Hi Folks -
Last month was action-packed and it sure was a refreshing change from being housebound except for doctor visits.
March 1st I celebrated my dear friend Shirley Shultz Myers' birthday with her in Washington, DC, joined by my friends Karen Newman and Elise Bryant. On the 2nd, Elise and I headed down the highway in my car, and we didn't stop until we hit Savannah. The 3rd we headed to Ft. Lauderdale, where the wonderful Bob and Patty Bender had prepared a great dinner for us. On the 4th Elise flew back to Washington, DC and I flew to the Bahamas to visit Charlotte Andrews and Susan Nicholson at their cozy beach house. All you veterans of the 2009 Ireland adventure will remember them fondly. I spent a great week with them, but ended up feeling pretty puny on my return to Ft Lauderdale on the 10th. Bob and Patty had arranged a lovely dinner party with lots of my South FL friends visiting. I had a fever and couldn't quite enjoy everyone as much as I would have liked. And it was super to re-connect with my old friend Oak that night. I hadn't seen her since 1986. Patty was a super nurse and companion. And Vicki Ryder brought me the cutest little stuffed weasel ever. He was my trip mascot and rode along on the dashboard for the whole month.
(If you have no idea why someone would bring me a stuffed weasel, check out
http://fellow-travelers-advisory.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-2010-anne-feeneys-fellow.html).
From the 11th-13th I visited my old ex-pat Pittsburgh buddy Michael Deegan at his beautiful place in Key West. His hospitality was outstanding in every way and it was great to catch up a little. From there I went for a too-brief visit with the wonderful performer Amy Carol Webb
http://amycarolwebb.com and her partner Brook Bell. They are dear friends and incomparable hosts.
On the 16th I headed across the state to Naples to visit my high school sweetheart, Bill Deegan, and his wife and my best friend, Rosanna Lane. I stayed with them for St Patrick's Day. Then on to visit Ed & Marlene Sadlowski in Estero. Ed was in Wisconsin (where I would have gladly been, but I keep spiking these fevers every time I get cold), but Marlene and I had a great visit.
On the 20th I stopped in St Pete to visit my pal Phil Keyes. Phil has some major health issues too. He looks terrific though, and we talked about everything except our health. While I was there, he and I went to visit Cleveland-to-Tampa transplant Marilyn Albert who was helping the National Nurses' Organizing Committee. She had a staffer and a nurse stop over and I helped them to rehearse "Your Nursing Heart," which Kelly and Rebekah delivered with great panache at a rally later that week. I'm hoping to see them both - and you- at the Great Labor Arts Exchange/Conference on Creative Organizing in Washington, DC June 16-18th ...
http://www.laborheritage.org/?p=1309
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| Kelly sings superbly! |
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| Rebekah rocks! |
On the 21st I had a great visit in Gainesville with Joe Courter and Jenny Brown's mom, Joy (who made biscuits for me!). On the 22nd I visited Brother Stan the Union Man on his radio show in Jacksonville, and spent the night with Ken and Cee Cee Severn. Ken and Cee Cee and I posted the 2011 high score in his local trivia bar, too.
On the 23rd I visited the remarkable Stetson Kennedy
http://stetsonkennedy.com and his wife Sandra Parks. Stetson is hoping to have another "Southern Exposure" festival in October, and he invited me to come and receive an award.
Then I had a late lunch with Candice Carter, who just adopted two Peruvian pre-teenagers. I met her beautiful daughter, but her son was still at school. These two kids were raised on the streets until their mom dropped them off at an orphanage when her daughter was seven and her son was three. They had been in the orphanage for years and were soon to be turned loose on the streets to fend for themselves. What an adventure Candice and her new family are beginning!
On the evening of the 23rd I spent the night at my cousin Ed and Terry's house. Their son Ryan is in the FL National Guard and about to be deployed to Iraq. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We all had dinner with my cousins Joe and Rhonda. Their son Justin will graduate from the University of FL on April 13th. Their son Jon is in Africa doing development work very similar to what my son's wife Monique does.
And it's definite - Monique and Dan are moving to Zimbabwe - probably in July. If anyone can help me to get an injunction to keep Sebastian here with me, respond to this email. Seriously, I wish them every success in Zimbabwe and I know they'll be doing important work. I'm sure going to miss them, though.
Then on the 25th I went to the Galapagos Islands for eight days with Monique and Dan and Sebastian. It was a terrific trip. We saw blue-footed boobies do a mating dance. We saw the male frigate birds inflate the large red sac on their chests, attracting a mate. We saw giant tortoises mating. I guess spring is in the air. I hope you are enjoying it.
On the last day of the trip someone ran off with my purse containing $350, my iPhone, all my ID, my passport, my credit cards ... what a drag. I've replaced everything but the credit cards. A lackluster end to a spectacular trip. Dan and Monique were able to get someone to come open the US embassy in Quito to get me an emergency passport last Friday night, or I might still be in Guayaquil. Thanks, Tristan!
I got to see Eric Schwartz in concert on April 2nd, and enjoy the sumptuous hospitality of Ellen Bukstel and Brian Wolfsohn, On April 3rd I picked up my Pittsburgh pal, Briget Shields, in Miami and we headed str aight to Tallahassee. When we got there, my uber-hosts Ward Brodersen and Rebecca Miles had invited Doug Gauss and the Enablers to come serenade me. Laurel Lemley took some great photos that evening. If you're on facebook you can see them on my page or Doug Gauss's page.
Our last night on the road was after driving through the TN tornado all day April 4th. Mary Bryan and Marty Rosen were most gracious hosts to me and Briget in Louisville. Briget, besides being the ultimate co-pilot, is a tireless activist on fracking. If you don't know what fracking is, rent GASLAND on Netflix.
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/about-the-film The gas industry targeted this Academy Award nominee, and tried to strip it of its nomination. Hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, is a wildly unsafe practice of obtaining natural gas that threatens aquifers and water quality everywhere.
4614 miles later, I'm home safe and sound. I've got most of my missing documents replaced, and I've -seen lots of doctors. My PET scan indicated that I am still cancer-free. Unfortunately, it also indicated that my lung infection is MUCH worse. It's still all in the upper right lobe, which is good, but it's twice the size it was three months ago, despite 6 months of intensive antibiotic treatment.
I'm looking forward to the fabulous benefit concert coming up in New York city on Friday, May 13th.
Featuring
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| Pete Seeger |
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| Peter Yarrow |
There are only 199 tickets left, and I'm sure they'll sell very quickly. If you're thinking about coming, don't hesitate. Get your tickets online today at
http://annefeeney.com
This 'n that ...
I wrote an article for Local 802 AFM's Allegro for Women's History Month... you can read it at
http://www.local802afm.org/publication_entry.cfm?xEntry=56946106
My friend Karen Newman wrote a lovely article about me that was published in the ATU International News "In Transit." You can read it at
http://www.atu.org/content/viewer/8219
You can buy my CDs at http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid or call 1-800-
You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
Please follow my health news at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/annefeeney - Please don't call me to discuss my health. I don't think it's good for me. Feel free to call, but let's talk about other things, ok?
APRIL & EARLY MAY BIRTHDAYS
Guy Zahller - Apr 9th, David Rovics - Apr 10th, Laura Daniels - Apr 12, Joyce Kornbluh - Apr 16th, Joey Only - Apr 17th Karen Newman and Rosanna Lane - Apr 19th, Jim Tremmel - May 2nd, Kathleen Feeney, Pete Seeger and Antonito Blanco on May 3rd
MANY THANKS
Once again, I don't know how to thank you all for your financial support during this prolonged period of unemployment. If you are facing hard times yourself, PLEASE don't worry about my finances. I know that even in this awful economy that I have enough friends doing okay to sustain me during this time without work. There's a Paypal donate button on the front page of
http://annefeeney.com and your cards, letters and donations to
Anne Feeney
2240 Milligan Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15218
mean more to me than I can say during this difficult time.
And many thanks to power-driver Elise Bryant and ultimate co-pilot Briget Shields.
That's all the news for this month... Next stop, MADISON!!
Anne's tour calendar feed