Tick another one off the bucket list...

Accidentally came across Linda's "Bucket List" while I was helping
her search for her reading glasses (they were around her neck on a
cord, as it turned out).  Although I didn't want to be snoopy, I did
manage to see the first several items before I heard her coming down
the hallway had to quickly close the drawer. (Note: When I
checked back the next day while "looking for a pen," the list was
gone, dammit). 

Anyway, this is what I remember from that fleeting glance (note:
they may be a bit out of order)... 

-  Grow up in a Mexican family in 1960s racist, blue-collar Taylor, MI ✔

-  Attend the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City (after driving all the way there
from Michigan).  Then drive all the way back.  (With my parents.) ✔

-  Somehow overcome a suspect education at Taylor High; earn a
 grant to study at U of M ✔

- Enroll in art school at U of M; become a doctor ✔

- Marry into an elite family from racist, white-collar West Dearborn, MI ✔

- Research husband's family's confederate, slave-owning Southern roots ✔

-  Have two children:  one a lawyer in Chicago, the other a designer in
 NYC/Paris ✔

- Accidentally lock myself into a public restroom in Ecuador ✔

-  Go to law school myself, what the hell ✔

-  Meet Monchy and Alexandra, the Dominican Bachata singers ✔

-  Survive a collision with a deer just two blocks from the house (be driving
husband's car at the time, so no biggie) ✔

-  Make a 100-year-old woman my BFF ✔

-  Buy tons of American Girl Doll stuff for my daughters (but not until they're
 in their 20s) ✔

- Take my sweet, elderly Mexican immigrant half-sister Angie -- who has rarely
  left Taylor except for random trips back to Mexico since she arrived in the U.S.
  in 1951 -- on the vacation of a lifetime to Paris

-  Completely forget that I have them on and wear my new Halfinger
    indoor/outdoor slippers to work ✔

- Take an accordion lesson from the legendary Riobard O'Dwyer in
 Eyeries Village, County Cork, Ireland ✔

Linda and Riobard, Eyeries Village, County Cork


All the Best on Your Big Day, Linda!

DS: Upfront and Personal...

"Somehow Delicate Steve got some air time via these short
documentary-style clips...pretty cool how this stuff gets created
and then put 'out there' (all thanks to basic tools of the digital generation)..."
MJ Marion, 1/29/12

Part 1:  http://www.noisey.com/watch/meet-delicate-steve

Part 2:  http://www.noisey.com/watch/wondervisions

Part 3:  http://www.noisey.com/watch/butterfly

Sent from my iPhone
Ed. note: This little "brag line" is Apple's nefarious and not-so-subtle way of attempting
to shame owners of lesser phones into upgrading to an iphone of their own.  Insofar as
nobody cares where their email comes from and only naive "newbies" retain this empty
declaration, I recommend that all iphone owners disable this signature by going to...
Settings>>Mail, Contacts, Calendar>> Signature >*erase everything*    

And finally:  Until Christmas 2012, MJ's cell phone was of the super-clunky,
bag variety (see below).  Now that he's finally - at long last - upgraded to the aforementioned
iphone, he'll be able to provide us with more timely content, and for that, we are grateful.

Mike's cell phone until his recent iphone upgrade.
Purchased in 1995, it gave him 17 years of uninterrupted
service (uninterrupted, that is, unless he was actually
talking to you on the contraption).

The Verdict is in...

Say it ain't so, Ho.

And now for the rest of the story on old Doc Weinblatt, whose
years of pediatric service to the Ann Arbor community included
  watching over the health of a couple of of thumbsucking droolers  
named Mavourneen and Amira.


Ensign Kiyoshi Ogawa, who flew his aircraft
 into the USS Bunker Hill during a Kamikaze
 mission  on 11 May 1945. 

Sadly, Dr. W has crashed hard and continues to burn, and like a
 dedicated kamakazi pilot, there's no turning back now
 for the poor sod...

To read all about it, click HERE.

Note:  For original story, scroll down to Older Posts at the bottom
and go to December 9.

More on Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch Chia...

Click pic for more info.

NOTE:  A few days ago (1/23/12), I added a post about chia, the
 super-nutritious "wonder" seed that nobody had a clue about.
 (Except for, as we learned, the Marions of Newton, who have been
 eating it "for years," enjoying, as a result, alarmingly good health
 and retaining their youthful energy and good looks long after the
 rest of us, totally in the dark, have continued, ironically, to
 go to seed.  Thanks for nothing Mike, Donna....

Here is some nutritional info about chia that I dug up while writing a

press release for the al dente pasta company which is preparing to

introduce BonaChia, a new line of pasta made with chia seeds...

al dente's latest line

"Better known in its most whimsical form as a “made for tv” plant

 (everybody knows the Chia Pet), Chia is actually categorized as a superfood

 in the culinary world.  This means that not only does it taste good in
 our pasta, it’s also good for you.

"Chia, in fact, is really good for you:  Gram for gram, it truly

 stands alone with twice the protein of any other seed or grain; five
 times more  calcium than milk; more fiber than bran cereal; twice the
potassium of bananas; three time more iron than spinach;
and more antioxidants than blueberries.   What’s more, Chia is
 nutritionally superior to flax and soy and possesses the

richest non-marine whole food source of dietary fiber and Omega-3."

Incidentally, I did a little checking around and found that chia seeds
were available at the Ann Arbor Food Co-op for $13+ per pound.
  That seemed ridiculous, so I googled it and found any number
 of sources online for far less.  I ended up ordering from getchia.com

and got a 3-pound bag like the one above for $19.99 (AKA, $20). 
 So that came out to $6.66 a pound, much better.  The shipping was
 free and fast, and two or three days later, we had our chia. 
I then immediately tossed some in bread dough and ended up with
 this loaf...Delicious AND, as the tightlipped Marions of Newton have
known "for years," filled with nutrition.

See those little black specks?  Chia seeds.

(A very smart addition to a basic white bread.)

Another reason to support your local NPR station...

Just out:  A brilliant new collaboration by a group called Caller and our own

 Delicate Steve (the eponymous member of which is, by the way, currently

 wandering about Inda seeking inspiration and ever-hotter curry --

more on that when we get more on that). 

In the meanitme, click "NPR" below to read all about this musical union

and have a listen to Further Out, their just-released new song...

NPR

A truly sheepish look.

Hangin' out on The Ring of Beara, near the ancestral homes of our

forefathers and foremothers, the O'Briens and the (Harrington) Greens.

Found this short video from ABC News. Very much mirrors the O'Brien saga...

Click HERE.

Not for the Squeamish...

Warning:  Hard to watch.  Question:  Where do they all go?  Click HERE.

The next big thing in nutrition?

Or just a foolish fad?  Actually, the Chia Pet is a

ridiculous fad (that won't go away), especially

absurd in that if we had been eating the seeds

instead of growing them on the backs of terra cotta

bulls all these years, we'd all be healthier.

Aztec runners ate chia seeds for energy.  It's 

considered one of the Ancient Grains (i.e.,

spelt, amaranth, quinoa, millet, einkorn,

  triticale, emmer, teff, and a few others).

Fast forwarding to the present day, NFL
 star Ray Rice is a chia pioneer.

So there IS something to the story. 

Stay tuned
 for more, including a shot of my new 5-seed 
(chia, sesame, flax, poppy, sunflower)
buckwheat-bran bread. Unreal. And some
impressive nutritional info.

Click HERE to view one of the original (and corny)

Chia Pet commercials.

Remembering Rose...

Rose Yazembiak, circa 1942

"When she was 17, my mother left home and headed to Erie, the biggest

 city in the region. Erie was just 20 miles up the road from Edinboro (PA),

but  it was a whole new world for her.  She moved in with her married

 older sister Mary and began waitressing at a local restaurant.

"As custom required, she sent most of her earnings to her parents,

but for her, that was a small price to pay for being away from the

 drudgery and endless toil of the farm.  In truth, by then, she had

 developed such a distaste for farm life that as a young, eligible

 woman, she wouldn’t even date a farmer. 

She wasn’t taking any chances!"

Char LaCasse, from her remembrances of her mother, Rose, written for

Rose's memorial last spring.  Rose died on 1/6/2011 and would have turned

 88 today, 1/17/2012.

MLK Day?! HE would not be amused...

Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI, circa 1950s - Orville Hubbard, the bigoted, bloated, bad boy mayor of Dearborn

An entire day dedicated to the life of a black man!?  "WTF!" old Mayor
Hubbard would  have exclaimed, had he not died in 1982, one year before
 President  Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law.  

Orvie ruled the city with an iron fist for 36 years, keeping Dearborn
 "lily white" for most of that time, much to the satisfaction of the
 electorate.  Otherwise, how would he have lasted so long? 

(Aside:  This electorate included our own parents, neighbors,
fellow parishioners, etc., etc.  Could it be that we moved to
 Dearborn in the first place because of its reputation and
 WJM's  deep-rooted connection to the South?!  He was,
 after all, born and raised in aggressively segregationist
 Alabama.  Just wondering aloud; alas, we'll never know....)

  In fact, according  to local legend, blacks had to be out of town by

 nightfall, or else....  And Camp Dearborn, a summer "resort" for
residents-only located in Milford, about an hour northwest
of the city?  It, too, remained all white during his corrupt reign.

Click HERE to read more about the diabolical
 "Dictator of Dearborn" who strove always to
 Keep Dearborn Clean (wink-wink, nod-nod)

Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King

HB, Donna!

MJM Photography, January 2012

Newton, NJ - Time marches on...which is exactly why humans jog on,
 as they do their best to stave off the effects of all that accursed marching.
Hats off to the Birthday Girl for her continued and successful efforts in
this regard. 

As Eleanor Roosevelt, that legendary jogger, famously said:  "I could not,
 at any age, be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and
 simply look on."  Nor, clearly, can Donna.

Mrs. Roosevelt, out for a jog with her constant companion
Ratso.  She was never content to merely "sit by the fireside,"
though Ratso surely was, the poor bugger.  Much to his annoyance,
the little beast was constantly forced to leave said fireside only to
 be led around on a leash by the old lady.  Such is the life of a dog.

All the Best on Your Big Day, Donna!

Logan discovered this really oddball brand in Montreal...

JPM Photography, copyright 2011

And he appears to be 'head over heels' about it.

Click the Pic for verification.

He also sent me a photo of the jam he had

 presumably slathered onto his toast that morning,

complaining that it was really sour (NOT!)...

Researching further, I found that you can also get these...

Note:  Amira Lima Beans (Flatulence Level 19 on the

20-level Petard Scale) are well-known throughout

 Upper Canada for being "extra farty," a desireable,

warming, truly beneficial trait during those endlessly

brutal Northern winter nights.  It is also the only brand

 endorsed by the International Flatulist Association

(AKA, the IFA).

And finally, while we're on the subject, we have irrefutable
proof that fact is, indeed, stranger than fiction...

CLICK HERE.

______________________________________________________________

Click HERE to order AMIRA products of your very own....

______________________________________________________________

HB, Annie...!

 

Detroit, 1989 - Annie, the center of attention, with her adoring cousins, their trainer, AND
(look closely) a guest appearance by young and waifish MMM.

Ahhh yes, another year has elbowed its way by. Time to
take stock and celebrate the new one that has snuck up
and taken its place. It's also time to hope that there's
far more enjoy than annoy in this day for The
Birthday Girl. As a transplant from Northern
California now living in deepest, darkest Iowa, she
needs and deserves very special treatment today.

All the Best all day (and night) long, Annie!

Discovery...

Gr Grandpa Pat...RIP

Just before the holidays (you remember the holidays, right?
Those two weeks not too long ago that evaporated like a couple
 of nano-seconds?). Anyway, just before all the commotion took over,
 I got an email from a guy up in the Keeweenaw who volunteers on the
Hecla Cemetery Project** in Laurium, MI, Martha Mary (O'Brien)
 Marion's birthplace.  The O'Briens lived in the Copper Country for nigh
 on 50 years, and some died there as well.  (Mom was born there, but the
family moved immediately down to Detroit, so she had no memories
whatsoever of that area.)


Pat and Mary's first two children (William and John -- GREAT names)
died in infancy in Boston, but have headstones in the Hecla cemetery. (The
newlyweds, just over from County Cork, probably couldn't afford proper
 burials for the boys at the time -- can you say "pauper's grave?" --
and this was their "make good").


.  The next two, Daniel and Mary Ellen, also born in Boston, survived infancy
and made the arduous trip to Northern Michigan with their parents in the early
 1860s, but it didn't end well for them either.  Daniel was killed at 14 in an
 accident at Cliff Mine, and Mary Ellen died at 17.  How she died was not
 passed down. We do know that it could have been anything from...

"...fits, brain fever, childbirth, consumption, liver complaint,
cold on lungs, typhoid fever, whooping cough, dropsy, nervous
 asthenia, poisoning by tainted meat, drowned  in old shaft,
bowel complaint, water on the brain, spotted fever, convulsions, 
scarlett fever, blood poisoning, innervation, pleuresy, measles,
 killed from the kick of horse,  frozen to death...."
(As reported by The Record of Deaths
for Keeweenaw County, circa 1870s) 

In any case, in 2006, the volunteers of the Hecla Cemetery Project discovered,
 dug out, and cleaned up the two stones containing the names of the four O'Brien
children (John and Daniel are on one stone, William and Mary Ellen are on the
other - it's called economizing), but Patrick's had not yet been found, and we had
 no idea where the O'Brien family patriarch had been laid to rest. That changed
 last year when volunteer Greg Sloviak, searching for the gravestones
 of his own ancestors, came upon Patrick's.


So now we know.  And the man who left Ireland in the wake of the
Potato Famine, started a family with Mary Harrington Green, worked
most of his life underground, and then died underground in a mining
accident himself, can finally rest in peace....


**The Hecla Cemetery Project is dedicated to restoring what has been for
decades a derelict, decaying, downtrodden burial grounds.  Thanks to
its volunteer staff, the headstones of our five O'Brien ancestors have
been rescued from oblivion.

Sayonara to the Season...

Christmas Morning Mimosa, 2011

It descended upon us suddenly (it seems), and just
as suddenly, it's gone.  Oh well...let's watch
some bowl games! Wait.  There ARE no bowl games
today.  HUH?!  How did THAT happen??!!  (GD BCS.)