June 17

Heading Home

[We’ve graduated, diplomas in hand.  You may have noticed back in the beginning that the Super and I had a gold star on our Mini-University name tags.  That meant that we were “freshman.”  Last year, Reetz won the “freshman of week” award by such a wide margin that decided to retire the “beanie” in her honor.]

[Waving good-bye to Reetz, our hostess with the mostest.  And trying to not run her over.]

[OK, the previous pictures were staged because we had to get this one . . . ]

[The sisters say good-bye.  They will reunite at IU camp in Elkhart Lake in August.]

[Bye to our BNB.]

[We decided not to take this previously used room?]

[The Super and her Black River Falls orange moose.  This is where we spent the night.]

[Dinner was right next door.  The on-line reviews were good.]

[And it was!]

[The Super used her 17 years in Minnesota tracking skills to locate the orange moose and his white tail deer friend.]

June 18

[Hi!  We’re home!  And we wanted to be home in time for . . . ]

[The Cheese Bots drew from far and wide for Father’s Day at the winery – the Super and I from Black River Falls this morning, Tom Kiehne from Texas, and Jerry Kiehne from some golf course resort area in Florida. Oh yeah, and the Etniers made the occasionally hazardous journey from Ashby!]

Sex Education 101: Sould dentures be removed before trying that? ~  Unknown

Up Next:  No idea?

Commentary: Live theater adds to quality of life

“Whoever neglects the arts when he is young has lost the past and is dead to the future.”

Sophocles said that. I never met the man, but I think he was on to something. One should always lead off a discussion about the arts with a quote from Sophocles anyway. None of his quotes ever went viral, however, because he never put them on Facebook. Which leads me, of course, to Theatre L’Homme Dieu.

THLD is in its 57th year of existence, the longest running summer stock theater in Minnesota. While growing up in the Ozzie and Harriet-ness of Alexandria’s Victoria Heights, I recall attending TLHD in the early 1960s. I was not a theater devotee, so my only memories of the theater then of are the mosquitoes. And it seemed to be a very long ride from our Victoria Heights cocoon. Then I went away for almost 40 years. The theater somehow continued on without me. After we retired back to Alex, the theater went through a major transition going independent after a long affiliation with St. Cloud State University. Now TLHD is doing better than ever through associations with various professional theater companies from around the state. And they love performing here.

I recognize not everyone is a fan of live theater. But you can say that about anything — except bacon. It is important to recognize the role it plays in the arts in general, and how important the arts are to quality of life. Think of it, if nobody is producing entertainment, there would be no need to invent devices to disseminate it. An iPad or television would be useless without anything to listen to or watch on them. It’s hard to imagine a life without the Beatles, or “Seinfeld,” or “Hollywood Squares,” for Pete’s sake. Live theater is where it all began.

In its quintessential Minnesota lakes area setting, the drive into the TLHD’s campus produces an excitement rush in its own right. So for a couple of months each summer, go out occasionally and grab one of the 272 available seats (I think I counted that right?) for any or all of the six plays, performed six days a week, plus some special events. And at the end of an event, if the spirit so moves you, stand and applaud, shout “Bravo,” and remind yourself you have just had a wonderful life experience.

Obert is from Alexandria

June 15

Bloomington & Nashville

[Walking through the Tree Suite classroom area, likely on my way to Dogwood, and we find an outdoor courtyard.  It appears to be a nice place to contemplate one’s navel.]

[We have finished the day classes.  The Super and I each took The Origins of the CIA – Nick Cullather.  Of interest, the CIA and I both “began” in 1947, and the CIA mainly recruits accountants and librarians (it’s all about organizing information).  Then we (with Reetz, I think) took Geology, Theology, and Foreign Policy: Global Issues at the Intersection of Science, Religion, and Foreign Affairs – Michael Hamburger.  He was terrific, mostly talking about his last two years with the State Department as part of an elite group of scientists working on . . . well, the title of the course.  Since the work involved science, they were disbanded after the last election.  And for the last afternoon class, we both took Race, Caste, and Status: Discrimination in the 21st Century in a Global Context – Patrick O’Meara.  Professor O’Meara came to the U.S. from South Africa in 1970, and his discussion ranged from apartheid to Black Lives Matter.  Interesting statistic: 1/6 of all people on Earth are Indian, and 1/6 of Indians are “untouchables.”  Then it was on to a faculty salute in President’s Hall, i.e., more wining and dining.]

[Then Rita and I walked back across campus to return to Nashville – the Super had already gone back with Scott to meet up with her son, Rob, who was coming in for the evening from Dayton, Ohio.]

[VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR! With all sworn to secrecy by Rita’s son David, I was to drive her back to Nashville between the last afternoon class and the evening class on Thursday of Mini-University in Bloomington so she could participate in the Brown County Community Foundation’s annual awards ceremony. She did not know she had been named Volunteer of the Year – we pulled it off, she was totally surprised! Congratulations Reetz!!]

[And here’s Rob, he and the Super and Rita’s son David went out to dinner together . . . ]

[While Reetz and I hightailed it back to Bloomington for our evening class – we were about a half hour late . . . ]

[It was Evolution of Piano and Vocal Styles in Jazz – Tom Hustad with Rachel Caswell & Monika Herzig.  Rachel is the singer, and adjunct lecturer in music; and Monika is the pianist, past lecturer, and now part of SPEA’s Arts Management program.  Enjoyable evening of live music with classic videos of greats from the past.]

[And now heading back to Nashville, again.]

June 16

The Last Day of School

[Drove by this street sign all week – had to get the photo on the last day.  It was about halfway between Nashville and Bloomington.]

[Final morning arrival at the Union.]

[Just one class the last day.  Mine was this one Building a Better HAL 9000: Algorithms, the Market, and the Need to Prevent the Further Engraining of Bias – Angie Raymond.  The professor was a delightful bundle of energy, but the subject matter was way above my head.  Basically, we learned the “market” has us all under constant surveillance.  I finally asked, I have never had a cell or smart phone – will I be deported?

[After the last class of Mini-University, The Biddies and I went on an art tour of the campus. Do you recognize a major theme?]

[By order of the Super, a small colony of rabbits appeared to have a warren in the Union’s traffic circle.]

[Our last venture to the parking lot.]

[And our self-guided tour began at the Lilly Library . . . ]

[A bust of Bobby Knight . . . or was it Donald Trump?]

[Ooops, nevermind.  It was of the John A. Macdonald of the United States.]

[Back outside at the Showalter Fountain.  Over the years, I have taken many photos of this fountain.  I have no idea why?]

[IU Auditorium]

[Grunwald Gallery of Art]

[And now for all the stuff inside the gallery . . . ]

[Art . . . always on the cutting edge . . . ]

[There’s the Showalter Fountain again.]

[The Super’s photos of hers and Reetz’s day, and her descriptions of each.  They took Hope and Glory and Beyond: The John Boorman Collection at the Lilly Library – Craig Simpson (Lilly Library Manuscripts Archivist).

Boorman, an English filmmaker who is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Hell in the Pacific, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General, The Tailor of Panama, and Queen and Country has directed 22 films and received 5 Academy Award nominations (Wikipedia).  His collection of papers, artifacts, and reel-to-reel films—recently acquired by the Lilly Library—spans the years 1940-2014 and contains over 150 cubic feet of materials from his life and work. Correspondence, photographs, screenplays, sketches and storyboards, publicity materials, and memorabilia from all of his directed films, as well as several unmade projects, form the bulk of the archive (IU website).]

[The Biddies had to don white gloves to hold his Golden Globe and Cannes Best Director Awards.]

[Gold Record for Dueling Banjos from the film Deliverance.]

[Morgana’s (Helen Mirren) Breastplate from the film Excalibur.]

[A Brutal Exterminator mask casting from John Boorman’s Zardoz.] 

[Shoes worn by Lee Marvin in Point Blank.  Lee also starred in Boorman’s Hell in the Pacific.  They remained close drinking buddies until Lee’s death in 1987.]

[The Super wrapping up the day with the following three . . . ]

[And the grand finale, a coffee and continental breakfast in the Solarium.]

Learning never exhausts the mind.  ~  Leonardo da Vinci  (Although it my case it comes close.  ~  Me)

Up Next:  Heading home

June 13

Bloomington

[Aaaah, two of my favorite subjects back in the day . . . ]

[In our morning classes, the Super took Natural Disasters: A New Look at the Collections of the Lilly Library – Christoph Irmscher, while I, in keeping with one of my listed favorites above, took The Fall and Rise of the Single Species Hypothesis for Human Evolution – Kevin Hunt, where the professor confirmed that we all have a tad of Neanderthal DNA in us.  Then we walked off campus for lunch . . . ]

[Stopping along the way to pay homage to Ernie Pyle . . . ]

[A famous WWII correspondent who was killed on Ie Shima, a small island I could see from the shores of Okinawa when I was stationed there.]

[The three Hoosier alums lead me into their favorite “watering” hole back in their days.]

[This photo of the Van Arsdale twins was in our booth.  I got to see them play, I believe more than once, in Williams Arena.]

[Just like the old days!]

[The girls split a stromboli – their Nick’s favorite from 50-something years ago.  They pronounced it still good!]

[And then just wandering about looking at the hundreds of IU memorabilia . . . ]

[Pssst, we won’t show this to Danny or Grandson Tom.]

[No comment . . . ]

[It’s quite a large place, with two floors.  Scott suggested  I take the tour.  He was there to flag us out.]

[Time to go back to school . . . ]

[If it looks hot, it was.  The powers that be noted Bloomington averages three 90-degree days in June (I was surprised it was that low), but our first three days there were all 90 degrees.]

[A fine example of Indiana limestone – if you want to learn more about that, I recommend seeing the movie Breaking Away.]

[In the afternoon, the Super and I started with Right-Wing Populism in Europe and the United States – Jeffrey Hart (who got his BA from Swarthmore in 1969, making him a classmate of my cousin Kathy), and then we both took 75-Minutes that Will Change Your Life: Exaggeration as Economic Policy – Morton Marcus.  Both were terrific and interesting classes.  And then this was the first day of also having an evening class.  So prior to that, Reetz took us to one of her favorites dining places in Bloomington (it used to be owned by former IU football coach, Gerry DiNardo).]

[Then back to campus for coffee and cookies before class . . . ]

[Then Ruthie’s & Reetz’s class was the movie: Hope and Glory, writer-director John Boorman, (they loved it), while I continued my all political day with The Supreme Court in the Trump Years: Expectations and Prognostications – Beth Cate (I loved it and would see her lecture anytime).  Leaving the campus at night, incoming frosh still making the rounds.]

[Lilly Library]

[Fine Arts Building]

[IU Auditorium]

June 14

The Super and Reetz started the day with What Really Happened in Syria and Iraq? – Carol Choksy, while I went to see this guy.  Gerhard Glomm, an immigrant from Germany who earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota, taught Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free: The Economics of Immigration and Refugees. We learned there are 60 million worldwide refugees, and that one-quarter of the world’s population would permanently relocate but the barriers are large.]

[The professor in appropriate student attire – tee shirt, shorts, and sandals.]

[In the afternoon, the Super and I both started with Agitate! Agitate! Agitate! Why Civic Engagement – and Civic Education – Is So Important Today – Paul Helmke, a 3-time mayor of Ft. Wayne and member of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.  Un-fun fact: 32 gun murders per day in the U.S.  He is also a strong proponent of running for public office.  Fun facts:  “Idiot” is a Greek word for not participating in government; there are 500,000+ elective offices in the U.S., and while girls run for student council at the same rate as boys, and 43-46% of school board members are women, the percentage of women in elected offices has plateaued since 1990 – he is strongly pushing for more women to run for public offices.  I later took Islam and the West: Friends or Foes – Asma Afsaruddin – not surprisingly, there is a great deal of disinformation, or fake news, about this issue.  The Super and Reetz enjoyed The Making of an Opera Season – Gwyn Richards.  That’s him on the right (stock photo) with wife Barbara from Edina.]

[The following are the Super’s class photos.  The first is Konrad Strauss, Professor of Music (Audio Engineering and Sound Production); Chair, Department of Audio Engineering and Sound Production) describing the Musical Arts Center (MAC) seats 1,460, features acoustical design and technical capabilities that are among the best in the United States and is regularly compared to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the main stage is 90 feet wide by 60 feet deep. The backstage area occupies more than half the building and provides a state-of-the art theater space for technical work. The MAC is also home to the School of Music Ballet Department.]

[Soprano Rachel Mikol, pursuing a Performer Diploma in Voice at IU performed the Mad Ophelie from Hamlet.]

The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.  ~  Benjamin Franklin

Bonus coverage, in consideration of our political theme:  This is Professor Nick Hayes, St. Benedict/St. John’s, an expert on Russia who has taught at our senior college on more than one occasion (as I recall), on July 7, 2017:

 

Up Next:  Still in college