Ramblin' with Roger

The Racial Aspect of Obamaphobia Revealed! (Maybe)

Last month, I wrote this blogpost about the shooting of 20 people, six fatally, in Arizona. Got a lot of comments, some of which inevitably fell off the mark. In fact, a duologue developed between two commenters, and I pretty much stayed out of it until one wrote:
Also calling the President a “black” man would be wrong. He happens to be biracial.

This made me peevish. I responded:

It would NOT be wrong to call the President a black man. He identifies himself as a black man. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17958438

One of the interesting things that the OMB in 1997, in anticipation of the 2000 Census, did was to allow people to opt to identify themselves as of more than one race. Previously, someone like Barack Obama WOULD have been identified as black by Census.

There are plenty of Americans who identify as white [that are] of mixed heritage, just as there are mixed-race people (Halle Berry, whose mother is white, comes to mind) who identify as black. Their decision, not anyone else’s. I should have noted that Berry’s mother ENCOURAGED her to identify as black since that’s how the world would see her anyway.

To which he responded:
Mr. Green
You would be correct, at the end of the day, it is the person that wishes to be identified with a race or group. I just know my wife was a tad upset when he kept calling himself a black man. It kind of disavows half of you, I guess.

Then suddenly, I GOT it. Barack Obama identifying as a black man means, to some people, that he is rejecting part of himself. That WHITE part of himself. And in doing so, he must be, to their minds, kind of reverse racist.

That idiotic “365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy” I’ve referred to actually also addressed this: “Next time you hear a reference to ‘America’s first black president,’ counter by referring to Obama as ‘America’s 44th white president.’ Explain that you’re doing so on feminist grounds: ‘What? You’re trying to tell me that his Caucasian mom’s genetic input doesn’t count? But that’s so SEXIST!'”

A category of biracial, which has been recognized for less than two decades culturally just does not trump centuries of someone who looks like Barack Obama, with a black parent, being categorized as black. In the 1970 Census, the 1980 Census, the 1990 Census, he would be considered black (or Negro or African-American – whatever). When Barbara Walters asked him on The View why he didn’t consider himself biracial, I suspect that she already knew the answer from his autobiographies and from her understanding of history.

Not that he rejects his white mother, for whom he has expressed great love, and who was present when his father was not. Or even her race, as when the President-elect referred to himself as a mutt, which displeased some people, many of them black, who did not want to diminish in any way the significance of a President of African descent.

So race in America is still a bit of a landmine, even with a black – or biracial – President.

Trudy’s funeral program

It’s about the widow giving all she had. The lectionary recommends reading that introductory part about “teachers of the law [liking] to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.”

Since, once again, I’m writing about this before the fact, I thought I’d describe the thought process behind what (presumably) took place at the service yesterday.

The front of the bulletin, in addition to the usual information, contains this scripture: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19). I think Leslie picked this scripture and it was pretty accurate. I opted for the New International Version because most of the other versions mention only “brothers”, or “brethren”.

ORDER OF SERVICE

In lieu of a wake, there was scheduled to be a time for the family to receive friends at the church from 1 to 1:45 pm. During this time, my niece Alex was putting together a bunch of photos of Mom, both solo and in various family combinations. At the same time, there would be secular music playing: Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, and especially her favorite, Nat ‘King’ Cole. She had a bunch of Cole 78s when I was growing up.

Prelude-“Sweet, Sweet Spirit”
Though this is a reference to the Holy Spirit, she did in fact have a sweet spirit.

Lighting the Candle – the granddaughters
My mother had three granddaughters: Leslie’s daughter, Rebecca Staubes, who is 32; Marcia’s daughter, Alexandria Green-House, who turned 20 at the end of December; and Lydia, my daughter, who will turn 7 next month. Assuming Becky can get a flight, this will be the first time that Rebecca and Lydia have met, though the older two and the younger two are very tight. And Lydia has seen Rebecca on Wipeout.

Invocation – Rev. Cannon

Hymn of Praise- – “Goin’ Up Yonder”
Initially, it was going to be “I’ll Fly Away”, a song I always associate with that great TV show of the early 1990s, starring Regina Taylor a pre-“Law & Order” Sam Waterston, as well as the soundtrack to the movie O Brother Where Art Thou. The final selection, though, I don’t particularly know.

Scriptural Reading: Proverbs 31:10-31
The Wife of Noble Character, or the Virtuous Woman, which Leslie picked out, and which her daughter Rebecca will read.

Prayer of Comfort
We’re hoping that her former pastor, Rev. George Goodman, can read this.

Scriptural Reading: Psalm 23
My sister Marcia will read the King James version.

Musical Selection: “It Is Well With My Soul”
A woman from the church, Myrtle Miller, volunteered to sing this. It’s in many hymnals. I associate it with the funeral of the funeral of our tenor soloist back at my old church, Sandy Cohen, who died Christmas Eve 1990.

Scriptural Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
My niece Alexandria will read the passage that has almost become a cliche at weddings.

Sharing Memories
We’ve lined up a number of folks from the church to speak, for no more than two minutes (we hope), then my mom’s cousin Fran (if she makes it), Leslie, and me.

Scripture Reading: Luke 20:45-21:4
I picked this one, which my wife Carol will read. It’s about the widow giving all she had. One of my sisters wanted to limit it to the Luke 21 part, but I wanted, and the lectionary (suggested reading) recommends, reading that introductory part about “teachers of the law [liking] to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.”

Eulogy-Rev. Cannon

Musical Selection: “By and By”-the Green Family.
An old song I associate with Leadbelly.

Recessional: “God Be With You”

Then, it is our intention to play a recording of Sing, Sing, Sing, the classic Louis Prima song heavily associated with Benny Goodman. She loved the big band sound.

D is for Dylan covers

There was a quite peculiar version of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer; I remain convinced to this day that was done in retaliation for a snarky S&G song.

Let’s face it: Bob Dylan didn’t/doesn’t have the prettiest voice in pop music. But his strength as a songwriter, especially early on, allowed listeners to become familiar with his songs through the performances of others.

Joan Baez, as noted previously, was an early advocate and performer of Dylan’s music, as were Peter, Paul, and Mary, who had two Top 10 songs written by Dylan way back in 1963, Blowin’ in the Wind which hit the charts in June and got to #2; and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right, charting in September, and ending up at #9.

But it was 1965 that Dylan really broke through, both as a performer and an artist being covered. The Byrds’ Mr. Tambourine Man hit the charts in June 1965, reaching #1. Cher’s All I Really Want to Do started its climb to #15 in July, and It Ain’t Me Babe by the Turtles charted in August, eventually getting to #8. Meanwhile, Dylan had his first hit with Like a Rolling Stone, which started its ascent in July, eventually getting to #2 in September, blocked from the top of the charts by the Beatles’ Help!

Mojo magazine compiled a list of top 10 Dylan covers, while Paste magazine has listed what it considers the 50 Best Bob Dylan Covers of All Time. Meanwhile, Dylan Cover Albums.com boasts 30,000 covers. The podcast Coverville recently offered its fifth Bob Dylan Cover Story in seven years.

Of course, this cover thing can go both ways. Here’s a list of songs covered BY Bob Dylan. While quite a few were from his early career, there were also a bunch from the 1970 double album, Self Portrait. I know this very well because I bought that LP for my high school girlfriend; then we listened to it, not quite as impressed as we had hoped we might be. In particular, there was a quite peculiar version of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer; I remain convinced to this day that was done in retaliation for a snarky S&G song called A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission), in which Simon parodies Dylan; “Albert” in the song is almost certainly Dylan’s manager at the time, Albert Grossman.

Bob Dylan Covers Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (but doesn’t almost everyone?)

ABC Wednesday – Round 8

ROCK ‘n ROLL Fridays: The Beatles

Find some way not to reward what I can only call intentional stupidity.

“We are like other memes in that we will ask you thirteen questions each and every Friday. But our little “twist” is that each week we will pick a singer, band, era or category and pick thirteen of their songs. Each of our questions will be based on the lyrics.

For the end of 2010, a double-length meme of the Beatles. As though I could resist.

1. HARD DAY’S NIGHT: “You know I work all day, to get you money, to buy you things, and it’s worth it just to hear you say, you’re gonna give me everything…”
Have you ever supported another person?

Well, my wife and I support our daughter. When Carol was in grad school, I was making the vast majority of the income, but now, as with about a fifth of mixed gender couples in the U.S., she makes more than I do.

2. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE: “Nothing you can make that can’t be made. No one you can save that can’t be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time, it’s easy. All you need is love…”
What 3 things do you need besides love?

Water, food, music.

3. BACK IN THE USSR: “Been away so long I hardly knew the place, gee it’s great to be back home…”
What is the most unusual place you have visited?

Barbados, 1999. Don’t know that it was unusual as much as it was FAR AWAY.

4. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?: “Listen, doo da doo, do you want to hear a secret? Do you promise not to tell?…”
What was the last secret you heard?

What a silly question.

5. DRIVE MY CAR: “Baby you can drive my car. Yes I’m gonna be a star. Baby you can drive my car and maybe I’ll love you…”
When was the last time you drove someone else’s car?

1987, I think. It was definitely when I was working at FantaCo.

6. EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: “I ain’t got nothing but love, babe. Eight days a week”…
What was the longest week of YOUR life?

First week of the daughter’s life – utter exhaustion.

7. GET BACK: “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last. Jojo left his home in Tucson Arizona, for some California grass. Get back!Get Back! Get back to where you once belonged…”
Where do YOU belong?

A reasonable question. As Marvin Gaye sang, “Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home.”

8. GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING: “Everyone you see is half asleep, and you’re on your own you’re in the street…”
What is your morning routine?

I usually get up about 5:30 a.m. While my wife is in the shower, I am at the computer for about an hour, which consists of 1) checking my e-mail, 2) going to the blogs on my list, 3) writing something for my blog, ideally for several days in the future, as opposed to that morning. Then I get dressed, then make Lydia’s lunch while listening to the local news, especially the weather.

A lot depends on the daughter. If she gets up on her own, that could be anywhere from 6 to 7, and if so, I need to occupy her; that could be a book or talk. If I get her up at 7, I get her breakfast, then her mother does her hair, then I take her upstairs to get dressed, make sure she goes to the bathroom, check to make sure her homework and lunch are in her backpack, then help her with her coat and walk her to school.

9. HELLO GOODBYE: “I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello, hello, hello…”
Who was the last person you said goodbye to that you look forward to saying Hello to again?

Well, when I’m at work, it’s the folks at home. Since I’m home, it’s folks at work.

10. YESTERDAY: “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay, oh I believe in yesterday…”
What was the best event of yesterday (the day before today)?

Reading a bunch of newspapers.

11. WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU: “We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion…”
Spiritually, do you believe in the afterlife, reincarnation, or nothing at all?

I believe in the likelihood of an afterlife, but don’t think less of those who don’t.

12. WHEN I’M 64: When I get older losing my hair, many years from now…will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?…”
What was your favorite age to be?

37; that’s when I went to library school.

13. WE CAN WORK IT OUT: “Try to see it my way, do I have to keep on talking till I can’t go on? While you see it your way, run the risk of knowing that our love will soon be gone, we can work it out…”
What is the most drastic thing you ever did to try to save a relationship/friendship?

Hitchhiked hundreds of miles.

14. THE NIGHT BEFORE: “We said our goodbyes the night before, Love was in your eyes the night before, Now today I find, you have changed your mind…treat me like you did the night before…”
Anything change drastically just overnight for you?

Always depends on my dreams. When I dream a lot that I can remember, it stimulates my imagination.

15. FOOL ON THE HILL: “But nobody wants to know him, they can see that he’s just a fool. And he never gives an answer but the fool on the hill sees the sun going down and the eyes in his head see the world going round…”
Were you ever teased or bullied in the past?

Sure, especially in second and sixth grades, oddly.

16. SHE’S A WOMAN: “My love don’t give me presents, I know that she’s no peasant. Only ever have to give me, love forever and forever, my love don’t give me presents…”
What was the last gift your significant lover gave to you?

For Christmas, a waffle maker, albums by Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen, and a Hess truck.

17. SEXY SADIE: “She came along to turn on everyone, sexy Sadie the greatest of them all, Sexy Sadie how did you know, the world was waiting just for you…”
What is sexy about your significant other?

She’s sexy when she’s spontaneous.

18. REVOLUTION: “You say you want a revolution, well you know, we’d all want to change the world…”
What would you change about the USA right now if you could (besides war)?

Find some way not to reward what I can only call intentional stupidity.

19. PENNY LANE: “Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, there beneath the blue suburban skies…
Tell us about your favorite street. It doesn’t have to be the one you live on now…

Lombard Street in San Francisco.

20. PAPERBACK WRITER: “It’s a thousand pages give or take a few, I’ll be writing more in a week or two. I can make it longer if you like the style, I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer….”
What would your book be about if someone advanced you money to write one?

A roman a clef about people in choirs.

21. NOWHERE MAN: “He’s a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody..”
Who do you feel is clue-less?

Only one? OK, Michele Bachmann.

22. NORWEGIAN WOOD: “She showed me her room, isn’t it good Norwegian wood?”
What piece of artwork or furniture are you most proud of?

A piece my late friend Raoul made a VERY large birthday card.

23. MICHELLE: “I love you I love you I love you, that’s all I want to say, until I find a way, I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand…
Have you ever dated a non-US-born person? (If you are from another country, have you dated anyone outside your borders?)

No.

24. MAXWELL’S SILVER HAMMER: “Bang Bang Maxwell’s silver hammer came down on her head, bang bang Maxwell’s silver hammer made sure that she was dead…”
How would you like to die if given a choice?

In my sleep.

25. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: “Roll up for the mystery tour. The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away, waiting to take you away take you today…”
What was the last tour you went on?

Last fall, my wife, daughter, and parents-in-law took a train ride.

26. LADY MADONNA: “Lady Madonna baby at your breast, wonders how you manage to beat the rest…”
How do you feel about public breastfeeding?

It’s fine. There is an ad campaign around here supporting breastfeeding.

17 November, 1927-2 February, 2011

Trudy is survived by her son, Roger Green (Carol) of Albany, NY; two daughters, Leslie Green of Lemon Grove, CA and Marcia Green of Charlotte, NC…

Writing an obituary is often a negotiated exercise when more than one person has to be satisfied with it. The one below I started writing. The mechanical stuff – who she’s survived by, e.g., – is easy, but I was having trouble with the middle section. So one sister wrote a bunch of stuff for that, then the other sister and I had to trim that down, not just for length (and thus cost), but because it was a bit disjointed. This is the Thursday night draft version, not yet approved by the first sister, but it’s close enough for the blog.

Incidentally, the website of the Charlotte Observer has annoying instructions for submitting an obit. It tells you to either call or e-mail for more information.

Interesting/strange thing about the photo to the left: my mom cut the neutral background out of the picture about two weeks before she died, and no one knows why, possibly not even her. It’s not as though there was someone else in the shot.

I suppose it is quite obvious, though probably inappropriate for me to say, that my mom was a real babe when she was younger.

CHARLOTTE – Gertrude Elizabeth (Trudy) Green, 83, of Charlotte, NC, passed away on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 in Charlotte, NC. Born in Binghamton, NY, she was the daughter of the late Clarence and Gertrude (Yates) Williams, and the widow of Leslie H. (Les) Green, who died in 2000. She was a member of C. N. Jenkins Presbyterian Church, having served as a Deacon for multiple terms and on various other church boards and committees.

Trudy graduated from Binghamton Central High School, and worked at a number of jobs dealing with finances, including at McLean’s department store, and Columbia Gas & Electric in Binghamton, and as a teller at First Union Bank, from which she retired. She also participated in several family-owned business ventures, including President’s Club and Avon.

She was a loving and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and surrogate parent, who found joy in helping her family, her church, her community and others. She was a God-loving, long time member of Circle #3 group, where she was the Treasurer, Presbyterian Women, and various Bible studies.

Trudy was a very social person, caring and honest, with a beautiful smile. She loved cookbooks, calendars, clocks, boxes, and bags, and in later years, developed a love for word puzzles. She used to participate in bowling leagues and Bingo.

She is survived by her son, Roger Green (Carol) of Albany, NY; two daughters, Leslie Green of Lemon Grove, CA and Marcia Green of Charlotte, NC; three granddaughters, Rebecca (Rico) Curtis of San Diego, CA; Alexandria Green-House of Charlotte, NC; and Lydia Green of Albany, NY; and several cousins.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 8 at 2 pm at C.N. Jenkins Presbyterian Church, 1421 Statesville Ave, Charlotte, NC 28206. The family will receive friends at the church from 1 to 1:45 p.m.

Contributions in her memory may be made in lieu of flowers to University Adult Day Care, 1324 John Kirk Road, Charlotte, NC 28262, (704)510-0030.

The third pic shows my parents – damn, I’m an orphan – at my graduation from library school in 1992. The fourth is at my mother’s 80th birthday party in 2007.

Arthur of AmeriNZ, the guy from Auckland via Chicago who I’ve certainly mentioned in this blog, wrote a blog post about my mom and me. Best pair of sentences: “The largely artificial Internet life is all too often detached from real life, and we lose sight of the real-life humans we’re interacting with. Yet the Internet can also deliver connections we’d never have had otherwise.”

Amen.