MIKEWEEK

06 Septmeber 08/Bulletin 202
Quote of the Month: “I must admit feeling a bit guilty about this.”

New Orleans Dodges Bullet: The Bulletin was glad to hear from many New Orleans friends who made the wise choice not to stick around to meet “Gustav” in person. Even better news was that the G-named Hurricane turned and landed west of the city, packing lighter winds than had been forecast.

Perhaps no evacuee had it quite as good as the “Dabs” aka Bob Dabney who uttered this month’s quote from the safety of dad’s seats at the US Tennis Center. Not only did Bob get to flee directly to the US Open and the delights of Serena Williams blasting an opponent off the court, but his guilt pangs were made all the worse when American Airlines upgraded him to first class on the flight out of New Orleans.

The Dabs and I and our pal Lisa enjoyed the evenings matches and we could not help but make note that some folks simply know how to flee better than others

Culture Watch: If my partner Vincent were not an economist, he would likely be singing for his supper. Dad, Karlene, V & I took in the new production of “Hair” ….under the stars, in Central Park…V has been belting out “Good Morning Sunshine,” pretty much night and day.

While Hair is stamped all over with phrases and symbols from the 60’s, the play still delivers a powerful message while it delivers one intelligent, memorable tune after another.

I first saw Hair in the 10th grade, with the Viet Nam War in the last stages of quagmire and a wrong number in the draft card lottery was still a likely ticket to the killing fields.

The producer introduced this production with a live remarks explaining that those little cards they are burning at the end of Act One “are draft cards.” It seems undeniable that this country drifted back to war and was able to stay there for almost five years with so little protest, largely because the draft no longer threatens the country at large.

Lou Dobbs Almost Comes Knocking: Less than 24 hours before Vincent was to start his job at a major accounting firm, he got a letter from a law firm (seldom good news) advising him that his visa request had been denied (really not good news) GULP…what now, we wondered?

Thankfully, Vincent had offered to start his job early, and the company liked him so much, that they allowed him to continue working under his existing visa. They will try to get him the new work visa again next year. Since V now has a Mater’s Degree his odds of approval are much better next time—as the U.S. sets aside 20-thousand so called H1B visas for people with advanced degrees.

If that Visa request fails, the backup plan would be to work for the same company in England, which we both think would be quite an adventure. Still, it all seems quite silly. Vincent got his BS and his Masters from Fordham-he had scholarships for much of his education and he is trained in Economics and Math- the very skills this country badly needs. How stupid, if this country can’t benefit from people educated in this country.

Uncle Duties: Yes, the time between Bulletins has stretched to incredible lengths, so much so that we can report that Vincent’s niece Chloe just celebrated her first birthday and my Nephew Benjamin will celebrate his on October 7th! Vincent’s sister Mae and her fiancé Jon purchased a condo from the same developer, just two blocks from our place, so Vincent and I get plenty of time for Uncle duties.

We are both looking forward to our second chance to say hello to Ben at the first ever Longman Christmas in Vermont at Matty and Nicolle’s.

New York Print Debut: In the late 90’s I meet an up and coming investigate reporter at an Investigative Reporter’s and Editor’s Conference. As I recall, I had an expense account and he did not, so I bought us a meal and we traded war stories. Flash forward to the New Orleans Magazine article I wrote from Band Camp which included my mailing address at Butner. The up and coming reporter (who was by now working for the Village Voice) wished me well and suggested he would repay that lunch upon my release. The reporter left the Voice in the middle of one of many management shakeups and became the investigative editor of an urban policy magazine. This spring he convinced his editor that they should take an in depth look at efforts to rebuilt New Orleans and he suggested that my knowledge of the city in question might come in handy. Many of you have already gotten the link to this article, but for those who did not; please follow this link to read my first work in print in the Big Apple.
http://www.citylimits.org/neworleans/

House Warming: Our new place is bigger than the old one, but still only fits about ten, so we had a small gathering for the housewarming. More photos of the digs coming soon.