Bravest generation

Brilliant David France documentary on first days of ActUp and TAG. The documentary is playing on PBS. It is so emotional to see the faces of so many who I knew those days who died. I will go back to the documentary to freeze frame to sort out more in depth. I was also happy to remember the passion and determination of people who were organizing to stop the genocide.

 I am in the background of the film at one of the innumerable ActUp meetings at the lgbt center. The meetings were amazing... hours, packed attendance, anyone could and did speak. Democracy in action. And out of the process people changed our world. It was a fight but it was to save lives. The center was in my neighborhood.. the NYC that no longer remains due to gentrification and Bloomberg.

Looking at the documentary I remember that we really are the bravest generation when I think of the overwhelming hostility, the deaths and fighting for our lives, being a survivor. Phoned and emailed friends, one of whom lived with David France in the East Village in the early 1980s, and another who worked with him at Newsweek. Such a small world but the advocacy world of NYC. Pointed out the documentary to neighbors none of who. m have much experience with the demonstrations of those times.. Bravo to David France for his dynamic history, and thank you for bringing back memories of a time, the love, the people, part of the zeitgeist of my youth.

My love and thoughts again to all of those I loved, the people who loved them, the heroic people who provided care. AIDS is also a story about compassion

http://surviveaplague.com/ on PBS tonight.

Methods 27/28

 One of the measurements given to students in my Methods course. I am blown away by the brilliance of students always.      

     Videos of any nature may be analyzed in the lens of the following measurements.

1/  Identify theories involved. They may not be expressed, so think about the ideas being presented. Journalism, making documentary, is not science as it does not have the organizing principles of paradigms, so identify appropriate theories of a paradigm. Remember, -“In the absence of a paradigm ….all of the facts that could possibly pertain to the development of a given science are likely to seem equally relevant. As a result, early fact-gathering is a far more nearly random activity than the one that subsequent scientific development makes familiar”. –Kuhn, p.15.

2/ Discuss the effectiveness of the work in meeting its purpose (think “variables:). Please refer to my wheel schema.  From Walter Benjamin “fragments of messianic time scattered in the profane” in thinking of the epistemological and methodological questions in doing research. Now that is creative critical thinking!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Wxn1L9Er0&feature=relmfu

You can use videos from my bibliography:
video on my Mom:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQppEXGoSOk

This was submitted November 2013. 

Qualitative research attempts to explain the reasons for certain behaviors, attitudes, and motivations, Qualitative research uses unsystematic data collection methods such as, observations or documents that give meaning to our understanding of things. This ethnographic study gave insight into the life of Rita Ann Bernadette Harding Wright. Through visual sociology the use of photos told a story without words. It fulfills needs of the participants to express to others their gratitude and profound affections for their mother.   Pictures from her early childhood until her demise delivered a good description to the eyes of a person who might not have known her. With the exception of one (the funeral photos) all other images portrayed happy times which included celebration of her participation as an advocacy on mental health issues. The texture of the black and white photos captured and symbolized her important roles and lifestyle. For the researcher visual information is a very natural and reliable source of evidence, because the event(s) are moments which are frozen. Furthermore these photographs can be repeatedly reviewed. The letter she wrote to her Aunt Agnes and Uncle Ed sparked me to look up typewriters in the era of 1932. I managed to find this Vintage 1932 Remington Portable Standard Manual Typewriter:  [Inline image 1]
Death of a loved one is never a happy occasion. However through the amazing art of film the Wright family will always be able to keep Mrs. Wright’s memory alive with images to recall forever.

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charity requires courage but it is what makes us human

End of the day giving thanks to understand that charity and compassion is what makes us all human. The idea of caregiving I learned particularly in reading Ann Burack-Weiss. "True charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need" -Pope Francis

My Mom would so love Pope Francis. She was born on the birthdate of her favorite Pope, John XXIII. I have the mass card she kept of his papacy.  What more can I say about a Mom who was the first person ever thanked by her County and the State of New Jersey for just listening to people with special needs, those most of us run away from. 

This past year I have been blessed to see the love between my Dad and a brother with special needs as they slowly said goodbye in our Dad's fight with Alzheimers. I asked over 200 people to get a ride and finally wonderful journeys. 


Thank you for parents that I witnessed rally to show love, charity and compassion for others. Proud that they loved me.

Thinking of the son of a neighbor who died about a year ago. He was so crippled but he was the biggest help in her eyes. Thank you universe that I knew him and always have that memory of their family.

carpe diem in la manana

NYC electoral zeitgeist November 2013

Viva la Brewer!

Gale Brewer certainly has the courage, smarts, indefatigable energy and the love to meet the challenges of the zeitgeist of NYC/2013. Of course I am totally biased although now in Newark and just another cripple when on the streets of NYC or crawling up the subway stairs to teach my hundred and something course which usually includes a student who knows and loves Gale Brewer! 

Of course,  who else but Gale used a cane for a short bit so no doubt she knows the nuances of nyc transit.

When I go to NYC now I feel the Hellen Keller quote 

“Cut off as I am, it is inevitable that I should sometimes feel like a shadow walking in a shadowy world. When this happens I ask to be taken to New York City. Always I return home weary but I have the comforting certainty that mankind is real flesh and I myself am not a dream.”    

comforting now to know that there will be Gale as MBP.

The smarts and courage to fight and/or educate...  a recent blog highlighted on the hidden running of NYC:

http://truenewsthebund.blogspot.com/2013/11/organized-crime-politics.html

the energy and love...

Legacies of Mom, Dad...

Sent a letter to a local newspaper editorial, today.

"A joy to read on the advocacy work of State Senator Richard Codey, particularly on behalf of mental health.

On October 21, 2013, our Dad, the father of 9 children, died at age 86, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's. His passing is so soon, his estate and legacy still to be sorted these days. I think now of our sister who died August, 2012, and of the death of our Mom in 2006 after a brief period of illness. 

The wake and funeral for our Mom included: family/friends, countless DailyRecord employees, and numerous people whom our Mom had befriended in her advocacy work for NAMI. This community of consumers advocated for a memorial to my Mom through Senator Codey. In early 2007, the first Sussex County Freeholder memorial for an advocate on mental health issues was held. I am sorry the event was never covered by the Daily Record but maybe as so many employees supported our Mom. Our Mom would not have wanted all the attention, she simply sat with people and listened.  From this event, $50k in stigma education was budgeted in her memory. 

Senator Codey did not receive recognition for his efforts but the event and legacy has been inspiring to thousands, many of whom cannot advocate for themselves.  I posted a video on the life of Rita Harding Wright at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQppEXGoSOk

Thank you Senator Codey. Thank you Daily Record for your notice of his work. "

remembering Dad, bonding anew All Saints/All Souls

with the oncoming death of our Dad I found myself reading Dante again.. the wonderful passage into a world beyond the living.. with the passing our Dad now the prayers I say for him and these days the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. http://www.catholic.org/saints/allsouls/

so thankful I could visit the grave of our Mom and think of Dad and our sister this All Saints/All Souls. http://ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/all-saints-all-souls-feasts-are-time-renew-hope-pope-says

in the course of our lives, the bonding moments.. today motoring with my neighbor and brother to the town where my Dad, Mom and sister, now all dead lived. Absolutely gorgeous colors and blue skies after a brief tornado-ish wind storming getting out of Newark. Visited the gravesite of our Mom, gorgeous tombstone but alone sans flowers.. no one left to leave them now but for occasional visitors. It is akin to her family heimat in Chicago, a dynasty diasporied. Just two weeks ago the three of us went to see Dad in the hospice. an incredible now revisiting our pasts and moving into tomorrows. thank you universe for these moments. — going to Newton NJ

a friend emailed the time of this reality.. "I got your message and you are more than welcome.  Please enjoy!   This is a tough time for you and your family and the loss was profound.  You have an arduous task ahead as you go through your father's belongings and render keep sakes.  Blessings and we will speak soon."

Goodbye Dad.. RIP as I pray and will always love ya

RIP for my/our Dad this morning. He died at 4am, at age 86. A brother and I visited on Friday at the hospice. He had a strong will and it was a long goodbye with his Alzheimer's. My sympathy and love for us siblings, family, caregivers and friends

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyrecord/obituary.aspx?n=robert-f-wright&pid=167699426&fhid=8694

Our Dad died on 21 October which is the feast day for the relatively obscure Saint Viator. My Mom's paternal family literally built that parish.. donated stained glass, parish councils, an Aunt and an Uncle worked at the church. My parents were married at Saint Viator's in August, 1953.. 60 years ago. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=246 — at Saint Viator Roman Catholic Church

Good morning 22 October. Thanks for the sympathies.. it means a lot. I didnt sleep well; a brother phoned as he is fighting with everyone where he lives; I know it must be devastatingly final for some of my sisters. We will always love our Dad and thank him for doing the best he could. A tough time. My neighbors are kind.. chats, especially with one of the fathers whose 2 boys were born in Park Ridge, IL. We have had so many chats about Park Ridge in the basement cafe in Newark, NJ. Watched Palm Springs videos and got bored, so... dunno.. back to carpe diem! thanks and hugs to all

In the last year of our Dad, we went from 9 chldren to 8 after the death of our sister Mary. Mary pretty much became the center of the family and outreached to all of us siblings. After her death in August, 2012, our Dad began a pronounced decline. My sister died after a long illness but David Sedaris has a poignant story of his family. So many similiarities! Love the story!http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/10/28/131028fa_fact_sedaris?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklyemail&mbid=nl_Weekly+%2860%29

Judith Butler is brilliant on the nuances of Benjamin.. the messianic qua revolutionary spark crystallized when oppressed history breaks out of the banal normal of history. Thunderclap Newman 1969.. the revolution is here and we/i believed it was.. we knew it was right to blast out and get it together now, jetzt! Thanksgiving 2011 at Occupy Newark.. another zeitgeist when what we were doing was right in a moment of pregnant messianic possibility! In a small way, being with my brother and Dad in the hospice, an awareness of DAD's lifespan, crystallization of death, and the reality of jetzt in life. I was there in the messianic but....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtRwOkGV-B4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK_6TU1T7V8

A beautiful sympathy card from some of my neighbors, given to me. Over the past year I had frequently talked about having my Dad visit with me here.. the elevator, store, transit, ease of being here. He would have enjoyed the attention here. I am touched by the kindness and remembering, Thanks so much.