Blog Volley

Dan over at Infospigot posted this piece about Illinois Governor John Altgeld. (I prefer the volleyball analogy over billiards, hope that's okay.) His entry reported not being able to find a decent photo of the installation dedicated to Altgeld at Sheffield, Lincoln and Wrightwood. So I felt compelled to post one. On Cubs opening day no less.

And here's the volley back - my story that connects to that installation has to do with the manhole cover right in front of it.



A few years ago when I was a nursing supervisor at the nearby level-one trauma center, a woman was brought in with multiple dog bites to her arm. Apparently she was walking her dog near the Altgeld memorial and her dog stepped on the manhole cover. Normally a quiet lab, he began squealing, yelping and seizing. When she reached down to help him, he bit her. It turned out somehow the manhole cover was conducting electricity. The dog did not survive the accident. The amount of media calls that night was astounding - which was an aspect of that job that amazed me - what the media chooses to cover and what they do not. I don't mean to minimize the seriousness of this story, and certainly an electrically live manhole cover is a major threat to the public. But it always caught me off guard when events that came through our ER that seemed much more tragic and newsworthy to me, such as the more common that one might want to believe fatal accidents involving the CTA, never made the news.

Judging History

Today I was a judge of papers for The Chicago Metro History Fair at the Newberry Library here in Chicago. The annual competition is in its thirty-first year. Driven and supported by their teachers, approximately 20, 000 Chicagoland private and public school students compete. The goal is to help students learn history by doing history. The focus of the competition is local history. Students are allowed to choose a theme and develop their own thesis. There is a national theme, and to be eligible to move to national competition, student must write to the theme, but it is not required. The 2008 national theme is "Conflict and Compromise." The national winner will be chosen on National History Day in June in College Park, Maryland.

In the judges' orientation we learn the four criteria on which to base judgement of historical research:
1. knowledge - strong thesis, depth of factual information, understanding of context, facts well organized to support theme
2. analysis - thesis is tightly focused, evidence analyzed to support argument, connection to topic of greater historical context
3. sources - blend of secondary and primary resources. Responsible internet use. Use of varied reference modalities.
4. presentation - well organized, compelling, best use of sources, high attention to detail, makes history relevant & alive

And we're also taught a format for our comments: the sandwich theory. Piece of bread #1 is a positive comment. Meat of the sandwich is a positively-worded suggestion to improve the paper, and piece of bread #2 is a closing positive comment. So an example would be:

"Strong, well researched paper on the assassination of President James Garfield. You did a very creative job of recreating the scene on the train platform in 1881. Consider exploring the role of unwashed physician hands in his death. I enjoyed reading your paper and congratulations on a well written analysis, Jimmy."

This explains many comments written on my papers throughout the years.

I signed up to do the judging for mostly selfish reasons. I was about to take my first history class as an adult and I figured that I'd learn exactly what I just described - how to research, organize and write a good historical paper. I had no clue. I am part of what Margaret Truman Daniel described as the "social studies generation." We didn't learn history. Maybe someone tried to teach it, but I certainly didn't learn anything. At 39 I realized I couldn't have said for certain whether or not Benjamin Franklin had been President. The one teacher who was supposed to teach me history in grade school, Mrs. Moy, spent most of the class telling us to read quietly to ourselves while she left the room to smoke (at least we assumed she was smoking. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized how bad this was. As a kid, that was just how it was.) In high school I don't know how I got by. I don't remember a day of history class, but I do believe I took one.

I'm amazed (and thrilled) that sixth, seventh and eighth graders are learning the difference between a primary and a secondary source. I just learned that a few months ago. And the internet is making research better and worse. Important facts I learned on this topic are:
.com & .net & Wikipedia = bad
.org, .gov, .edu= good

Sandbar Explosion

I know I do this comparison of winter shore and summer shore thing often - but it's so fascinating. There has been a large sandbar off our beach for a few years - my niece and her friends love it because, once safely transported there, they can be about a hundred yards out on the lake and be able to stand and play. In fact Madeline once said, "I want to live on the sandbar!" Above is a mid-August serene view of the sandbar. Can't really see it, right? That's because it's about two feet under the water. But today? I swear this is the same spot.

Easter Alice

Photo of the Week 13: First Yard Buds, Chicago

Daffodils of tomorrow, hopefully not destroyed by this weekend's snow. It's astonishing how utterly resilient nature can be.

Lamb Cake

One of my favorite Easter traditions. This one is special because it doesn't have that fake head they sometimes use. And it was tasty!

Photo of the Week 12: Buds

First buds I've seen this year, in a neighbor's front yard in Chicago.

Photo of the Week 11

New Cartoon

Just like last quarter, I MUST finish this new cartoon before I can write my final paper.
"Key Moments in the History of Medicine"

Desperate for any sign of spring...

Photo of the Week 10

Northwestern's new Prentice Hospital lobby.

1968

Tuesday night legendary Chicago DJ Terri Hemmert (the first woman to have a morning drive slot) gave a lecture at the Chicago History Museum on the music of 1968. Terri has come to be known as a national authority on all things music, particularly The Beatles, despite her formal education having ending with a BA from her beloved Elmhust College.

Before she took the stage, a slideshow of album covers, psychedelic art, band photos, and concert art posters was shown as "Age of Aquarius" played. There's something about that song. It always makes me want to get up and perform a musical number exactly like the one done by Steve Carrell and friends at the end of 40 Year Old Virgin. (I did manage to stay in my seat, barely.)

When Terri took the stage she asked the crowd how many of us were not alive in 1968. About a third of the group raised their hands. She made the point that the rest of the group should take note and ask themselves if in 1968 they cared about 1948 and the Flappers. I like Terri - she respects and appreciates us young people. (I was alive in 1968, so I did have to raise my hand, but I was only one.)

I was making copious notes in my journal during her lecture. The guy in front of me turned around and said, "That paper rustling is very annoying." Instead of getting mad at him, likely because I was feeling all full of Aquarius and love, I said, "sorry" and stopped. I thought to myself that he actually handled his annoyance in an appropriate way - he could have said "CUT THAT OUT!" which would have made me much more combative. Cindy pointed out later that I should have said, "I'm so tired of being hassled by the man!"

Anyway, Terri started with Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues." She showed the video from his live performance there. She used the huge video screen next to her podium to show the artists performing all the songs she discussed. That really made this lecture vibrant and relevant despite the fact that she was quite sick with a cold while giving it. The remainder of her songs/videos were:
Marvin Gaye's "Heard it Through the Grapevine"
The Rascals, "People Got To Be Free"
Sly & The Family Stone, "Everyday People"
The Chambers Brothers, "Time Has Come Today"
Jimi Hendricks, "All Along the Watchtower"
Beatles, "Revolution"
RFK's speech in Indianapolis on the night Martin Luther King was shot.
Rolling Stones, "Sympathy with the Devil"
Elvis Presley, "If I Can Dream"
Martin Luther McCoy, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

She wrapped up the lecture by first telling a great story about New Year's Eve, 1968 to 1969. She was in her Ohio bedroom on break from Elmhurst College, throwing back 7Up, listening to the radio countdown to the #1 song of the year. She had kept tallies from the college radio station and was confident "Hey Jude" by The Beatles would be the number one song of 1968. But it was #2. The #1 song of 1968 was "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro. "Even in the idealized musical year of 1968, there was still crappy stuff out there" she said.

She closed with a quote, apropos of nothing and everything, "Remember the words of John Lennon, 'We all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun' - words to live by."