world of good.
In this issue you'll see some of my favorite news from Wisonsin, some photos from the Oscars dinner, a link to my friend Michael's wonderful guest house in Key West (he rents it out, too, if you want to stay there!), two exciting save-the-date
announcements, March birthdays and family news.
On Wisconsin!
My friends here in the Bahamas were stunned to learn that Scott Walker actually had a substantial budget surplus when he took office. Wisconsin's "economic crisis" is the direct result of a bunch of corporate tax breaks that Walker passed on to his biggest contributors after winning the governorship.
They've banned musical instruments from the Capitol in Madison. There have been some lively cultural moments in Madison.. Here are a few of my favorites:
http://vimeo.com/search/videos/search:lou%20peter%20berryman%20/97fb8bdc
The link above is to Two Traditional Songs tweaked and performed by Lou and Peter Berryman
and sung with thousands of gallant protesters at Madison's Capitol rally, Feb. 18, 2011. I've added the words below in case you can't make them all out in the video...
BRING BACK WISCONSIN TO ME To My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (traditional)
Wisconsin whose motto was "Forward"
Was populist as it could be
But now the new motto is "Backward"
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me
CHORUS: Bring back, bring back
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me
Tho we may be"God's frozen people"
We bask in the warmth of our plea
Don't bury my rights in a snowbank
Oh bring back Wisconsin to me (CHORUS)
They're trying to stifle our voices
They're trying to keep us derailed
They'll find it's not easy to do tho
McCarthy once tried and he failed (CHORUS)
-----------------------------------
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED (traditional), with new verses for today's rally
CHORUS: We shall not, we shall not be moved (x2)
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
We'll keep this rally rolling, we shall not be moved
Altho we could be bowling, We shall not be moved.
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved.
For the teachers who have taught us,
For the folks who drive the school bus, We shall not be moved...
We are teens and tweens and geezers
Like a deer tick in the tweezers, We shall not be moved...
/ Until things get much better
Like a two ton block of cheddar, We shall not be moved...
and Peter Yarrow sang my song at a rally on February 26th....
Chicago songwriter Kristin Lems penned this fine song
Scott Walker was booed and kicked out of a Madison tavern - what was he thinking??
Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Algeria, Libya
It's very exciting to watch these democratic movements emerging, but like all of you, I'm holding my breath until they resolve into stable democracies. We need a UN Peacekeeping force in Libya...
The song that keeps playing in my head as I watch these huge demonstrations is Tommy Makems:
The Winds are Singing Freedom
In the [G] battered [D] streets of [G] Belfast
You can hear the [D] people [G] cry
For [C] justice [D] long [G] denied [Em] them
And their [C] cry will [Am] fill the [D] sky
But the [G] winds of [C] change are [G] blowing
Bringing hope from [C] dark [G] despair
A [C] new [D] day is [G] dawn[Em]ing
You can [C] feel it [D] in the [G] air.
[chorus]
The winds are singing freedom
They sing it everywhere
They sing it on the mountainside
And in the city square
They sing of a new day dawning
When our people shall be free
Come and join the song of freedom
Let it ring from sea to sea.
Too long our people suffered
In misery and tears
And foreign rulers used our land
For about eight hundred years
It's a long road has no turning
And I know that soon will be
A day of justice dawning
When our people shall be free.
There's a time laid out for laughing
And there's a time laid aout to weep
There's a time laid out for sowing
And a time laid out to reap
There's a time to love your brother
There's a time for hate to cease
If we sow the seeds of justice
We can reap the fruits of peace.
Regina Polk Conference - Chicago, June 1-4
This midwest conference for trade union women is a fantastic opportunity for women seeking to be come more active/more effective in their unions. Contact Helena Worthern hworthen@uiuc.edu for more information.
New York City - May 13th - Save the Date!!
My fabulous New York colleagues are putting together a benefit concert for my unemployment fund. The concert is Friday, May 13th - and Pete Seeger is performing!!! Also Bev Grant, George Mann and more tba.
Local 1199's Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium
310 W. 43rd Street
New York, NY
Oscars Party Photos...
 |
| It was a big year for lost hands in the movies. Here's an eggplant pate for 127 hours. |
 |
| I'm serving the "Inception" appetizer. Potato with sour cream and caviar that looks like a cookie. |
 |
| Laura and Irene brought fabulous "Social Network" fondues! |
 |
| The McTiernan bloc routed us in the Oscars pool. Irene won for the second year in a row!! |
 |
| New-this-year guest Rosemary conferring with Sarah... |
 |
| Doug serves the salmon mousse |
 |
| We couldn't all fit in the photo... here's our best effort! |
 |
| Eric came decked out as Woody from Toy Story and serenaded me with a lovely version of "You've Got a Friend in Me," from Toy Story One |
 |
| Three of my four cherished caregivers - Hilary, Jeanne and Jan! |
 |
| Daniel decked out from "The Social Network." |
 |
| Mary - straight out of "True Grit." Wish we had a photo of the trifle she made for "The King's Speech," not to mention Irene's stunning ballerina cake from "The Black Swan." |
 |
| Sharing hints for the Oscars pool... |
 |
| Briget's baked beans doubled for "True Grit" and "Gasland!" |
 |
| Another hand mold... this time salmon mousse... could have been for 127 hours, or Winter's Bone or True Grit... and that doesn't count all the 2011 nominees where hands were injured! |
 |
| Bill is enjoying Jim and L.Louise's organic salad from "The Kids are All Right." |
Wendyl Jay Mar 10th,Griffin Lane McCahil Mar 13th, Rob Shepherd Mar 14th, Ron Berlin Mar 15th, Tom Weldon and Suzie Edkins Mar 17th, John Cunningham Mar 20th, Bette Jacobson Godfrey Mar 26th, Martha Shunn Mar 27th, Mary Weldon Mar 29th, Kelly Grefenstette Mar 31st
FAMILY NEWS...
Sebastian is Six Months Old!!
http://www.flipshare.com/view.aspx?nRecipient=&nFrame=RjdFQTIyNEQtNzJCMy00OTE4LTg3RDQtNzMxNDNBMkY4QTI3&nMedia=RjU1MEFBNkMtMkFEMS00NzQ0LUIzOUYtMTQxNzk1MUU2RDRE&nT=
Looks like Dan and Monique will be headed for Harare, Zimbabwe this summer. Oy, I will miss them sooooooo much! And, to add insult to injury, they're taking my grandbaby with them!
I'll be catching up with my FL cousins soon...
I'm not going to push my luck on this tempermental computer...
My next destination is Michael's place in Key West
http://vacationhomesofkeywest.com/select_property.php?id=175
You can rent it!
That's it!
Love
Anne
Anne's tour calendar feed
2 comments:
I'm so happy you're missing this
%@*#$&* weather in the frackin' 'Burgh. Enjoy your travels, friends, family and the sun! We miss you here so let me know when you're home.
Happy St. Patty's day.
Love, Love. Molly
Hi Anne,
Where did you go in Ireland ? A couple of years back the wife and I went and we were in Dublin (of course), Cork, Galway, Derry and Armagh. If you ever go again try to get ahold of the WSM. They are open and friendly beyond belief.
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