Hi there Hellraisers -
Last month was the first time nine years that I completely skipped a monthly edition of the Fellow Travelers' Advisory. I didn't get one out in May, and if I don't get this out soon, June will be over too. The good news is that there were so many happy and exciting developments in my life that I just did not have time to write! I'll confess I'm running a little slower than I did prior to getting sick, but I'm still moving along at a relatively fast clip. Big love and a special shout out to all my College Station and Bryan fans and friends - especially Danny, Marsha and Phillip.
Here is the biggest news ... On June 21st my second grandson, Nicholas John Berlin, arrived by Caesarean section in Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. He arrived at 12:59PM and weighed 7lb 13 oz. He's 21 inches long with lots of dark hair and dark eyes.
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Nicholas John Berlin, Born 21 June 2013, 7lbs. 13 oz, 21 inches long |
Mom (Monique Murad), Big Brother Sebastian, and Papa Daniel (Iron Man) Berlin
Immediate Destinations:
June 28-30th Great Labor Arts Exchange, Linthicum, MD http://laborheritage.org/
This is the 35th anniversary of the Great Labor Arts Exchange,
and the 20th Anniversaryof the founding of Local 1000 -
The Traveling Musicians' Local of the American Federation of Musicians.
Come for all or part of this three day conference that changed my life.
Tret Fure, Charlie King, Rebel Voices, Emma's Revolution and I will be among those welcoming you!
July 5th-7th Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury, Ontario http://nlfbsudbury.com/performers
I am so looking forward to this fabulous festival. My pal Martha Shunn is going to be
my road buddy for this 1400 mile adventure.
July 12-14th The Almanac Trail with George Mann and Rik Palieri http://www.almanactrail.com/
July 12th - Pittsburgh - USW Headquarters 7PM
July 13th - Cleveland -
July 14th - Detroit
July 19-21 Committees of Correspondence National Convention
Pittsburgh, PA http://www.cc-ds.org/2013-convention/
August 17-Sept 2 Summer of Solidarity Tour
August 17—Philadelphia
August 18—Pittsburgh
August 19—Detroit/Windsor, ON
August 20-21—Chicago, Metropolis, IL
August 22—Milwaukee
August 23—Minneapolis
August 24—Fargo, ND
August 26—Missoula, MT
August 28—Portland, OR
August 30—San Francisco, CA
September 1-2—Los Angeles, CA
*Dates subject to change based on needs of host organizations
LOVE IS LEGAL!!
Pictured here are three generations of my family outside the Supreme Court yesterday to hear them read the opinion overturning the Defense of Marriage Act. It was fun to be among thousands of joyous celebrants on this historic occasion L to R: Me, my grandson Sebastian and my son Daniel.
Sebastian was a huge hit walking around with his rainbow parasol!
SEPTEMBER 29th - OCTOBER 8th
Come to Ireland with me - still 3 seats left!!
We have a fantastic international delegation of tourists to come see Ireland this summer. Six of our nineteen tourmates are from Canada... We would welcome three more folks to this tour... it's not too late! Out of consideration for our host hotels we will have to close reservations soon. Please don't pass up this opportunity -- If you've wanted to do this for years, do it now, with us! Swedes, Danes, Finns (one of our favorite tourmates was from England) are all warmly welcome.
Top Ten Reasons to Go to Ireland with me...
10. The airfare at the end of September will be at least $300 less than it is in the summer.
9. While it tends to rain for a little while almost every day of the year in Ireland, on the average, it rains less than one tenth of an inch in late September and early October. No one goes to Ireland for the weather... but September/October sunshine will make it easy to enjoy Ireland. Check out this link and you can key in the day and year that you'd like the weather forecast for...
I think you'll agree we've picked a good time to go.
8. My fabulously talented friend Pol MacAdaim has agreed to come to Westport to visit us, talk about his life in Belfast, and perform magnificent songs on the many traditional instruments that he plays. You might even get to hear "The Internationale" sung in Irish!
7. Paddy Downes, the talented driver of our luxury coach, is also a marvelous bodhran player, step-dancer and turf-cutter. We will find a way to get him to demonstrate all of his skills.
6. Your tour includes ALL your breakfasts, ALL your accommodations, ALL admission fees to sponsored attractions, all ground transportation, THREE sumptuous dinners and at least one private concert by a fabulous Irish musician.
5. Western Ireland, where we are touring, is home to the best music and best musicians in Ireland... and we know when they're playing, and where they're playing, and we're your designated drivers!
4. Staying at hotels for B and B prices gives you the best of both worlds as a traveler, economy and hospitality. When we return from our pub crawls (er, I mean "musical experiences") the hospitality of the hotel is ours. We can rehash our adventures, talk about the things we want to do on the tour, make some music, learn some songs, meet some of the other hotel guests.
3. Most Irish tours are on great big buses. You'll see the tourists being herded onto the buses, with their nametags emblazoned on their chests. Their agenda is rigid. Because we are three days in the same location we can pick the best time and best weather to take in the sights. We can be flexible and catch spontaneous events that other tours miss.
2. It's my pleasure to introduce you to some of the most interesting folks I've ever met. You'll get to meet Niall Farrell, a great activist with a lot of insight. You'll get to meet author Danny Donnelly and his wife, Caitriona McConnell Donnelly, fantastic storytellers and great students of Irish history. You won't meet them on any other tour ... They are very special to me, and I think you'll agree.
3. Most Irish tours are on great big buses. You'll see the tourists being herded onto the buses, with their nametags emblazoned on their chests. Their agenda is rigid. Because we are three days in the same location we can pick the best time and best weather to take in the sights. We can be flexible and catch spontaneous events that other tours miss.
2. It's my pleasure to introduce you to some of the most interesting folks I've ever met. You'll get to meet Niall Farrell, a great activist with a lot of insight. You'll get to meet author Danny Donnelly and his wife, Caitriona McConnell Donnelly, fantastic storytellers and great students of Irish history. You won't meet them on any other tour ... They are very special to me, and I think you'll agree.
1. The best reason to come to Ireland now is - IT'S WITH ME!!! and all the fabulous tourmates you'll meet. If you're bringing any special expertise to our tour, please let me know. Our previous tours have been greatly enriched by gardeners, birders, geologists, painters, cartographers, photographers, musicians and singers. Don't hold out on us! We've got less than two weeks together. You'll see breathtaking scenery, learn oodles about Irish history and culture, meet some fabulous people, eat some great food, hear some unforgettable music -- but the pleasure is greatly enhanced by sharing this experience with so many interesting and like-minded tourmates.
JULY BIRTHDAYS
July 1st is my birthday. The Summer of Solidarity Tour is a labor of love. I'm the only one on the tour who can't take paid vacation to be part of the Summer of Solidarity. It will probably cost me about $3500 to do the tour. My birthday wish is to do the Summer of Solidarity Tour. If you'd like to help me do it, kindly send $35 (no donation is too small...) via Paypal to SOS2013@annefeeney.com or click on the "donate" box in the right margin of my blog or on the front page of http://annefeeney.com or mail it to me at
2240 Milligan Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15218
July 2nd, Robin BerlinJuly 3rd, Suzanne Beers, Adam Moss, Pop Wagner, Pat Mitchell
July 5th, Gina Forsyth
July 7th, Cyd Cassone
July 8th, Michael Grefenstette, Kristen Grefenstette
July 10th, Cindy Sheehan, John Heyda, Judy Lane McCahill
July 12th, Arthur Krasinsky, Mike Williams, Ron Olesko and Suzanne McCahill Perrine
July 13th, Crow Johnson, Gus St. Anthony, Larry Evans
July 14th, Martha Lee Bohn, LE McCullough, Todd Samusson, Woody Guthrie
July 15th, Judy Fjell
July 16, Emily DeFerrari, Ben Manski and my triplet cousins Emma Colin and Tara Duncan!
July 17th Doug Clegg, Mark Ross
July 18th, Erin Grefenstette Henninger Graham Warwick
July 19th, George Frayne (aka Commander Cody), Michael Crouch, Turner Wright
July 20, Effron White
July 21st, Darcie Deaville
July 23, Monique Murad, Hilary Chiz, Dave Nachmanoff
July 25, Andrew McKnight, Bob Franke, Karen McCahill, Jim Mc Cahill
July 26, Joanne Nelson Powers
July 27, Rachel Stone, Randy Francisco, Susan Lewis
July 29, Colleen Nelson, Rain Day, Joanne Metcalfe
July 30, Marlo Mary Henninger
July 31, Burr Beard, Diane Crowe
GRADUATION CONGRATULATIONS TO
Casey Horne, Daniel McTiernan and Ashley Walch
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT
Bryan Reilly and Ashley Walch
See you next month! Thanks so much for being on my mailing list and receiving the Fellow Travelers' Advisory. Get my CDs at CDBaby - http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid
Anne's tour calendar feed
