I became the custodian of a suitcase full of family photos of people I’d never met.
I was intrigued by the 8 X 10 of the man who looked like George Raft, a popular actor in the 1930’s.
My Dad recognized the man as Uncle Max, his mother’s brother, a butcher by trade, who lived with my grandparents and paid his rent in beef and chicken.
I’ve begun to submit my site to search engines. It will take several weeks for me to show up in cyberspace, so this is a good time to tell this story.
I may be one of the few Americans flying under the Department of Justice radar screen. If the major search engines don’t know I exist yet, then I’m free - at least for now.
So here goes:
Uncle Max was a card carrying member of the Communist Party. His political commitment cost him his marriage, and maybe his job.
My mother’s mother, Rose, was a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. She and my Mom made sure I knew the names Eugene Victor Debs and August Claessens.
When I was in first or second grade, my Dad who worked at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, went out on strike with his fellow union members. I remember my parents saying, “Never cross a picket line.” I had no clue what a picket line was, but I was determined never to cross one.
As a member of the Guilford High School Conservation Club, I was a student delegate at Town of Guilford Conservation Commission meetings. That group successfully established dedicated open space, West Woods (1967), which is still enjoyed by residents and visitors.
In 1970 I designed and launched the first Earth Day program at Guilford High School, involving the Biology Club, the Debate Team and local town representatives.
I graduated UCONN in 1974, long before it Rebecca Lobo put this school on the map. During my college years, 1970-73, I protested the Vietnam War, both on my political radio show and by boarding a bus to Washington DC. Some other topics covered on my WHUS-FM radio show included the Equal Rights Amendment, Abortion (it wasn’t legal back then), and Earth Day.
In addition to my political radio show, I had a drive-time Blues program, Blues Roots which introduced listeners to Robert Johnson (Love In Vain), and Willie Mae Thornton (Ball and Chain).
One of my first jobs after I graduated from UCONN was administrative work at Yale University. When the maintenance workers went on strike, I brought them cold water and orange juice. I couldn’t strike, since I wasn’t a union member. My supervisors were not happy with my compassion for the maintenance workers.
Jesse Jackson is the only political candidate ever to receive a cash donation from me.
I traveled to Cuba three times as a delegate to the Latin American Film Festival. I shook hands with Fidel Castro, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Harry Belafonte.
When I lived in New York, I voted for Al Sharpton. I didn’t necessarily agree with his platform. I just know that he represent under-represented Americans and would have had an impact on Washington DC.
If you know something about American history, you can draw some of your own conclusions about some of the other aspects of American life that I experienced.
Google that, George Bush.