CROP Hunger Walks make a difference!

View CROP Hunger Walk videos at YouTube and support the CROP Hunger Walk in your community.  Phone 888-cws-crop for info on getting a CROP Walk started in your area.

All CROP Hunger Walk videos on YouTube

Her hat’s in the ring

All politics is local.

- Tip O’Neill

One of the many things I love about South Bend is that it’s large enough to have lots of opportunities, but small enough that folks can get involved in the local political scene fairly easily.  I’ve assisted with a number of campaigns through the years, and this year is no exception.

My long-time friend Rita Kopczynski is running in the Democratic primary for the 6th District Common Council seat, to represent the southern half of South Bend’s Westside.  She’s one in a field of six–comprising three Polish-American men, two African-American men, and one Polish-American women.   She and the others spoke at a candidates’ forum on the Westside this week, and an array of issues emerged.   I’m confident that, regardless of the winner, the district will be better served for the fact that neighborhood residents are engaging one another and the candidates on what’s important to them and their families. 

That said, I’m no Pollyanna.  Regardless of who wins the community’s Council seats and other offices, we need to continually call on our representatives–at times affirming them and at other times challenging them–as we work together to build a better community, both locally and globally. 

Here is Rita’s campaign theme and some of the issue she’s running on. The simple campaign materials attached below (which I’ve helped her to develop) tell a bit more about her and how she would approach the issues.

It’s time for a change!

• Solutions for housing problems

• Graffiti elimination

• Clean up Western and other arteries

• Smart growth

• Pollution elimination

Postcard 1
Yardsign
Postcard 2 side 1 and side 2

Remember to vote on May 8!

Folkdancing the night away

You don’t need a partner. You don’t need to dress for the occasion. You don’t even need to know how to dance. Folkdancing is for regular folks.

It’s the dancing that was done in villages in generations past–and in some places still is. It’s the dancing that is done at weddings and other celebrations among many communities the world over. It’s the dancing that parents, children, aunts, uncles, and cousins do together.

And regardless of your age, ethnicity, or prior experience, you can partake of this multisensory experience.

Intrigued? I hope so.

I’ve been folkdancing off and on for more than 25 years and find it to be good exercise for mind, body, and spirit. Some of the dances are meditative, others are a workout. Still others provide an opportunity to chat with the person next to you.

If you would like to give folkdancing a whirl, an opportunity is close at hand. The South Bend Folkdancers meet every Friday at historic St. Paul’s Church on South Bend’s Westside. Every month or so the group has a party with live music provided by the musical group Spatter Dash and others.

Bring your friends and relations. Everyone is welcome. Questions? Call or write Charlie Peltier at mailto: cpeltier@saintmarys.edu, 232-4951 (home), 284-4498 (work).

When: Fridays, 8-10 PM (on hiatus June and July 2007; resuming dancing Friday, August 24)

Where: St. Paul’s Memorial United Methodist Church, 1001 West Colfax (corner of Colfax and LaPorte), South Bend, Indiana 46616 (map)

History buffs…

As an added benefit, you’ll get to see the magnificent interior of one of South Bend’s most historic buildings. Built in the 15th century English Gothic style, the church was a gift from Clement and Ann Studebaker and dedicated in 1903. The altar is flanked by icon-like paintings, and the congregation uses a 13th century Byzantine baptismal font brought back from Europe by Clem Studebaker himself. Studebaker also makes a minor appearance in the stained glass windows he commissioned.

The adjacent room in which the group dances is similarly impressive. Semi-circular and lined with dark wood and balconies, the room has a sort of winter garden ceiling and a period chandelier.

Finally , to get you in the mood for dancing, here are a few of my favorite quotes on the subject, gleaned from The Quote Garden.

I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

Never trust a spiritual leader who cannot dance.

~Mr. Miyagi, The Next Karate Kid, 1994

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.

~Japanese Proverb

Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!

~Constanze

Please send me your last pair of shoes, worn out with dancing as you mentioned in your letter, so that I might have something to press against my heart.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie.

~Agnes de Mille

Dancers are the athletes of God.

~Albert Einstein

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.

~Havelock Ellis

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.

~Author Unknown

To paraphrase an old chestnut, it’s not the dancing you did that you’ll someday regret, it’s the dancing you didn’t do.  I hope to dance with you soon!

Come sing with folk musician Joe Taschetta

Join musician/songwriter Joe Taschetta for a musical evening next Saturday, April 28, at 8 PM at Studio Arts, in South Bend. He’ll be playing banjo and guitar, and doing a lot of audience participation songs, both topical and traditional .

Steve Echols (bass) and Mark Snell (guitar, percussion and vocals) will join him for the second half of the first set. After the break, they’ll be doing a round robin with other musicians.

Joe is an amazing musician and songwriter–and one heck of nice guy. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my spouse. He lives out his convictions, and I admire him for it. When peace activist Cindy Sheehan spoke at St. Mary’s campus a week or so ago, he offered this eponymous song.

On the 28th, I leave for the South to bring my mother north for the summer, so I won’t be able to be there. I hope you will be. Joe and friends alway put on a good show–and have fun doing it.

The performance is part of the ChezBoz musicians’ collective Fourth Saturday series at Studio Arts.

Studio Arts
815 Lincolnway West, South Bend
Saturday, April 28, 8:00-11:00 PM

* Bring some food, some drink (alcohol permitted), and some friends
* Suggested donation $5

Sometimes the best things are free

Looking for something interesting to do with the family over the weekend–something that won’t require a trip to the the cash machine?

I’ll let you in on a little secret:  You and your family (up to six people total) can visit four of South Bend’s museums free by borrowing museum passes from the main branch of the South Bend library.  

The participating museums are HealthWorks Kids’ Museum,  the Studebaker National Museum, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Northern Indiana Center for History.  

The Center for History pass also entitles you to a guided tour of  Copshaholm, the Romanesque home of industrialist J.D. Oliver and family, and Dom Robotnika, the nearby worker’s house.  In combination, the house museums offer a unique glimpse into the life of our community early in the last century.

To check out a pass to one of the museums, all you need is a South Bend library card.  The passes are available from the circulation desk on a first-come, first-serve basis.   You can call the library at 574-282-4617 to check availability.

When you check out one of the passes, you can keep it until the library’s closing time on the following day.  Note: Be sure to return it to the returns or circulation desk. If you return a pass via the outside dropbox, you’ll get a $6 fine. 

By the way, Copshaholm and its gardens are on the National Register of Historic Places, and house is registered as an American Treasure.  Call ahead and ask the Center for History (574-235-9664) if you can bring a simple picnic–my idea of a perfect day! 

A very simple picnic

For a period touch, cucumber and/or tomato sandwiches along with iced tea or lemonade were probably enjoyed by residents of both homes.   You can stroll under the vine-covered pergola to the gazebo or sunken gardens to enjoy your repast in a particularly lovely setting.

Have fun. 

Arts everywhere–we’re a couragous lot!

To create one’s own world in any of the arts takes courage.

- Georgia O’keeffe

Creativity takes courage.

- Henri Matisse

It takes courage to live with an artist.

- Rolanda Hughes

Arts Everywhere is a community arts calendar underwritten by the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, Indiana, and I think they’ve got it right: In our area, the arts really are everywhere. Both during the week and on the weekend there are myriad arts opportunities.

Here’s one of my picks for this weekend:

* Biennial 24 and the African American Art Association (AAAA) Exhibition, at the South Bend Regional Museum of Art. The 24th biennial features diverse work from fifteen contemporary Midwestern artists, including Walkerton-based photographer Kay Westhues. The AAAA Exhibition includes works by area sculptor Jake Webster. The opening reception is Friday, April 13, 5 pm-7 pm.

Looking ahead…

Please stay tuned for the early summer exhibit at the Colfax Culture Center, in South Bend. Oil painter Joe Taschetta (my spouse) is one of the several artists featured. I’m a big fan of his work. I like to look at it–and I like to get some of it out of the house for a while.

It’s taxing

On the third day, she said, “It is finished.”

An alternate creation or resurrection story?  No.  Simply one woman’s victory over the 1040. 

Given the time and interpersonal strain—and the fact that we’re writing the IRS a hefty check this year, some would consider this a Pyrrhic victory.  I don’t.  I do the taxes myself out of a belief that this important task should be accomplishable under my own steam.  Joe and I should be in close enough touch with our financial lives that we can plow through the related paperwork at least once a year. 

Here are a few simple tips:

* On January 1, take a brown paper shopping bag and write on it Taxes.  Throughout the year, put in it everything that could be relevant, but most importantly put all those little things that say “Important Tax Document.”

* Nix the hard stuff.   Tea is the best accompaniment to tax preparation. 

* Keep your several pencils sharp.  Trips to the pencil sharpener can be a good break, as can a chapter in a good mystery and another cup of tea.

As you file your taxes, here’s some thought-provoking info on where our tax dollars go, compiled by the War Resisters League.  I must say, I’m not entirely pleased at where our money goes, but that’s for another day.  Instead, I’ll leave you with FDR:

Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. 

Now it’s time for me to pull out the state forms, sharpen my pencils, and brew another pot of tea…

From asparagus to zinnias: The South Bend Farmers Market

Purple, gold, red, and green, local and imported fruits and vegetables—some organic. Plants—herbs, perennials, annuals, and cut flowers. Fresh meat and poultry of all kinds. Jewelry, clothing, coffees and teas, antiques, and handicrafts. Fresh baked goods, eggs and cheeses, yard ornaments, pottery, handmade soaps, and noodles Amish and Asian.

From crystals to chrysanthemums, Ida reds to Indian textiles, fiddlehead ferns to fontenela, hares to head cheese—better than the shopping mall or mega-store, this local marketplace embodies the spirit of the medina, the souk, the mercado, the bazaar, the markt. As in the traditional marketplace, here shopping is only part of the experience.

At the Farmers Market, visitors of all ages rub shoulders with a broad cross-section of local folks, pet kittens or puppies looking for a home, and on occasion enjoy the talents of local musicians. If you’re hungry and in the mood for more than an egg roll or caramel corn, there’s the diner, serving up both breakfast and lunch.


Shopping the Farmers Market is the responsible thing to do

Mark Matousek, in an article titled “Live Better With Less” in the May/June issue of AARP, advocates shopping at the local farmers’ market as a way of scaling down our lives. “[T]he local farmers’ market,” he says, is “now the fastest-growing sector of our food economy. The average bite of food an American eats travels some 1,500 miles before it reaches our table. Yet it takes a tenth as much energy to grow foods locally, and shoppers are reported to have about ten times as many social interactions at their farmers’ market than in the aisles of, say, Wal-Mart (emphasis added).”

On a typical trip to the Market, spouse Joe and I might buy some squash and peppers at the first stall, perhaps a hanky or toy from Julie and Dennis’s antique booth, and some eggs and cheese from Hiatt’s. And, yes, while making the rounds, we’ll invariably bump into and catch up with a few friends.

This past Saturday, I bought extra large brown eggs, laid by free-range chickens, to boil up and eat Irish style (with oil, mustard, salt and pepper) at a Palm Sunday potluck, some farmers cheese for snacking (sometimes you just need a little more fat), and oil-cured olives, roasted red peppers, and pistachios at the new Italian deli stall, “Oh, Mama.” Joe and I immediately devoured the pistachios and, oh mama, were they good.

“While farmers’ market prices may be a bit higher,” writes Matousek, “local foods are fresher (and tastier) and have less impact on the environment.”

A simple squash recipe

The Market offers up a variety of squash most of the year. Here’s a simple recipe for the delicious, small locally-grown, acorn-related varieties that are typically available three for a dollar. Each squash makes two servings.

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings. (Save the seeds to salt and roast on foil in the toaster oven until golden–about 20 minutes at 350 degrees–a tasty and healthy snack.)

Put the halves in a lidded Pyrex bowl in the microwave and cook until soft—about 7 minutes per half squash. Serve with any or all of the following: a pat of butter, salt and pepper, a teaspoon or so of honey, red pepper flakes, a few grinds of cardamom, nutmeg, or cinnamon.

The squash can also be baked in the toaster oven or large oven. If you go that route, coat the open surface of the squash with a little olive oil, and expect to cook it 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Hours

The South Bend Farmers Market is located on the river, at 1105 Northside Boulevard. It’s open year round, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 AM – 2 PM, and Saturdays, 7 AM – 3 PM. May through September, it’s also open on Fridays, 8 AM – 3 PM.

See you at the Market!

Enjoying the bounty

One of our area’s true gems is the South Bend Farmers Market, located on the river, at 1105 Northside Boulevard.  It’s open year round, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 AM - 2 PM, and Saturdays, 7 AM – 3 PM.  May through September, it’s also open on Fridays, 8 AM – 3 PM (phone 574-282-1259). 

There you’ll find local and imported fruits and vegetables (some organic), plants—herbs, vegetables, perennials, annuals, and cut flowers—and fresh meat and poultry of all kinds.  There’s also jewelry and clothing, coffees and teas, handicrafts, antiques, fresh baked goods, eggs and cheeses, yard ornaments, pottery, handmade soaps, and noodles Amish and Asia. 

We’re still just scratching the surface–because shopping is only part of the experience.  At the Market, visitors of all ages get to rub shoulders with a broad cross-section of local folks, pet kittens or puppies looking for a home, and on occasion enjoy the talents of local musicians.  And if you’re hungry and in the mood for more than an egg roll or caramel corn, there’s the diner, which serves both breakfast and lunch.

On a typical trip to the Market, Joe and I will buy some squash and peppers at the first stall, perhaps a hanky from Julie and Dennis’s antique booth, and some eggs and cheese from Hiatt’s.  And, while making the rounds, we’ll invariably bump into and catch up with a few friends.

Here’s a simple recipe for the delicious, small locally-grown quash that are available most of the year.  Each squash makes two servings. They’re typically on offer three for a dollar.

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.  (Save the seeds to salt and roast on foil in the toaster oven until golden–about 20 minutes at 350 degrees–a tasty and healthy snack.)

Put the halves in a lidded Pyrex bowl in the microwave and cook until soft—about 7 minutes per half squash.  Serve with any or all of the following: a pat of butter, salt and pepper, a teaspoon or so of honey, red pepper flakes, a few grinds of cardamom, nutmeg, or cinnamon.

The squash can also be baked in the toaster oven or large oven.  If you go that route, coat the open surface of the squash with a little olive oil, and expect to cook it 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

See you at the Market! 

Still learning after all these years!

Learn as if you were to live forever.      -Ghandi

As the middle ranks of the baby boomer generation cross the mid-century mark, millions of us are enjoying lifelong learning.

Adult educational opportunities–both formal and informal–abound here in our area.  From adult basic education and English as a second language classes offered by the South Bend school corporation, to community college and university programs, we’ve got it all.   

For those age 50 and older, the Forever Learning Institute has an array of classes–everything from introduction to Africa, to Hawaiian dance, to language study, to great books discussions.  And, those 60 and up can take courses free at Ivy Tech Community College–in most cases paying only lab fees.

Since 1981, I’ve been a very part-time graduate student at Indiana University South Bend.  After several years, first in business and then math education, I settled into the wonderfully eclectic Master of Liberal Studies program.  I’ve studied topics as diverse as the literature of neurosis, the politics of place, and the origins of democracy.  Along the way, I also got a good dose of international relations and the role of women in grassroots development.  Most recently I learned to blog and create podcasts–skills that I’m already putting to use on the job.

David, one of my colleagues in the program, likes to say, “Education is wasted on the young.”  That’s not true for everyone, and we certainly don’t want to neglect children’s educational needs.  But speaking personally, I’m enjoying learning now more than ever before. 

If all goes as planned, I’ll complete my current degree this spring–in time to begin another learning adventure or two this summer.