The secret life of George the bartender and synchronicity

My friend Rodney called me the other day because a 'synchronicity' had happened regarding a mutual friend and he just had to tell me.  That same day I had been standing in the aisle of the local Mediterranean market thinking about the same friend and I had to tell him that, I too, had had an odd experience about that same person. Then he told me that the person we both had an experience about, an old friend of ours, had passed away. Kali nihta, George…

To most of us he was simply 'George the bartender' at the Cottage bar or, to people even older than myself, at 'The Yacht Club'. Many who knew George would be surprised to know that he was a poet. That he was fiercely political and very spiritual. George was very quiet. As a teenager I would come in after working as a dishwasher at a restaurant and we used to share a shot of Ouzo after last call. A Greek tradition. George believed all things began in Greece. Once in a while, he might share a poem, often written on his receipt pad. When Rodney called and told me of his passing, I thought I’d look him up on the web to see what he might have to say.

Life is a continuous battle
with a purpose to achieve and gain.
Each day God's trials are mine to handle
regardless of difficulties and pain.
\Day in, day out, not knowing what's tomorrow
or what my fate will bring me...
But advancing ahead, more time I borrow
hoping God will bestow what I must be.
\Chasing dreams are something to aspire
and I am fervent and hopeful each day
Revitalized with new strength and desire
to always live a worthy way.

Back in 2008 I began writing a novel that I soon abandoned as it seemed so improbable that no one would read it. Soon afterward the things I wrote all started to come true. A year later I started again and, this time, it became even more unbelievable. Life continued to overtake art and when a recent worldwide tragedy happened, the synchronicities were too much and I had to tell someone. I have to tell all of you.

Next month I will be announcing the publishing of “The Fourth Choice’. It is part of a series called ‘The Surcadian Chronicles’. Really it is already online and went up on the very day George passed. Synchonicity. So many of you are in this novel, have inspired an army of characters, live in the places I write about and share my hopes and fears. So many of you have inspired me to write and so many of you have inspired me with your lives. People like George.

George, the quiet bartender at the Cottage bar introduced a sixteen year old boy to Lawrence Durrell and the Greek mystic poets. That led me to Henry Miller. That led me to Big Sur. He also spoke of the mythical  Arcadia, the politics and the struggles of the Cypriots and their island of Copper. The holiness of Cypress trees and how Greeks discovered America. He also taught me that the word for 'mystic' and 'mute' come from the Greek word 'muo'. Mystery is quiet like the night. We do not have ears to hear it but can sometimes see its wake in synchronicities. 'Quiet' is not 'silent'. It means 'only  for the mystics'; 'mueo', like George. Quiet.

All of that, somehow, helped lead me to 'Surcadia', the mythology of my writings. The seeds of my politics, poetry and personal mythos found their beginnings sitting at a bar with people like Rodney and our friend George. Rodney is not necssarily a 'synchronicity' kind of a guy and neither was George. George would probably say that Jung stole it from the Greeks. He would probably say that 'synchronicity' simply means 'together in time'. I, however, believe in synchronicities…

Chasing dreams are something to aspire
and I am fervent and hopeful each day
Revitalized with new strength and desire
to always live a worthy way.

Afharisto, old friend. Yassou and Opa…

Why I Would Vote For A Republican...

Yesterday, I had this conversation with a friend.


"Why would you vote for a Republican?"


"Lincoln was a Republican..."


"Yeah, but he was a different kind of Republican..."


And that would be my answer as well. In a recent blog I endorsed Bert Bleke for GRCC college board. Yes, I know he is a Republican endorsed by Republicans. I was a parent in East Grand Rapids under his tenure. I was a parent under his term as interim superintendent for GRPS. He was the super for Lowell and went on to fill the interim spot at Blandford Nature Center and United Way.


I think you have to look at people and not parties. I think you have to look at the trajectory of a life and see if it is pointed towards your community, your children, your values and, most of all, the future of those things. Will they be a perfect match? NO. But not because of his party affiliation. It will be so because we are all different and is that not our value as liberals, democrats, progressives, independents, etc.? Or do we only embrace difference that agrees with us?


I heartily endorse Fred Sebulske. According to the Press he is winning in the polls and that is a good thing. But there are TWO spots for the board and to choose only one spot means that someone else will fill that second spot. Who will that second person person be? Make no mistake, to not vote is to nullify the vote you did cast.


That the remaining choices are all Republicans is no accident. That they are all different is also no accident. You must judge them as people. Not so much by what they say but by what they have done and who endorses them, who pays for their passage into the race.


I will tell you that Mr. Bleke is currently running third in the polls and has little or no signage out, no FaceBook fans and you won't hear him Tweet. His endorsements are from the Press and other conservative media, community and business people. He is an old school Republican. Think Gerald Ford, Vern Ehlers, Paul Henry, the kind of men we used to send to Congress here. Men I admire. No, I did not always agree with them and I do not always agree with Mr. Bleke, he will undoubtedly side with managements, privatization and other conservative ideals.


But what are your other choices?


I am really trying to keep my blogging about being FOR something and not against, so I can equivocally say that I am FOR Fred Sebulske and Bert Bleke. 

I will let the others speak for themselves:


http://michiganfamily.org/main-votersguide/2011ComCol/GrandRapidsCommunityCollege.pdf


You will notice that Mr. Bleke and Mr. Sebulske 'chose not to respond'. Sometimes the most responsible course is to not respond. Other times? Not so much. You too can choose to not respond and allow others to vote in your stead. You can also choose to vote for only one of two spots and leave the rest to others who are well funded, endorsed and  voting in droves. Or you can choose to fill the two vacancies with those you believe will best fulfill the mission of a college that is growing at an unprecedented rate and was intended to be an institution for Public Education. For All.

A Tale of Two Cities

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only..."


My good and wise friend, Fred, points out to me that the current situation in Benton Harbor is like a Dickens Novel. Who would believe the cast of characters on either side of the issues (There are many). Who knows who to believe. Dickens opens his bleakest novel by saying  it is an allegory to his beloved London and this allegory has played out time and again from Cain and Abel to the Civil War and every time brothers have been divided by rivers, borders, birthrights and greed.


I leave it to others to point out the issues and you might go here to see different sides of the issues:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-420LU_Of0&feature=share


http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/04/column.html




I'm sure you can come up with the key words and Google the rest. I am also sure you can find the facts you need to bolster your own arguments, agendas and assign blame wherever you may need to. This is how arguing works... 


To me, there are two issues here: does the current EFM have the right to disband a duly elected body and did the city have the right to hand over a portion of the park for the purpose of building three holes of a private golf course. There have and will be many arguments on both sides on both issues. To me the bottom line is that both of these issues are about subverting the will of the people and the rule of law. The courts and the people will eventually rule on both but, on a deeper level, the damage is done, the die is cast and the sharp point of the knife has wedged in and not without blood.  It is a tale as old as time and not just about two cities.


To the first issue I can only add that the dark spectre of democracy simply being removed may or may not stir the people to act. 'Surely it has only happened to people who deserve it. Not to me'. 'Repression is sometimes necessary' is the underlying philosophy we hear in the rationalizations and justifications for this tragedy.  Pastor Niemoeller still weeps...


Dickens also wrote:

"Oppression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky."


One can also quote the pundits, politicians, profiteers and professional proselytizers but here are the words of a parent. The parent that deeded the park to the people of Benton Harbor. In perpetuity. The parent whose child died. In her childhood. The parent whose intent is being interpreted by others... In their greed.

"In taking an inventory of life, we all take stock of the circumstances surrounding the happiest moments. The giving of this park to the city of Benton Harbor has been to Mrs. Klock and myself, the happiest moment of our lives. The deed of this park in the courthouse of St. Joseph will live forever. Perhaps some of you do not own a foot of ground, remember then, that this is your park, it belongs to you. Perhaps some of you have no piano or phonograph, the roll of the water murmuring in calm, roaring in storm, is your music, your piano and music box. The beach is yours, the drive is yours, the dunes are yours, all yours. It is not so much a gift from my wife and myself, it’s a gift from a little child. See to it that the park is the children's.”

I am Fred

Many of you are wondering about my new picture on Facebook. Many of you know that I am A) Never so dapper and B) hardly ever look so smart. No, it isn't me. It isn't Doppleganger month and it isn't wear a Bow Tie month. What it is is this:

I want you to vote for this man.

I also want you to read this even if you don't live where I live and think this is a campaign ad.

Here is why. In recent months we have seen the effects of an increasingly extreme element reaching deep into the  political landscape. Attacks on our teachers, public servants and education itself are pouring out of the Trojan horse of the revolution that replaced hope. Constitutional principles like representative government, separation of church and state and free speech are being replaced with the viewpoints of a small but activist minority of extremists who wish to foist their own beliefs on everyone.

So who is this man and why am I telling people who live far away to vote for him?

Meet Fred Sebulske. He is a retired teacher and a brilliant actor and moving director. He is also the Founder of Actors' Theatre in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You probably haven't heard of him, but in an area that has long been known for its conservatism and homogeneity, this man recognised that even here there were voices, faces and souls that needed to be heard, seen, recognized, tolerated and even embraced. In years past he and his theatre spoke eloquently to those that were in the minority and convincingly to those that were believed to be in the majority. He did so quietly, relentlessly and with great integrity and class.

The world changed. The area that he taught and directed in is much more like the world he showed and imagined. The theatre companies who used to be safe are now producing daring, controversial and relevant theatre. Even theatre in faith based colleges like Calvin, Cornerstone and Aquinas are doing diversified, meaningful productions and much credit goes to Fred. You would think his work is done.

But in this new age there is also fear. There are those who would have us go back in time. There are those who would advocate for a narrow view of humanity and community. There are those who believe a  college that is paid for by all should hold the views of a few. There are those who believe that extremism has some sort of good relationship with liberty.

You may not care about theatre. This isn't really about that. It is just a metaphor. The whole world is the stage and well... you ought to know the rest. I do because this man taught it to me. I also know that the little dramas, comedies, musicals, etc. that he and his people brought to the stage made up the powerful messages that inform my own beliefs, my voice and my need to keep it moving forward.

The political arena has become theatre in many ways and, like when he started Actors', it is time for a voice to be the voice of 'All'. The voice that believes that education, politics and our community is to be enjoyed by all equally needs to be heard. Fred is that voice. I am another Fred. So, I hope, are you.

If you vote in Kent County, please vote for Fred Sebulske. If you want to know more please visit http://www.sebulskeforall.org/ and if you want my opinion on the rest of the field I also recommend former GR and Lowell school chief Bert Bleke. Two very different men who share one thing in common: the belief that education should be for all.

If you do not vote in Kent County, please know that there are many Freds out there. There also many who represent fear, divisiveness, narrowness and would use government, education and democracy to take us back to a time that enslaves all and enriches a few. Find the Fred in your neck of the woods and vote for him or her. The situation we find our selves in is not because of the people who we believe are against us but because we who are Freds did not vote. Use your vote. Use your voice. Find your Fred.