“The mist
across the window hides the lines
But nothing
hides the color of the lights that shine.”
“Steppin’ Out [into the night]” Joe Jackson
drawing by William Buckley
Poet William Buckley suffers from vertigo on humid days and showed up
at the Archives bandaged from a recent fall that had landed him in the ER. Driving to IUN, Buckley avoids highways. His plan is to be in California within two
years, but he loves Lake Michigan and the blue-collar Region zeitgeist, so,
meanwhile, he’s content. He brought
several poems with him including “night-drive”:
Billy
Lee feels tight he feels nervy,
grass
and gun on the front seat
of
his truck. “Driving round with yer
gun is no way out,” sez his Brenda.
Billy
extends the mad anger
in
his boot to the pedal. Brenda
sez,
“Let’s walk by the lake.” But
Billy
needs his tight freedom,
“Gotta go,” he sez and Brenda sez
“Take me too.”
Billy sez “gunna blow
a big hole in the X.”
“You a bad-ass,” Brenda sez, “you be
bad-ass.” Billy drove straight ahead,
Brenda’s
feet on the dashboard.
He’d
been a scrubber and a welder.
There
it was, USX, “Put a hole
through that X, right in the
middle!
Owe it a parting shot for my
exchange
rate!” Brenda slid her legs
to
the back of his knees, braced her
arms
across his shoulders until they
both
held the gun. Then they shot it.
They
jumped into the truck and threw gears.
Brenda
saw flame in Lee’s eye.
He
rubbed his stomach.
“The X of ’im,” Brenda sez, as winds gush through
truck.
In 1986 U.S. Steel reorganized its various components as USX
Corporation; hence the “X” in Buckley’s poem as a symbol of steelworker rage. The 1986-1987 USX lockout lasted six months and
was the longest in the history of Gary Works. The company’s intransigence –
refusing a union offer, for example, to continue under terms of the previous
contract until a settlement could be reached - infuriated veteran workers. Unlike in Japan, management felt no
allegiance to its workforce. Quite the
opposite – in its eyes they were adversaries.
In fact, once the USWA (United Steelworkers of America) agreed to wage
concessions and the elimination of 1,300 jobs, just three days after ratification
of the new contract arrogant USX honchos closed four additional plants with the
resulting loss of 3,500 more positions.
Another mill work stoppage looms.
Reporting on a recent rally near the Gary City Hall statue of corporate founder Elbert H.
Gary, Bill Carey wrote tongue-in-cheek:
After marching to the Broadway gate of U.S. Steel’s
Gary Works, 2000 steelworkers rallied with speeches of solidarity at Gateway
Park. As the crowd dispersed, Elbert Gary U.S. Steel’s first president who
famously said that the corporation prefers not to deal with their workers’
union when he brought in troops to break a strike in 1919, looks on nervously.
Although Judge Gary oversaw the construction of the Gary Works in 1906, he
never actually saw the inside of a blast furnace until after he died.
I try not to drive at night unless on familiar routes. Headlights from the opposite direction bother
me, so I’m actually better off on divided highways such as 80/90 than on
two-lane roads. Even though my
preference was to stay in the Wednesday night Sheet and Tin bowling league,
perhaps moving to Thursday afternoon will be safer for me getting home
afterwards. Prior to the onset of poor
night vision, my favorite drive at dusk was along Route 12, with tree branches
leaning over the road like ghost tentacles.
In Judd Apatow’s “Sick in the Head,” a compilation of interviews with
fellow comedians, Jerry Seinfeld revealed that hard work and constant editing
are key components to his creating funny bits – as a dogged editor, I can
appreciate the sentiment. Apatow’s
parents went through an ugly divorce while he was a teenager, and his dad’s favorite
expression was, “Nobody said life was
fair.” Chris Rock expressed
amazement about a scene in “Louie” where Melissa Leo gives Louis C.K. oral sex
and then says, “Now you’re going to eat
my pussy.” “That blew my mind,” Chris Rock said, “like the first time I heard NWA.”
A hot current movie is the NWA biopic “Straight Outta Compton.” Chris Rock’s anecdote reminds me of a scene
in “Georgia Rule” (2007) where Lindsay Lohan flashes a shy guy while they’re in
a rowboat and then tells him he has to reciprocate. He shows her his private parts, leading to a
bj. The poor sucker is so shook up he
thinks he has to marry her.
On the Chesterton post office wall was a framed likeness if the new
Elvis stamp, which went on sale on the 38th anniversary of the legend’s death. According to Phil Arnold’s blog, a 1993 Elvis
stamp sold over 500 million copies; many were never used but instead saved as
collectibles.
Becca and James shined in a sparkling musical review directed by
former East Chicago Central teacher Leon Kendrick. It took place in a former Carnegie library
that had been closed for years and recently rehabbed as a community
center. Both grandchildren danced the Charleston. James was in a doo wop group. Becca sang “I Don’t Know How To Love Him”
from “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Monday’s lead front-page Post-Trib
story was about IUN professor Eve Bottando’s “selfie class,” titled Mass
Communication and Culture. Bottando told
reporter Michelle Quinn: “We have this
generation of digital natives, as it were, and with it has come this long-term
fallacy of what a generation is. So we
can move past [this fallacy] or we can harness it strategically and see how
things become accepted.” Like with
video games, critics of the trend have attributed all sorts of negative
consequences, ranging from narcissism to psychopathy, citing as an extreme
example a Russian woman whose selfie recorded her suicidal lea[p from a
cliff. “Moral panic,” Bottando argued,
is a barrier to understanding a cultural phenomenon involving mass
communication. She added: “Aristotle was a proponent of, ‘Why not
learn about the world and then make your arguments?’ Leave cultural assumptions
out of the reports.” IUN Fine Arts professor Jennifer Greenburg told Quinn
that sometimes puritanical parents teach their children “to be embarrassed to be self-involved, but the act of picture-taking
is really like a diary, even though we don’t think of our likeness that way.”
Born in Munster on August 6, 1993, Alyssa Minton wrote about
her upbringing and boyfriend CJ in a summer journal:
Introduction: As a child, I was always
jumping off walls. One way I expended my
energy was through gymnastics and then cheerleading for Pop Warner football, at
Wilbur Wright Middle School, and at Munster High School. At the end of my freshman year, after tryouts
for the next cheer season, I assumed I would make the junior varsity team but I
actually made varsity. When I put my
letterman jacket for the first time, it was a beautiful moment of pride and
joy. The summer after I graduated, my home life spiraled out of control. As I moved to Bloomington for my freshman
year, my parents finally announced they were getting a divorce. It hit me hard,
but I knew it was coming. 
Alyssa Minton at h.s. graduation and with CJ
June 1: My boyfriend CJ
and I have been together for almost a year. We both went to Munster, but he was
two years ahead of me. I ran into him at
the local bar Danny Z’s. We have been inseparable ever since. He is a union roofer for Korellis Roofing and
also attends Purdue Calumet, seeking a degree in construction management. Last summer his crew was assigned a
three-month project at Notre Dame. The company provided living arrangements on
campus, and I’d stay there with him. I was amazed how hard CJ worked. He’d bring heavy bundles of shingles up a
ladder and place them on the roof. Seeing him in his harness with all his tools
made me realize what a man he truly was. I love when he explains the roofing process
to me or points out jobs he has done all around Northwest Indiana. CJ and I are both very independent and don’t
feel the need to be texting every second of the day. In my first high school
relationship, I was insanely clingy and insecure, but I am the complete
opposite with CJ. This may sound cheesy but I am extremely proud to be his
girlfriend. He sets a good example for how to respect others and maturely
handle stressful situations. I have never felt more confident than when with
him.
June 2: For two
months I have been employed at Sheffield’s Sports Bar in Dyer as a cocktail
server. I love the atmosphere when the
Blackhawks are playing. Saturday when
the Hawks beat the Ducks, everyone was celebrating. People were hugging friends
and random strangers. Most people get
nicer when alcohol enters their system, but occasionally we’ll run into mean
drunks. CJ isn’t supportive of me working in a bar because I do get hit
on. He accuses me of flirting back. I tell him every day how important he is to
me, so he needs to deal with it. Sheffield’s is dependent on regulars for their
business, so I often see the same people every day and understand the boundary
between friendliness and flirtation.
June 4: I am majoring
in Psychology and understand that a good paying job will require more
school. I am up for the challenge but fear
that after all my schooling, I won’t get a job in my field. It doesn’t help when I tell people my future
plans and they give a look like “Honey,
you aren’t going to go far with a Psychology degree.” Not being able to picture where I am going to
be in four years terrifies me. My sister Katy landed a full-time nursing
position as soon as she graduated from Valparaiso University. If I don’t find a
job in my field, I will feel like a complete failure. Sometimes when I tell
people that I want to help those suffering from mental illness, they’ll react
like it’s a fault of the individual. I
understand what it is like to deal with depression, not knowing where to turn,
and want to make it easier for young teens to seek help.
June 22: My best
friend Joanna came home for the weekend from Bloomington. CJ, Joanna, and I
went to CJ’s friend Tyler’s estate in Culver, Indiana. The main house has three
levels with an elevator stopping at each floor, kitchens on the first and
second floor, and the master bedroom on the third floor. We stayed in the
guesthouse, which was equally as beautiful. CJ took Joanna and me jet skiing,
and we tipped over twice. Tyler is the
son of Pete Korellis of Korellis Roofing.
I had met Tyler’s parents at the Korellis Christmas party back in
December. His mom, Susan, is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I always ignored the phrase “money can’t buy happiness,” but Susan
is so genuinely happy, maybe it’s because they do not have stressful financial
worries.
Pete Korellis
June 23: CJ has been
working for Korellis Roofing since high school and will soon be promoted to
foreman. During the summer of 2012, after a threatened wage cut, members of the
United Union of Roofers, Local 26, went on strike. They picketed outside the Korellis Roofing
shop in Hammond, as well as Gluth Brothers Roofing. Some strikers went negative and slashed Pete
Korellis’ tires, called in death threats, and put feces on his doorstep in
Munster. CJ was on strike for seven
months, before the two parties reached a compromise settlement.
June 24: My mom grew
up in Whiting with five younger siblings. Her dad, a steelworker, was an
alcoholic who died when she was 17. My mom started working in downtown Chicago
once she turned 18 and met my father, who also worked downtown, on the train.
My mom was the backbone of the family. She’d take me to and from practice three
times a week, make my meals, do my laundry, and so on. She is the most caring
and loving person I know. It broke my heart seeing how my dad completely
ignoring her when she tried so hard to please him. She’d buy her own Christmas
presents, wrap them, and say they were from my father, all so my sister and I
wouldn’t catch on. There was a noticeable weight lifted off my mom’s shoulder
after the divorce. I once asked her why she stayed with my dad for so long. She
said she wanted to give my sister and me a good life, so she put hers on hold.
June 27: During my
senior year at Munster I became really close with Paige. At her house one day I saw a little Chihuahua
in the laundry room and fell in love with her.
Emmy was the absolute sweetest dog I have ever met. She couldn’t bark;
she would try, but no noise would come out. It was like she was always on mute.
When Paige went on vacation and I dog sat, which eventually turned into me
keeping her for good at a very unstable time in my life. Emmy could nuzzle my
neck, and I’d instantly feel better, happier than I ever thought I could be.
Sadly, in April, she passed away. Heartbroken I cried for three weeks. She will
always be in my heart; I wish I could hold her one last time. My mom found an animal rescue place in Crown
Point that had a female Chihuahua puppy for us. I named her Daisy. I honestly feel like Emmy is reincarnated
into Daisy, they have so many similarities.
When I got her, she didn’t even weigh three pounds, but she has so much energy,
she cannot sit still for more than five minutes. CJ has an American Bulldog
named Jaxson, whom Daisy just adores. CJ
is as obsessed with Daisy as I am. He cuddles with her at night instead of me.
I don’t mind because they are adorable together. My mom says Daisy and I are
both under CJ’s love spell.
Leaving IUN, I found a flyer between my car window and the windshield
wiper titled, “Qualified Workers Denied Jobs.”
It was an invitation to join a rally next Monday “to demand [as
promised] local hiring on $45 million dollar IUN-IVY Tech Arts and Sciences
Building.”
CDs on heavy rotation after watching the Cubs win fifth straight on a Kris Bryant walk-off HR: Joe Jackson, Romantics, War on Drugs, Spin Doctors, and
Robert Blaszkiewicz’s “Best of 2014” to hear New Pornographers and Wilco.
Steve Spicer photographed a truck unable to get through an overpass on
Grand Boulevard in Miller. How could he
have missed the warning sign – maybe it happened at night.
From a certain angle the 37-foot William Penn statue atop
Philadelphia’s City Hall appears obscene, as if the founder of Pennsylvania
colony was about to take a piss.
Sculptor Alexander Milne Caulder meant for him to be holding a copy of
the treaty he signed with Native Americans, not his penis.
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