Irish Days

Yes, it is only about six months to St. Patrick's Day and yes, it was a wonderful evening at the Masonic Temple last night in Freeport, Illinois. Around 1000 people came to hear and see and experience the song, dance and comedy of The Irish Variety Roadshow. For me, it was the culmination of over 24 hours of Irish music. The night before was spent in Milwaukee listening to the sounds of U2 the supergroup from Ireland, who have been together for 29 years or so. They have consistently proven themselves by evolving with music, creating their own unique sound, and in many ways, changing the world throught their music and the personality of their lead singer, Bono. It was once said that Rock and Roll would change the world and in ways big and small it has. More about this in this week's column.

Kudos go out to the people who made last night in Freeport such a success. Father Burt Absalon's rendition of Danny Boy was clearly one of the highlights. Where else but in America can you find a Phillipino priest leading an Irish congregation and singing arguably the most popular Irish song of all time in front of hundreds of people of various denominations. A good show for a good cause with much fun and merriment to be had by all. Thanks to all of the individuals who made it happen, especially to my wife for the energy, effort and detail that she put into the prepartion for the program. Barry Collins, the founder of the Show, said at the end that they wouldn't be there if it hadn't been for her, neither would I have been.

If you would like more information on a couple of the performers, please see the sites for Michael Funge or Harriet Earis. We look forward to their return in a couple of years. In the meantime, we're more than halfway to St. Patrick's Day, time to celebrate.

We Was Robbed

Well the final tally is in and so is JD Fortune as the new lead singer for INXS. I'll listen to their past catalog, but I can't fathom buying any new INXS music. Maybe Marty wasn't the best for the band. His style really is suited to more modern music and he still has The Lovehammers and if they do open for INXS, there may be more people for the opening act than for the main show. I'm sure I am expressing some sour grapes, but if anyone except Marty won, it should have been Mig. I can't get the Elvis growl out of my head when JD sings. I keep waiting for him to curl his lip and say, "Thank you. Thank you very much." Oh well, I'll look forward to new music by Marty Casey, most likely with the bandmates that supported him throughout the show. The Lovehammers showed their class and support for their friend and frontman, Marty, throughout all of Rock Star. That is worth buying another of their albums just for the stylish way they didn't whine that their lead singer made an attempt to front a more established band. Good job, Marty, good job.

Did Anyone Else Notice?

There was nothing funny about Hurricane Katrina, but I couldn't help think about the story that is heard every so often about the man (or woman) who was a victim of a flood and stranded on his rooftop. A person comes along before the flood and asks him if he wants help leaving before the flood and he says, "No. God will help me. I'm staying." Then he is stuck on his rooftop and a boater comes along and asks the man if he wants a boat ride to safety, again he says, "No. God will take care of me." Finally, a helicopter flys overhead and they call out to him, "We're here to help. Climb into the basket." The man replies, "No. God will take care of me!" The man eventually drowns and as he is entering the pearly gates, he asks God, "Where were you? Why did you let me drown?" God answers him, "Who do you think sent the man to help you, and the boater, and the helicopter? You made the choice to not take advantage of my gifts to you." It seemed that this story mimicked many of the stories in New Orleans. Help was sent, but many people refused the help that was offered. For those that were stranded because they were offered no help, like the helpless victims of the nursing home in New Orleans where the owners left the residents there to die. Or the people that were unable to leave their homes because of various infirmities. One of the saddest stories, and yet at least the people found safetry, was of the deaf individuals who only realized the magnitude of the problem when the water level reached their beds and they clawed their way to safety. There is no end to the heartache of Hurrican Katrina, but lost among the stories of tragedy and loss, are the multitude of acts of heroism and the countless hours put in by tireless health care workers, firefighters, police officers, civil servants, and National Guard and Coast Guard members. I'm sure that we will hear more in the days, weeks and months to come. Let's hope that these stories do not fade into the background like so many other tales from trying times, but that lessons are learned and we come to appreciate the acts of kindness and not dwell on the acts of vandalism or violence.

Rock Star Redux: Voting for Marty

Maybe it is the era when I was growing up (or perhaps I'm still growing up), but I am compelled to watch INXS: Rock Star each week. I'm not getting into all the behind the scenes extras, but am enjoying watch each of the performers sing, especially now that it is down to the last four. Many of the teens of the seventies were fascinated with rock music as it moved into its teens and early twenties. I know many people who dreamed of fronting a band and being a lead singer or just a member of the band. How many of us picked up a guitar and pretended to be Paul or John or Mick or John Fogerty or even Jim Croce or Harry Chapin. Okay, so maybe I was more into the singer-songwriters who could pull off sitting on the stool on stage and playing their acoustic guitar and singing songs to make the girls swoon or at least think we were semi-cool. I never really learned how to make the two work together (the guitar and singing that is), but I still listen to many of the same artists over and over again. Each generation seems to have its favorites and now some of the "old-timers" like The Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney are still making new music and still touring. That brings me to Marty Casey and the Rock Star show. I think it may be that he is a Chicagoan or that his parents live in Northwest Illinois, but he does have that rock star persona, a quality voice and great stage presence, plus he is not afraid to try new arrangements. "Trees" as a VH-1 Storytellers-style performance, as if it were already a big-seller and he is bringing it down to its roots. Great showmanship. And "Creep" blew away the rest of the songs last night. Anyways, I'm ranting late at night or early in the morning and am heading off to vote for Marty a couple of more times before bed. We'll find out tomorrow if he stays or if he goes. I'm picking the former.

Flyin' High on 9-11

The best thing that I can say about flying home on Sunday, September 11th, was that the trip was completely uneventful. There were no delays, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary happened. I walked through the checkpoint, waited for the time to board the plane, secured an aisle seat (for some reason I no longer enjoy sitting by the window and definitely not in the middle seat), had a nice conversation with the woman next to me about Bichons and Chicago-style hot dogs (unrelated content!), and read and dozed during the short flight from Nashville. Everyone went about their business with no mention of terrorists or fear (not that it probably wasn't on everyone's minds), but plenty of talk about the floods and disaster in the South. It seems that we move on with our lives no matter what the disaster may be, unless of course, we are directly involved with the tragedies. I do not know how the families of the victims from 9-11 cope with each day, but I do know that it is possible, though not easy. And now we wonder how the people of the Gulf Coast region will cope. They have lost family members, friends, neighbors, pets, places of work and worship, schools, and houses. Some have lost everything, but their lives. The cameras can only capture so much and it seems as if they focus on the dread and the dreadful. And every once in a while we'll get a snippet about some heroic rescue or deed. I believe that if more time was spent on the positive actions of the citizens of the South, like the six-year old who lead his rag-tag troop to safety, and became a national hero for his brave actions, then there would be more of an impetus to repeat the success stories and not focus on the negative as much. Probably naive on my part, of course now that David Brown is history, we can move on, but I know we haven't heard the last about him and his bleagured agency, FEMA or Homeland Security. There are many others that will come into the spotlight in the ensuing months either for their bravery, leadership, or their lack of either. We can only hope and pray that something is done before the next big storm hits the Gulf Coast area, because if or when it does, there isn't much there at the moment to keep the cities and the regions dry.

Grand Ole Opry

The net is amazing at times. Here I am sitting in my hotel room in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Resort listening to the Freeport-Guilford game on WEKZ-FM radio's internet streaming. Unfortunately, the Pretzels are about to lose their third game in a row to start the season. What a tough start to the season, especially after winning the NIC-9 four years in a row. I have had the chance to visit with my daughter, her friend, David, and her roommate, Brooke. Sushi for dinner tonight. Not something that we can get fresh in Freeport on a regular basis. I am down here for a podiatry conference and cannot believe the grandeur of this hotel/resort. I walked by the Grand Ole Opry House tonight. Thought about going to see a show, but ended up spending a couple of hours looking through a Barnes and Noble. Like I need another book! Guilford just scored their fifth unanswered touchdown with the game almost over. Many of these teams that have lost so regularly to Freeport over the past few years are probably relishing in their newfound victories. Freeport will be 0-3 for the first time in almost 20 years. Ouch! Anyways, it is high school and no matter what, it is important to support all of our high school students, if it is football, debate, chorus, or any other endeavor. These students can learn just as much about life in losing as in winning, because as we all know, it is what we do with our lives and what we contribute in society, even more than what the final score of a football game represents. Enough philosophising! Suffice it to say that we all enjoyed the winning streak while it lasted, and we need to support the team just as much, if not more so, during our early season losing streak. Go, PRETZ!

Rock Star: INXS AKA GO MARTY!

I have not been a fan of the reality television craze that has been going on for the past few years. I caught some of season 1 of Survivor, but lost interest by the time season 2 rolled around. Maybe it is because many in my generation aspired to one day lead a rock band, or perhaps it is because I actually listened to INXS (still have an old audio cassette of the band's), but I think that mostly it is that Marty Casey, who is from Chicago and whose parents live in nearby Lake Summerset, has captured that rock star persona so well. He has the talent, the confidence and I always feel that there is still a humbleness to him that he's thinking "Aw, shucks. I'm really still here." JD is good, but seems like he spends too much energy sucking up to the band. I think much of the voting audience is seeing through that. Mig is good, but seems like he should be fronting a band like Human League or a Queen legends band (Freddie Mercury, ala Australia). Susie is awesome, but I'm not sure that INXS songs translate as well with female vocals. She is on par with Melissa Etheridge with her voice, intensity, but less raspy. Jordis just didn't have the swagger to lead the band. "I hope so" to the question, "Do you have what it takes to be the lead singer in INXS?" wasn't committed enough. That leaves Marty and even though each of the final six (Ty left last week) have a great deal of talent, Marty seems to have that something extra to be a star. Perhaps, though, some of the blog comments are right on in that he should take his own band, The Lovehammers, out for bigger and better things. A major label must look at this guy and think, "Contract, tours, and stardom!". We'll find out in the next several weeks, though, and that is the fun of having a local connection in a fun and intriquing reality show. Rock on, Marty! and Good luck.

There is a House in New Orleans

I was thinking about all of the songs about New Orleans after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. House of the Rising Sun by The Animals and City of New Orleans, written by Steve Goodman and made famous by Arlo Guthrie were the first two to come to mind. Of course, anything that talks about placing blame or abdicating responsibility would have fit, too, but I couldn't come up with any off the top of my head. I keep reading about how it is the President's fault or Homeland Security's fault or the National Guard's fault. Why did it take a call from Governor Blanco pleading with Mayor Ray Nagin three days before the levees broke to evacuate people from the city? He was asked on at least two occasions to evacuate and no one called for the buses until the city was already under water. Most officials will say that the immediate actions in case of a municipal emergency are the responsibility of the local government. What is the escape plan? How will you notify people of the state of emergency? I don't recall Rudy Guliani swearing at the federal government in the wake of 9/11. He took action and rallied the necessary personnel, even though his city lost more than 300 firefighters within hours. The solution of some is to get rid of the current administration, as if that will take care of the problem. When former President Clinton was asked about what the federal government should do about the levees around New Orleans, he said that it was a local issue, not a federal one. President Bush may have cut the Army Corp of Engineer budget for the New Orleans' area, but it wasn't scheduled to take effect until next year. No cuts were made for this year prior to the hurricane. The blame that can be placed on the federal government is the delay in which the people that were in shelters were administered to. There should have been troops moved in sooner and food, water and medications should have been made available. I think about the houses in New Orleans and the fact that there may still be people in their attics trying to make contact to be rescued. I think about the City of New Orleans and how people should have access to transportation out of the city in a timely fashion before the levees broke and New Orleans became a vast sewer of human decay. When the death toll is established and the news promotes the stories of how the government should have intervened and how they should have had an evacuation plan, ask where was the local government and what could they have done differently. The blood of New Orleans does not just dirty the hands of President Bush and branches of the federal government. It is also on the hands of Mayor Nagin and local officials who delayed the evacuation plan or didn't have an adequate plan to begin with. There is a question for mayors of all major cities, "What do we do in case of emergency?" Some say that no one could have predicted this, but people did, many years ago and again a few years ago. Some people, however, just didn't listen or perhaps they were lulled into a false sense of complacency thinking, "It won't happen to us," or "It passed us by." There will be a lot of soul-searching in the ensuing days, weeks, months and most likely in the years it will take to rebuild or re-establish The Big Easy. For an excellent point of view on the blame game, see the column by Dennis Byrne in today's Chicago Tribune.

Flight Plan

It has been over two months since I last saw our daughter, Mary. I'll be flying down to see her next week. This will be over the weekend of the anniversary of September 11th. The day that changed Americans view of the world, especially our world within our borders. The overwhelming feeling of security was shaken to its core on that fateful day. We no longer waltzed through airport lines to fly here or there. We allow for more time to enter and pass through the terminals. We've become accustomed to taking off our shoes before going through security or almost expect to be searched, and wonder why 65 year-old grandmothers are singled out, when someone who is more suspicious is allowed to pass through without a second glance... by security. Now we face the guaranteed increased prices for travel because of a number of factors, not the least or at least not the latest, is Hurricane Katrina and her after effects. Then we think that some of us have the ability to fly wherever we need or want to go, and at the same time there are most likely people still trapped and holding onto any thin strand of hope they have left in parts of New Orleans and the areas along the Gulf Coast. We complain of no frills flying with only a snack and a drink, then think of those that have gone several days without food or drinkable water. It seems ironic that there are millions of gallons of water surrounding and engulfing a city and that many of the people will die of dehydration. Life and death are full of unusual twists and turns, fate and unfairness, luck and loss. We sit in our dry homes and watch the misery and devastation on television, but cannot grasp the magnitude of such destruction. A destruction that by a force of nature compounded by the ill-advised attempts by man to change what God has designed. Eventually nature is always more powerful than man. Nowhere is this more evident than in the storm ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast region right now. We think that there is no way of knowing what will happen, but there are signs if only we would recognize them before the inevitable happens. Let's hope that we listen and look for the signs of what man can do to man also so that another September 11th doesn't happen in our country.

When the Levee Breaks

Where does one begin? It is impossible to describe the devastation that is seen in the Gulf area. The streets of New Orleans where I once walked and enjoyed a coffee and binet at an outdoor cafe is most likely under water. The convention center where I spent the better part of five days at my first Kiwanis International convention is now a refugee camp with death and decay permeating the facility where once there was life and energy. A dead elderly woman in her wheelchair is pushed against a wall out of the way. Her body covered with a blanket. The Riverwalk, once a prime jewel in the heart of New Orleans, where a barge once took out a portion of the center section and was rebuilt, is now the site of bodies and destruction. Mother Nature in all of its infinite glory has the ability to destroy much more than man can dream when she is at full force, or even half force. The massive loss of land, buildings, and lives is hard to comprehend. Then I think about the tsunami and the fact that the loss of lives there may be 100 times greater than in our own country. Water, the great equalizer, breaks through granite over thousands or millions of years to form something as spectacular as the Grand Canyon or in the matter of hours or days can destroy what man has taken hundreds of years to build.

When do we learn the lessons of nature? When do we learn that reversing rivers for our own benefit or building cities below sea level or damming waters that have such force will not withstand the intensity of nature at its greatest force? Those that had no way of escaping, with no where to go, with no transportation were left behind. The elderly, the poor, the uninformed, the disabled, the infirmed were all left helpless. And we make media stars out of the well-heeled family that paid $3700 to take a limousine from New Orleans to the Chicago area. Let's put them on the news and the morning shows while thousands of people are trapped in a watery prison. Where are the priorities in the media sometimes? Just because someone has money doesn't make their story any more newsworthy.

And how did it happen that people have sunk so low in morality that they break into stores to loot televisions, shoes, and designer clothing, as well as guns and ammunition when they could have been putting this evil energy into helping those that really needed help? Rapes, looting, snipers, and utter lawlessness in the streets. What kind of message are we sending to the world about how we treat our citizens? How we treat one another? There is a feeling of helplessness, desperation, and a fading of hope among those that we cannot comprehend what they are experiencing, what they are feeling. It is challenging to go on with our daily lives without feeling empathy for those who have no bathroom facilities, when we can freely enjoy a shower or drinkning water and knowing that those who are stranded have none of these.

We cannot do everything, but we can do something. We are a giving nation. One that has helped millions around the world. We have helped those around our own country most recently in Florida. There are organizations that have the ability to help. Consider a donation to The Red Cross or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW or the Salvation Army.

Above all else, we can pray for the survivors, the victims, and our Nation. Pray for the homeless, those that are out of work and most likely will be for the foreseeable future. Pray for the babies and those who cannot find their loved ones. Pray that we learn and that those who are volunteering to help are kept safe. Godspeed.