15 seconds

Stephanie and I were briefly excited Monday when Stephanie's principal told her that her daughter and I both showed up (me even in a picture) in a Monday "Washington Post" article whose set-up I described earlier in "Turnout": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/09/AR2009080902428.html At least one D.C. friend of ours also noticed, since he e-mailed me about it. I wasn't sure it was a good idea that both Bruce and I were not from Indiana, and I wasn't sure how helpful to the cause my quotes were. I also had mixed feelings about sticking out as a pro-Obama Asian American - even though I once went to a Baron Hill event up in Seymour (IN) - just after the Virginia Tech shootings - in part because I was Asian American (although in the picture you can only see the back of my head - lots of gray hair!). However, I was proud to have gotten - even in the flooding aftermath- in to talk with all the New Albany folks we talked with that night, and I thought that the woman whose comments - and face - the journalist featured - even though or perhaps because she wavered - illustrated some health care reform conundrums in Southern Indiana and beyond. The principal's daugther, Abby, was even more on message (and some of our comments paralleled each other), and so that was probably good for her and for the cause.

An e-mail I got soon after hearing about this, however, alerted me to another down side. For years I have tried to keep any activism off radar screens - and off the Web - both because my job involves convincing people that our survey research is fair and balanced and because I still have research I'm trying to conduct and write up and hope to get more back to that - my old kind of research - and would not want material in the public eye that would discredit my objectivity. I even turned down a chance to be on the board of a journal - even though I do some of the board work - because the journal is identified with one side. I give my opinions in the blog, because not that many people read it. But my Facebook comments - which more people read - I keep more enigmatic.

The e-mail came from a Presbyterian - I think in Missouri - who had read the article and had convinced herself that I was doing the door-to-door canvassing during the day on the clock and I was presenting myself by saying: Hi! I'm Perry, and I'm from the Presbyterian Church and President Obama's campaign - none of which was the case. We're explicitly banned from electioneering as church staff and on the clock (although you may recall I held up signs at Fourth Street Live for Senator Clinton during lunch hour a little more than a year ago - but that didn't violate the rule). In general, I would avoid this sort of publicity in part to avoid this kind of controversy - but typically making phone calls and going door-to-door in Southern Indiana involves flying pretty much under the radar - even if it can catch the notice - positively so - of some of Stephanie's colleagues. I quickly e-mailed the Presbyterian back and hope I allayed some of her concerns - it probably also annoyed that any Presbyterian Center staffer was supporting the Obama administration at all - although she didn't say that explicitly. I see that when you Google my name this article comes up on the second page of references. I'll have to hope that gradually sinks down. Way back in 1995 I had trouble getting access to the important Schenectady County (NY) Right to Life records in part because someone got on the Internet - at its early phases - and found that the sponsors of a conference at which I had made a presentation a year before had signed onto some statement that she thought was controversial. This helped to lead to that famous quote: "The New School - isn't that a Communist think tank?" I'd rather not confront that in the future. We'll if my 15 seconds of fame - however briefly enjoyable - has compromised that or my job.

(Already an anti-reform doctor quoted in the article had complained Monday that the article misquoted him.)


-- Perry

Bone dry

Friday afternoon I finally got to check our storage space - located about a mile from my office between the office and my old apartment. During the week it had gradually occurred to me that - even though our space is up on a hill overlooking the Ohio River - the flash flood rains Tuesday morning could have overwhelmed the storage space complex drainage system and still flooded the insides. Among other things the boxes with all of the files for the research for my dissertation - which I had hoped vaguely to turn into a book still - were there. I belatedly wondered if we should have checked to find out if the pallet factory located next to Stephanie's school sold the pallets. I got more nervous Friday morning when I couldn't reach the staff. But when I stopped there at lunchtime one of the staffpeople said she had heard no complaints - even though the street approaching the complex had flooded Tuesday and she couldn't get in to work there until 1 p.m. When I opened the space, everything looked dry and the same as usual (if dusty) - although I noticed a sewage smell throughout the whole complex. So it seemed that we had escaped the great flash floods of August more or less unscathed. Not so some of our friends. The basement of the church friends' house where we had all had dinner after coming back from Guatemala in Aptil had flooded. A friend from work - like me 10 years before - had driven her car into the flood, between our church and the office. Not only had the flood totaled her car, it had ruined a bunch of work and personal files she had carried in her car trunk (also sounds familiar, in general). For the third week in a row, it rained heavily again this Tuesday in Kentuckiana, where flooding threatened downtown New Albany again. We probably need to lay off the rain for a while.

Incidentally, pictured above is one of TWO storage spaces we currently maintain, the other - larger - in Tallahassee. Storage spaces for me goes back to Albany, NY, and I've also had - or we've had - and I've even hung out a little - at spaces in Westerville (OH), Sarasota, Bradenton, and Woodbury (MN). Among recent places to live, only in Macomb (IL) - where rents were cheap and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment by myself - and, briefly, in Louisville - in a ditto situation - did I not have a space. Love those storage spaces.

-- Perry

Health update

Grandpa may have kidney problems – and perhaps also a blood clot. Sandy has not a blood clot but water on the knee. June went to see Mildred, who is very sick. I went to the doctor Saturday afraid I had ear infection, but the doctor said it was probably allergies and gave me some different allergy medications. We didn’t hear about Barb’s doctor’s appointment and – speaking of Mom’s medication – she hasn’t heard about that yet. Frisco continues to lag a little in energy. He threw up on our morning walk Wednesday and I continue to have to carry him a little part of the way on most of our walks.

-- Perry

Turnout

Mid-week I had a double dose of Obama health care reform organizing. Tuesday night I stopped by the downtown Louiville café that had been the home base for the Obama budget canvassing where some 20 people (more than I had expected) – some veterans of the Obama KY primary campaign – gathered to chat with two Organizing for American organizers, one paid, one volunteer. They had called me to make sure I would be there, even though it turns out the weather had been awful that day. They did a good job of listening to people, but then after an hour (and I left early so Vincent and I could go to the gym) got down to organizing – primarily around calling east central Kentucky to push KY’s one other Democratic congressperson, Ben Chandler, to support health care reform. He’s been on the fence. Our own congressperson, John Yarmuth, is more progressive and has been supportive so far. There was talk about the tea party activity and disruptions to Democratic congresspeople trying to have town meetings.

The KY organizers, who have been touring across the state, said they were trying to rebuild some organization, since there was not a lot of general election action, since Obama for the most part wrote off this state. The organizers were more clear about the direction coming from the president – something that had gotten away from us somewhat at the July Southern Indiana for Change meeting. The organizers pushed volunteering in KY instead of IN (I recognized one of the single-payer advocates from the Southern Indiana meeting – I noticed she was quieter when a man was leading the meeting – but like me she seemed not impressed for his arguments why we should focus in KY.)

Wednesday night I was back across the river in Southern Indiana. It was not raining – like it was when the rain delayed me last week – but the whole area is still reeling from all of the rain. There was a big crowd – again, about 20 – which again surprised me. Remember I’ve been to several events over there where only two or three or four of us called or canvassed. Abby (daughter of Stephanie’s principals) had really pulled out the stops, partly because there was supposed to be a “Washington Post” reporter there. But she obviously also had help – by the presence – from higher-ups: two people from Congressman Hill’s office, some new IN organizers, and the Floyd County Democratic Party chairperson – all of whom I met, plus Abby’s mother and uncle, and Bruce and a woman, both of whom I’d met, who are Louisville people who were active in the election campaign.

There was little wrangling about single-payer here.

Abby and then the IN state director talked, and then Bruce and I headed out to canvass in two different neighborhoods not far from downtown. At the last moment the “Post” reporter, who had appeared, tagged along with us. Apparently Abby had partly funneled him towards us. Bruce’s car was a mess, and so Robert ended up caravanning with us. The first neighborhood we went to had gotten hit bad by the flooding the day before. The first man I talked to had just come up from trying to get water out of his basement. Bruce and I took opposite sides of the street and Robert tagged along behind me for a while. Two or three of the voters I talked to he asked follow-up questions of, identifying himself, and then even took a picture of one of the voters in her front yard with her flag. He was doing an article which may be in in the next week about the health care reform debate in the district of Baron Hill, who has turned out to be a pivotal figure in the debate in the House (as a key Blue Dog Democrat who still seems to want reform, on the House Commerce Committee). We noted that Hill, who he was to interview Thursday, has not scheduled town meeting-type events during the August recess. I talked him a little about my support for health care reform: I have a “Cadillac” plan, but am just a job loss away from losing it. And I have family members with no health insurance and have seen people lined up in emergency rooms, some with health problems that it’s not efficient for them to be in emergency rooms for, and know my employer is paying extra (the hidden tax) because of that. I also mentioned that my Mother’s health insurance company may turn her down for a important potentially life-saving medication, and so we already have rationing – it’s just by insurance companies, not the government. I had had time to think about this a little because Abby had told me he might call me the day before. We also talked some of the politics of health care reform – both in Southern Indian and elsewhere – something I’ve already covered some on the blog.

Robert left us and Bruce and I moved to a different neighborhood on the opposite of downtown. This was a neighborhood not unlike the one in Jeffersonville that Tim, Abby’s uncle, and I had walked a month ago – a very Democratic, mixed-race, mixed-class neighborhood. It looked like it had an African-American church on one side of it. I didn’t know there was such neighborhoods in New Albany: a black plurality neighborhood also a little like my old neighborhood, Phoenix Hill. People were relatively supportive, and Bruce and I – who had not taken enough flyers – ended up running out of some. We were supposed to encourage people to call Hill to thank him for helping turn the Commerce Committee around – but had to call to get his number and write it on a flyer. Compared to canvassing in Jeff days, we have a beautiful new color flyer, but we had not gotten enough of them. Some cute dogs and a few conversations. Between the two of us in the two neighborhoods – over two hours – complete with newspaper interviews and flooding and dog conversations – Bruce and I got about 11 public endorsements, I think – which is better than the two or three I usually get on the phone.

Speaking of surprise big crowds partly to impress people, we had one of our two biggest Toastmasters meetings – 15 people – in recent years, when the Toastmasters area governor – from an adjoining club – as a guest. My new colleague Joelle did a good job with her second speech, but we faced very difficult extemporaneous speaking topics. This is just my third meeting since turning over my VP for Education reins to a fellow club member, and essentially only the second meeting whose educational program I didn’t plan. But the meeting went well, and I continue – as VP for Public Relations – to blog for the club at: http://peacespeakerstoastmasters.blogspot.com

-- Perry

More water

With 20,000 already without electric power, raw sewage flooding into creeks and streets, manhole covers askew and manholes open waiting to blow out tires, most bus routes out, the Main Library basement flooded with at least $1 million damage (including thousands of books – I was there checking out books for Vincent just last week - and where an anime event that Vincent has twice attended was slated to take place this week), and more rain coming down, the church has already authorized people who need to go home, carefully. Our pastor canceled a lunch appointment with me, and other meetings scheduled may fall by the wayside. Above is a picture one of my colleague's tween son's friend's took on the Louisville West Side. Below are pictures outside and inside the library. Perhaps the community and insurance will finally raise money to repair and renovate the Main Library.

-- Perry

Watery week

On Monday Vincent finished and turned in his English critical essay. We’ll see if he has to do any revising. After that it’s more math and a bigger research paper for which we already got him some books about comic books and the post-war period. We hope to get him out eventually – to the gym? Movie? – as staying at home all of the time is probably interfering with his sleep (and will cause weight gain).

Stephanie is enjoying her final week of summer vacation, while she keeps up with housework and helps supervise Vincent. We’ll see how much school work he gets done when both of us are working full-time. Hopefully he’ll finish his two classes soon. Believe it or not, he will also get bored without Stephanie at home. At least he has the dog.

From afar we learn that this week Stephanie’s and my mothers are both in the middle of some home renovation/repair (Nancy’s more drastic than mother’s). My sister and family returned Saturday from a month in France. One of the last places they went was a family home in the French Alps which Mom and I have also visited, which the family is now already in the process of selling. No more free Alpine visits! Uncle Don and Aunt Sandy will return home to Marysville from Camp Sychar Tuesday evening (tonight). We talked briefly last night with Brenda, one of Grandpa’s caretakers, whom we met the weekend before last. Aunt June, her throat cancer in remission, was adventurous this weekend and went to the Ohio State Fair (in its first weekend) with Diana and her family. Grandpa’s sister, Mildred, returned from the Cleveland Clinic with liver cancer and shifted to the nursing home part of the Mt. Vernon, Ohio facility in which she has lived for several years.

Local news has predominated this morning, as heavy rains that started in Louisville (where it's been super cool for weeks) at 8 a.m. kept several of my colleagues away from work and have stranded motorists and flooded homes (including a little of our basement, which Stephanie intercepted and we’re calling our landlord about). I managed to get to work close to on time and managed to avoid repeating what I did to the Camry 10 years ago this month. Had I been coming in a few minutes later, I might have gotten stuck. (Pictured above is a motorist being rescued just three blocks or so from my old apartment and about a mile from my office).

-- Perry

More relaxing weekend

Over the weekend Vincent and we made a deal (instead of kicking him out Saturday morning, as we'd contemplated) where he’s under house arrest and electronics holiday until he finishes his two classes – and is supposed to finish the next three classes – I believe, all he needs to graduate – by Christmas (unless perhaps he gets a job). He’s worked this weekend – watching movies, some I got Thursday – and reading a play and some articles – and has started his critical essay. After that, he’s got to write a research paper (probably going through several drafts), take the English final, and then finish his math class and take the final for that. House-arrest with us, he asked to go the gym Sunday, but Stephanie said only after he’s finished his critical essay. Stephanie got home from Nashville Friday night , and we all three caught up on some sleep this weekend. I phone-called for health care reform Thursday evening, but not Saturday morning. Instead, I got some reading done for papers (including trading books at the University of Louisville library (2nd visit in three days), where I passed the Thinker - pictured above - on the way to the library) and Stephanie and I saw two movies and today I started to catch up on some of the various blogs I work on (plus my first church service in three weeks!). Church socializing over the weekend with a “man shower” for Jason (and his absent newborn son) and belated local wedding reception for our pastor’s son and his new bride. Congratulations, Jason, Cecy, Olivia, and Lucy, and David and Amy!

P.S. Stephanie had the camera – at home, it turns out – having come back from Nashville with it. Otherwise, I would have taken some pictures of some of the shower games – including the “musical baby bottles” and then the three-way chocolate mail in baby bottle chugging/sucking competition in which Jason and another family members sucked for 20-25 minutes until Jason just lost by about three seconds.

-- Perry