Roger O Green

R is for the Roches

“Lucy Wainwright Roche is the daughter of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III… and Suzzy Roche, who, along with her sisters (Lucy’s aunts) Maggie and Terre Roche, make up the female vocal group The Roches.”

The Roches are Maggie and Terre and Suzzy, sisters self-introduced cheekily in We [LISTEN to a live version], the first song of their eponymous first album (1979). “We don’t give out our ages and we don’t give out our phone numbers… sometimes our voices give out, but not our ages and our phone numbers.”

As the song progresses: “Guess which two of us made a record” – that would be Maggie and Terre, Seductive Reasoning (1975), after they sang backup on the Paul Simon song Was A Sunny Day [LISTEN]. “Guess what the other one did instead” – Suzzy went to college in upstate New York. “And now a trio we are, born on the fourth of December.” LISTEN to Hammond Song and Mister Sellack.

No sophomore jinx with Nurds. LISTEN to the title track and This Feminine Position and My Sick Mind.

The third album, Keep On Doing, my favorite, starts with one of their few songs not written by the sisters; LISTEN to The Hallelujah Chorus, then to their Losing True. Then READ why the final song Keep On Doing What You Do/Jerks On The Loose has become my more-than-occasional mantra.

The sisters have done several more albums, four of which I own, including some solo work, and some as duets. Wanted to note this interlocking family connection:

Lucy Wainwright Roche is the daughter of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III… and Suzzy Roche, who, along with her sisters (Lucy’s aunts) Maggie and Terre Roche, make up the female vocal group The Roches… Lucy is also the half-sister of singer-songwriters Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright (whose late mother Kate was half of the Canadian folk duo Kate and Anna McGarrigle). She has toured with Rufus throughout the years. Through her father, she is a niece of Sloan Wainwright.

I saw the Roches many years ago in the Albany area – couldn’t tell you where or when (probably in the 1980s) – but they were great. More music if you have QuickTime HERE.

ABC Wednesday – Round 14

Mother’s Day: no mother, again

There are days when everything is really going well. Then there are other days you wish you could call your mom on the phone.

Here are a couple more pictures of my mom, before she was my mom. I don’t know exactly when they were taken, if I saw them before, I don’t recall them. Funny how she has that head tilt in both, albeit in different directions. My sister Marcia is doing a yeoperson’s job of finding photos, scanning them, and putting them on Facebook.

I’m fairly sure I know where the first one was taken.

It looks like the front of Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church, 35 Sherman Place in downtown Binghamton, NY, where I would later be baptized, in August (?) of 1953.

The Sherman Street church, indeed, all of that street was razed in the late 1950s to build a playground right across from the Interracial Center at 45 Carroll Street, where my father spent a lot of time working on social justice issues.

The church congregation moved to 203 Oak Street, at the corner of Lydia Street, only two short blocks from my home at 5 Gaines Street.

Don’t know much about this clearly earlier picture, except that the man in the car is almost certainly her Uncle Ed Yates, her mother Gert’s brother.

The freaky weather in Albany last month (80F on one day, 27F and snow 36 hours later) reminded both of my sisters of something that happened to my mom one Mother’s Day, or perhaps before: she slipped on ice on the front porch of our house and ended up in the hospital for at least a week. I think it was 1966; the week before May 8, the low temperature was 31 to 33F, and down to 26F the night before in Binghamton, NY. Though it COULD have been 1967, when it was 33F to 35F the evenings of the week before May 14.

There are days when everything is really going well. Then there are other days you wish you could call your mom on the phone. I’ve had more than my share of the latter thus far in 2014.

Methodist church in Oneonta stands for LGBT rights; Karen Oliveto to speak May 17, 18

First UMC Oneonta has a long history of standing for justice. Our work, however, regarding inclusivity in the church is not about an issue, it is about people—our people.

I was reading the website of the First United Methodist Church in Oneonta, NY. It’s a pretty special place whose motto is: Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors. It is A Reconciling Congregation, which, in UMC parlance, means to “create full inclusion of all God’s children regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” I should note that my parents-in-law are members of the church.

The congregation did something rather remarkable, especially if you understand church polity. It held a:

Special Church Conference on Sunday, March 16… to discuss a resolution presented to the congregation by the Reconciling Ministries team of our church… After two hours of discussion, listening, amendments, voting, and tears, the special session of church conference voted to pass an amended resolution. It reads:

RESOLVED, that First United Methodist Church of Oneonta, New York will withhold 40% of its remaining apportionment from the Upper New York Annual Conference in 2014 and will [withhold] 100% of its apportionment beginning in 2015. In 2014 the 40% withheld will be redirected to the Reconciling Ministries Network. 40% of the 100% withheld in 2015 and beyond will be given to RMN, and 60% will be given to other ministries as determined by the First United Methodist Church of Oneonta. This practice will continue until the United Methodist Church removes the discriminatory language from the Book of Discipline and grants gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people all rights and privileges accorded to heterosexual people, specifically ordination and marriage.

The resolution was then sent to our bishop, Rev. Mark Webb, along with a letter composed by the Reconciling Ministries team here at our church. The bishop responded promptly, asking if Pastor Emily and Pastor Teressa would sit down with him, our district superintendent Rev. Jan Rowell, and his executive assistant Christine Doran… We were able to sit down together on Wednesday, April 9th during the bishop’s noon break.

The bishop began the meeting in prayer and then expressed several times that this meeting was in no way a reprimand nor was there any negativity. We discussed the action our church has taken and why this decision was made. The Bishop indicated that he understands the pain and heartache the congregation feels, and that he has to manage these types of actions being taken by churches… A time is being set up for our District Superintendent, Rev. Jan Rowell, to have a conversation with the congregation about the issue—Monday, May 12th in the evening at 6:30 p.m.

First UMC Oneonta has a long history of standing for justice. We make our voices heard on many different issues—hunger, homelessness, human trafficking, health care, education to name a few… . Our work, however, regarding inclusivity in the church is not about an issue, it is about people—our people. It is about the wonderful church family that worships together, learns together, spends time in fellowship, and lends their hands and hearts in service. Our denomination currently holds that some of our active and engaged members cannot have the same rights as others who worship along side them. No matter how gifted and talented they are, some members cannot become clergy. No matter how committed and loving their relationship is, some members cannot get married in their home sanctuary. This church takes a stance on many issues, but we understand that equality isn’t an issue. It is simply the way God calls us to live as citizens of God’s commonwealth.

Further:

SAVE THE DATE—May 18, 2014 First UMC will be celebrating 25 years as a Reconciling Congregation by bringing Rev. Karen Oliveto, pastor at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, to our pulpit on May 18. In her pastoral assignments she has expanded congregations and has been instrumental in the effort to open the doors of the United Methodist Church to all persons including those identifying as LBGTQ and their families.

As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you. ~Genesis 9:9
I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. ~Exodus 6:7a

At its heart, covenant is about belonging. We belong to God. As the Body of Christ we also belong to each other. God commits to us and we, in turn, commit to be God’s people. Covenant knits us together. God initiates covenant and never betrays the call, gifts, and promises given to God’s people.

The church exists because God’s Holy Spirit has called us together and bound us in covenant for the purpose of a particular mission: God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be servants in the service of the whole human family, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory.

Bound together in this covenant, as disciples, we form what many call the beloved community. We have insisted, always, on the importance of walking together in all of God’s ways. We are called to be careful caretakers of this covenant, stewards of our relationship with God and one another. Though the month of May is a busy time and our calendars fill up quickly, let us commit to be stewards of our covenant. Let us be sure to make time to be together in community, to be the Body of Christ.

There will be one service at 10:00 am with a luncheon after. Rev. Oliveto is a remarkable preacher, teacher, and theologian. A few of us have had the wonderful honor of hearing her speak and preach at national events. Please save the date and come worship and celebrate with this wonderful church family! And please RSVP to the church office so we have plenty of food for fellowship after the service.

In order to take full advantage of Rev. Oliveto’s visit, we will not only hear her preach but glean some of her wonderful wisdom. On Saturday, May 17, First United Methodist of Oneonta will be offering a workshop: Evangelism: A Ministry of Invitation, facilitated by Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto. Rev. Oliveto is also part of the adjunct faculty at Pacific School of Religion teaching evangelism. Evangelism can be a “scary” word. She will help us develop approaches in becoming intentional in our invitation to invite and nurture “disciples for the transformation of the world” (Upper NY Conference mission statement). The workshop will be from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm with lunch provided. The workshops are designed to be appropriate for both youth and adults and we encourage our youth to attend and be part of the conversation. Reservations would be appreciated by Thurs. May 15. Please indicate in your response if you need childcare on Saturday.

You may email or call the church office. Phone: 607 432-4102.

And there’s this:

ALL God’s people. In May we light the candle for Bishop Melvin Talbert. Bishop Talbert is retired from the Western Jurisdiction and has recently been brought up on charges for performing a same-gender marriage. He is the first Bishop to have done so. Bishop Talbot was also a colleague of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Movement. During General conference 2012 he has started advocating for Biblical Obedience; challenging the United Methodist Church to put obedience to the Bible before the Book of Discipline.

What WAS that creature in my backyard?

NOT a rat, a possum, or raccoon.

I wrote this on my Facebook page last Saturday morning after The Daughter and I saw something run across the back of our Pine Hills yard, under the raised shed, then towards the front of the house, before it evidently went into the neighbor’s property, heading south towards Western Avenue. “Albany, NY: So what was that stocky, gray beaver-like animal that ran out of my backyard this morning? Tail more like a cat, and it ran reasonably fast for its size.”

I really didn’t know, and I wanted to. The Daughter thought was a beaver, and it was similar, but I’ve seen beavers, and it did not look quite right, especially the tail.

“Woodchuck? We’ve had one in the backyard every summer for years. Pretty harmless, just eats the grass!” Well, maybe; I hear that they can be fast.

“Opposum? Did it look like a gigantic rat?” Nah, I’ve seen possums before. The tail’s all wrong, among other things.

“If you were down here in the city, I’d say it was a rat.” Definitely not. Saw a rat in the French Quarter of New Orleans way too close for my comfort.

“I’d guess opossum, too, but other possibilities are muskrat and woodchuck. Here are some native mammals; remember if it was early morning the color could be pretty deceptive.” Perhaps, but don’t think it was a muskrat either.

Definitely not a raccoon. Lacked the facial markings.

“Fisher cat? I think they’re in the Pine Bush…” “Fishers are in the pine bush, so one may have moved into the city. If neighborhood cats and squirrels have gone missing, this may be your critter, Roger!” “They are vicious.”

And THAT seemed to be the most likely. A fisher, or fisher cat, though it is NOT a feline: It is “a large, dark, long-haired member of the weasel family. Their stature is relatively low to the ground, with short legs, small ears, and a well-furred tail. The color of their fur varies from dark brown to nearly black.”

So, if I were a betting man, I say 70% chance of fisher, 20% chance of woodchuck, and 10% of something else. And if it WAS a fisher, I’m glad our cats are of the indoor denomination.

The Black Panther on the Daredevil art spread

Perhaps the item appearing in the Daredevil Chronicles was an early iteration of what appeared as the cover of the DD Index

Comic book connoisseur Alan David Doane, who used to frequent the comic store known as FantaCo, where I used to work back in the 1980s, asked me this on Twitter recently:

“It took me 32 years to wonder — why is the Black Panther in this pinup? Anyone know?”

He asked me because the picture appeared in a magazine called the Daredevil Chronicles, which FantaCo published in 1982. This was a magazine Mitch Cohn edited, while I was editing the Fantastic Four Chronicles. He also asked Klaus Janson, the inker on the piece over Frank Miller’s pencils, the same question.

Truth is, I had never thought about it. In the Daredevil “family”, Elektra (the woman on the top) and the Black Widow (the woman on the bottom) were featured in that comic. But Black Panther, other than being another costumed Marvel character, was not related to DD at that time.

But around that same period, there was a competing product, the Daredevil Index, published by George Olshevsky, which was, oddly, 9B in the series:

Frank Miller also penciled this piece, although Joe Rubenstein inked it. Perhaps the item appearing in the DD Chronicles was an early iteration of what appeared as the cover of the DD Index, which also featured The Black Panther, as well as Shanna, Black Goliath, Human Fly & Dazzler. I no longer have my DD Index, alas.

I should note, for those unfamiliar, that the Black Panther had nothing to do with the political movement of the same name, and in fact, predated the organization. Rather, it referred to T’Challa, an African king, who first appeared in a Fantastic Four comic book, cover-dated July 1966, but released a few months earlier. It was the then-upcoming version of Olshevsky’s X-Men Index that prompted FantaCo to come out with the X-Men Chronicles the year before.

If someone has a more definitive answer to this question, please feel free to jump in. This is merely my best guess.