Whatever you
do you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon there is always someone to
tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt
you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow
it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has
its victories but it takes brave men and women to win them.
300 quotes from Emerson
300 quotes from Emerson
To
view more Emerson quotes or read a life background on Emerson please visit the
books blog spot. We update the blog bi-monthly emersonsaidit.blogspot.com
The Hanging Party
A short story
By
John William Tuohy
Tommy
O’Connor sat in his car in the parking lot at the Valley Diner as if it were a
safe haven against the impending storm. It wasn’t. It was only the first place
to stop and he was early. Salesman’s habit.
Loosening his striped silk tie and slipping
out of his woolen suit coat, he got out of the car and walked the length of the
lot for no good reason. He recalled the times he’d walked here as a boy, eager
to spend the few dollars he’d earned each week delivering the Ansonia Evening Sentinel, a great local
newspaper while it lasted. It gave him his start in business. He wondered if
kids still delivered the paper anywhere in America.
He
peered through the lightly falling rain into the darkness of the Diner. When he
was a kid and this was a factory town, the Diner had been open around the
clock. The place was operated by
the—what was their name?—Greeks. Khronos—that’s what it was. He’d had a son who was a big deal on the
high-school football team, but he died, or was that somebody else’s kid? After 25 years, he couldn’t recall.
Anyway, then the factories left and the place cut back its hours. He’d
heard that Khronos sold out and moved to Florida and practically gave the place
to the cook, some Mexican guy. Then he died and the place went to Dolores Kearney. He knew the Kearneys from The
Assumption parish. He heard she’d had a kid with Down syndrome who’d gotten
married, and that Dolores married a plumber from Seymour.
Turning from the Diner, he took a deep breath
and held it. This was his town. This is the place they would bring him back to
when it was his turn to go. This place where they still called him Tommy.
Bored,
he carefully kicked the mud from the hand-sewn leather on his oxblood loafers
and watched a pretty, thin girl in a waitress uniform and with a light sweater
and no raincoat leap from a cab and dash through the light rain into the Diner.
Then, seeing the procession approach through the cold, rain-soaked streets, he
straightened his silk tie around his neck and slid back into the waiting warmth
of the automobile’s black European leather seat. and joined the procession as
the last car. It was, he thought, a long procession; they always are when you
die young. When you die old, not enough people are still alive remember you to
form a decent procession. That was his theory anyway.
They
drove slowly through the streets. The town was lifeless. Where were the vast
herds of loud and laughing children who once roamed these streets? What became
of the corner markets with their crooked floors and wooden counters, bent under
the weight of those enormous, ancient cash registers with the white ivory keys?
Places like Senesky’s with their hand-stuffed kielbasa, and Nicolette’s where
the mozzarella was so fresh it dripped with warm milk. Like the children, they
were gone and with them went the identity that, to him anyway, defined this
place.
The
mills were gone too, closed and silent as coffins. They’d said the wages were
too high and the unions wanted too much. The truth is, the profits were too
low, and it was the bosses who wanted too much. When they left, they took
everything with them, leaving behind a generation too proud to cry foul.
He
hoped Maria looked good, considering the circumstances. How long had it been?
Twenty-four years? He had not seen her in almost as many years as he had lived
here. He couldn’t remember Iggy Gallaher’s face anymore. At the service, the coffin had
been closed.
Pulling
himself away from his thoughts and trying to remember what Iggy had looked
like, he looked around and realized he had stopped at a light. To his left was
a vacant storefront. Wasn’t that where Giordano’s Pizza had been? What a shame.
He pulled down the visor and looked into the mirror at his own face and
noticed that he looked old, or at least
older. Annoyed, he slapped the contraption shut.
He
recalled a faded snapshot he had, in a box somewhere, of himself, Iggy, and
Maria upstairs at Giordano’s Pizza, where the booths were draped in white
tablecloths and silverware. Downstairs, the tables were bare cold linoleum, and
the forks and knives were white plastic. The picture showed himself and Iggy arm
in arm, smiling broadly, proud of their new white shirts and new white ties,
designed to match their new souls for their first communions
Straightening
his tie again and slipping his suit coat on He paused for a second to look over
the Valley past the town in near-lifeless repose, and strained to see the ocean
that pushed brief, light winds of salt air around his face.
He
held the door for a couple he didn’t know, and found a spot for himself inside,
between the parlor and the dining room, where he stood feeling uncomfortable
and exposed. He nodded and smiled to the few who looked his way and discreetly
pulled his shirt cuff over his watch, which was too expensive for the room.
It
genuinely surprised him when a somber caterer piled tin trays of overcooked
food onto the imitation pine table. Where were the old aunts that everyone
seemed to have, the ones who never learned to speak English? The ones permanently draped in black
shapeless dresses, rosaries tied to their wrists, scurrying back and forth from
the kitchen with Massive plates of peppers and onions and garlic salami? Where
were the grappa and the tiny cups of murky espresso? He reluctantly shuffled
toward the table to pick and nibble bits of microwaved food, served on
Styrofoam plates.
Filling
a paper cup with warm cola, he retreated to his spot to wait for time to pass.
After what seemed like an eternity, he placed his drink on top of the VCR,
walked across the room, and tapped the young man on the shoulder.
“Michael,”
he said, “I’m Thomas O’Connor. I’m sorry for your troubles. He was too young to
die.”
“Mr.
O’Connor, my dad talked about you a lot. I feel like I know you.”
“He
talked about me?” “Yeah, all the time,
crazy Tommy O’Connor. Did you really take a cop car for a joyride?”
“No,”
he lied. “And your mother?” Tommy was curious whether she’d ever spoken of him.
“Oh
yeah, I’ll get her. I’ll tell her you’re leaving. She’s been with the funeral
guy since we got back.”
“No,
no, don’t. That’s fine.”
He
gave the young man a final long look. Like his father, he wore an unmistakably
Irish face. He had his mother’s dark eyes and dark hair. He had always regretted what they had done, thinking it a horrendous mistake,
but now, seeing this stunningly handsome young man, he realized that the
creation of a life could never be a mistake.
He
shook the young man’s hand, released it, went out to the car, a light rain was
still falling, loosening his tie with his first step outside. He slipped off
the coat and slid behind the wheel.
“Tommy!”
Maria called across the growing density of the fog. Maria, clad in black,
strolled from the brightness of the house into the gray light of the day cross
the lawn and lean on his opened car door. Her once handsome face was ghastly pale, which
illuminated the redness of her lips when she smiled at him.
She
said, “Eat and run, huh? Yeah, you only came for the food.” Having never lost
his joy in the self-deprecating humor of his social class, the working class,
his return smile was spontaneous and genuine.
“Yeah,”
he said, and handed her his plastic fork, which he had, “That and to steal your
plastic ware. You caught me.”
She
eyed his car and said, “For you, life is good, I see.”
“I
stole it.”
She
returned his smile and it erased years from her face. Then she turned serious.
“It
was a long ways for you to come. Ma and I sincerely thank you for your
presence,” she said. “We didn’t expect you. He searched for acrimony in the last words,
and not finding any, he used the moment to study her still beautiful almost
insentient face. She looked tired, drained. That was to be expected. But an
aura about her, a dissolute grimness really, gave off a sense of defeat that
had buried her and made her older than her years. As he had this thought, she
narrowed her eyes in a way that startled and concerned him. Realizing he had
been caught, he retreated into banality.
“Eliza
saw it in the New Haven Register,” he
said. “You remember Eliza?” He added, “My sister.”
“Yeah,
sure yeah, the little one. How is she?”
“She’s
fine. She’s in Old Saybrooke. Painting. She had a show up in Hartford and—” he
stopped himself. This wasn’t the time. “She saw the—” he stopped himself,
reluctant to use the word “obituary”— “thing in the paper about Iggy. So I just
thought—”
“You’re
always welcome here, you know that. You’re like family; you always were. Iggy
would have been so proud that you was here. Honest to God.” Maria looked into
his eyes.
“He
really loved you, Tommy.”
Tommy
decided not to answer and for a second an eternity of silence fell over them.
She gave him a searching look and seemed to realize he felt guilt, that great
equalizer of the Irish race, so she, as a woman who understood these things,
gave him her Mona Lisa smile.
“It’s good
to see you again.” “You too, Maria.
“He’s a handsome young man, your son. Well-spoken.”
“He’s
a good boy. He reminds me of you sometimes.”
“Really?”
“He’s got your eyes. Did you notice?”
“No,”
he lied again. “Did you ever tell your
wife--?”
“Naw, there
was never a right time or a right—” The chill of the wind charged in from the
fog-drenched Sound.
“Time,”
he finally said settling for the wrong word, “or something.”
“You’ve
changed,” Maria said. The wind changed
directions, as New England shoreline winds are prone to do. He looked at her.
Had her voice always been this nasal? Why did she start every third word with
the letter D? Had she always spoken like that? Did he sound like that? Why were
all these houses so small and shabby? Were they always that way? He wanted to
leave.
“Did
you ever tell him?”
“Naw.
Iggy was a good father to him.”
Young Ignatius Gallaher, a
cop like his father, appeared in the doorway and waved to her
“Do
you need anything?” he asked, starting his car, “anything at all?”
“No.
No, Iggy had his pension from the department. I’m still working. There's no
insurance because of what he did to himself, but we’re okay.”
“Like
I say, you ever need anything, Maria.”
She
closed his car door in his mid-sentence and walked away. "I know,” she
said over her shoulder, “I can count on you.”
http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Say-Goodbye-Memoir/dp/
In
1962, six year old John Tuohy, his two brothers and two sisters entered
Connecticut’s foster care system and were promptly split apart. Over the next
ten years, John would live in more than ten foster homes, group homes and state
schools, from his native Waterbury to Ansonia, New Haven, West Haven, Deep
River and Hartford. In the end, a decade later, the state returned him to the
same home and the same parents they had taken him from. As tragic as is funny
compelling story will make you cry and laugh as you journey with this child to
overcome the obstacles of the foster care system and find his dreams.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Say-Goodbye-Memoir/dp/0692361294/
http://amemoirofalifeinfostercare.blogspot.com/
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
John
William Tuohy is a writer who lives in Washington DC. He holds an MFA in
writing from Lindenwood University. He is the author of numerous non-fiction on
the history of organized crime including the ground break biography of
bootlegger Roger Tuohy "When Capone's Mob Murdered Touhy" and
"Guns and Glamour: A History of Organized Crime in Chicago."
His
non-fiction crime short stories have appeared in The New Criminologist,
American Mafia and other publications. John won the City of Chicago's Celtic
Playfest for his work The Hannigan's of Beverly, and his short story fiction
work, Karma Finds Franny Glass, appeared in AdmitTwo Magazine in October of
2008.
His
play, Cyberdate.Com, was chosen for a public performance at the Actors Chapel
in Manhattan in February of 2007 as part of the groups Reading Series for New
York project. In June of 2008, the play won the Virginia Theater of The First
Amendment Award for best new play.
Contact
John:
MYWRITERSSITE.BLOGSPOT.COM
JWTUOHY95@GMAIL.COM
HERE'S A SPLENDID POEM FOR YOU.....
Soybeans
by
Thomas Alan Orr
The October air
was warm and musky, blowing
Over brown fields,
heavy with the fragrance
Of freshly
combined beans, the breath of harvest.
He was pulling a
truckload onto the scales
At the elevator
near the rail siding north of town.
When a big
Cadillac drove up. A man stepped out,
Wearing a
three-piece suit and a gold pinky ring.
The man said he
had just invested a hundred grand
In soybeans and
wanted to see what they looked like.
The farmer stared
at the man and was quiet, reaching
For the tobacco in
the rear pocket of his jeans,
Where he wore his
only ring, a threadbare circle rubbed
By working cans of
dip and long hours on the backside
Of a hundred acre
run. He scooped up a handful
Of small white
beans, the pearls of the prairie, saying:
Soybeans look like
a foot of water on the field in April
When you're ready
to plant and can't get in;
Like three kids at
the kitchen table
Eating macaroni
and cheese five nights in a row;
Or like a broken
part on the combine when
Your credit with
the implement dealer is nearly tapped.
Soybeans look like
prayers bouncing off the ceiling
When prices on the
Chicago grain market start to drop;
Or like your old
man's tears when you tell him
How much the land
might bring for subdivisions.
Soybeans look like
the first good night of sleep in weeks.
When you unload at
the elevator and the kids get Christmas.
He spat a little
juice on the tire of the Cadillac,
Laughing despite
himself and saying to the man:
Now maybe you can
tell me what a hundred grand looks like.
The
Orphans Explanation
A
Poem
By
John
William Tuohy
You had
all of me most of the time
It’s all
I’m capable of, most of the time.
I have
ghosts that follow me
Most of
the time
Disguised
as the past
Pulling
me backwards
Away from
all of you.
Most of
the time
You think
I failed you
But you
have no idea
Most of
the time
What a great,
Herculean effort it was
Just to
give you that much
All of
the time
Greetings
NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE &
DISCOUNTED TICKETS ***
NYCPlaywrights is
offering two tickets to members of this mailing list to see MRS. SMITH’S
BROADWAY CAT-TACULAR!
AS SOON AS YOU GET
THIS EMAIL, respond to info@nycplaywrights.org to claim your tickets. Tickets
are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
About the show:
“MRS. SMITH is a
woman on the verge of a cat-based breakdown — in search of her missing cat, Carlyle.
To overcome the grief and rage of this “personal apocalypse,” she’s tried
psychoanalysis, New Age therapies and, now, mounting a Broadway-style musical
spectacular where her bizarre life story is re-enacted in delirious song and
dance. With the aid of her dapper Broadway Boys, Mrs. Smith puts her
laugh-out-loud spin on a the perilous highs and lows of fame, fortune and
superstardom.”
If you don’t get
the free tickets you can still get discounted tickets. More information here:
http://nycp.blogspot.com/2015/07/discount-tickets-mrs-smiths-broadway.html
*** FREE THEATER
IN NYC ***
Shakespeare in
Bryant Park: Romeo and Juliet
The Drilling
Company
Every week on
Friday and Saturday between 7/17/2015 and 8/2/2015.
Free and open to the
public. Performances occur on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30 - 8:30p.m. and
Sundays from 2:00 - 4:00p.m.
More…
http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2015/07/25/shakespeare-in-bryant-park-romeo-and-juliet
*** PRIMARY STAGES
CLASSES ***
Fall 2015 classes at
the Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) are now open for
enrollment! Start a FIRST DRAFT, tackle a REWRITE, perfect the art of SHORT
FORMS, and conquer the play submission process. Faculty includes BROOKE BERMAN
(Hunting and Gathering), HALLEY FEIFFER (A Funny Thing… at MCC), A. REY
PAMATMAT (after all the terrible things I do), STEFANIE ZADRAVEC (The Electric
Baby), MELISSA ROSS (Of Good Stock), and many other award-winning faculty
members who provide practical skills and expert guidance in a collaborative
atmosphere.
Full list of
classes: http://primarystages.org/ESPA.
Payment plans
available.
*** Venus/Adonis
Theater Festival 2016 ~ Our Eighth Festival Season ***
Acknowledgement in
the form of excellent prizes: $2,500 for Best Play and $500 each for Best
Actress, Actor and Director, as well as $300 for Best Musical and $200 for Best
Original Play. This is more than any other U.S. festival that we know of.
There is no
question why Venus/Adonis has taken the world of playwrighting festivals by
storm, becoming the second largest festival in the country in just 4 years.
It's because playwrights enjoy staging their
plays with us!
We are a group of
playwrights who, after years of staging our plays in NYC festivals, said:
"Why don't we create a festival that includes everything we dreamt of
having while being part of others?"
The result is
beyond our wildest expectations. In just a few years, Venus/Adonis has caught
fire as the number of submissions we receive continues to grow every year.
Is this sheer
luck or an acknowledgment of what we offer?
Let's find out at:
http://venusnytheaterfestival.com/
*** PLAYWRIGHTS
OPPORTUNITIES ***
Please consider
the following guidelines for Därkhorse Drämatists “Tales from the Script”! It’s
important to note, that while we favor newer plays, this festival is not
limited to original work. Your submissions may have been produced at other
venues, so long as it is unpublished and wasn’t featured in last year’s
festival. Besides one-act plays, we are also looking for 1-person shorts &
monologues. Please refer to the guidelines below.
One-acts: 25 page
maximum / 10 page minimum. (No minimum page count for 1 person shorts or
monologues). No exceedingly violent or pornographic material. Adult language
allowed within reason.
Plays may have a
maximum of 3-4 characters and should take place in a limited setting and
minimal props.
2 submissions
allowed per playwright.
***
When we look at a
piece of art each person has a different interpretation of what they see. That
is the beauty of art and the challenge to our playwrights. Each year we take
three works of art and ask writers to write a play as they are moved or
inspired by the artwork. We blind-read the submissions, select the best and
produce them. The art is exhibited, we perform the play and ask the audience
for feedback. It is our annual mixed media event that draws inquisitive art and
theatre lovers to KNOW. Come join us.
***
Selected short
plays will be performed during the Autry’s American Indian Arts Marketplace in
Los Angeles. This year’s theme: What is family?
Today there are
many variations on what it means to be a family. Your play on the family story
might focus on the more traditional, extended family story (parents and
children residing with other family members); or perhaps the so-called nuclear
family; or maybe it’s a story of a mother or father raising their children; or
a brother, his sister, and her children; or maybe you want to explore GAP
family stories (grandparents raising grandchildren); or an adopted or created
family story.
What does all of
this mean to the Native American family and identity? Are we born into a family
for life, or do we surround ourselves with adopted “family members” as we grow
older? Whether a family is biological or chosen, it has shaped our identity and
formed our histories.
*** FOR MORE
INFORMATION on these and other opportunities see the web site at http://www.nycplaywrights.org
***
*** THE ACTORS
STUDIO/ METHOD ACTING ***
The Actors Studio
is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and
playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of
Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan,
Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow, who provided training for
actors who were members.[1] Lee Strasberg joined later and took the helm in
1951 until his death on February 17, 1982. It is currently run by Al Pacino,
Ellen Burstyn, and Harvey Keitel. The Studio is best known for its work
refining and teaching method acting. The approach was originally developed by
the Group Theatre in the 1930s based on the innovations of Constantin Stanislavski.
While at the Studio, actors work together to develop their skills in a private
environment where they can take risks as performers without the pressure of
commercial roles.
More...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actors_Studio
***
Method Acting
In the dramatic
arts, method acting is a group of techniques actors use to create in themselves
the thoughts and feelings of their characters, so as to develop lifelike
performances. Though not all method actors use the same approach, the
"method" (sometimes capitalized as Method) refers to the methods used
by actors, which are based on the teachings and concepts of Constantin
Stanislavski. Stanislavski's ideas were adapted by teachers such as Stella
Adler, Robert Lewis, Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg for American actors.
Strasberg's teaching emphasized the practice of connecting to a character by
drawing on personal emotions and memories, aided by a set of exercises and
practices including sense memory and affective memory. Stanislavski's system of
acting was the foundation of Strasberg's technique. Rigorous adherents of
Strasberg's technique are now commonly referred to as "method
actors".
Method acting has
been described as having "revolutionized American theater". While
classical acting instruction "had focused on developing external
talents", the method was "the first systematized training that also
developed internal abilities (sensory, psychological, emotional)".[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_acting
***
The Lee Strasberg
Theatre & Film Institute
http://www.methodactingstrasberg.com
***
James Dean and the
Actors Studio
New York, NY --
WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC is pleased to present the premiere New York exhibition for
acclaimed photographer, Roy Schatt (1909-2002). In keeping with the gallery
program of rediscovering forgotten artists and photographers, Curator James
Cavello reviewed the archive of Schatt and organized an exhibition of over 50
vintage and modern prints, some never before seen, others exhibited in the
1950's.
More…
http://www.westwoodgallery.com/exhibitions/james-dean-and-the-actors-studio/
***
Strasberg at the
Actors Studio: Tape-recorded Sessions
Legendary Lee
Strasberg remains one of the most influential, controversial and misunderstood
figure in the history of American theatre. An actor and director of
considerable skill and accomplishment, he made his lasting mark as a master
acting teacher, avatar of "the method, " that distinctively American
adaption of Kinstantin Stanislavski's codification of acting techniques. From
his base at New York's Actors Studio, Strasberg trained several generations of
theatre and film's most illustrious talents, including Anne Bancroft, Julie
Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Marilyn Monroe, Patricia Neal, James Dean, Sally Field,
Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Al Pacino, Steve McQueen, Franchot
Tone and Gene Wilder.
More…
https://books.google.com/books?id=_AwPp47_HJIC
***
Still Mad at the
Method and Its Gurus
WHEN
"Finishing the Picture," Arthur Miller's latest play, receives its
world premiere at the Goodman Theater in Chicago on Oct. 5, plenty of audience
members will be scrutinizing the silent, pill-popping starlet Kitty for
references to Marilyn Monroe, Mr. Miller's former wife. But Kitty isn't the
only familiar-seeming character. "Finishing the Picture" features two
badly behaved acting teachers, Jerome and Flora Fassinger, who make
pronouncements like, "The actor's performance is a process of such
complication, not on par with the atom bomb, but close." In other words,
Jerome and Flora sound a lot like the Actors Studio guru, Lee Strasberg, and
his first wife, Paula.
More…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/03/theater/newsandfeatures/03calh.html
***
Marilyn Monroe and
the Actors Studio (Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am_PvmskFnA
***
Al Pacino Opens Up
About Acting and His Career
Well, the Actors
Studio sort of was like in England its equivalent would be RADA. It was a
school when I was young it wasn’t a school, it was an institution where you
aspired to go to. I mean going to the Actors Studio was kind of a mini
achievement for a young actor, especially if you didn’t have any money or
anything to support you. So everybody tried out. I remember my friend was 16
years-old and he was a very gifted actor, I went to junior high school with
him, he tried out. As I said just before I came in here, the Actors Studio,
anybody can try out. You don’t need a union card. They have no age
discrimination. Anybody. That’s what’s really one of the high points of the
Actors Studio, I think. It gets really high marks from me because of that
liberality.
More...
http://movies.about.com/od/interviewswithactors/a/pacino061207.htm
***
Is Method Acting
Destroying Actors?
There’s something
about modern-day acting—the style that is famously associated with Lee
Strasberg’s Method and that gained currency from his Actors Studio and its
offshoots—that inclines toward deformations of character. That modern school,
which links emotional moments from a performer’s own life to that of a
character, and which conceives characters in terms of complete and filled-out
lives that actors imagine and inhabit, asks too much of performers. Here’s how
Franco describes it:
Actors have been
lashing out against their profession and its grip on their public images since
at least Marlon Brando. Brando’s performances revolutionized American acting
precisely because he didn’t seem to be “performing,” in the sense that he
wasn’t putting something on as much as he was being
Franco’s
description of the style is, I think, accurate; his diagnosis of its connection
to Brando’s public image is beside the point. An actor’s attempted excavation
of her own deepest and harshest experiences to lend them to characters adds a
dimension of self-revelation (even if only to oneself), of wounds reopened and
memories relived, that would make for agony in therapy. On the other hand, the
effort to conceive a character as a filled-out person, with a lifetime of
backstory and biographical details, becomes a submergence into another (albeit
fictitious) life, an abnegation of a nearly monastic stringency. In the effort
to make emotions true, to model performance on the plausible actions of life
offstage or offscreen, the modern actor is often both too much and too little
herself.
More…
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/is-method-acting-destroying-actors
***
The Arrival of
Method Acting in US Film & TV
Method acting
initially came to the attention of the U.S. public at about the same time that
television enjoyed its first growth spurt: the late 1940s and early 1950s. At
that time, director Elia Kazan brought Marlon Brando to the stage and then to
the screen in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), which was followed by On the
Waterfront (1954). Brando was the most visible of several distinctive new
actors who were advocating the Method. He, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Julie
Harris, and others had been trained by Method teachers such as Lee Strasberg
(at the Actors Studio) and Stella Adler (Brando’s principal teacher). However,
the Method was being taught in the live theater long before this crop of actors
made their impact on U.S. cinema. The technique originated in Russia at the end
of the nineteenth century, when Constantin Stanislavski founded the Moscow Art
Theater in 1897. Stanislavski disdained any acting other than that of the live
theater. He barely tolerated film actors and died in 1938 before television
became a mass medium. Still, the impact of the Stanislavski system on
television has been immeasurable.
More…
http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/jbutler/clips/streetcarqq00_18_21qq.mp4/view
***
Paul Newman talks
Actors Studio in 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-h6OAAekMw
“Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing.” - Henry David Thoreau
Epitaph: The Night We Buried McEvoy
A
poem about a long gone ago
By
John William Tuohy
When I was but a boy back in
64
Old Bull McEvoy hit the proverbial
floor
Where he went nobody knows
But dead he was, dead for
sure, dead down to the core
The wake we give him
‘Twas the event of the
year
Everyone who was anyone
Made sure that they was
there
After mass and the chalice
we retired one and all
Down to Sullivan’s corpse
palace
Just near the Hibernian
hall
Where a grand time, I
tells ya’s was planned by one and all.
We in our best soots and ties
worn
Like feck’n hangman’s
noose
Calloused hands with
neither watch no ring
Naw, not for us, our kind don’t
wear dose tings
The ladies dolled their Sunday best
Whispered to the widow wit
respect
And promised her they’d
die pray’n
For the hosts eternal rest
One by one we knelt before
the future
Our hands in pious prayer
Over the old boys corpse
Where it noted, goddamn
life it ain’t fair.
Big Murphy the cops comes
in
But he don’t know the dead
Makes his way to the food
trays
To get his fat ass fed
Riley the carpenter follows
Sans coat and tie
And tells the window dear
that
“The Mac chose a good day
to die”
And my what a fine coffin
Twas a fortune to buy
If himself would just move
over, says he
He’d gladly give it a try.
And here’s Pat O’Meara Wit
da wife, the dear old lovely skinny Vera
“I never seen the Mac look finer, says he with
a nod
And wasn’t just the other day
We was pick’n horses down
at the Valley Diner
Sullivan the plumber
sailed in
five sheets to the wind
behind him come da corpse
third cousin
And all da odder various kin.
Father Murphy there to console
the poor widow dear
He gives her a rosary and
a prayer
Then joined the boys in
back
For a song, a butt, a shot
and a beer
The Roselli’s brought
fried eggplant
but it went mostly
untouched
But Steinberg brought a corn
beef
that caused a table
rush
The AOH come by and so did
the KOC
to offer the widow thar
pity
And behind them dressed in
black
Come the old lands Biddies
Den da union people
slithered in
and pretend to know our names
But now we’re all the wiser
To their feck’n games.
And when the last shops
close
And there is no more blood
to suck
They’ll be at the sweat
shops China
Try’n to hustle a china
man’s buck.
By ten the coffin joined
the spirit
and started to sway with
the walls
and when boys from Hill
Top Hose arrived
we had an early fireman’s
ball.
If Bitsy McGee coulda
stood she woulda stood
And ah, I tell you, the golden
words she woulda weaved
But she couldn’t and she
didn’t
All she says is “Boy’s I
gotta pee”
So Junior McEvoy commanded
the floor
And demanded it stop
spinning
And den defied gravity itself
Cause just by standing he
was winning
He had his fill to the
gills
Of the Celt killer the drink.
Ah but so smooth was he with his fine words
We coulda charged a fee
Let us speak of my pop,
the McEvoy himself
He knew that it’s in the
giving we receive
And when injured by others
We should always offer
reprieve
Where there was darkness
He offered light
And where he wronged
He almost always made it right
To those who faced sorrow
He spoke of a better
tomorrow
He believed in the eternal
life.
Where there is no want, no
sadness and no strife
He lived his life
He loved and he won and he lost
And never, not once, can it be said
He shrunk from the deep, deep cost
He knew much pain yet held
on to hope
He never made an evil gain,
God bless him
He never learned to hate
And never surrendered a
single day to fate
The way he seen it
Despite all it’s pain
Magnificent is ours world
But it’s the heavens we
must gain
He nipped a bit much
He laughed when he could
He doubted yet the kept the
faith
As, Lord knows, we all
should.
He was of the generation
That handled the fuss
They’ll never see your
likes again
The mangy ungrateful cuss
Yous who a depression
faced
Yous who put a man in
space
It all come from us, the working class
That saved this world’s
ungrateful ass.
Wasn’t it us that made Tojo
bow?
And us that gave feck’n Hitler
his due.
And now look at us
We drive Volkswagens and Subaru’s.
Here’s how it is ain’t it
true?
The boys at the top
Close our shops
And there ain’t a damn
thing we can do
The America you saved my
friends
She all gone she’s died
And with her went our
world
Our hopes, our work and all
our earthly pride
Then from the floor rises
Bitsy McGee
“War” she axes “
Does a lady go to pee?”
So we shows her the bowl
What to Chris ‘in
“Finally” says old Bitsy
“I got a pot to piss in.”
At the end the flags was
furled
The coffin closed. Dead to
the world
To the sidewalk we
staggered
Tired drunk and haggard
Finney tells the widow dear
“If you’re Irish the world
will break your heart”
And there is no earthly thing
to do of it
So may we laugh until this
world we all part.
What Love is…..
“It
doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It
doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking
like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It
doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you
have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's
betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want
to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it
or fade it, or fix it.
I
want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with
wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the
limitations of being human.
It
doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if
you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the
accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and
therefore trustworthy.
I
want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if
you can source your own life from its presence.
I
want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on
the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It
doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want
to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and
bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It
doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if
you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It
doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know
what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I
want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the
company you keep in the empty moments.”
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
"Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind."
Visit our Shakespeare Blog at the address below
HERE'S SOME REALLY NICE ART TO LOOK AT IT.......................
The Car by John Brack, 1955
Marc Chagall, 1956
I’M
TRYING TO TEACH MYSELF SPANISH AND THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED TODAY…..
Carterista:
pick-pocket
Example sentence: La policÃa detuvo a un carterista anoche.
Sentence meaning: The police arrested a pick-pocket last night.
GOOD WORDS TO HAVE………….
Hydra: (HY-druh) A persistent or
multifaceted problem that presents a new obstacle when a part of it is solved. After
the many-headed monster Hydra in Greek mythology. When its one head was cut
off, it sprouted two more. It was ultimately slain by Hercules. From Latin
Hydra, from Greek Hudra (water snake). Ultimately from the Indo-European root
wed- (water, wet), which also gave us water, wash, winter, hydrant, redundant,
otter, and vodka. Earliest documented use: 1374.
The simplest
way to get — and stay — happy, according to psychologists
JESSICA
ORWIG AND ERIN BRODWIN
When
was the last time you felt a light-hearted awareness where you had a skip in
your step, care-free grin on your face, and overwhelming sense that despite
what happened, everything was going to work out?
In
other words, when was the last time you were truly happy?
It's
an amazing, but often fleeting, feeling. And many of us don't get enough of it.
What's
more, there's a common belief that if we seek out things like a better career,
more money, and meaningful companionship, we'll be happier as a result.
But
that may be a harmful misconception. Science journalist Wendy Zukerman
explained the idea on a recent episode of the podcast series "Science
VS."
To
measure the level of happiness in people around the world, scientists use large
surveys like the Mappiness app and the World Happiness Report where thousands
of volunteers answer questions about how satisfied they are with their quality
of life, overall well-being, and happiness.
While
the results can't conclusively say what exactly makes all humans happy and what
doesn't, the growing literature on this topic has found several key themes in
how people can go about finding more, long-lasting joy in life.
How much of our happiness can we actually
control?
Many
of us try to achieve happiness by accumulating more things in life that we
think will make us happy, like higher income or a stable family life. But as it
turns out, there's a scientific reason this strategy won't do us much good.
A
pretty large chunk of our happiness is genetic.
Several
studies done over the past decade estimate that anywhere between 30% and 80% of
our happiness s dictated by our genes. One large recent study of 20,000 pairs
of fraternal and identical twins (widely recognized as the easiest way to
separate the differences caused by nature and nurture) found that roughly 33%
of he variation in life satisfaction is explained by genetic differences.
Other
studies suggest that anywhere from 10% to 60% of our happiness comes from our
attitude and overall outlook on life.
If
you do the math, that means that just a fraction — about 10% of our happiness —
comes from external things that happen to us, including changes in our career,
relationships, or income.
So
while going after that promotion might seem like it'll make you happy, all that
stuff only chips away at the tip of the iceberg.
The "hedonic treadmill"
A
psychological phenomenon called the "hedonic adaptation" first coined
in the 1970s states that we all have a base level of happiness that's basically
unchangeable — regardless of what happens in our lives.
If
we get a job promotion, for example, we'll celebrate and feel good, but those
emotions are only temporary, the theory goes.
In
the early '90s, British psychologist Michael Eysenck likened this constant
starvation for more — and more and more — to a treadmill. Consequently, the
"hedonic adaptation" is more commonly known today as the
"hedonic treadmill."
"You're
running but you're on that treadmill and you're not getting anywhere in terms
of happiness," Zukerman says.
Eventually
that boost in happiness you get from a job promotion or marriage proposal will
abate, and you'll be back to the same baseline level of happiness you were
before the exciting change.
How
to make a change for the better
There
are lots of science-backed ways we can improve our overall well-being and grow
happier in the long-run. Here are just a few:
1.
Meditate: Multiple studies suggest that meditating — focusing intently and
quietly on the present for set periods of time — can help lessen feelings of
depression and anxiety.
2.
Go outside: One study found that a group of students sent into the trees for
two nights had lower levels of cortisol — a hormone often used as a marker for
stress — than those who spent the same two nights in a city.
3.
Get involved in cultural activities: A study that examined the anxiety,
depression, and life satisfaction of over 50,000 adults in Norway offered an
interesting link: People who participated in more cultural activities, like
attending a play or joining a club, reported lower levels of anxiety and
depression as well as a higher satisfaction with their overall quality of life.
4.
Spend money on others: A 2008 study gave 46 volunteers an envelope with money
in it wherein half were instructed to spend the money on themselves and the
other half put the money towards a charitable donation or gift for someone they
knew. The volunteers recorded their happiness level before receiving the
envelope and after spending the money by the end of that same day.
5.
Volunteer: In a recent review of 40 studies done over the last 20 years,
researchers found that one activity was far more important than the rest for
boosting psychological health: volunteering. This activity, the researchers
reported, had been found in many volunteers to be linked with a reduced risk of
depression, a higher amount of overall satisfaction, and even a reduced risk of
death from of a physical illness as a consequence of mental distress.
Conclusion:
If you're looking to get a mood boost that'll last you in the long-term, focus
on your state of mind in the present, be grateful for what you have, and stop
to enjoy it! You'll thank yourself a few minutes — or a few years — down the
road.
I LOVE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS FROM FILM..............
BLOGLAPEDIA’S
BLOGS
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture
for the blog of it
http://architecturefortheblogofit.blogspot.com/
THE ARTS
Art
for the Blog of It
http://artfortheblogofit.blogspot.com/
Art
for the Pop of it
http://artforthepopofit.blogspot.com/
Photography
for the blog of it
http://photographyfortheblogofit.blogspot.com/
Music
for the Blog of it
http://musicfortheblogofit.blogspot.com/
Sculpture
this and Sculpture that
http://sculpturethisandsculpturethat.blogspot.com/
The
art of War (Propaganda art through the ages)
http://theartofwarcleverhuh.blogspot.com/
Album
Art (Photographic arts)
http://albumartsocheesyitsgood.blogspot.com/
Pulp Fiction
Trash (The art of Pulp Fiction covers)
http://pulpfictiontrash.blogspot.com/
Admit
it, you want to Read this Book (The art of Pulp Fiction covers)
http://goaheadadmitityouwanttoread.blogspot.com/
FILM
The
Godfather Trilogy BlogSpot
http://thegodfathertrilogyblogspot.blogspot.com/
On
the Waterfront: The Making of a great American Film
http://onthewaterfrontthefilm.blogspot.com/
FOOD
Absolutely
blogalicious
http://absolutelyblogalicious.blogspot.com/
The
Wee Book of Irish Recipes (Book support site)
http://theweeblogofirishrecipes.blogspot.com/
Good
chowda (New England foods)
http://goodchowda.blogspot.com/
Old
New England Recipes (Book support site)
http://oldnewenglandrecipes.blogspot.com/
And I
Love Clams (New England foods)
http://andiloveclams.blogspot.com/
In
Praise of the Rhode Island Wiener (New England foods)
http://inpraiseoftherhodeislandwiener.blogspot.com/
Wicked
Cool New England Recipes (New England foods)
http://whickedcoolnewenglandrecipes.blogspot.com
Old
New England Recipes (New England foods)
http://oldnewenglandrecipes.blogspot.com
FOSTER CARE
Foster Care new and Updates
Aging out of the system
Murder, Death and Abuse in the
Foster Care system
Angel and Saints in the Foster
Care System
The Foster Children’s Blogs
Foster Care Legislation
The Foster Children’s Bill of
Right
Foster Kids own Story
The Adventures of Foster Kid.
HEALTH
Me
vs. Diabetes (Diabetes education site)
http://mevsdiabetes-bloglapedia.blogspot.com/
HISTORY
The
Quotable Helen Keller
http://thequotablehelenkeller.blogspot.com/
Teddy
Roosevelt's Letters to his children (Book support site)
http://teddyrooseveltsletterstohischildren.blogspot.com/
The
Quotable Machiavelli (Book support site)
http://thequotablemachiavelli.blogspot.com/
HUMOR
Whatever
you do, don't laugh
http://whateveryoudodontlaugh.blogspot.com/
The
Quotable Grouch Marx
http://thequotablegrouchmarx.blogspot.com/
IRISH-AMERICANA
A Big
Blog of Irish Literature
http://abigblogofirishliterature.blogspot.com/
The
Wee Blog of Irish Jokes (Book support blog)
http://theweeblogofirishjokes.blogspot.com/
The
Wee Blog of Irish Recipes
http://theweeblogofirishrecipes.blogspot.com/
The
Irish American Gangster
http://irishamericangangsters.blogspot.com
The
Irish in their Own Words
http://theirishintheirownwords.blogspot.com/
When
Washington Was Irish
http://whenwashingtonwasirish.blogspot.com/
The
Wee Book of Irish Recipes (Book support site)
http://theweeblogofirishrecipes.blogspot.com/
LITERATURE
Following
Fitzgerald
http://followingfitzgerald.blogspot.com/
Shakespeare
http://shakespeareinamericanenglish.blogspot.com/
The
Blogable Robert Frost
http://theblogablerobertfrost.blogspot.com/
Charles
Dickens
http://charlesdickensfan.blogspot.com/
The
Beat Poets of the Forever Generation
http://thebeatspoetsoftheforevergenera.blogspot.com/
Holden
Caulfield Blog Spot
http://holdencaulfieldblogspot.blogspot.com/
The
Quotable Oscar Wilde
http://thequotableoscarwilde.blogspot.com/
NEW ENGLAND BLOGS
The
Quotable Thoreau
http://thequotablethenrydavidthoreau.blogspot.com/
Old
New England Recipes
http://oldnewenglandrecipes.blogspot.com
Wicked
Cool New England Recipes
http://whickedcoolnewenglandrecipes.blogspot.com
Emerson
http://emersonsaidit.blogspot.com/
The
New England Mafia
http://thenewenglandmafia.blogspot.com/
And I
Love Clams
http://andiloveclams.blogspot.com/
In
Praise of the Rhode Island Wiener
http://inpraiseoftherhodeislandwiener.blogspot.com/
Watch
Hill
http://watchhillwesterly.blogspot.com/
York
Beach
http://yorkbeachfortheblogofit.blogspot.com/
The
Connecticut History Blog
http://connecticuthistory.blogspot.com/
The
Connecticut Irish
http://theconnecticutirish.blogspot.com/
Good
chowda
http://goodchowda.blogspot.com/
NOSTALGIA
God,
How I hated the 70s
http://godhowihatedthe70s.blogspot.com/
Child
of the Sixties Forever
http://childofthesixtiesforeverandever.blogspot.com/
The
Kennedy’s in the 60’s
http://thekennedysinthe60s.blogspot.com/
Music
of the Sixties Forever
http://musicofthesixtiesforever.blogspot.com/
Elvis
and Nixon at the White House (Book support site)
http://elvisandnixonatthewhitehouse.blogspot.com/
Beatles
Fan Forever
http://beatlesfanforever.blogspot.com/
Year
One, 1955
http://yearone1955.blogspot.com/
Robert
Kennedy in His Own Words
The
1980s were fun
http://the1980swereokayactually.blogspot.com/
The
1990s. The last decade.
http://1990sthelastdecade.blogspot.com/
ORGANIZED CRIME
The
Russian Mafia
http://russianmafiagangster.blogspot.com/
The
American Jewish Gangster
http://theamericanjewishgangster.blogspot.com/
The
Mob in Hollywood
http://themobinhollywood.blogspot.com/
We
Only Kill Each Other
http://weonlykilleachother.blogspot.com/
Early
Gangsters of New York City
http://earlygangstersofnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/
Al
Capone: Biography of a self-made Man
http://alcaponethebiographyofaselfmademan.blogspot.com/
The
Life and World of Al Capone
http://thelifeandworldofalcapone.blogspot.com/
The
Salerno Report
http://salernoreportmafiaandurderjohnkennedy.blogspot.com/
Guns
and Glamour
http://gunsandglamourthechicagomobahistory.blogspot.com/
The
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
http://thesaintvalentinesdaymassacre.blogspot.com/
Mob
Testimony
http://mobtestimony.blogspot.com/
Recipes
we would Die For
http://recipeswewoulddiefor.blogspot.com/
The
Prohibition in Pictures
http://theprohibitioninpictures.blogspot.com/
The
Mob in Pictures
http://themobinpictures.blogspot.com/
The
Mob in Vegas
http://themobinvegasinpictures.blogspot.com/
The
Irish American Gangster
http://irishamericangangsters.blogspot.com
Roger
Touhy Gangster
http://rogertouhygangsters.blogspot.com/
Chicago’s
Mob Bosses
http://chicagosmobbossesfromaccardoto.blogspot.com/
Chicago
Gang Land: It Happened Here
http://chicagoganglandithappenedhere.blogspot.com/
Whacked:
One Hundred years of Murder in Gangland
http://whackedonehundredyearsmurderand.blogspot.com/
The
Mob Across America
http://themobacrossamerica.blogspot.com/
Mob
Cops, Lawyers and Front Men
http://mobcopslawyersandinformantsand.blogspot.com/
Shooting
the Mob: Dutch Schultz
http://shootingthemobdutchschultz.blogspot.com/
Bugsy&
His Flamingo: The Testimony of Virginia Hill
http://bugsyandvirginiahill.blogspot.com/
After
Valachi. Hearings before the US Senate on Organized Crime
http://aftervalachi.blogspot.com/
Mob
Buster: Report of Special Agent Virgil Peterson to the Kefauver Committee (Book
support site)
http://virgilpetersonmobbuster.blogspot.com/
The
US Government’s Timeline of Organized Crime (Book support site)
http://timelineoforganizedcrime.blogspot.com/
The
Kefauver Organized Crime Hearings (Book support site)
http://thekefauverorganizedcrimehearings.blogspot.com/
Joe
Valachi's testimony on the Mafia (Book support site)
http://joevalachistestimonyonthemafia.blogspot.com/
Mobsters
in the News
http://mobstersinthenews.blogspot.com/
Shooting
the Mob: Dead Mobsters (Book support site)
http://deadmobsters.blogspot.com/
The
Stolen Years Full Text (Roger Touhy)
http://thestolenyearsfulltext.blogspot.com/
Mobsters
in Black and White
http://mobstersinblackandwhite.blogspot.com/
Mafia
Gangsters, Wiseguys and Goodfellas
http://mafiagangsterswiseguysandgoodfellas.blogspot.com/
Whacked:
One Hundred Years of Murder and Mayhem in the Chicago Mob (Book support site)
http://whackedonehundredyearsmurderand.blogspot.com/
Gangland
Gaslight: The Killing of Rosy Rosenthal (Book support site)
http://ganglandgaslightrosyrosenthal.blogspot.com/
The
Best of the Mob Files Series (Book support site)
http://thebestofthemobfilesseries.blogspot.com/
PHILOSOPHY
It’s
All Greek Mythology to me
http://itsallgreekmythologytome.blogspot.com/
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychologically
Relevant
http://psychologicallyrelevant.blogspot.com/
SNOBBERY
The
Rarifieid Tribe
http://therarifiedtribe.blogspot.com/
Perfect
Behavior
http://perfectbehavior.blogspot.com/
TRAVEL
The
Upscale Traveler
http://theupscaletraveler.blogspot.com/
TRIVIA
The
Mish Mosh Blog
http://theupscaletraveler.blogspot.com/
WASHINGTON DC
DC
Behind the Monuments
http://dcbehindthemonuments.blogspot.com/
Washington
Oddities
http://washingtonoddities.blogspot.com/
When
Washington Was Irish
http://whenwashingtonwasirish.blogspot.com/
FROM LLR BOOKS. COM
Litchfield Literary Books. A really small company run by
writers.
AMERICAN HISTORY
The Day
Nixon Met Elvis
Paperback 46 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Day-Nixon-Met-elvis/
Theodore
Roosevelt: Letters to his Children. 1903-1918
Paperback 194 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosevelt-Letters-Children-1903-1918/dp/
THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND CIVILIZATIONS
The Works
of Horace
Paperback 174 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Works-Horace-Richard-Willoughby/
The
Quotable Greeks
Paperback 234 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Greeks-Richard-W-Willoughby
The
Quotable Epictetus
Paperback 142 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Epictetus-Golden-Sayings
Quo
Vadis: A narrative of the time of Nero
Paperback 420 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quo-Vadis-Narrative-Time-Nero
CHILDRENS
BOOKS
The
Porchless Pumpkin: A Halloween Story for Children
A Halloween play for young children. By consent of the author,
this play may be performed, at no charge, by educational institutions,
neighborhood organizations and other not-for-profit-organizations.
A fun story with a moral
“I believe that Denny O'Day is an American treasure and this
little book proves it. Jack is a pumpkin who happens to be very small, by
pumpkins standards and as a result he goes unbought in the pumpkin patch on
Halloween eve, but at the last moment he is given his chance to prove that just
because you're small doesn't mean you can't be brave. Here is the point that I
found so wonderful, the book stresses that while size doesn't matter when it
comes to courage...ITS OKAY TO BE SCARED....as well. I think children need to
hear that, that's its okay to be unsure because life is a ongoing lesson isn't
it?”
Paperback: 42 pages
http://www.amazon.com/OLANTERN-PORCHLESS-PUMPKIN-Halloween-Children
BOOKS
ON FOSTER CARE
It's Not
All Right to be a Foster Kid....no matter what they tell you: Tweet the books
contents
Paperback 94 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Right-Foster-Kid-no-matter-what
From the Author
I spent my childhood, from age seven through seventeen, in
foster care. Over the course of those
ten years, many decent, well-meaning, and concerned people told me, "It's
okay to be foster kid."
In saying that, those very good people meant to encourage me,
and I appreciated their kindness then, and all these many decades later, I
still appreciate their good intentions. But as I was tossed around the foster
care system, it began to dawn on me that they were wrong. It was not all right to be a foster kid.
During my time in the system, I was bounced every eighteen
months from three foster homes to an orphanage to a boy's school and to a group
home before I left on my own accord at age seventeen.
In the course of my stay in foster care, I was severely beaten
in two homes by my "care givers" and separated from my four siblings
who were also in care, sometimes only blocks away from where I was living.
I left the system rather than to wait to age out, although the
effects of leaving the system without any family, means, or safety net of any
kind, were the same as if I had aged out. I lived in poverty for the first part
of my life, dropped out of high school, and had continuous problems with the
law.
Today, almost nothing
about foster care has changed. Exactly
what happened to me is happening to some other child, somewhere in America,
right now. The system, corrupt, bloated,
and inefficient, goes on, unchanging and secretive.
Something has gone wrong in a system that was originally a
compassionate social policy built to improve lives but is now a definitive
cause in ruining lives. Due to gross
negligence, mismanagement, apathy, and greed, mostly what the foster care
system builds are dangerous consequences. Truly, foster care has become our
epic national disgrace and a nightmare for those of us who have lived through
it.
Yet there is a suspicion among some Americans that foster care
costs too much, undermines the work ethic, and is at odds with a satisfying
life. Others see foster care as a part
of the welfare system, as legal plunder of the public treasuries.
None of that is true;
in fact, all that sort of thinking does is to blame the victims. There is not a single child in the system who
wants to be there or asked to be there.
Foster kids are in foster care because they had nowhere else to go. It's that simple. And believe me, if those kids could get out
of the system and be reunited with their parents and lead normal, healthy
lives, they would. And if foster care is a sort of legal plunder of the public
treasuries, it's not the kids in the system who are doing the plundering.
We need to end this
needless suffering. We need to end it
because it is morally and ethically wrong and because the generations to come
will not judge us on the might of our armed forces or our technological
advancements or on our fabulous wealth.
Rather, they will judge
us, I am certain, on our compassion for those who are friendless, on our
decency to those who have nothing and on our efforts, successful or not, to
make our nation and our world a better place.
And if we cannot accomplish those things in the short time allotted to
us, then let them say of us "at least they tried."
You can change the tragedy of foster care and here's how to do
it. We have created this book so that
almost all of it can be tweeted out by you to the world. You have the power to improve the lives of
those in our society who are least able to defend themselves. All you need is the will to do it.
If the American people,
as good, decent and generous as they are, knew what was going on in foster
care, in their name and with their money, they would stop it. But, generally speaking, although the public
has a vague notion that foster care is a mess, they don't have the complete
picture. They are not aware of the human, economic and social cost that the
mismanagement of the foster care system puts on our nation.
By tweeting the facts laid out in this work, you can help to
change all of that. You can make a
difference. You can change things for
the better.
We can always change the future for a foster kid; to make it
better ...you have the power to do that. Speak up (or tweet out) because it's
your country. Don't depend on the
"The other guy" to speak up for these kids, because you are the other
guy.
We cannot build a future for foster children, but we can build
foster children for the future and the time to start that change is today.
No time
to say Goodbye: Memoirs of a life in foster
Paperbook 440 Books
http://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Say-Goodbye-Memoir
BOOKS ABOUT FILM
On the
Waterfront: The Making of a Great American Film
Paperback: 416 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Waterfront-Making-Great-American-Film/
BOOKS ABOUT GHOSTS AND THE SUPERNATUAL
Scotish
Ghost Stories
Paperback 186 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Scottish-Ghost-Stories-Elliott-ODonell
HUMOR BOOKS
The Book
of funny odd and interesting things people say
Paperback: 278 pages
http://www.amazon.com/book-funny-interesting-things-people
The Wee
Book of Irish Jokes
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Series-Irish-Jokes-ebook
Perfect
Behavior: A guide for Ladies and Gentlemen in all Social Crises
http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Behavior-Ladies-Gentlemen-Social
BOOKS ABOUT THE 1960s
You Don’t
Need a Weatherman. Underground 1969
Paperback 122 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Weatherman-Notes-Weatherman-Underground-1969
Baby
Boomers Guide to the Beatles Songs of the Sixties
Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/Boomers-Guide-Beatles-Songs-Sixties/
Baby
Boomers Guide to Songs of the 1960s
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Boomers-Guide-Songs-1960s
IRISH- AMERICANA
The
Connecticut Irish
Paper back 140 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Irish-Catherine-F-Connolly
The Wee Book of Irish Jokes
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Series-Irish-Jokes-ebook/
The Wee
Book of Irish Recipes
http://www.amazon.com/The-Wee-Book-Irish-Recipes/
The Wee Book of the American-Irish Gangsters
http://www.amazon.com/The-Wee-Book-Irish-American-Gangsters/
The Wee book of Irish Blessings...
http://www.amazon.com/Series-Blessing-Proverbs-Toasts-ebook/
The Wee
Book of the American Irish in Their Own Words
http://www.amazon.com/Book-American-Irish-Their-Words/
Everything
you need to know about St. Patrick
Paperback 26 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-About-Saint-Patrick
A Reading
Book in Ancient Irish History
Paperback 147pages
http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Book-Ancient-Irish-History
The Book
of Things Irish
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Things-Irish-William-Tuohy/
Poets and
Dreamer; Stories translated from the Irish
Paperback 158 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Dreamers-Stories-Translated-Irish/
The
History of the Great Irish Famine: Abridged and Illustrated
Paperback 356 pages
http://www.amazon.com/History-Great-Irish-Famine-Illustrated/
BOOKS ABOUT NEW ENGLAND
The New
England Mafia
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-England-Mafia-ebook/
Wicked
Good New England Recipes
http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Good-New-England-Recipes/
The
Connecticut Irish
Paper back 140 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Irish-Catherine-F-Connolly
The
Twenty-Fifth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers
Paperback 64 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Fifth-Regiment-Connecticut-Volunteers-Rebellion
The Life
of James Mars
Paperback 54 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Life-James-Mars-Slave-Connecticut
Stories
of Colonial Connecticut
Paperback 116 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Colonial-Connnecticut-Caroline-Clifford
What they
Say in Old New England
Paperback 194 pages
http://www.amazon.com/What-they-say-New-England/
BOOK ABOUT ORGANIZED CRIME
Chicago
Organized Crime
Chicago-Mob-Bosses
http://www.amazon.com/Chicagos-Mob-Bosses-Accardo-ebook
The Mob
Files: It Happened Here: Places of Note in Chicago gangland 1900-2000
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mob-Files-1900-2000-ebook
An
Illustrated Chronological History of the Chicago Mob. Time Line 1837-2000
http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Chronological-History-Chicago-1837-2000/
Mob
Buster: Report of Special Agent Virgil Peterson to the Kefauver Committee
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Buster-Peterson-Committee-ebook/
The Mob
Files. Guns and Glamour: The Chicago Mob. A History. 1900-2000
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Files-Guns-Glamour-ebook/
Shooting
the Mob: Organized crime in photos. Crime Boss Tony Accardo
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-Organized-photos-Accardo/
Shooting
the Mob: Organized Crime in Photos: The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-Organized-Valentines-Massacre
The Life
and World of Al Capone in Photos
http://www.amazon.com/Life-World-Al-Capone
AL
CAPONE: The Biography of a Self-Made Man.: Revised from the 0riginal 1930
edition.Over 200 new photographs
Paperback: 340 pages
http://www.amazon.com/CAPONE-Biography-Self-Made-Over-photographs
Whacked.
One Hundred Years Murder and Mayhem in the Chicago Outfit
Paperback: 172 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Whacked-Hundred-Murder-Mayhem-Chicago/
Las
Vegas Organized Crime
The Mob
in Vegas
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Files-Vegas-ebook
Bugsy
& His Flamingo: The Testimony of Virginia Hill
http://www.amazon.com/Bugsy-His-Flamingo-Testimony-Virginia/
Testimony
by Mobsters Lewis McWillie, Joseph Campisi and Irwin Weiner (The Mob Files
Series)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Kennedy-Assassination-Ruby-Testimony-ebook
Rattling
the Cup on Chicago Crime.
Paperback 264 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Rattling-Cup-Chicago-Crime-Abridged
The Life
and Times of Terrible Tommy O’Connor.
Paperback 94 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Terrible-Tommy-OConnor
The Mob,
Sam Giancana and the overthrow of the Black Policy Racket in Chicago
Paperback 200 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Giancana-ovethrow-Policy-Rackets-Chicago
When
Capone’s Mob Murdered Roger Touhy. In Photos
Paperback 234 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Capones-Murdered-Roger-Touhy-photos
Organized
Crime in Hollywood
The Mob in Hollywood
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Files-Hollywood-ebook/
The Bioff
Scandal
Paperback 54 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Bioff-Scandal-Shakedown-Hollywood-Studios
Organized
Crime in New York
Joe Pistone’s war on the mafia
http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Petrosinos-War-Mafia-Files/
Mob
Testimony: Joe Pistone, Michael Scars DiLeonardo, Angelo Lonardo and others
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Testimony-DiLeonardo-testimony-Undercover/
The New
York Mafia: The Origins of the New York Mob
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Mafia-Origins
The New
York Mob: The Bosses
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Mob-Bosses/
Organized
Crime 25 Years after Valachi. Hearings before the US Senate
http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Crime-Valachi-Hearings-ebook
Shooting
the mob: Dutch Schultz
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-Organized-Photographs-Schultz
Gangland
Gaslight: The Killing of Rosy Rosenthal. (Illustrated)
http://www.amazon.com/Gangland-Gaslight-Killing-Rosenthal-Illustrated/
Early
Street Gangs and Gangsters of New York City
Paperback 382 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Early-Street-Gangs-Gangsters-York
THE RUSSIAN MOBS
The
Russian Mafia in America
http://www.amazon.com/The-Russian-Mafia-America-ebook/
The
Threat of Russian Organzied Crime
Paperback 192 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Threat-Russian-Organized-Crime-photographs-ebook
Organized
Crime/General
Best of
Mob Stories
http://www.amazon.com/Files-Series-Illustrated-Articles-Organized-Crime/
Best of
Mob Stories Part 2
http://www.amazon.com/Series-Illustrated-Articles-Organized-ebook/
Illustrated-Book-Prohibition-Gangsters
http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Book-Prohibition-Gangsters-ebook
Mob
Recipes to Die For. Meals and Mobsters in Photos
http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-For-Meals-Mobsters-Photos
More Mob
Recipes to Die For. Meals and Mobs
http://www.amazon.com/More-Recipes-Meals-Mobsters-Photos
The New
England Mafia
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-England-Mafia-ebook
Shooting
the mob. Organized crime in photos. Dead Mobsters, Gangsters and Hoods.
http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-mob-Organized-photos-Mobsters-Gangsters/
The
Salerno Report: The Mafia and the Murder of President John F. Kennedy
http://www.amazon.com/The-Salerno-Report-President-ebook/
The
Mob Files: Mob Wars. "We only kill each other"
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mob-Files-Wars-other/
The Mob
across America
http://www.amazon.com/The-Files-Across-America-ebook/
The US
Government’s Time Line of Organzied Crime 1920-1987
http://www.amazon.com/GOVERNMENTS-ORGANIZED-1920-1987-Illustrated-ebook/
Early
Street Gangs and Gangsters of New York City: 1800-1919. Illustrated
http://www.amazon.com/Gangsters-1800-1919-Illustrated-Street-ebook/
The Mob
Files: Mob Cops, Lawyers and Informants and Fronts
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mob-Files-Informants-ebook/
Gangster
Quotes: Mobsters in their own words. Illustrated
Paperback: 128 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Gangsters-Quotes-Mobsters-words-Illustrated/
The Book
of American-Jewish Gangsters: A Pictorial History.
Paperback: 436 pages
http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-American-Jewish-Gangsters-Pictorial/
The Mob
and the Kennedy Assassination
Paperback 414 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Mob-Kennedy-Assassination-Ruby-Testimony-Mobsters
BOOKS ABOUT THE OLD WEST
The Last
Outlaw: The story of Cole Younger, by Himself
Paperback 152 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Outlaw-Story-Younger-Himself
BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY
Chicago:
A photographic essay.
Paperback: 200 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Photographic-Essay-William-Thomas
STAGE PLAYS
Boomers
on a train: A ten minute play
Paperback 22 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Boomers-train-ten-minute-Play-ebook
Four
Short Plays
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Four-Short-Plays-William-Tuohy
Four More
Short Plays
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Four-Short-Plays-William-Tuohy/
High and
Goodbye: Everybody gets the Timothy Leary they deserve. A full length play
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/High-Goodbye-Everybody-Timothy-deserve
Cyberdate.
An Everyday Love Story about Everyday People
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Cyberdate-Everyday-Story-People-ebook/
The
Dutchman's Soliloquy: A one Act Play based on the factual last words of
Gangster Dutch Schultz.
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/Dutchmans-Soliloquy-factual-Gangster-Schultz/
Fishbowling
on The Last Words of Dutch Schultz: Or William S. Burroughs intersects with
Dutch Schultz
Print Length: 57 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Fishbowling-Last-Words-Dutch-Schultz-ebook/
American
Shakespeare: August Wilson in his own words. A One Act Play
By John William Tuohy
http://www.amazon.com/American-Shakespeare-August-Wilson-ebook
She
Stoops to Conquer
http://www.amazon.com/She-Stoops-Conquer-Oliver-Goldsmith/
The Seven
Deadly Sins of Gilligan’s Island: A ten minute play
Print Length: 14 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Deadly-Gilligans-Island-minute-ebook/
BOOKS ABOUT VIRGINIA
OUT OF
CONTROL: An Informal History of the Fairfax County Police
http://www.amazon.com/Control-Informal-History-Fairfax-Police/
McLean
Virginia. A short informal history
http://www.amazon.com/McLean-Virginia-Short-Informal-History/
THE QUOTABLE SERIES
The
Quotable Emerson: Life lessons from the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Over 300
quotes
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Emerson-lessons-quotes
The
Quotable John F. Kennedy
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-John-F-Kennedy/
The
Quotable Oscar Wilde
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Oscar-Wilde-lessons/
The
Quotable Machiavelli
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Machiavelli-Richard-Thayer/
The
Quotable Confucius: Life Lesson from the Chinese Master
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Confucius-Lesson-Chinese/
The
Quotable Henry David Thoreau
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Henry-Thoreau-Quotables-ebook
The
Quotable Robert F. Kennedy
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Robert-F-Kennedy-Illustrated/
The
Quotable Writer: Writers on the Writers Life
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quotable-Writer-Quotables-ebook
The words
of Walt Whitman: An American Poet
Paperback: 162 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Words-Walt-Whitman-American-Poet
Gangster
Quotes: Mobsters in their own words. Illustrated
Paperback: 128 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Gangsters-Quotes-Mobsters-words-Illustrated/
The
Quotable Popes
Paperback 66 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Popes-Maria-Conasenti
The
Quotable Kahlil Gibran with Artwork from Kahlil Gibran
Paperback 52 pages
Kahlil Gibran, an artist, poet, and writer was born on January
6, 1883 n the north of modern-day Lebanon and in what was then part of Ottoman
Empire. He had no formal schooling in Lebanon. In 1895, the family immigrated
to the United States when Kahlil was a young man and settled in South Boston.
Gibran enrolled in an art school and was soon a member of the avant-garde
community and became especially close to Boston artist, photographer, and
publisher Fred Holland Day who encouraged and supported Gibran’s creative
projects. An accomplished artist in drawing and watercolor, Kahlil attended art
school in Paris from 1908 to 1910, pursuing a symbolist and romantic style. He
held his first art exhibition of his drawings in 1904 in Boston, at Day's
studio. It was at this exhibition, that Gibran met Mary Elizabeth Haskell, who
ten years his senior. The two formed an important friendship and love affair
that lasted the rest of Gibran’s short life. Haskell influenced every aspect of
Gibran’s personal life and career. She became his editor when he began to write
and ushered his first book into publication in 1918, The Madman, a slim volume
of aphorisms and parables written in biblical cadence somewhere between poetry
and prose. Gibran died in New York City on April 10, 1931, at the age of 48
from cirrhosis of the liver and tuberculosis.
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Kahlil-Gibran-artwork/
The
Quotable Dorothy Parker
Paperback 86 pages
The
Quotable Machiavelli
Paperback 36 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Machiavelli-Richard-L-Thayer
The
Quotable Greeks
Paperback 230 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Greeks-Richard-W-Willoughby
The
Quotabe Oscar Wilde
Paperback 24 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Oscar-Wilde-lessons-words/
The
Quotable Helen Keller
Paperback 66 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Helen-Keller-Richard-Willoughby
The Art
of War: Sun Tzu
Paperback 60 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Confucius-Lesson-Chinese-Quotables-ebook
The
Quotable Shakespeare
Paperback 54 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Shakespeare-Richard-W-Willoughby
The
Quotable Gorucho Marx
Paperback 46 pages
http://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Groucho-Marx-Devon-Alexander