I'm a Simple Man, used to Changes

I'm a minimalist.  I have one pair of shorts, one sweatshirt, one pair of jeans, one pair of athletic shorts.  Even as a kid, I didn't like shopping.  I remember abhorring back-to-school clothes shopping.  Now, as an adult, if I need something, I go to whatever store has it, go directly to where it is, get it, and get out as soon as I can.

It kinda goes hand-in-hand with me being so frugal.  I'm a saver, not a spender.  As alluded to above, I only spend money when it's necessary and I know specifically what I need.

The longest I ever lived in one place, one residence that is, was when I lived at the Double-Deuce & Spruce: from June 2003 through October 2011, a total of 8 years, 5 months.  As I wrote that (then took a few minutes, thinking out loud, to be sure of the dates), I said "wow!"  It's hard to believe that I lived there for that length of time.  The longest that I ever attended one school, one individual educational institution, was my 4 years of college.  And the longest that I've ever worked at one job, for one employer, for a consecutive stretch is my current one: since October 2009, thus for 4 years, 8 months until I went out on paternity leave to be with Seva.  Although I don't like changes (my friend Evan pointed that out to me years ago), I've had a lifetime of stages or periods until the next change came.  I guess that's at least partly why I was so impressed just now at the length of time I lived at the Double-Deuce & Spruce; nothing comes close.  Although I can agree with Evan that I don't particularly like change, I know that -- because I'm so accustomed to a new school or a new town or a new home or a new job every 2 or 3 years -- I have an internal clock which gets louder as that existential mile-marker is passed.  During that time, the scales slowly begin to tip away from complacency and antipathy towards change and they tip in the direction of shaking things up, doing something new, taking on a challenge, making a move.  Busy myself as I often do, once the down time comes, those internal whispers become ever more audible.  We have a magnet on our refrigerator which says, "when your heart speaks, take good notes."  So it's kinda like that, the voice that comes from my heart gets louder, until I have no choice but to take note.  And then the questions become: where to? what next?

Leadership

Tonight I watched the second half of a rebroadcast of last year's Georgia at Auburn football game, ranked by ESPN as the #3 best college football game of 2013.  It got me thinking about college football, football in general, and also leadership.

I remembered my college football coach, Barry Streeter, who SUCKED as a football coach.  I have stated to others and I write unequivocally here that my high school football coach was superior to, better than, Coach Barry Streeter.  When I played for Coach Streeter, he ran the wing-T offense, consisting of three running backs and only one wide receiver.  He remained stubborn in this offensive set during a time when college football at the Division I level was opening up to a more pro-style offense, that is, more passing.  I remember that his inflexibility actually gave the opposing teams an advantage, because his playbook as head coach was the same year after year.  So opposing head coaches and defensive coordinators could just study film from previous years and coach their defense on how to defend a particular play based on the offensive formation and the action in the backfield.  This is common sense of course, something that Coach Streeter apparently lacks.

I just looked up Coach Streeter's overall record as head coach (see here).  In the past 16 seasons, he's had a winning record just 4 times.  Despite anyone who may want to call him a "legend" based on his long tenure, this record is anything but legendary; it's sub-par.

Now, let's contrast...

I just saw an article on philly.com, the headline of which was "Expect Kelly's Eagles to have new wrinkles in their offense."  The first sentence of the article reads: "Chip Kelly has said since Day 1 that offense is personnel-driven."  Then, just a couple lines later, Kelly is quoted as saying: "The biggest thing that you have to do is identify the skill-sets you have..."  I made this same point numerous times as a college football player to my positions coach under Coach Streeter.  Even as a student, I recognized that you don't plug players into a cookie-cutter system, which minimizes players' unique talents and makes your offense completely predictable.  And this is a principle of leadership that should apply to any team, organization, or company: you take the time to assess and understand your talent, then you put your team members in the best possible positions to exploit those individual talents with the objective to meet your team's goals.  It's not rocket science.

As author Warren Bennis wrote in his book "On Becoming a Leader": "The success or failure of all organizations . . . rests on the quality of their decision makers."  Again, refer back to Coach Streeter's overall record over the past 16 years; does that significant sample size reflect success or failure?  (As an important sidenote, Warren Bennis died two days ago (article here)).  There are certain traits of a leader, which include being active (as opposed to reactive), experimental (as opposed to rote), and flexible (as opposed to rigid); these are all cited by Bennis in On Becoming a Leader.  Whereas Coach Kelly exemplifies those positive leadership traits, Coach Streeter exemplifies the stagnant traits of a manager wearing a leader's mask.

I imagine that, at this point, at this late date, there is likely no way to get Coach Streeter to retire (or have him 'relieved of his duties').  If you're a high school player being recruited by, or considering playing for, Coach Streeter, my clear advice is: don't.

And for the vast majority of you who aren't being recruited by Coach Streeter, keep this leadership principle in mind when looking at your own career: spend as little time as possible in a workplace where management and supervisors are mediocre managers, rather than true leaders.  You'll get sucked in; your self-esteem may take a hit when you don't fit into the cookie-cutter mold; and you may start to question your skills or abilities.  If that happens, get the hell out of there!  Go somewhere to work for real leaders, people who will support you, encourage you, and positively challenge you, based upon an assessment and understanding of your individual skills.  Understand that good leaders make you better; bad leaders mostly waste your time, except to learn how not to be.

Concern yourself . . . with what it is still possible for you to do

"Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams.  Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.  Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do."  -- Saint John XXIII

I saw this quote on a large visual display at the back of church today.  I pointed it out to Jeannie.  I really like the quote.  It resonates with me when I think about my work life.  And so, it speaks to me when I think about my future.  I've written recently about trying to let go of the negative and just do my thing, but it's still not always easy.  As I explained to Madhu yesterday, [...]'s move to the new location has been the focus of everyone's energy and attention.  And the new space is pretty nice, so I think it makes everyone feel good while everything is still fresh and new.  But knowing that, I don't want to ignore the reality that lies below the surface and the fact that my head has been hitting the ceiling for a while and that I just don't belong.

Speaking of Madhu, Jeannie and I went for a picnic yesterday in Rittenhouse Square and we invited Madhu and Diana to join us.  We had a great afternoon.  Jeannie, Seva, and I had the first half-hour or so to ourselves.  We laid down a double-folded sheet on to the ground and began eating the lunch that Jeannie had packed for us.  Seva was very comfortable.  The weather was nearly perfect in terms of the temperature, with the occasional breeze.  There were a lot of people out.  We set-up our sheet next to a group of people who had an iPod playing some music.  I told Jeannie that the vibe from the group next to us reminded me of a Gettysburg spring semester off-campus party, from the music they were playing to the way they dressed to the way they hung around and made major progress on a bunch of beer cans.  Although I can't say that I ever fit in with that crowd or sub-culture, the vibe definitely made me feel a bit nostalgic.

Returning to the perspective of our perspective, we had a nice afternoon chatting with Madhu and Diana on all sorts of life topics, that I won't even get into here.  Needless to say we had a great time.  And Madhu and Diana each did a great job holding Seva in their respective turns.  Having turned 3 weeks old yesterday, I'm getting the impression that Seva is happy when she feels close and comfortable with others and, if that's satisfied, then she's pretty easy-going.  If my take on her disposition is accurate, then I think she'll do very well for herself as she gets older.  I guess time will tell.

Later, after we'd been sitting on the lawn for a while and everyone was beginning to feel different degrees of restless, we decided to get up to walk through the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival as it was wrapping up.  Jeannie got a white sangria at the stand for Alma de Cuba, where Madhu got a bottle of water.  We continued walking until we got to Broad Street, where we hung a right, then turned left on to Pine Street, then turned right down a side street (perhaps Juniper) to head over to South Street. Spring Festival.  As with the first, there wasn't really much to see or do, especially since we wanted to avoid the loud music.  We noticed a food truck for arepas, but it was closed.  But then, right as we were about to cross 4th Street, I looked to my left and saw the actual restaurant to which the food truck belonged: Delicias.  I pointed it out to everyone and we decided to go in.  We all got our own variation of arepas: Madhu got carnitas de masa, I got pabellon, and Jeannie and Diana got vegetarian.  I think we were all pretty pleased with the food.  And the staff there was very nice and complimentary toward Seva.

We enjoyed a nice long walk west up South Street (along the way I ran into my friend Julie) and we parted ways at Broad Street.  As Jeannie and I continued on our walk home, the rain drops slowly started to come down.  As we walked into the door to our building, it started to rain.  We couldn't have timed it much better.

Last night was nice.  We laid Seva down to sleep and Jeannie and I watched The Secret Life ofWalter Mitty, which was a really good movie.  The theme of the movie was to live life to its fullest experience, which leads me back to the quote with which I opened this post.  I hope that before too long I can make a change in mindset, in role, in mission, in location, which will spark a new passion and chapter in life, one which will make me a better man.

Another Friday night in the 215

Last Saturday night (March 29, 2014), I got an unexpected message on facebook from my old college friend, M. Lorge, saying that he and his wife were in Philly, but since the Phillies game was rained-out, they were free and wondering what I was up to.  After checking with Jeannie, who was 39 weeks pregnant at that point, I invited Lorge and his wife to come by our place for a visit after they ate dinner.  We had a great time.  I was so happy to see my old friend, who I hadn't seen for about three years before that.  We hung out for over 5 hours, from 7pm until almost 1am, and went through nearly 3 bottles of wine (Jeannie didn't drink).  It was great catching up with Lorge and after we'd caught up and also warmed up a bit on wine, we got to the fun part, which was going over old stories from college.  I definitely intend to write as many of those stories on to this blog, but I'm going to hold off for now.  The point for now is that it was a great night, and I felt the happiest I've felt in a while.  Although Lorge doesn't live more than about an hour away, it's tough because he has a young son and three stepsons, in addition to running his own business.  I wrote him a follow-up message earlier this week, saying though that we really need to get together at least twice per year.  And he replied to agree.  I hope to see him again some time this summer.

I've made a lot of friends over the years and I recognize (since I've said it before) that things change and thus relationships change and evolve.  For instance, I'm not as close with Paul and Evan as I was when I was in my early to mid 20s, for reasons related to different socio-political beliefs and also due to class.  It's sad when some relationships change.  But it's also part of life.  And some people, even though they're close by and they're good people, I just don't fully connect with, even though I don't quite know why.  A perfect example of this is Corey, here in Philly.  He's a good guy, and I enjoy catching up with him every once in a while, but I also don't see myself becoming better friends with him than I am now.  I can't say what it is; maybe the slight difference in age is enough to create that relationship gap; maybe it's that I never got a great feeling from his wife, Laura; I can't say for sure, but I'll accept reality.  Coming back to the point, though, I'd love to deepen at least one or two friendships.  Besides my wife Jeannie, I want to feel like I've got someone who's got my back, someone I can hang out with and connect with, and someone to look forward to seeing and spending time with.  With Jeannie and I starting a family, is that going to be difficult?  I don't know.  As I sit here at the computer, and look to my right down the length of this floor, I see the glass doors leading out to the patio.  I think back to last summer, when we had a handful of get-togethers, and I believe it's very possible that we can invite friends here to hang out and spend time.  The main X factor now is how we'll feel doing that after the birth of our baby girl, which can happen any day now.

Last night, Jeannie and I had a date at Seafood Unlimited.  We took a cab there.  We started ordering drinks: a lemonade for Jeannie and a glass of malbec for me.  I ordered a shrimp bisque to start, which was good, although not warm enough.  Then, for my entree, I had a crab cake with cajun remoulade, and a baked potato and mixed vegetables on the side.  Jeannie had seafood empanadas and a salad.  Overall, it was good, but not overwhelming.  I liked the vibe, though, especially since I know that Jeannie didn't want to go anywhere too fancy.  The Sixers game was playing on the television behind the bar (they beat the Celtics).  The lighting throughout was a warm blue-green.  And of course the front room was characterized with the beautiful Isaiah Zagar mosaic mural (see here for photos).  Overall, it was a nice time.  We took a cab home and spent the night watching the movie Joe Kidd, starring Clint Eastwood, while flipping to the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets game during commercials (the Rockets won, behind a huge game from James Harden, though Kevin Durant tied Michael Jordan for 40 consecutive games scoring 25+ points).  It was a good night.  I thank God.

A Day to Thank my Enemies

On this date, March 2nd, I thank all those who have broken my heart, insulted me, offended me, failed to believe in me, underestimated me, or talked shit about me behind my back.  Two years ago today, on March 2nd, 2012, Ileana walked out on me, walking right out the door to my apartment at 1015 Bainbridge Street.  I haven't had any direct contact with her since.

Earlier today, before I got out of bed to take a shower before church, I thought about two episodes where I really felt hurt and then ashamed of my reaction.  First, when I was a senior in high school, I remember dating for a very short period of time one of the most desirable girls of the junior class, Marissa McCormick, a beautiful girl with lush, curly hair.  She was a goalie on the field hockey team.  And she was later that year voted as the best looking girl of her class, or something along those lines.  I remember going on a double date with her and Mike Potter and the girl he was dating at the time.  We went to the Friendly's right by the Marlton Circle (the intersection of Routes 70 & 73, no longer a circle for at least four or five years).  Anyway, it may have been later that night after the double date that another guy, Tim, from our football team threw a house party.  We had lost to Pemberton earlier that day, putting this whole episode on Saturday, October 14, 1995.  Marissa and I both went to the house party.  I don't remember if I picked her up to go there, or if we just met there.  But we were definitely dating, or so I thought.  I don't remember much about the night, except that I think I was trying to play it cool by not being attached to her.  Maybe that was my mistake, because I recall that I hadn't seen her for a while and so I went looking for her.  I opened the door to a bedroom to find her sitting on the bed with one of my friends on the team, John Cidoni.  It's possible that I immediately jumped to a false conclusion, but even my written description now seems hard to justify, so I was understandably hurt by what I saw.  I remember going back downstairs where I had been sitting in the basement.  I remember talking with Taryn Young and I think also with Mia Tatum, a couple of the cheerleaders, both very beautiful young women in their own right.  And I remember getting upset to the point of crying.  I admit before God and whoever later reads this that I'm a sensitive guy; there's no doubt about that.  But I still feel a bit ashamed at my emotional reaction.  Although I had good reason to feel betrayed -- not so much by Marissa, between whom we had not likely developed any kind of allegiance, but more so from my friend, Cidoni -- I still feel like I could have handled the situation with more grace.

The second episode didn't happen too much later, as the calendar would indicate.  I was a sophomore in college, so this was the fall of 1997.  It happened during a football game, although I don't remember which one.  At that point, I was still our team's starting wide receiver.  The moment really hit me at halftime, although it had been building up since some point in the second quarter, and at a deeper level pretty much since the start of the season.  I had a terrible first half, dropping at least a couple easy balls.  The point in the second quarter, that I refer to just above, was what should have been a very easy catch, but was instead a dropped pass.  I was frustrated.  And it had been building for a while.  I was being underutilized by the coach, Barry Streeter.  In other words, I felt that my skills and my talents were being taken for granted, or even worse just disregarded.  That was the issue, not so much the frustration of the moment, but the fact that I felt like less of a person than I had considered myself.  It made me question my identity as a football player, as the best wide receiver that I knew.  And when I got into the locker room at halftime, it was too much to hold back.  I took off my helmet and cried by my locker.  I couldn't handle it.  Again, I think back to this episode and I wonder if I had the emotional grit to handle the situation with more grace, perhaps wait until a more private moment to release my pent-up frustration and self-doubt.  Or perhaps not.  Perhaps that was exactly what needed to happen.

When I look back at both of those moments, I see that something "good" came out of each one.  After the first, I developed a hunger to hit Cidoni in tackling drills and the like during practice.  Before that, I'd always had an aversion, if not fear, to hitting and being hit.  My love for the game of football had more to do with displaying my skills in having really good hands to catch the football and exceptional speed to set myself apart, athletically, from everyone else on the field.  Now, in reaction to this episode of hurt, I wanted to punish Cidoni.  And I overcame my fear of hitting others as hard as I could.  I remember that it was later that same season that I put a huge hit on Aamir Dew in our win against #6-ranked nationally Toms River North.  And I wasn't scared any more of getting hit.

After the second episode, I think I began to realize that my own identity was more than a football player, or at least it had to be, and I had to figure out how so.  Right before I was supposed to report to camp in August 1998, I called Coach Streeter to tell him that I wasn't going to return to the team.  I had been developing as a team leader during the off-season work-outs, but I decided to apply those skills elsewhere.  I joined our college chapter of Amnesty International and eventually led it to the second biggest budget for a student organization on campus and ushered in a period of increased membership and activity on campus.

Maybe this is all revisionist history on my part, especially since I still feel a bit of shame from my reaction to both episodes of hurt.  I hope I'm remembered for more than just my reactions.  I hope I'm remembered for being genuine in my emotions.  And more than that, I hope I'm remembered for the positive aspects: for being desired by a really desirable girl, for being a great football player, for being a good organizational leader, and for always putting my heart into whatever I did.

Circling back to the commemoration of today's date, I also know that I was devastated by Ileana walking out that door.  The next two months marked one of the biggest depressions of my life (on par with my third year of law school).  Similar to the first story, I felt rejected by a girl.  And similar to the second story, I felt like I had lost a big piece of my identity.  But like both stories above, something really good came out of it: only six months later, to the day (September 2, 2012), I met my wife at a Labor Day barbecue I hosted at the very same apartment at 1015 Bainbridge Street.  And not just that, I had learned the importance of valuing and cherishing my relationship with my partner.  Since then, I'm very aware that I've been blessed by God, and I'm very thankful.

Sometimes, it's the people who hurt us in some way that teach us the most.  This March 2nd, I thank those people by still being here, being alive, and being happy.

Weekend round-up

I had a great weekend.  On Friday, I worked until 6:40pm, then walked home to get changed and go to the gym for about 45 minutes.  I did the following exercises: barbell bench press; dumbbell curl and press; dumbbell lateral raises; and tricep cable press-downs.  It was a good work-out.  I'll note that, for my final set of bench press, I put up 225 pounds for two (2) repetitions, with no spot.  Jeannie and I came back from the gym, and she took a quick shower, after which we made a dinner of salad and mac-n-cheese.  Then I took a shower and we headed out to meet Jeannie's friends, Katy, Deb, and Antoine at Morgan's Pier.  The breeze coming off the Delaware River was really pleasant and the views of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge were spectacular.  We got to Morgan's Pier just in time to see the fireworks at the end of the Camden Riversharks game.  The main downside to Morgan's Pier, however, was the loud volume of the techno music they were playing; it made it kinda hard to talk.  Overall, it was a good night though.

On Saturday, Jeannie and I met up with Corey and Laura for brunch at SoWe.  Jeannie had the crab cakes benedict and I had French toast.  We had a nice time catching up with Corey and Laura, who are getting married in a little more than two (2) months from now.  I feel like Corey and I have grown apart a bit since the suicide of Wagner.  It could be due to the busyness of our respective schedules or our preference to spend our free time with our respective partner, but I also wonder if one or both of us might be backing away out of a reaction to the death of Wagner, as a form of psychological self-preservation or just distancing ourselves from a terrible episode in our recent past.  Anyway, bringing it back to the present, it was great to see Corey and Laura.  After brunch, I dropped-off my brown dress shoes to be re-soled at Paul and Paula's shoe repair shop on South Street near 20th Street.  Then, we stopped in to Neighborhood Books on South Street near 19th, where I bought The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State by Friedrich Engels and The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (which I'll read in that order).  After that, we came home and rested for a while until Jeannie's friend, Katy, came over for a visit and helped Jeannie to make what turned out to be a delicious chicken pot pie.  Later, around 9pm, my friend Ben and his boyfriend, Kyle, came over to join us.  And later, closer to midnight, Katy's husband, Andrew, stopped by for a few minutes after flying in to PHL.  We all just hung out and watched Spider-Man 3 on television.

Today was a good day.  We started the day as usual by going to mass at St. Charles Borromeo.  After getting home and having some cereal for breakfast, Jeannie went out for a walk, while I stayed home to water the plants and do some reading out on the back patio.  The sun felt good and warm.  I drank a couple cups of coffee and really just enjoyed my time outside.  Later, after I gave myself a haircut and Jeannie came home, I ate lunch (left-over chicken pot pie; French vanilla yogurt; and an apple) and took a shower.  Then, we walked the couple blocks over to the Marian Anderson Recreation Center pool, which was such a good idea, because it was so relaxing.  There weren't too many people there, the water was cool and relaxing, and the sun still felt great.  Afterward, we came home and shortly after my friend Rodwin (an old friend from Gettysburg) came by for a visit.  He just spent the last few months in basic training and he leaves tomorrow morning on a cross-country drive to his assignment in Fort Lewis, Washington.  It was very good to see Rod and I felt honored that he would take time from his very tight schedule to come all the way into Philadelphia to see Jeannie and me.  It meant a whole lot and I was happy to see him.  After he left, Jeannie and I spent some quality time together before taking advantage of the beautiful evening to make some burgers on the grill, with a salad and French fries on the side.  Now, Jeannie's waiting for me at the couch so we can enjoy some relaxation as we wind down the weekend.  All in all, it was a very good one.  And for that, I'm very thankful to God.

Autumn: coffee, football, and work/out

Today was a pretty good day. I met Michael for lunch today at Coventry Deli (at 20th & Market). Actually, he had lunch while I drank a coffee I had picked-up along the way at La Colombe. We were able to catch-up on some gossip, which is always a lot of fun. Afterwards, I walked across the street to the courtyard at Commerce Square, where Jeanette came down to say hi. It was nice to see her; she looked good. The three of us talked for about 15 minutes before they had to get back to work.

After getting back home, I took care of some phone calls (one to a potential client, the other to a current opposing party) -- as you can see, I'm trying to keep busy while I'm in between projects. And then I ran out to mail a bill and deposit my last paycheck at the bank (may it last for long time!). Anyway, I feel like this is turning into a play-by-play of my day, so let's move on to other topics.

The Philadelphia Eagles. Along with so many other people, I'm not expecting much from Kevin Kolb this Sunday against the Saints. I'm predicting that McNabb won't even suit up, now that they have Garcia. I think Garcia will be in by midway through the 2nd quarter. And I actually think that the Eagles will come out with a win, after the offense rallies around Garcia and the defense generally stifles the Saints' offense.

The weather. I love autumn; it's my favorite season. I wore a short-sleeve t-shirt to meet Michael and Jeanette, and I was fine. Tonight the windows are open at the double-deuce & Spruce, and there is a nice chill in the air. The weather reminds me of football. And it reminds me of long walks in the leaf-covered trails of state parks when I was a young boy. Autumn reminds me of growing up, since it reminds me of the excitement of returning to Gettysburg for four consecutive years as an undergraduate. I really love this time of the year.

Now, to return to my daily recap, I finally made it to the gym this evening, my first time there in about a week and a half. The work-out was good; I felt strong. Bench press was solid, dumbell bicep curls, lateral raises, cable tricep push-down, front raises, crunches on the Swiss ball, and an extra set of dips and push-ups at the end for good measure. I saw my recent gym buddy Brian there and talked to him for just a minute, told him that I felt good and wanna do better to make it in there more often. With the way I felt during and after the work-out, I most certainly will.

Good night folks!

Email to Pito

A couple days ago I called every single legal staffing agency in the city. Yesterday I had a registration interview with one of them. And a guy at another agency told me that he has a couple projects slated to begin in early August, although he gives preference to people who have previously been employed through his agency. I'm hooked back in to unemployment compensation, and having already called in my first claim, I should receive my first payment by this coming Monday. Today I went in for a visit to PLA; it always makes me feel good to be received so well by so many people; I don't think there's any better place for that than PLA, so it was really nice. To take advantage of the free time, I'm very likely heading down to DC tomorrow to hang out with Mike from Gettysburg, then going to Ellicott City / Baltimore on Saturday to finally see Evan's house. As Corey reminded me, it's been well over half a decade since I've been down that way, so I'm definitely overdue for a trip, considering the number of times that Mike and Evan have each visited me here in Philly. I may take you up on the pool offer some time after that. I hope things are going well in Newark and Levittown. In the meantime, stay healthy and consider doing something off the beaten path this weekend, it would be good for you.

Re: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

There is a vast gap between what is reality and what should be reality. It is a fact, as I originally stated, that many, many groups, including women, are not treated as equal citizens, but are abused by other individuals or groups who are in positions of authority. In most (if not all) advanced, industrialized nations, women are de jure equal citizens, but many times are not treated as such. The incident that I quoted comes from the Amnesty International report on Women in Prison. As already mentioned, Robin Lucus was a 29-year old African American woman who was raped in a Texas prison.

The reason I focus on women in my message to the campus is because it is International Women's Day. It is a day set aside with the express purpose of recognizing the positive contributions of women to society, while at the same time recognizing their position as a (oftentimes) disadvantaged sector of society. By focusing on women in my message, I am by no means choosing to exclude other disadvantaged, repressed sectors of society. Everyone should be treated as equal, regardless of gender, ethnicity, nationality, language, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or sexual orientation. We are all humans, each and every one of us, and we should all be recognized, treated, and respected as such.

With the two quotes I used at the end of my message, I put them there for what they say. I feel the Rage Against the Machine quote is appropriate because of my opening statement. There is an urgent need to close the gap between what reality is and what reality should be. I do not mean to say that there is only one option as to what reality should be, but I do mean to say that the basic rights of humankind should be respected and granted to all individuals by all other individuals, organizations, and governments. So I quote: "What better place than here, what better time than now." As to the Beastie Boys quote, I cannot say it any better than they did: "The disrespect to women has got to be through...I wanna offer my love and respect to the end." By using these quotes, I endorse the words they offer; I do not necessarily endorse the band itself, their other beliefs, MTV, or the bands' objectives as cultural icons. I simply agree with those particular words of advice/wisdom that they offer.

Finally, regardless of what Robin Lucus did to end up in a Texas prison, she is entitled to basic human rights. You would dare not say that what she went through was deserving because she was a prisoner. Let us put faith in the justice system to give her a just punishment. Let us not make three male inmates the 'judge, jury, and executioner.'

Also to conclude, I agree with these statements that J___ C______ makes:
1. "What people have to understand is the abuse of authority which takes place."

2. "I'm sure countless cases of abuses of this nature take place (as I'm sure any member of Amnesty International will admit) against people of all genders, races, ethnic groups, religions, home planets, etc."

3. "Rather, I look at them [women] as PEOPLE."

4. "I felt that this was too important to either be forgotten about in light of spring break or thrown on the floor of the CUB."

Finally, when Mr. C______ says: "I look forward to your backlash", I want to clarify that this is not a backlash. It is simply a response to the concerns of a fellow classmate. Only through dialogue can true understanding, and hence change, come about.

WE MUST NOT REMAIN IGNORANT.

Tighe Burns

For those interested in human rights issues, the Gettysburg College chapter of Amnesty International meets every Monday at 4:00pm at Plank Gym, room 119. All are welcome.
*************************************************************

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

***************INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY***************

Women constitute half the world's population,
perform nearly two-thirds of it's work hours,
receive one-tenth of the world's income,
and own less than one-hundredth of the world's property.

September 22, 1995:
"Three male inmates entered Robin Lucus' cell, apparently given access to the isolation unit by guards. They dragged her from the cot, punching and pulling her. One pinned her down on the floor and clamped her with handcuffs; another forced open her legs; the third penetrated her. Repeatedly she was beaten, raped, and cursed. She blacked out and lost track of time. Her only memory was of the grotesque pain of being sodomized for what seemed like an eternity. In a parting shot, one of the inmates turned on his way out the door and urinated on her. At that moment, Robin, although semiconscious, recognized this inmate as the sole assailant who launched the initial attack. For days after the assault, Robin's body was weak and wracked with pain. She bled continuously from her rectum. Repeated requests for medical services were denied. Approximately two weeks later she was relocated to the women's facility. Thirty-five days after the initial attack, she finally received a medical examination."

Incidents like this happen every day in every part of the world, from the most undeveloped nation to the most advanced, industrialized nation. People everywhere are taken advantage of by those who are in positions of authority. Oftentimes discrimination and prejudice are major factors. In the case above, Robin was a 29-year old African American woman.

It is a fact that those in power will do whatever necessary to maintain the status quo and remain in power. Political leaders use their armies as a means of quelling opposition. Law enforcers wield their badge as an affirmation of their unquestionable authority. As we soon enter a new millenium, advances are common in communication, transportation, technology, and other areas. Unfortunately, it seems that 21st century values of social justice and human rights remain as those of the previous century: the century that saw gross atrocities committed in Hitler's Germany, Pinochet's Chile, and our own United States of America.

We must not remain ignorant.

"It has to start somewhere
It has to start sometime
What better place than here
What better time than now
All hell can't stop us now." - Rage Against The Machine

"I wanna say a little something that's long overdue:
The disrespect to women has got to be through.
To all the mothers and the sisters and the wives and friends,
I wanna offer my love and respect to the end." - Beastie Boys

***************INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY***************

Tighe Burns
President
Amnesty International
s399886@gettysburg.edu
717-338-9375

Managua, Nicaragua

Sunday night in Managua. A cool, pleasant breeze calmly caressing the palm trees. Seated at an outdoor patio with a group of twelve, everyone merry as the trip is all but completed. Light-hearted and jovial conversation across the table, each and every one in high spirits. The flickering of the three candles subtly created intimate shadows. To top it all off, we ate to the neoimperialistic sounds of popular American music. I must admit, though, that I enjoyed it. I surmise that it was our tour guides' intention to cushion the retro-culture shock of returning to the United States. Whether or not that is true, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I began my meal with a Margarita, then a Papaya con leche; dinner was mignon de res con dos salsas along with an utterly delicious Daiquiri. I helped finish off someone's plate of Ravioli con berenjena and completed my meal with a Torta de frutas mixtas con helado de coco: absolutely amazing, everyone had a bite and raved, surely an award for my taste buds after the past two weeks.

On my way out, I purchased a Pucho cigar, which I will probably enjoy just before leaving tomorrow morning. An observation I made at dinner was the abundance of colorful, natural murals in Nicaragua. It serves to reflect the richness and vibrance of life here, even despite being the poorest (economically speaking) country in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti.

Earlier this afternoon, after going to the crafts market at Masaya (bought t-shirts and postcards) and the Masaya Volcano National Park, we attended a people's mass at Batahola Norte, a barrio of Managua. The priests gave their sermons and preached in front of a giant, colorful, historical mural in an outdoor, open-air auditorium. Historical figures depicted in the mural were Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Augusto Cesar Sandino, Carlos Fonseca Amador, and Oscar Romero. Also, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu was drawn on another wall.

Before the mass, I had to speak to the church audience in order to introduce the delegation from Gettysburg. Speaking Spanish in front of over 100 people was a bit imposing, but I did fine. I was able to say what I needed and wanted to say, just not with a flowing, fluent Nicaraguan (or any other country) accent. Nevertheless, I successfully represented the group.

The service itself was excellent. Instead of the pessimistic organs normal in most churches, a choir with a xylophone, guitars, and recorders played music. The hymns were songs with a touch of liberation theology, the religion of the poor. God was portrayed as a worker, an architect, an engineer, an artisan, a carpenter, a mason: a poor campesino. Then, at one point, audience members were encouraged to make a statement as a prayer for liberation, peace, love, equality, truth . . .

Finally, as mass was ending, the priests took off their religious garb to present themselves as average Nicaraguans, at an equal level with their fellow paisanos, and all others in the audience. The subject of one of the priest's sermon was globalization! Absolutely astounding.

Well, as it is getting somewhat late, I will wrap this up. Looking forward to tomorrow, I am both regretful and happy. I am sad and regretful for not having had a better time here in Nicaragua. No doubt I made friends and created many good memories, but due to various circumstances, I did not enjoy my visit to the fullest. Number one was the feeling of being tied down and held back. I am independent and I despise being told what to do. I am fully capable of leading my life, choosing my own trails (Talolinga), and creating my own adventures.

In looking forward to tomorrow, I am happy and excited to be returning to the education and work I am interested in. Besides this, I will admit that I am eager to have fun and return to my social life at Gettysburg. It is due time to depart Nicaragua; it surely made an impression on me. I can say with fair certainty that I will return one day, perhaps on motorcycle or perhaps on plane.

So, in closing, I say "Hasta La Proxima"!!!

San Salvador, El Salvador

As I sit awaiting the departure of my flight from San Salvador to Managua, I can't help but realize how small this world really is. Leaving Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, it takes no more than a few hours to reach another part of the world. We all live under the same sun.

It seems appropriate that I begin the year 2000 by travelling to Latin America. I feel at home here: the weather, the people, and the culture. As I now leave El Salvador, I wish myself the best in this new chapter of my life; in adventure, experience, education, and love.