  Books by Patti Liszkay available on Amazon: "Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa "Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888 "Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
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If only it would stop happening.
If, perchance, you would like to donate to some ICE peaceful Chicago resistance group, my son-in-law Miguel made up a list of organizations for me to share:
•Belmont-Cragin United is a community organization that has taken on a growing role in the proliferation of whistle kits for residents of the neighborhoods being heavily hit by ICE terror (Belmont-Cragin, Hermosa, Austin, Logan Square, Humboldt Park)
Belmont Cragin Amazon Whistle and Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FW2BNE89APG1?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwY2xjawNbZ-lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFtVGF5UDlyVkQ4TVEzdDRIAR5ghc9X5pU1eFr88RKYA3HvwU8VafNsOxSNhDGn4BRYCFRzxaH7keWdzl9cag_aem_p-ldYqqb1yDdaf5Zfv5Yvg
Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/belmontcraginunited?fbclid=IwY2xjawNbq9JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF1NmxZSEV0OGJtdnhCY0F6AR7y_jEhp11hZft_CcpR3kFKYbcGM9BxXrmLP76JWko0c08EVvddeqGrIX0UDw_aem_S3rkhgnJHM5nwej7PWSr4Q
• Chicago Street Vendor Relief Fund
Fund that pays street vendors lost wages so they don't have to risk being out while ICE terrorizes their neighborhoods.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/chicago-street-vendor-relief-fund-protecting-vendors-suppo
• llinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
Statewide org that runs the Family Support Network. Money goes to printing and providing legal resources to people kidnapped by ICE
https://illinoiscoalitionforimmigrantandrefugeerights-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1242232
Podcast interview with Diego of ICIRR & Pilsen Rapid Response
https://chicago.citycast.fm/podcasts/how-to-spot-ice-in-chicago
•Latin Union of Chicago
Chicago org focusing protecting day laborers (think workers at Home Depot parking lots). Money goes to printing and legal workshops at their worker hall.
https://latinounion.nationbuilder.com/
•Pilsen PUÑO
Coalition of community orgs based in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen. Hosts ICE Watch trainings regularly at the Chicago Liberation Center. Money goes to printing materials and the ICE Bond Fund for people released from detainment.
https://pilsenunidos.org/#get-involved
Masked and unrestrained Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents dressed in getups that look like they're extras in "Terminator 3 War of the Machines,"
...continue to terrorize and tear gas the brown-skinned people of Chicago,
...and sometimes even the white- and Black-skinned people, like this jounalist who was by-standing when she was thrown to the ground and hand-cuffed;
...or this young priest who was drenched in pepper spray by laughing ICE agents while praying on the sidewalk during a peaceful demonstration;
...or this stunned young guy who just happened to exit Walgreen's at the wrong moment while his sister-in-law kept screaming, "He's a citizen! He's a citizen! He's my brother-in-law!"
But Chicagoans have started to fight back against ICE - with whistles!
My daughter Claire and her husband Miguel,
My daughter Claire and her husband Miguel,
...live in Logan Square, a Chicago neighborhood that has been a frequent target of ICE raids (See previous post: https://www.ailantha.com/blog/my-daughter-lives-in-a-war-zone). In fact, just yesterday morning I received this text from Claire (IMC stands for International Medical Corps, one of the disaster relief organizations she works for. The helicopters are the ICE Blackhawks that circle the targeted neighborhoods. See previous post):
One neighborhood over from Logan Square is the mostly Latinx Belmont Cragin neighborhood, where librarian Alonso Zaragoza started Belmont Craigin United.
BCU, as it is known, is a community group that sponsors neighborhood events, such as health fairs,
...a restaurant crawl,
...an upcoming Halloween Trunk or Treat,
...and now, the distribution of ICE warning whistles.
...and now, the distribution of ICE warning whistles.
Seems that Chicagoans have taken to carrying whistles to blow if they spot any ICE activity, such as the convoys of SUV's with black-tinted windows that trawl select Chicago neighborhoods looking for people to pepper spray or throw tear gas at,
...or for someone to grab and drag off into their SUV.
The whistles are a warning for people to either run, or form a crowd and start taking pictures and call the ICE response team, (the number of which is on a card included in the whistle packets) to document any incidents.
As it turns out, though, it's not just the people in the vulnerable neighborhoods who are carrying whistles. Yesterday Claire was biking around the city and she saw pedestrians everywhere with whistles around their necks! They were even wearing their whistles on upscale, touristy Michigan Avenue, where, of course, ICE never goes.
But the people were wearing their whistles anyway. Perhaps in a show of solidarity.
The upshot of this has been that Chicago is now out of whistles. It's well nigh impossible to find a whistle anywhere in the city. While Claire was riding through one largely Hispanic neighborhood yesterday she saw a man standing on a street corner with a trumpet. When she asked him about his trumpet he said that he couldn't find a whistle so he decided to bring his trumpet to blow in case he saw ICE. He said that his brother was guarding the next street corner over and the trumpet would warn him to start blowing, too (It wasn't clear whether the brother had a whistle or was also blowing his trumpet).
It's pleasing irony that the ICE vehicles that have been hunting on Chicago's streets are now themselves being hunted by vigilant Chicagoans with whistles. Or
trumpets.
So, what the Chicago ICE resistance movement needs right now is whistles and a few other supplies. Belmont Cragin United is making whistle and information packets to hand out in batches to folks for them to pass out all around the city: inside the little sidewalk library boxes, at the grocery stores and food vendors' stands, to anyone they know or see. But Belmont Cragin United needs whistles, lanyards, paper on which to print information, even printer ink and toner.
So BCU has set up an Amazon Wish List where people can pick out a package of whistles or some other needed supplies to donate to the cause of peaceful whistle resistance in Chicago. If you feel that you'd like to do something to help Chicago, here' the link to the Amazon page:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FW2BNE89APG1?ref_=wl
The upshot of this has been that Chicago is now out of whistles. It's well nigh impossible to find a whistle anywhere in the city. While Claire was riding through one largely Hispanic neighborhood yesterday she saw a man standing on a street corner with a trumpet. When she asked him about his trumpet he said that he couldn't find a whistle so he decided to bring his trumpet to blow in case he saw ICE. He said that his brother was guarding the next street corner over and the trumpet would warn him to start blowing, too (It wasn't clear whether the brother had a whistle or was also blowing his trumpet).
It's pleasing irony that the ICE vehicles that have been hunting on Chicago's streets are now themselves being hunted by vigilant Chicagoans with whistles. Or
trumpets.
So, what the Chicago ICE resistance movement needs right now is whistles and a few other supplies. Belmont Cragin United is making whistle and information packets to hand out in batches to folks for them to pass out all around the city: inside the little sidewalk library boxes, at the grocery stores and food vendors' stands, to anyone they know or see. But Belmont Cragin United needs whistles, lanyards, paper on which to print information, even printer ink and toner.
So BCU has set up an Amazon Wish List where people can pick out a package of whistles or some other needed supplies to donate to the cause of peaceful whistle resistance in Chicago. If you feel that you'd like to do something to help Chicago, here' the link to the Amazon page:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FW2BNE89APG1?ref_=wl
The page looks like this:
And on the purchase page the address to which your item will be sent is at the top of the page:
I bought a package of whistles, and also some lanyards.
If you want you can leave a message for the BCU folks.
If, perchance, you would like to donate to some other ICE peaceful resistance group, my son-in-law Miguel made up a list of organizations for me to share:
•Belmont-Cragin United Community org that has taken on a growing role in the proliferation of whistle kits for residents of the neighborhoods being heavily hit by ICE terror (Belmont-Cragin, Hermosa, Austin, Logan Square, Humboldt Park)
Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FW2BNE89APG1?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwY2xjawNbZ-lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFtVGF5UDlyVkQ4TVEzdDRIAR5ghc9X5pU1eFr88RKYA3HvwU8VafNsOxSNhDGn4BRYCFRzxaH7keWdzl9cag_aem_p-ldYqqb1yDdaf5Zfv5Yvg
Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/belmontcraginunited?fbclid=IwY2xjawNbq9JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF1NmxZSEV0OGJtdnhCY0F6AR7y_jEhp11hZft_CcpR3kFKYbcGM9BxXrmLP76JWko0c08EVvddeqGrIX0UDw_aem_S3rkhgnJHM5nwej7PWSr4Q
•Chicago Liberation Center Community Center based in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Little Village. The CLC hosts weekly organizing meetings to help attendees get plugged into the various tactics to fight back against ICE. Money goes towards printing materials, meals, and keeping the lights on in the space.
https://chicago-liberation-center.square.site/
• Chicago Street Vendor Relief Fund
Fund that pays street vendors lost wages so they don't have to risk being out while ICE terrorizes their neighborhoods.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/chicago-street-vendor-relief-fund-protecting-vendors-suppo
• llinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
Statewide org that runs the Family Support Network. Money goes to printing and providing legal resources to people kidnapped by ICE
https://illinoiscoalitionforimmigrantandrefugeerights-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1242232
Podcast interview with Diego of ICIRR & Pilsen Rapid Response
https://chicago.citycast.fm/podcasts/how-to-spot-ice-in-chicago
•Latin Union of Chicago
Chicago org focusing protecting day laborers (think workers at Home Depot parking lots). Money goes to printing and legal workshops at their worker hall.
https://latinounion.nationbuilder.com/
•Pilsen PUÑO
Coalition of community orgs based in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen. Hosts ICE Watch trainings regularly at the Chicago Liberation Center. Money goes to printing materials and the ICE Bond Fund for people released from detainment.
https://pilsenunidos.org/#get-involved
•Belmont-Cragin United Community org that has taken on a growing role in the proliferation of whistle kits for residents of the neighborhoods being heavily hit by ICE terror (Belmont-Cragin, Hermosa, Austin, Logan Square, Humboldt Park)
Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FW2BNE89APG1?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwY2xjawNbZ-lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFtVGF5UDlyVkQ4TVEzdDRIAR5ghc9X5pU1eFr88RKYA3HvwU8VafNsOxSNhDGn4BRYCFRzxaH7keWdzl9cag_aem_p-ldYqqb1yDdaf5Zfv5Yvg
Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/belmontcraginunited?fbclid=IwY2xjawNbq9JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF1NmxZSEV0OGJtdnhCY0F6AR7y_jEhp11hZft_CcpR3kFKYbcGM9BxXrmLP76JWko0c08EVvddeqGrIX0UDw_aem_S3rkhgnJHM5nwej7PWSr4Q
•Chicago Liberation Center Community Center based in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Little Village. The CLC hosts weekly organizing meetings to help attendees get plugged into the various tactics to fight back against ICE. Money goes towards printing materials, meals, and keeping the lights on in the space.
https://chicago-liberation-center.square.site/
• Chicago Street Vendor Relief Fund
Fund that pays street vendors lost wages so they don't have to risk being out while ICE terrorizes their neighborhoods.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/chicago-street-vendor-relief-fund-protecting-vendors-suppo
• llinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
Statewide org that runs the Family Support Network. Money goes to printing and providing legal resources to people kidnapped by ICE
https://illinoiscoalitionforimmigrantandrefugeerights-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1242232
Podcast interview with Diego of ICIRR & Pilsen Rapid Response
https://chicago.citycast.fm/podcasts/how-to-spot-ice-in-chicago
•Latin Union of Chicago
Chicago org focusing protecting day laborers (think workers at Home Depot parking lots). Money goes to printing and legal workshops at their worker hall.
https://latinounion.nationbuilder.com/
•Pilsen PUÑO
Coalition of community orgs based in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen. Hosts ICE Watch trainings regularly at the Chicago Liberation Center. Money goes to printing materials and the ICE Bond Fund for people released from detainment.
https://pilsenunidos.org/#get-involved
Belmont Cragin United hosted its first "Whistlemania" whistle packet-making event last night.
I especially loved the bottom line:
"Luchadores" are Mexican wrestlers.
Claire and Miguel attended the Whistlemania event at their neighborhood location last night and today sent me this text:
If you'd like to help, now you can, too.
This is my daughter, Claire, with her husband, Miguel.
Miguel and Claire live in Chicago in the formerly pleasant, quiet, diverse Logan Square neighborhood,
...in a cozy little house that they share with their two kitties, Frank,
...and Rosie.
In the summer their backyard is filled with sunflowers,
...and morning glories.
Claire is an emergency disaster nurse,
...who was an Ebola fighter in Sierra Leone,
...has worked in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh,
...and has given training seminars in a hospital in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Claire has worked in medical clinics and orphanages in Haiti,
...sometimes with Miguel,
...and she has worked in a Haitian refugee camp located in a landfill in the Dominican Republic,
...a homeless encampment in that country, and before going to nursing school she spent a year of service work in Nicaragua,
...and she did several service trips to El Salvador.
Claire has been on post-hurricane disaster teams in Texas, Florida, North Carolina and the Bahamas.
Claire has been on post-hurricane disaster teams in Texas, Florida, North Carolina and the Bahamas.
Whenever Claire has been away on one of her medical missions I've been asked if I was worried for her safety. But in truth, I never have been worried about her. After all, she was in disaster zones, but never in a war zone.
Until now. Now my daughter and her husband are living in a war zone in Chicago created by roving bands of Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, armed masked thugs decked out like storm troopers who have been terrorizing the once peaceful streets of Logan Square, as well as other heavily Hispanic Chicago neighborhoods.
Until now. Now my daughter and her husband are living in a war zone in Chicago created by roving bands of Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, armed masked thugs decked out like storm troopers who have been terrorizing the once peaceful streets of Logan Square, as well as other heavily Hispanic Chicago neighborhoods.
These goons in tactical gear have been sicced upon Chicago by Donald Trump, supposedly part of his anti-undocumented immigrant campaign, though, Chicago being 1,500 miles from the U.S. southern border, this is in truth just another act in his revenge circuit against his enemies. Evidently he considers the whole city of Chicago his enemy.
According to Claire, ICE agents don't patrol her neighborhood on foot, but rather in SUV's with dark-tinted windows from which they'll throw tear gas or flash bang grenades at brown-skinned people, as they've done several times at the Rico Fresh Market a few blocks from Miguel and Claire's house.
According to Claire, ICE agents don't patrol her neighborhood on foot, but rather in SUV's with dark-tinted windows from which they'll throw tear gas or flash bang grenades at brown-skinned people, as they've done several times at the Rico Fresh Market a few blocks from Miguel and Claire's house.
...and also around the neighborhood school.
Claire says she's also seen the ICE SUV's circling the Cermak Fresh, the Mexican market where she and Miguel shop, and where the walls are whimsically painted to look like houses.
The agents' other tactic is to jump out of their vehicles en masse, grab, assault, or otherwise go after their intended target whom they'll throw into their SUV's. Then they whisk off. Claire calls it Flash Terror.
She sees the SUV's circling her own block. She hears the flash bangs and smells the gun powder. She sees and hears the Blackhawk helicopters flying overhead, another tactic purely to stir up more terror. And Claire worries and worries about Miguel - who is an American citizen - that he might be scooped up while riding his bike to or from work by an ICE patrol out looking for another target, undocumented, documented, American citizen, it doesn't matter.
Claire and Miguel don't own a car, they usually bike to their jobs and anywhere else they need to go.
She sees the SUV's circling her own block. She hears the flash bangs and smells the gun powder. She sees and hears the Blackhawk helicopters flying overhead, another tactic purely to stir up more terror. And Claire worries and worries about Miguel - who is an American citizen - that he might be scooped up while riding his bike to or from work by an ICE patrol out looking for another target, undocumented, documented, American citizen, it doesn't matter.
Claire and Miguel don't own a car, they usually bike to their jobs and anywhere else they need to go.
A new verb has been added to the American English lexicon: to be disappeared by ICE agents. I means to be made to vanish without a word of notification to one's loved ones. One could be missing for days or weeks.
Last week I received this text from Claire:
Last week I received this text from Claire:
And a few days ago she posted this:
And so now, right here in the United States of America, in the heartland of the American Midwest, I have to worry everyday about my daughter and son-in-law. I have to text my daughter every morning to make sure she and Miguel arrived safely to work and every night make sure they've arrived home safely. And I have to worry that they might be arrested by vindictive ICE agents while doing their school watches.
And I can't stop worrying about my my loved ones or wrap my head around why I have to worry about them now.
And I can't stop worrying about my my loved ones or wrap my head around why I have to worry about them now.
Books by Patti Liszkay available on Amazon:
"Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
"Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
"Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
"Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
"Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
"Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
An Ode To What We Americans All Have In Common
Oh, some of us are proudly MAGA,
And some of us fly a different flag-a.
Some are Red State through and through,
While others stand up for the Blue.
While others stand up for the Blue.
Some exalted Charlie Kirk,
But others thought him a piece of work.
As distant as the sun and moon, we're polarized as can be,
But others thought him a piece of work.
As distant as the sun and moon, we're polarized as can be,
And yet, in one thing we're the same, from sea to shining sea.
For, all Americans everywhere,
...own folding chairs,
...which we're glad to share.
Our chairs are old,
Our chairs are old,
...our chairs are new,
Some are almost rusted through.
Some folks own six chairs, some own two,
But if you're having a big to-do, (as I recently did, so I know it's still true),
Just ask a friend, a neighbor or two, and folding chairs will rain down on you!
But if you're having a big to-do, (as I recently did, so I know it's still true),
Just ask a friend, a neighbor or two, and folding chairs will rain down on you!
They won't all match, but, really, who cares? That's nature of folding chairs.
For we all have our chairs, and often a table,
...which we'll gladly lend out, whenever we're able.
And though our creeds set us apart,
I believe we're mostly good at heart.
And if I can't swallow the views you hold,
And if my belief system leaves you cold,
We're all still Americans, with chairs stored away,
That we're ready to lend out on any old day,
To our neighbors who live cross the street or the aisle,
So they'll have enough seats to use for a while.
So if you need folding chairs, come, borrow mine,
And though our creeds set us apart,
I believe we're mostly good at heart.
And if I can't swallow the views you hold,
And if my belief system leaves you cold,
We're all still Americans, with chairs stored away,
That we're ready to lend out on any old day,
To our neighbors who live cross the street or the aisle,
So they'll have enough seats to use for a while.
So if you need folding chairs, come, borrow mine,
And yours I'll likewise someday borrow.
And though today we don't agree,
Who knows? We may tomorrow.
And though today we don't agree,
Who knows? We may tomorrow.
Books by Patti Liszkay available on Amazon:
"Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
"Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
"Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
"Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
"Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
"Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
An Afternoon of Music
I came up with the idea a few weeks ago when Dennis, a former piano student, got in touch with me. He told me that he'd been working on the 3rd movement of the Beethoven Sonata number 17, and he was wondering if I still taught and, if so, might he make a guest appearance at one of my student recitals?
Now, I don't teach much anymore (though I did have one piano student for a few months over the summer) so I don't have student recitals anymore. But I still have musician friends, and after considering my former student's request, it occurred to me that if my musical friends were game for the idea, then we could surely pull together a recital.
I first brought up the idea to my friend Carol, who is a fiddler with the local Irish music quartet, Roscommon Sessions.
Now, I don't teach much anymore (though I did have one piano student for a few months over the summer) so I don't have student recitals anymore. But I still have musician friends, and after considering my former student's request, it occurred to me that if my musical friends were game for the idea, then we could surely pull together a recital.
I first brought up the idea to my friend Carol, who is a fiddler with the local Irish music quartet, Roscommon Sessions.
Carol thought a recital was a great idea and so, it turned out, did her quartet members. Next I asked my son, Tommy, if he would play his guitar and sing. He, too, liked the idea. I asked one more of my former students, Jonathan, if he might have a piece on hand that he could perform with us. He said he'd get back to me and soon after came up with a piece to play.
And so, with a couple of pianists, an Irish quartet, my son on his guitar and me on my ukulele, we had a nice bench of performers. All we needed was a performance venue.
My first thought was to try and reserve Graves Recital Hall, the beautiful Columbus venue for both student and professional performances,
And so, with a couple of pianists, an Irish quartet, my son on his guitar and me on my ukulele, we had a nice bench of performers. All we needed was a performance venue.
My first thought was to try and reserve Graves Recital Hall, the beautiful Columbus venue for both student and professional performances,
... where I used to hold my student piano recitals.
However, Graves, while a lovely space, is a good trek across town for most of us. The other possibility that occurred to me was to have our recital in my living room.
After all, I have a nice piano, and the location would be more convenient for most of the performers. And we could have a reception afterwards. The only problem with my living room is that it's not all that big. Still, when I ran it by the performers, the idea of having the recital in my living room won the day.
And so we had our performers, our venue, and a chosen date and time of Saturday, October 4 at 4 pm. It was to be an afternoon of music followed by a buffet reception. All we needed now was an audience. I invited people, some of the performers invited people, and before I knew it we had a total of 27 people coming.
Now, rustling up 27 chairs wasn't a problem, as the offers came pouring in from people to lend me their folding chairs. Nor was fixing food for that many people a problem. If there's one thing I can do, it's whip up a buffet for a crowd.
And so we had our performers, our venue, and a chosen date and time of Saturday, October 4 at 4 pm. It was to be an afternoon of music followed by a buffet reception. All we needed now was an audience. I invited people, some of the performers invited people, and before I knew it we had a total of 27 people coming.
Now, rustling up 27 chairs wasn't a problem, as the offers came pouring in from people to lend me their folding chairs. Nor was fixing food for that many people a problem. If there's one thing I can do, it's whip up a buffet for a crowd.
The problem, as I saw it, was going to be shoehorning that many chairs into my living room and dining room so that all the guests would have a view of the performance. Not to mention leaving a space for the Irish quartet to play. "It'll be cozy," my friend Carol assured me.
In the week before the recital, folding chairs became my preoccupation. I lined up my stock of loaner chairs and time and again I configured and re-configured them and endeavored to come up with the best possible configuration for everyone to have the optimum possible view of the performers.
"What, you're moving chairs around again?" said my mate Tom any number of times in the days before the recital.
"Yeah," was my continuing response.
"If you have too many people you could always seat some in the family room," he'd say. "Even if they couldn't see the show, they could hear it."
"No," I'd say.
"Don't worry, it'll all work out fine," he'd say.
" ," I'd reply while continuing to haul folding chairs too and fro.
By the day of the recital a couple of people had cancelled and I'd come up with a satisfying layout: fifteen seats in the living room,
In the week before the recital, folding chairs became my preoccupation. I lined up my stock of loaner chairs and time and again I configured and re-configured them and endeavored to come up with the best possible configuration for everyone to have the optimum possible view of the performers.
"What, you're moving chairs around again?" said my mate Tom any number of times in the days before the recital.
"Yeah," was my continuing response.
"If you have too many people you could always seat some in the family room," he'd say. "Even if they couldn't see the show, they could hear it."
"No," I'd say.
"Don't worry, it'll all work out fine," he'd say.
" ," I'd reply while continuing to haul folding chairs too and fro.
By the day of the recital a couple of people had cancelled and I'd come up with a satisfying layout: fifteen seats in the living room,
...and eight in the dining room,
...and two seats on the stairs, one for me and one for my mate, Tom.
I'd set up a microphone for the singers to use: Tommy with his guitar and me with my uke.
So now that my anxiety over where and how to set up the chairs was calmed, I continued anxting over what would happen when the music was finished and it was time to eat: we'd have to shuffle the chairs around, get all of them out of the dining room so we could hustle the food that my daughter and her friend, my culinary helpers for the event, would (hopefully) have set up in the kitchen and ready to move out to the dining room table, which we'd first have to move back to the center of the dining room after the chairs were moved out, either to the family room, where we'd set up tray tables, or out to the patio where we'd set up tables,
...or around the living room where I planned to set up a bench to use as a table...Anyway, I couldn't imagine how it was all going to work out without devolving into chaos.
"Don't worry, it will all work out," said Tom.
" ," I replied.
The music was to begin at 4 pm, and my daughter, her friend, my mate, and I spent almost every minute of the day until then readying up the house and the outdoor seating,
"Don't worry, it will all work out," said Tom.
" ," I replied.
The music was to begin at 4 pm, and my daughter, her friend, my mate, and I spent almost every minute of the day until then readying up the house and the outdoor seating,
...and fixing the food,
...and, of course, washing dishes along the way.
My student Jonathan arrived early to warm up his piano piece,
...and after he'd warmed up he came out to the kitchen to help.
Shortly after 4 pm, when all the guests and musicians had arrived,
...our afternoon of music began,
...with me,
...followed by Tommy.
For one of Tommy's songs, "Rock Me, Mama Like a Wagon Wheel," we had a sing along on the chorus, for which I provided the words on the program sheets.
Next came our pianists, both of whom gave stellar performances.
Our recital finished with about 15 minutes of beautiful playing and singing by Roscommon Sessions.
Then the recital was finished and it was time for the reception, which, despite all my agita, rolled out smooth as glass, with Theresa and her friend whisking out the buffet,
...and everyone else chipping in to move around the table and the chairs.
And soon everyone was digging in.
And soon everyone was digging in.
As our afternoon of music moved on to an evening of conversation,
...and more music,
...the guests and musicians generally agreed that the music, the food, the feeling of community that we all enjoyed on this day were exactly what we needed in these troubling times to sooth our soul and refresh our spirit.
It didn't happen all at once, but rather it's been happening day by day.
Law firms required to pay a punitive tribute to President Trump in order to stay in business. Our country's elite universities under attack and defunded by President Trump and required to bend to his will and pay his Government to get their funding back.
President Trump and his family using Trump's presidency to make billions from cryptocurrency
Law firms required to pay a punitive tribute to President Trump in order to stay in business. Our country's elite universities under attack and defunded by President Trump and required to bend to his will and pay his Government to get their funding back.
President Trump and his family using Trump's presidency to make billions from cryptocurrency
President Trump throwing himself a gargantuan military parade for his birthday.
Masked Federal agents decked out like storm troopers crashing into workplaces and in mass sweeps rounding up people who've committed no crime and who may or may not have proper legal documentation.
Cruel and unusual treatment of immigrant detainees.
Armed soldiers patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C.,
...with threats from President Trump of more soldiers to be stationed in other American cities whose mayors and governors are not of his political party.
Powerful businesses and media companies bowing and scraping to President Trump's commands and paying him billions to settle his personal lawsuits against them.
President Trump vowing to exact harsh retribution from his perceived political enemies and from the public servants that he's put on his payback list.
Powerful businesses and media companies bowing and scraping to President Trump's commands and paying him billions to settle his personal lawsuits against them.
President Trump vowing to exact harsh retribution from his perceived political enemies and from the public servants that he's put on his payback list.
President Trump using the United States Justice department as his personal tool of revenge,
...and reminding us that he hates his opponents and doesn't want the best for them.
People great and small losing their jobs and careers for opinions they've voiced in public or posted on social media because their employers live in fear of being targeted by President Trump. Or because they've been explicitly threatened by Trump's henchmen.
People now being afraid to speak or post their minds because under President Trump, our First Amendment rights are no longer protected.
All those things and more have been happening in our country day by day, over the weeks and months. But what it took for it all to truly come together for me were the images of these banners that now hang over two federal buildings,
All those things and more have been happening in our country day by day, over the weeks and months. But what it took for it all to truly come together for me were the images of these banners that now hang over two federal buildings,
...with the news that more banners are on track to be hung on other federal buildings.
And when I saw those images, what I actually saw were these images:
And when I saw those images, what I actually saw were these images:
Sometimes a picture is more frightening than a thousand words.
References
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/politics/corporate-america-jimmy-kimmel-trump?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc&recs_exp=up-next-article-end&tenant_id=related.en
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/07/us/trump-revenge-list.html
Books by Patti Liszkay available on Amazon:
"Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
"Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
"Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
"Equal And Opposite Reactions" http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
"Hail Mary" https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
"Tropical Depression" https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY
A COVID Vaccine Hack
Yesterday I was sitting in the pharmacy waiting for my COVID shot. Next to me sat a girl who appeared to be in her twenties, and who I assumed was also waiting for a vaccine.
After a few minutes the pharmacist, a woman who appeared to be in her forties, came out and apologized to the girl and told her that she didn't qualify to receive the COVID vaccine. The young woman said that she was health care worker and would be at risk. The pharmacist said that, unfortunately, that didn't count. She asked the girl if she had any preexisting conditions. The girl replied that she didn't.
The pharmacist thought for a moment. "How about a mood disorder?"
The girl said she didn't have one. That was where I chimed in.
"Oh, come on," I said to the girl. "Don't you have something? How about anxiety?" I turned to the pharmacist. "Does anxiety count?"
"Yes, anxiety would count," said the pharmacist. To the girl she said, "How about anxiety? Any anxiety?"
"Um, no," said the girl.
So, here was the pharmacist and me, trying to give the girl a clue, but she just wasn't getting it.
"Surely you must have some anxiety," I said. "with the state of the country? The state of the world? The fact that you can't get a COVID vaccine? Doesn't that give you anxiety?"
Finally the girl got it and said that yes, she thought she had anxiety.
And so she got she got her COVID shot.
End of story.
MORAL: Make your anxiety work for you. Or go find yourself a pre-existing condition.
After a few minutes the pharmacist, a woman who appeared to be in her forties, came out and apologized to the girl and told her that she didn't qualify to receive the COVID vaccine. The young woman said that she was health care worker and would be at risk. The pharmacist said that, unfortunately, that didn't count. She asked the girl if she had any preexisting conditions. The girl replied that she didn't.
The pharmacist thought for a moment. "How about a mood disorder?"
The girl said she didn't have one. That was where I chimed in.
"Oh, come on," I said to the girl. "Don't you have something? How about anxiety?" I turned to the pharmacist. "Does anxiety count?"
"Yes, anxiety would count," said the pharmacist. To the girl she said, "How about anxiety? Any anxiety?"
"Um, no," said the girl.
So, here was the pharmacist and me, trying to give the girl a clue, but she just wasn't getting it.
"Surely you must have some anxiety," I said. "with the state of the country? The state of the world? The fact that you can't get a COVID vaccine? Doesn't that give you anxiety?"
Finally the girl got it and said that yes, she thought she had anxiety.
And so she got she got her COVID shot.
End of story.
MORAL: Make your anxiety work for you. Or go find yourself a pre-existing condition.
"Tropical Depression"
by Patti Liszkay
Buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTPN7NYY
by Patti Liszkay
Buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTPN7NYY
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I am a traveler just visiting this planet and reporting various and sundry observations,
hopefully of interest to my fellow travelers.
hopefully of interest to my fellow travelers.