….Jackson Blair
Why Is This So Hard
We have been hearing now for some time about the health care situation in the United States.
We are told there are too many people who do not have health care insurance.
We are reminded that as one of the richest nations on the planet there is no excuse for anyone not being able to obtain healthcare.
The President has proposed a health care solution.
It seems easy to accept these premises and enact health care legislation. So why are we all having so much difficulty with it.
The answer is relatively simple.
If you extend healthcare to people who are unable to pay for it then you have to know where the money is coming from that will pay for it.
There are only two choices.
Either we tax people to pay for it or the government adds to the national debt to pay for it.
There it is-in a nutshell, as they say.
Most people do not want to see the national debt raised. It is already beyond imagination. These are people that realize that someday somebody has to pay this debt off.
Most people do not want to see their taxes raised. This is a pretty tough time for a tax raise in this country.
If I am correct that most people don’t want to raise the national debt nor do they want to see a tax increase, then it is just a short step to understanding that this health care package should not pass in the U.S. Senate.
As citizens of this great land, we must be certain to communicate to our Senators our thoughts.
The goal is admirable. The plan is not.
While I have no other plan to suggest, I do know that the one before the Senate will raise taxes and will raise the national debt. Neither of these outcomes is acceptable to me.
It would be best to let this bill die and to continue to study ways in which we can efficiently take care of those who cannot pay for health insurance.
The solution has not yet been found.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
PALIN PHENOMENON
Notes of Concern……
…..Jackson Blair
The Palin Phenomenon
I am not at all concerned about Sarah Palin.
Are you?
Really?
Here is a quiz for you.
Do you remember Ross Perot?
Do you remember George Wallace?
Do you remember Ed Muskie?
And here is the real stumper: Do you remember William Miller?
Each of these folks garnered about as much, or more, attention than Ms. Palin.
Each of them could count their supporters in the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions.
Each had for a moment in time a real shot at national office.
None of them won their race and are now in the “do you remember” games.
On the positive side, Ms. Palin is an attractive, energetic woman, who succeeded in what is largely thought to be a man’s world up there in Alaska. She could hunt and fish with the best of them, manage a dog sled, gut a deer, and still look attractive. She was feisty. In America we like feisty. She took on a lot of the “good old boys” and “whipped” them.
Be realistic. Didn’t you always think a guy who loved to be called a “maverick” would lean toward someone like Sarah Alaska as a running mate? As we say today, they really bonded. Anyone deserving the title of political prognosticator should have seen that team before it was announced.
The failure for Sarah is found in her own book and from observation and was that Sarah Alaska didn’t take the analogy far enough. She did not understand that the “maverick” would not be taking any advice, any suggestions, any encouragement, any ideas or any independence from his running mate.
The failure for McCain was in ever thinking that Sarah Alaska would be submissive, subservient, quiet, and keep to her knitting. He wanted her hunting, riding herd, snowmobiling. She wanted a say on policy positions, itinerary, and visits to television shows in the big cities.
I do not side with those who treat Ms. Palin lightly. She has a lot for which to be proud. She has a lot of ability. She seems to be fun to be around and she seems to have an unending supply of energy. Many people throughout the land relate to her. Even if all I have said is absolutely true, bringing it all together in one package does not make a winning presidential candidate.
Now we are in 2009 and McCain is still in the United States Senate. He is still wealthy. He is still getting paid and he can look forward to a tremendous retirement.
Sarah is no longer Sarah Alaska. She came to believe her own “PR.” Somewhere down deep she thinks there might really be a run for the presidency in her future.”
My message to Sarah is this:
Collect the big bucks for the book.
Collect the big bucks for speaking fees.
Continue to look like you might be a candidate for as long as you can get anyone to buy into that.
Because at the end of this particular rainbow there may be a pot of gold in the form of advances and fees but there will be no White House address for Sarah Palin.
…..Jackson Blair
The Palin Phenomenon
I am not at all concerned about Sarah Palin.
Are you?
Really?
Here is a quiz for you.
Do you remember Ross Perot?
Do you remember George Wallace?
Do you remember Ed Muskie?
And here is the real stumper: Do you remember William Miller?
Each of these folks garnered about as much, or more, attention than Ms. Palin.
Each of them could count their supporters in the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions.
Each had for a moment in time a real shot at national office.
None of them won their race and are now in the “do you remember” games.
On the positive side, Ms. Palin is an attractive, energetic woman, who succeeded in what is largely thought to be a man’s world up there in Alaska. She could hunt and fish with the best of them, manage a dog sled, gut a deer, and still look attractive. She was feisty. In America we like feisty. She took on a lot of the “good old boys” and “whipped” them.
Be realistic. Didn’t you always think a guy who loved to be called a “maverick” would lean toward someone like Sarah Alaska as a running mate? As we say today, they really bonded. Anyone deserving the title of political prognosticator should have seen that team before it was announced.
The failure for Sarah is found in her own book and from observation and was that Sarah Alaska didn’t take the analogy far enough. She did not understand that the “maverick” would not be taking any advice, any suggestions, any encouragement, any ideas or any independence from his running mate.
The failure for McCain was in ever thinking that Sarah Alaska would be submissive, subservient, quiet, and keep to her knitting. He wanted her hunting, riding herd, snowmobiling. She wanted a say on policy positions, itinerary, and visits to television shows in the big cities.
I do not side with those who treat Ms. Palin lightly. She has a lot for which to be proud. She has a lot of ability. She seems to be fun to be around and she seems to have an unending supply of energy. Many people throughout the land relate to her. Even if all I have said is absolutely true, bringing it all together in one package does not make a winning presidential candidate.
Now we are in 2009 and McCain is still in the United States Senate. He is still wealthy. He is still getting paid and he can look forward to a tremendous retirement.
Sarah is no longer Sarah Alaska. She came to believe her own “PR.” Somewhere down deep she thinks there might really be a run for the presidency in her future.”
My message to Sarah is this:
Collect the big bucks for the book.
Collect the big bucks for speaking fees.
Continue to look like you might be a candidate for as long as you can get anyone to buy into that.
Because at the end of this particular rainbow there may be a pot of gold in the form of advances and fees but there will be no White House address for Sarah Palin.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thanks GIVING
Notes of Concern…..
….Jackson Blair
“Thanks”
“Thanks Giving”
“Giving Thanks”
“Thanksgiving”
We are all familiar with the origin of this holiday.
People with very different histories, and complexions, and experiences joined in a common meal, to thank God for their delivery from the winter and other difficulties, and for their ability to share a harvest and look forward to the future.
If certain groups common to contemporary life were around then, I am not at all certain who would be thanked, but I am certain it would not be anyone called “God.”
Throughout our history we have examples of the people attributing good outcomes to a benevolent God. It is not my intention to get into an intellectual argument over this, just to state it as an historical fact. We unite around the idea of Godly goodness and generosity and love. I have a lot of difficulty finding fault with such a scheme.
As I was thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday I did something I often do, I tried to force myself to think of it in a different way.
Like you, I enjoyed family meals with an overabundance of food, a lazy afternoon watching football, and days of fabulous “leftovers” and I even watched the Macy’s Parade from time to time.
Over the years I have been thankful for a lot of things and I am pleased to have a special day to truly reflect on all the things for which I should be thankful. It is more than a little embarrassing to admit that we should be thankful every day but we are too busy to give that a lot of daily thought.
My thinking brought me to the idea not just of being thankful and giving thanks but to the idea of giving as a measure of gratitude.
One of the reasons this came to mind was that my wife returned from a trip to Walmart the other night with a lot of toys and trinkets. I immediately assumed she was getting ready for Christmas and planning gifts for the “Grands.” A little later I saw her fitting these items into a shoebox. My questioning brought a response I did not anticipate. She was putting together a shoebox of gifts for a deserving child and her box, along with lots of other boxes, would be given to unnamed persons sometime during the holiday season.
I cannot say this surprises me because my wife has been given over to these sorts of gifts for a long time. You cannot imagine my surprise when I found out one Christmas that she had given her mother a cow and her mother had given her a sheep. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. Instead of spending money on themselves they had each purchased livestock for some village in a far off land.
Of course, the kind men and women ringing the Salvation Army bell have been trying to tell us for years that we need to give not just thanks, but tangible resources, to those who have none.
So in the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims really needed to thank the Indians for the seeds and the Indians wanted to thank the Pilgrims for their help in the hunt, and the way they chose to do this was to share their bounty and enjoy one another’s company, lets think in 2009 of ways in which we can share our bounty, even if we cannot share our company, with a lot of people in the world who have so little for which to be thankful but who, in my experience, are generally very thankful for the little they have.
Whether it is a village in the far reaches of a jungle in Ecuador, the townships of South Africa known as Soweto and Khayelitsha, or the slums of India, the happy faces I have seen and the hope in the eyes of the people in these places remind me in very tangible ways that we in America should be giving thanks, and just giving, every day of our lives.
Open up your hearts and your wallets and really “give” thanks this year. Make it a real “thanks” giving. You can still eat all the great food, enjoy your family, watch a good football game, take in the Macy’s parade, but this year you will do so with the knowledge that someone, somewhere, is having a better day because of the manner in which you decided to give thanks.
….Jackson Blair
“Thanks”
“Thanks Giving”
“Giving Thanks”
“Thanksgiving”
We are all familiar with the origin of this holiday.
People with very different histories, and complexions, and experiences joined in a common meal, to thank God for their delivery from the winter and other difficulties, and for their ability to share a harvest and look forward to the future.
If certain groups common to contemporary life were around then, I am not at all certain who would be thanked, but I am certain it would not be anyone called “God.”
Throughout our history we have examples of the people attributing good outcomes to a benevolent God. It is not my intention to get into an intellectual argument over this, just to state it as an historical fact. We unite around the idea of Godly goodness and generosity and love. I have a lot of difficulty finding fault with such a scheme.
As I was thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday I did something I often do, I tried to force myself to think of it in a different way.
Like you, I enjoyed family meals with an overabundance of food, a lazy afternoon watching football, and days of fabulous “leftovers” and I even watched the Macy’s Parade from time to time.
Over the years I have been thankful for a lot of things and I am pleased to have a special day to truly reflect on all the things for which I should be thankful. It is more than a little embarrassing to admit that we should be thankful every day but we are too busy to give that a lot of daily thought.
My thinking brought me to the idea not just of being thankful and giving thanks but to the idea of giving as a measure of gratitude.
One of the reasons this came to mind was that my wife returned from a trip to Walmart the other night with a lot of toys and trinkets. I immediately assumed she was getting ready for Christmas and planning gifts for the “Grands.” A little later I saw her fitting these items into a shoebox. My questioning brought a response I did not anticipate. She was putting together a shoebox of gifts for a deserving child and her box, along with lots of other boxes, would be given to unnamed persons sometime during the holiday season.
I cannot say this surprises me because my wife has been given over to these sorts of gifts for a long time. You cannot imagine my surprise when I found out one Christmas that she had given her mother a cow and her mother had given her a sheep. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. Instead of spending money on themselves they had each purchased livestock for some village in a far off land.
Of course, the kind men and women ringing the Salvation Army bell have been trying to tell us for years that we need to give not just thanks, but tangible resources, to those who have none.
So in the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims really needed to thank the Indians for the seeds and the Indians wanted to thank the Pilgrims for their help in the hunt, and the way they chose to do this was to share their bounty and enjoy one another’s company, lets think in 2009 of ways in which we can share our bounty, even if we cannot share our company, with a lot of people in the world who have so little for which to be thankful but who, in my experience, are generally very thankful for the little they have.
Whether it is a village in the far reaches of a jungle in Ecuador, the townships of South Africa known as Soweto and Khayelitsha, or the slums of India, the happy faces I have seen and the hope in the eyes of the people in these places remind me in very tangible ways that we in America should be giving thanks, and just giving, every day of our lives.
Open up your hearts and your wallets and really “give” thanks this year. Make it a real “thanks” giving. You can still eat all the great food, enjoy your family, watch a good football game, take in the Macy’s parade, but this year you will do so with the knowledge that someone, somewhere, is having a better day because of the manner in which you decided to give thanks.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Is the Tail Wagging Your Dog?
Notes of Concern…..
…..Jackson Blair
GOVERNED BY THE ELECTED OR THE APPOINTED?
Is the tail wagging the dog where you live?
We have recently had a number of elections concluded. The month of November in our society typically includes elections at one level or another. Watching all the supposed experts predict and then analyze, reading what the pundits had to say, and listening to my friends and colleagues, I determined to revisit my thinking on government and governing, to take another look at where I get my views and positions.
Although my undergraduate major was political science and I have worked to one degree or another on the local, state and national level, most of my life has not involved government service. I started out in a fairly liberal family, morphed into a very conservative young man, changed into a moderate Republican and more recently have seen myself as conservative on national defense and liberal on social policy.
When reviewing my walk it occurs to me that it pretty much reflects my personal experiences and needs along the way. You start out with little money and little responsibility. Then you are trying to get a foothold on a career. Along come wife and kids, and mortgage and car payments. Finally, you are rather settled and contemplating how to best spend your remaining years.
There is an old adage that says life should in three parts: LEARN-EARN-RETURN. I am clearly in phase three. So I want to share some thoughts on government in the hope that it will encourage my readers to revisit their own thinking about this important subject.
The old philosophers, many of who set the stage for the kind of government we have in our country, had some very basic and clear ideas. George Rousseau saw government as a social contract between the people and the government they selected.
John Locke’s influence on our Founding Fathers was enormous. He saw the community as perpetually retaining supreme power and fully responsible to save themselves from “the attempts and designs of anybody, even of their legislators..”
More recent heroes of democracy have spoken on this broad issue of government also. Here are some of the quotes with which I identify and you might also.
Abraham Lincoln warned us that “If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.”
Senator Barry Goldwater, sometimes known as the “conscience of conservatives” in our country, said:
“Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed.”
On the other side of the spectrum, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: “The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.”
In the early years, Mark Twain wrote: “The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.”
And finally, my favorite by George Jean Nathan: “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.”
When groups of people choose to live together in community they find they need some rules and regulations to govern their common life. They are supposed to select from amongst them the people they will trust with writing the commonly acceptable format for these rules and regulations and then applying those rules and regulations most fairly.
In this form the people are supreme. The decision on the acceptability of rules and regulations rest first with the people, and then with the representatives they select to enforce those rules.
It was always intended that somewhere along the line the representatives would be held accountable to the people for the representation they provided. If found lacking, the people were to replace them. If found true to their responsibility, the people would retain them for another “contract”.
In our federal government we actually defined the terms of that representation. Senators now sit for six years only because the people elect them and representatives for two years for the same reason.
I suggest to my readers that over the years we have become complacent about our role in this, the role of appraiser, evaluator and commender or terminator. People who no longer do what they said they would do, who no longer represent what we think, continue in office because we do not do our civic duty and cast votes.
At the local level it should be ever so much simpler for us. We know our representatives. They are our neighbors. We see first hand what they do, and what they do not do. We complain about their actions or praise their actions over coffee in restaurants, at VFW halls, and in churches. Yet somehow, a large percentage of the complainers and praisers cannot be motivated to vote.
So often our leaders tell us they are the recipients of bad information, that they make decisions on information that is later proved false. I hear over and over that a president or governor is not being well served by his advisors. We seem to have a tough time expecting our leaders to be in charge. We often see them as pawns of an established group of worker bees when they should be the Queen bee!
In these situations we are asked to believe that it is appropriate for the tail to wag the dog! Absolutely, and completely, a false and dangerous assumption. For instance, General MacArthur thought little of President Truman. A fatal mistake for MacArthur who lost his career and a possible future shot at the presidency. Who brought General MacArthur to heel? The former clothing shop manager in Missouri, Harry S. Truman, who understood that the President called the shots, no matter what his background. There are many similar instances in American history. Those we elect must take the position seriously and demand that everyone else respect the decision of the people as evidenced in the election.
I hope you will consider this a call to action.
If you like what government is doing you need to present yourself at the polls and cast a vote in favor of those who represent you.
If you do not like what government is doing, you need to present yourself at the polls and register your
dislike by voting for new representation.
How should you evaluate the people you put in office?
1. Do they do what they told you they would do when they asked for your vote?
2. Do they appoint people to work FOR them who carry out what you want done?
3. Do they provide leadership or do they follow non-elected functionaries who work for them?
4. Are they the right people for future challenges that you anticipate will need to be faced?
Try your hand at this. Apply the above four questions to any of the following: Town Government, State Government, Federal Government and then look at what you write down. Your answers to those four questions will be your guide to how you should vote in the next election. If you keep these questions handy, and add to them as you see fit, you will have a great guide for any future election.
Good luck. The future of our way of life from little towns to Washington, D.C. depends on how we each react to this kind of thinking.
…..Jackson Blair
GOVERNED BY THE ELECTED OR THE APPOINTED?
Is the tail wagging the dog where you live?
We have recently had a number of elections concluded. The month of November in our society typically includes elections at one level or another. Watching all the supposed experts predict and then analyze, reading what the pundits had to say, and listening to my friends and colleagues, I determined to revisit my thinking on government and governing, to take another look at where I get my views and positions.
Although my undergraduate major was political science and I have worked to one degree or another on the local, state and national level, most of my life has not involved government service. I started out in a fairly liberal family, morphed into a very conservative young man, changed into a moderate Republican and more recently have seen myself as conservative on national defense and liberal on social policy.
When reviewing my walk it occurs to me that it pretty much reflects my personal experiences and needs along the way. You start out with little money and little responsibility. Then you are trying to get a foothold on a career. Along come wife and kids, and mortgage and car payments. Finally, you are rather settled and contemplating how to best spend your remaining years.
There is an old adage that says life should in three parts: LEARN-EARN-RETURN. I am clearly in phase three. So I want to share some thoughts on government in the hope that it will encourage my readers to revisit their own thinking about this important subject.
The old philosophers, many of who set the stage for the kind of government we have in our country, had some very basic and clear ideas. George Rousseau saw government as a social contract between the people and the government they selected.
John Locke’s influence on our Founding Fathers was enormous. He saw the community as perpetually retaining supreme power and fully responsible to save themselves from “the attempts and designs of anybody, even of their legislators..”
More recent heroes of democracy have spoken on this broad issue of government also. Here are some of the quotes with which I identify and you might also.
Abraham Lincoln warned us that “If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.”
Senator Barry Goldwater, sometimes known as the “conscience of conservatives” in our country, said:
“Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed.”
On the other side of the spectrum, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: “The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.”
In the early years, Mark Twain wrote: “The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.”
And finally, my favorite by George Jean Nathan: “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.”
When groups of people choose to live together in community they find they need some rules and regulations to govern their common life. They are supposed to select from amongst them the people they will trust with writing the commonly acceptable format for these rules and regulations and then applying those rules and regulations most fairly.
In this form the people are supreme. The decision on the acceptability of rules and regulations rest first with the people, and then with the representatives they select to enforce those rules.
It was always intended that somewhere along the line the representatives would be held accountable to the people for the representation they provided. If found lacking, the people were to replace them. If found true to their responsibility, the people would retain them for another “contract”.
In our federal government we actually defined the terms of that representation. Senators now sit for six years only because the people elect them and representatives for two years for the same reason.
I suggest to my readers that over the years we have become complacent about our role in this, the role of appraiser, evaluator and commender or terminator. People who no longer do what they said they would do, who no longer represent what we think, continue in office because we do not do our civic duty and cast votes.
At the local level it should be ever so much simpler for us. We know our representatives. They are our neighbors. We see first hand what they do, and what they do not do. We complain about their actions or praise their actions over coffee in restaurants, at VFW halls, and in churches. Yet somehow, a large percentage of the complainers and praisers cannot be motivated to vote.
So often our leaders tell us they are the recipients of bad information, that they make decisions on information that is later proved false. I hear over and over that a president or governor is not being well served by his advisors. We seem to have a tough time expecting our leaders to be in charge. We often see them as pawns of an established group of worker bees when they should be the Queen bee!
In these situations we are asked to believe that it is appropriate for the tail to wag the dog! Absolutely, and completely, a false and dangerous assumption. For instance, General MacArthur thought little of President Truman. A fatal mistake for MacArthur who lost his career and a possible future shot at the presidency. Who brought General MacArthur to heel? The former clothing shop manager in Missouri, Harry S. Truman, who understood that the President called the shots, no matter what his background. There are many similar instances in American history. Those we elect must take the position seriously and demand that everyone else respect the decision of the people as evidenced in the election.
I hope you will consider this a call to action.
If you like what government is doing you need to present yourself at the polls and cast a vote in favor of those who represent you.
If you do not like what government is doing, you need to present yourself at the polls and register your
dislike by voting for new representation.
How should you evaluate the people you put in office?
1. Do they do what they told you they would do when they asked for your vote?
2. Do they appoint people to work FOR them who carry out what you want done?
3. Do they provide leadership or do they follow non-elected functionaries who work for them?
4. Are they the right people for future challenges that you anticipate will need to be faced?
Try your hand at this. Apply the above four questions to any of the following: Town Government, State Government, Federal Government and then look at what you write down. Your answers to those four questions will be your guide to how you should vote in the next election. If you keep these questions handy, and add to them as you see fit, you will have a great guide for any future election.
Good luck. The future of our way of life from little towns to Washington, D.C. depends on how we each react to this kind of thinking.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
HARVARD MEETS VANDERGRIFT
Notes of Concern…
….Jackson Blair
HARVARD MEETS VANDERGRIFT
I grew up in a small western Pennsylvania town named Vandergrift. It was a beautiful little community perhaps best known for its winding streets, beautiful trees, and notoriety as a “workers paradise” written about by the famous Ida Tarbell.
It is not my intention to discuss my hometown other than to recommend those interested in some exciting history related to management and labor “dances” during the Steel Age and the eventual transformation of people and communities when that industry began to fail, would be well advised to read anything about Vandergrift, Pennsylvania they can find.
A number of famous and accomplished people had their origins in Vandergrift. There was Angelo Donghia, the famous interior decorator who, among other things, dressed the luxury liner S.S. France; Martieri of Rome, a couturier whose designs were sought by the famous and whose collections were featured on runways around the world; William J. Perry, U.S. Secretary of Defense and so many others.
It was my pleasure to encounter another of those who would make this list of famous natives of Vandergrift, Tony Gallo.
Anthony E. Gallo is a resident of Washington, DC and a gifted playwright. One of his more famous plays, in fact, is titled “Vandergrift” and has been showcased in many venues around the world.
However, I encountered Tony Gallo at the venerable Harvard Club in Boston, Massachusetts last week. Gallo was offering a reading of his play Margherita within the walls of a very historic place. I had shared with Tony that I would try to attend this event, but was unsure when we last talked that I could.
The summary provided to those in attendance described the play this way:
“This historically- based two-act drama examines the 25 year relationship between Margherita Sarfatti and Benito Mussolini between 1911 and 1936. The play takes place during a three-day encounter in 1939. Margherita, the most influential woman in Il Duce’s life, is trying to leave the country when her former lover knocks at the door. She is well aware of what he wants. He knows what she wants. “
I entered the club and found my way to the hall where a beautifully prepared tea and coffee and juices had been set out for the attendees. The club is very classy, heavy with beautiful woodwork, and the oil paintings of famous Americans hanging on the wall looking down at those that visit.
I took a seat on a leather sofa and watched the action. It was a quiet group, seemingly representative of those who love history and plays and have an Italian connection as The Italian Center of New York City and their Boston Office was the sponsor of this event.
Margherita requires four players to handle the six roles. For this reading the Playwright had secured the services of four really gifted players: Helenmary Ball as Margherita, James Howard as Benito Mussolini, Brian Doyle as James Bullock and also as Major Klemmer, and Julian Ball as both the Narrator and Luigi.
Howard was especially effective as Benito Mussolini. His face is very familiar, as he has played a variety of character roles on television and in film.
I observed Tony “working the room” and greeting all the guests. He is a polished, friendly and engaging fellow. When he got to me and started talking I could see recognition begin to cross his face. With a “my God its you”, he embraced me and welcomed me over and over.
I was glad to see someone from Vandergrift. Someone from Vandergrift was pleased to see another native. Both of us were standing inside the Harvard club acting, well, like a bunch of western Pennsylvanians! And both of us knew what it meant to be at The Harvard Club on this particular day for two guys from a little town further from Harvard and Cambridge than the miles would suggest.
In a brief period, we had discussed most of my relatives, with a special mention of my aunt, Hazel Orr, who had been principal of Tony’s school in the Vandergrift Heights. We talked also of my cousin Virginia Young (Putty) who had been a classmate of Tony’s and we ventured into a discussion of Chiefs of Police Mike Calizzi and Dwight Johnston (another uncle of mine).
He talked of how much help Renny Clawson of Vandergrift had been and of how they hoped to do a play about his ancestor Jim Whitworth (an important player in Vandergrift history) in the future. We talked about Bob Johnston, retired independent school headmaster and I provided Tony with Bob’s contact information.
Tony understands networking and he is an excellent communicator. My guess is that he was communicating with Bob Johnston before the week was out.
Lest it seem we totally ignored all those gathered for Margherita, I should say all of this nostalgia occurred in about a ten-minute break and then it was back to work for Tony. He had important guests to greet, introductions to make, and a panel discussion to anticipate.
The afternoon ended with a panel on Mussolini’s Italy in which our Tony Gallo was one of three panelists. The other two being Allan C. Brownfield, a nationally syndicated columnist and Robert Trifiletti, executive director of The Italian Center.
My wife and I are amazed to run into Vandergrift natives in many far away places. For such a small steel town, a lot of the citizenry have branched out and made their mark.
I have had the privilege of visiting over 40 nations, and I continue with each trip to assume I am likely to run into somebody from Vandergrift, somebody who has read about Vandergrift, or someone who has visited Vandergrift.
The town will continue to get a great deal of attention as Anthony E. Gallo continues to present his play Vandergrift. And I can add to my list above “somebody who wants to visit Vandergrift”.
More importantly, as Anthony becomes more and more an important playwright, his Vandergrift roots become well known.
I have been following Anthony Gallo’s successes for some time. He is proud of his western Pennsylvania roots and experiences and western Pennsylvania generally, and Vandergrift more specifically, has good reason to be proud of Tony Gallo.
Editors note: Jackson Blair’s column “Notes of Concern” appears in Massachusetts newspapers and a collection of his columns can be found on his blog:
blair-notes.blogspot.com
Additional information can be obtained at
www.jacksonblair.org
….Jackson Blair
HARVARD MEETS VANDERGRIFT
I grew up in a small western Pennsylvania town named Vandergrift. It was a beautiful little community perhaps best known for its winding streets, beautiful trees, and notoriety as a “workers paradise” written about by the famous Ida Tarbell.
It is not my intention to discuss my hometown other than to recommend those interested in some exciting history related to management and labor “dances” during the Steel Age and the eventual transformation of people and communities when that industry began to fail, would be well advised to read anything about Vandergrift, Pennsylvania they can find.
A number of famous and accomplished people had their origins in Vandergrift. There was Angelo Donghia, the famous interior decorator who, among other things, dressed the luxury liner S.S. France; Martieri of Rome, a couturier whose designs were sought by the famous and whose collections were featured on runways around the world; William J. Perry, U.S. Secretary of Defense and so many others.
It was my pleasure to encounter another of those who would make this list of famous natives of Vandergrift, Tony Gallo.
Anthony E. Gallo is a resident of Washington, DC and a gifted playwright. One of his more famous plays, in fact, is titled “Vandergrift” and has been showcased in many venues around the world.
However, I encountered Tony Gallo at the venerable Harvard Club in Boston, Massachusetts last week. Gallo was offering a reading of his play Margherita within the walls of a very historic place. I had shared with Tony that I would try to attend this event, but was unsure when we last talked that I could.
The summary provided to those in attendance described the play this way:
“This historically- based two-act drama examines the 25 year relationship between Margherita Sarfatti and Benito Mussolini between 1911 and 1936. The play takes place during a three-day encounter in 1939. Margherita, the most influential woman in Il Duce’s life, is trying to leave the country when her former lover knocks at the door. She is well aware of what he wants. He knows what she wants. “
I entered the club and found my way to the hall where a beautifully prepared tea and coffee and juices had been set out for the attendees. The club is very classy, heavy with beautiful woodwork, and the oil paintings of famous Americans hanging on the wall looking down at those that visit.
I took a seat on a leather sofa and watched the action. It was a quiet group, seemingly representative of those who love history and plays and have an Italian connection as The Italian Center of New York City and their Boston Office was the sponsor of this event.
Margherita requires four players to handle the six roles. For this reading the Playwright had secured the services of four really gifted players: Helenmary Ball as Margherita, James Howard as Benito Mussolini, Brian Doyle as James Bullock and also as Major Klemmer, and Julian Ball as both the Narrator and Luigi.
Howard was especially effective as Benito Mussolini. His face is very familiar, as he has played a variety of character roles on television and in film.
I observed Tony “working the room” and greeting all the guests. He is a polished, friendly and engaging fellow. When he got to me and started talking I could see recognition begin to cross his face. With a “my God its you”, he embraced me and welcomed me over and over.
I was glad to see someone from Vandergrift. Someone from Vandergrift was pleased to see another native. Both of us were standing inside the Harvard club acting, well, like a bunch of western Pennsylvanians! And both of us knew what it meant to be at The Harvard Club on this particular day for two guys from a little town further from Harvard and Cambridge than the miles would suggest.
In a brief period, we had discussed most of my relatives, with a special mention of my aunt, Hazel Orr, who had been principal of Tony’s school in the Vandergrift Heights. We talked also of my cousin Virginia Young (Putty) who had been a classmate of Tony’s and we ventured into a discussion of Chiefs of Police Mike Calizzi and Dwight Johnston (another uncle of mine).
He talked of how much help Renny Clawson of Vandergrift had been and of how they hoped to do a play about his ancestor Jim Whitworth (an important player in Vandergrift history) in the future. We talked about Bob Johnston, retired independent school headmaster and I provided Tony with Bob’s contact information.
Tony understands networking and he is an excellent communicator. My guess is that he was communicating with Bob Johnston before the week was out.
Lest it seem we totally ignored all those gathered for Margherita, I should say all of this nostalgia occurred in about a ten-minute break and then it was back to work for Tony. He had important guests to greet, introductions to make, and a panel discussion to anticipate.
The afternoon ended with a panel on Mussolini’s Italy in which our Tony Gallo was one of three panelists. The other two being Allan C. Brownfield, a nationally syndicated columnist and Robert Trifiletti, executive director of The Italian Center.
My wife and I are amazed to run into Vandergrift natives in many far away places. For such a small steel town, a lot of the citizenry have branched out and made their mark.
I have had the privilege of visiting over 40 nations, and I continue with each trip to assume I am likely to run into somebody from Vandergrift, somebody who has read about Vandergrift, or someone who has visited Vandergrift.
The town will continue to get a great deal of attention as Anthony E. Gallo continues to present his play Vandergrift. And I can add to my list above “somebody who wants to visit Vandergrift”.
More importantly, as Anthony becomes more and more an important playwright, his Vandergrift roots become well known.
I have been following Anthony Gallo’s successes for some time. He is proud of his western Pennsylvania roots and experiences and western Pennsylvania generally, and Vandergrift more specifically, has good reason to be proud of Tony Gallo.
Editors note: Jackson Blair’s column “Notes of Concern” appears in Massachusetts newspapers and a collection of his columns can be found on his blog:
blair-notes.blogspot.com
Additional information can be obtained at
www.jacksonblair.org
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