Sœur Sourir: The Singing Nun

Back in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, at my parents' place while looking through books, I came across a small sheaf of facsimile watercolors created by Sœur Sourir.  The images, sort of like pen and ink drawings with a light wash of color, triggered a rush of memories from early childhood, starting with the echo of Sœur Sourir's super-mega-radio-hit "Dominique" and proceeding through my Aunt Denise's recounting of her student exchange experiences in Argentina; my two sisters singing and playing; and closely related matters like acoustic guitars, AM radio, small portable record players and reel-to-reel tapes.  

The Singing Nun, the Flying Nun, Patty Duke, all sorts of things are now floating back into the mind's eye.




Eventually I was curious to ask: what ever happened to Sœur Sourir / Sister Smile?  

That strange tale, my friends, will be the subject of another post soon to come. 

Today's Rune: Breakthrough.    
  

The Player Piano

For decades, this player piano featured in family gatherings and holiday celebrations. I remember most of the music rolls we'd play -- via the kickstand's foot pedals -- songs ranging from "Up a Lazy River" to "Those Were the Days" to the Batman theme. Those were the days, indeed, days now rolling on, "slipping, slipping, slipping . . . into the future . . ."

You can change the tempo manually with a lever, speeding up or down the music roll, and you can go forward or backward the same way, like a time traveler. 

Works as a regular piano, too.

Today's Rune: Journey.      

Interview with the Buddha

I go back to artwork and gardens -- antidotes to prolix patter. 

What is the sound of 

cellphone clapping?

Pablo Neruda, Muchos Somos / We Are Many (1970)

Of the many . . . whom I am, whom we are,
I cannot settle on a single one.
They are lost to me under the cover of clothing,
they have departed for another city. . .

De tantos hombres que soy, que somos,
no puedo encontrar a ninguno:
se me pierden bajo la ropa,
se fueron a otra ciudad.

While I am writing, I am far away;
and when I come back, I have already left.
I should like to see if the same thing happens
to other people as it does to me,
to see if as many people are as I am,
and if they seem the same way to themselves.
When this . . . has been thoroughly explored,
I am going to school myself so well in things
that, when I try to describe my choices,

I shall speak, not of self, but of geography.

Mientras escribo estoy ausente
y cuando vuelvo ya he partido:
voy a ver si a las otras gentes
les pasa lo que a mí me pasa,
si son tantos como soy yo,
si se parecen a sí mismos
y cuando lo haya averiguado
voy a aprender tan bien las cosas
que para explicar mis problemas

les hablaré de geografía.

Does wireless have 

the Buddha nature?

Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune. 

Lucinda Williams in Saxapahaw, North Carolina: Haw River Ballroom

Last night (Thursday, September 19, 2013), Lucinda Williams gave a fine performance fronting a tight band for a second sold out show in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, at the Haw River Ballroom, a 700-maximum venue with, from my vantage point, excellent acoustics. 

Intense, eclectic, smart, tough and memorable -- who could ask for more?

After the Kenneth Brian Band warmed up the crowd, Lucinda played for about two hours, including encore. Some of the songs performed, off the top of my head: "Honey Bee," "Drunken Angel," "Copenhagen," "Unsuffer Me" and "Born to Be Loved." Finale: a crescendo version of Neil Young's "Keep On Rockin' In the Free World."

Saxapahaw posters from June 2013. Cup 22 is a coffee house. The Saxapahaw Genral Store serves Cuban sandwiches, among other goodies. Tibetan Buddhist monks came through, Dexter Romweber & the New Romans, and now Lucinda Williams. Yes!

Today's Rune: Joy.   

     

Where The New Romans Are Now

I've had time to unspool a few more photos from last weekend's show by Dexter Romweber & The New Romans in Saxapahaw. Woohoo! First time I saw Dexter perform he was a teenager, playing solo and doing a Saint Vitus Dance, with a little Whirling Dervish on the side. Dude is into it.

   
A full cohort of The New Romans consists of: Dexter Romweber - Vocals, Silvertone; Dave Schmitt – Drums; Stu Cole – Bass; Kevin Dixon - Guitar; Bob Pence – Horns; Hunter Landon - Bongo, Shakers, Vocals; Mike Walters - Piano, Mellotron; Jody Kidney and Taz Halloween – Vocals. New New Romans: Chris Bess - Piano; Christy Benson - Vocals; Groves Willer - Bass. Source: http://thenewromans.com/

Today's Rune: Breakthrough.

Salutation of the Dawn

More illusory photographs of Buddhist monks creating a sand mandala in Saxapahaw's SaxArt Gallery (1616 Jordan Street) on Saturday, June 15, 2013. It was completed and then deconstructed on Sunday, and given to the Haw River.

In the Earth realm of local time, Saxapahaw is located inside the borders of the State of North Carolina within some vaster land called the United States of America. 

As of this moment reading these symbolic words, what state do you find yourself in?

"Look well, therefore, to this day, such is the salutation of the dawn" --

Kālidāsa, as rendered by Florence Scovel Shinn.

A big salute to James Gandolfini, RIP (1961-2013), a great actor within this shimmering Veil of Time, given back to the Universe.

Today's Rune: Growth.  

  

A Curious Bird

A special up close visitor for Father's Day in Saxapahaw -- an Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) apparently utilizing facial recognition ability. This was especially well-timed because my Dad loves these little ones, brought back from near-catastrophic losses in the Silent Spring years decades ago out of luck, pluck and good will. We observed some interesting behavior. In addition to a lot of zipping around the area in tight triangular insect-hunting zigzag patterns, this Bluebird seemed to enjoy coming right up to the edge of my parents' porch for a moment of salutation. Traditionally, a good omen or sign.

Today's Rune: Defense.   

Saxapahaw: Dexter Romweber & The New Romans

Dexter Romweber & The New Romans came to Saxapahaw. They came, they saw, they delivered.

Meanwhile the Tibetan Buddhist monks were constructing their sand mandala nearby.

Tibetans and New Romans together on the same day. That's the kind of place Saxapahaw is -- interesting. 

Yesterday, Dexter exuded intense energy -- just like he did the first time I saw him perform, in the 1980s.

Here: posters for live shows and the Cup 22 Coffee House, Saxapahaw Rivermill.

Today's Rune: Signals.

Saxapahaw Mandala

Here are a couple of photos of Tibetan Buddhist monks constructing a colored sand mandala in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, just down the hill from where my parents live. 

With the sand mandala, a vast tiny world cometh and goeth! 

More details to follow, all part of  'khor ba, aka Saṃsāra.

Today's Rune: Partnership. 

Habit, Ritual, Travel and Music

Today's journey took me in the air first to St. Louis, where from above I saw many flooded areas, and then to Raleigh-Durham (more flooding) and finally on to Saxapahaw, North Carolina, from where I'm now posting. The main event is Father's Day weekend, but there are extracurriculars made possible out of extra good luck, kismet, fate or some mysterious equivalent. This very same weekend, Tibetan monks are in town creating a sand mandala (The Wheel of Time or something like it); and also, Dexter Romweber will be playing here -- I saw him first perform when he was a teenager! Since then, he's done all sorts of intense things from Flat Duo Jets with his sister Sara on drums (proto-White Stripes) to various and sundry other projects. His fierce spirit will continue to be evident with The New Romans in Saxapahaw, I have no doubt.

In transit, I only just began Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. A Practical Guide (2003). She quickly brings up the benefits of ritual behavior in her work. Before we delve into this trope at greater length in a future post, let's step back a moment. Here are my questions for the day. What sort of rituals do you perform regularly? A sample or two will be fine. And: how many rituals have you continued performing even during travel? And: have you made any major changes to these kinds of things over time?

One of my rituals: I silently recited many a Hail Mary on my flights today. They were nutty, full rides. 

Today's Rune: Protection.  

Haw River Hike

While staying in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, recently, one day I checked out a section of the Haw River trail across the main bridge. The official Haw River Trail -- if you include waterpaths as well as footpaths -- already covers a great deal of the river way, which extends for more than one hundred miles. The trail in Saxapahaw is open access, but primitive, more like a logging road (which it probably once was) that parallels the river. Walking along, I saw a few parked vehicles, small trucks or Jeep-like autos tucked in the woods, people fishing off the banks or even wading into the river, or using rock ourcroppings as perches.

At the time of this posting, the trail is more vehicle-friendly than hike or bike friendly. I had to keep my eyes out for oncoming backwoods traffic and muddy wheel ruts. But it's a start and better than crossing private property.   
 

The name "Haw River" is not some kind of a joke. Fittingly for my hike, the name derives from the Catawba Nation word sak'yápha, "hill step," i.e. Saxapahaw, or Sax-apa-haw, an appropriate name for both village and river. The area is indeed hilly, and you must tread carefully. Further explorations are on the docket.

Today's Rune:  Signals.  

Joara

A trip to the mountains from Saxapahaw to Valdese and then above Morganton, North Carolina, culminated in a visit to Joara, a key Catawba Nation concentration in the 1500s. Joara was reached in 1540 by a Spanish expedition into the interior led by Hernando de Soto. The current Berry Site is an archaeological investigation ongoing since 1986.
 

A later Spanish expedition under Juan Pardo established Fort San Juan among the Catawba -- in 1567. He left thirty soldiers in Fort San Juan, one of a chain of small forts established during the expedition. This one, so far as I know, is the only one that's been found and surveyed as of this posting. By 1568, The Catawba (or equivalent) inhabitants of Joara apparently decided they'd had enough of the intruders. They attacked and destroyed this particular Spanish outpost, well before a fledgling English settlement was set up -- and similarly lost -- on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina.

Today's Rune: Journey.

Je me souviens

Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is an ample filling of memory. Je me souviens, amarcord, I remember, we remember: it's been a great trip.

It's sometimes astonishing to think how little of the past is remembered, absorbed,  or understood on a conscious level, and how little we can really know about the details of the future. But being surrounded by people with quite a bit of shared experience can be so refreshing, renewing, and memory-inducing -- especially in a peaceful and stable environment. And here in Saxapahaw it has been that way. Any number of memories have been induced by conversation, of course, and also by sights and aromas, things like the enclosed wooden cabinet lined with hundreds of small vessels and containers filled with spices and other food-related accessories. I'd never thought to ask until now, but turns out this finely refinished cabinet just around the corner from where I'm writing goes back at least three generations to Mary Daley St. Bonnet McGinnis, one of my maternal great grandmothers. This is just a small sampling.

I could also write about escorting one of my sisters in the cold of winter from Durham, North Carolina, to the Twin Cities, Minnesota, many years ago now, and once having arrived, going back to see where our whole immediate family at the time had lived when I was a little kid in the late 1960s in Mendota Heights (St. Paul). But I'll save that one for another post. If I remember, in the near future, as sharply as I do right here and now.

One thing's certain: this revelry expands my memory. 

Happy Cyber Monday to all, but meanwhile, to all a good night! 

Today's Rune: Gateway.        

Orange Crush: Black Pepper-spray Friday

Orange pepper-spray, Black Friday, Christmas just around the corner of time. What a world. Meanwhile, another excellent day in and around Saxapahaw capped off by Mongol (2007), an absorbing flick I'll post about soon, if all goes as planned.

Has everyone gotten a chance to see the "pepper-spray cop meme" galloping around the globe quicker than a Mongol messenger (such as the example above)? Love it.

A lot going on here, there, in Egypt and everywhere. I spent $5 on a book about Ben Franklin and his correspondents that looks pretty cool, and certainly of continued relevence, given Franklin's defense of human rights, evolving opposition to slavery, mentorship of free libraries, stewardship of the postal system and championship of free speech, freedom of assembly and civil society in general, all while remembering to have an electrifyingly good time while he was at it. To all that and more -- cheers! 

Today's Rune: Harvest.

Bringing It All Back Home Again

Coming at you from Tar Heel Land, Bob Dylan in the background, luxuriating. Lots of conversation, most lately about Dylan through the years as a sort of cultural yardstick, and Patti Smith, and Van Morrison and a bunch of other stuff. The Rolling Stones Some Girls (1978) brings about a boatload of memories as well. Get the oars out . . .

I've written a little about Saxapahaw before; it seems to get cooler even again, with new music and art venues, the all-important post office, excellent food, and only about twelve miles by back road to Carrborro, my old stomping grounds morphing into Chapel Hill. Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh are all within easy reach. The land here is lush and rolling, much greener and more wooded than in North Texas. The roads are in better shape, too, but gas costs about the same -- about $3.20 per gallon for regular unleaded.

Today's Rune: Journey.     

Noshes and Nachtische

In the last post, I laid out some parameters of what's appealing in an eatery or watering hole. Here's such an actual place in North Carolina: Saxapahaw General Store -- "your local five-star gas station."  Amazing! A link to the menu: http://www.saxgenstore.com/cafe/menu/

And it really is a general store, too. Let's not forget a lot of beer, anything from PBR to Yuengling. Next time I'm visiting, I'll have to also try out The Eddy Pub & Restaurant next store. My parents say that it, too, is great! Link: http://theeddypub.com/

That's just Saxapahaw, North Carolina. I'll now add a couple from Fort Worth, Texas; and will add some for Detroit in the near future.

"Carshon's Deli is one of the oldest restaurants in Fort Worth, Texas, and certainly is the oldest deli in Fort Worth.  It was established in 1928 by David Carshon, a Jewish immigrant.  Carshon's is a kosher style deli today - and the only one in Fort Worth." -- http://carshonsdeli.com/menu/  Formerly situated at 1010 Houston Street downtown, it relocated to its present site near TCU in the early 1970s -- 3133 Cleburne Rd, not too far from Berry. Note: last I went, it was cash only.

Another excellent Fort Worth place (south, off I-20), begun in 1971 and still run by its orginal proprietors, Stephan and Melitta Bueschel: Bavarian Bakery and Cafe. Here's a link: http://www.bavarianbakeryandcafe.com/

  

Tonight, though, I'll be stopping over at Spiral Diner. More on that one soon. Ciao for now! 

Today's Rune: The Self.    

Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA

Last night in Saxapahaw for a while. Today, took my parents to Hillsborough, another place brimming over with history and culture. The modern town of about 6,000 people dates back to the mid-18th century, and it was also the site of Occaneechi Town before that. The Eno tribe lived in the area for a time, as did what is now known as the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. Though the Eno were apparently absorbed into the Catawba and probably other groups, the latter still live in North Carolina. In fact, they're having a pow-wow in nearby Burlington next weekend. How cool is that?

We had lunch at the Gulf Rim Café and chatted briefly with one of the proprietors, Joe Tullos, orginally from -- if I got it right -- Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste or St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. We tried a delicious Cuban pork sandwich, a shrimp sandwich and a couple of other items, all excellent. Plus, they carry Abita beer from Abita Springs, Louisiana! Mr. Tullos, who runs the Gulf Rim with his wife Andrea, is also a musician, a singer-songwriter.  Here's a link to their website: www.gulfrimcafe.com

Hillsborough, a de facto capital of North Carolina during the American Revolution, was seized by General Charles (Earl) Cornwallis' army for a time; and Loyalist David Fanning launched a surprise attack on it late in the war, capturing the Whig governor and his retinue and hauling them off to Wilmington after a sharp fight. Not the kind of thing that Americans now like to boast of, anymore than they do about the British-Canadian-Indian capture of Detroit during the War of 1812!  Fanning eventually went to Charleston, South Carolina, then to Saint Augustine, Florida until it was transferred back to Spain after the war, then on to Nassau in the Bahamas, and then to New Brunswick, Canada. It's always fascinated me what happened to the Loyalists after the war.

There's an interesting article on him by by Robert S. Allen in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Here's a snippet: Tough, wiry, plagued for a time by scald-head or tetterworm, Fanning was a stubbornly determined man who was a zealous and often brilliantly effective loyalist military leader. He was not a gentle man nor was he that type of philosophical loyalist, exuding refinement and contentment, who sat out the war in relative comfort in New York, Charleston, or England. Fanning fought tenaciously, fiercely, and sometimes cruelly against his ex-friends and neighbours, and his successes made him unpopular with the privileged loyalist “nabobs” of New Brunswick.

Overall, Hillsborough is a jumble of houses and other structures, many dating back to the 19th century, on hilly, wooded ground above the Eno River. Seems like a perfect place for artists and writers, which is probably why Annie Dillard, Lee Smith, Hal Crowther and Allan Gurganus all live there, at least part time.

Today's Rune: Defense.

Decoration Day: Im Westen Nichts Neues

Coming at you from Saxapahaw, a salute on Decoration Day. Despite long wars of dubious worth fought in multiple tours by volunteer military forces supplemented by better-paid latter day Hessians; the Seaborne Toxic Event; and disarray, mayhem and general global weirdness -- all in all, it's been a good day in the here and now. Hope all are well out there, fighting the good fight or peaceably assembling something for the ages. Until next time, adieu. I made it!













These days, things are quiet not in the West, nor in the East, not in the North nor in the South.  Stay strong: there are many more fights to come, and on all fronts.  George Orwell and Aldous Huxley called it, both.

Today's Rune: Growth.

In Memoriam: Richard Curtis Shaffer, Part II

(Part II).

Richard married his wife Deidre in San Francisco in 1972, and in 1986 he moved with his wife and three young children to Denver, away from inner city life. He joined
a friend in business and became an expert craftsman, a custom boot maker. He worked at every stock show. Cowboy poet Baxter Black wears a pair of his boots, as does Nascar racer Richard Childress.

Richard and his family moved to Ft. Collins in the summer of 1998, and he became a strong supporter of Strength through Peace, and has loved working with the Community in Ft. Collins.

In the few months of his illness he talked about the great need of so many young families. He was excited about the opening of the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Center for Hope, and certainly would have volunteered his services there. He asks that you send no flowers, but please think of those in need at this time, and give in whatever way you can in your own community, whether it be to your local Food Bank, or your neighbor in need.

Richard is survived by his wife Deidre Shaffer of Ft. Collins, his son Zeb Shaffer of Ft. Collins, his daughter Bronwyn Shaffer of Atlanta, GA, his daughter Abiah Shaffer of Ft. Collins, and his granddaughter Anijah Young of Atlanta, GA.

He is also survived by his mother Catherine Currier of Vancouver, WA, his sister Barbara France of Saxapahaw, North Carolina, his sister Linda Kresge of Tannersville, Pa, and his brother Nicholas Currier of Vancouver, Washington.

Today's Rune: The Self.


Note: My maternal grandmother Catherine Currier, who was born in 1914, has since died. More about her soon.

Mirror to America

RIP, John Hope Franklin (1/2/1915-3/25/2009). This groundbreaking historian wrote many influential books and taught widely. Saw him once when I worked at Duke University's Perkins Library in the Public Documents & Maps Department as a library assistant, in the late 1980s, when he was an emeritus history professor and Law professor. He looked distinguished, and was. Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin was published in 2005, when he was ninety!


Charles H. Long is another distinguished professor I came across in the 1980s. He taught a seminar at Duke, and also several religion classes at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. If Franklin had a major reputation, so did Long, only I was lucky enough to have actually taken Religion in America with Long in Chapel Hill, and also later sat in on his Duke seminar. His approach to religion was broadly cultural, with a large dose of anthroplogy mixed in. Long had worked with Mircea Eliade and spoke a lot about origins. He devoted a lot of energy on the origins of place names, geographical names. He made us more aware of the spectral presence of various tribes all over North America, etched into our daily lives through names; and not just American Indian names, but all sorts of names. Once you start in on names, it's like decoding original meanings, intentions and even worldview. This is cool stuff.

Examples: Pennsylvania -- Penn's Woods, and ideals of cultural diversity. Tennessee; Mississippi; Arkansas; Connecticut; Powhatan; Utah; Dakota; Florida; Colorado.

Detroit; Hamtramck; Saxapahaw; Chickamauga; Algonquin; Port Huron; Wyandotte; Pontiac; Wayne; Buffalo Creek.

And examples of freedmen taking on new names after the "Founding Fathers," names like Jefferson, Washington and Franklin. Or like Malcolm Little rejecting family name, reverting to "X," and then becoming El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

Professor Long possibly thought we as students were dolts, but some of us, at least, were paying attention, and taking him seriously, and beginning to see the light. He was definitely onto something real and vital, and I thank him for it.

Today's Rune: Defense.