Portland, Oregon, 97221-3505
15 December 1989
This is an opportunity long sought to find a position not connected in any way with the military, which I heartily detest, or the government, which I have detested for its callousness since 1981. The historian Arnold Toynbee said that if America ever went fascist, it wouldn't be to a strident voice like Hitler's, but to a soothing voice like Arthur Godfrey's. Was he ever right! Bush is no better than Reagan, if less pathetically stupid. The "War on Drugs" will make the middle class uncomfortable while the reaganistas undermine our civil liberties. And never forget that this country is still spending $1.5 million a day funding Nazi-type death squads and dropping shrapnel bombs on poor peasants in El Salvador at the behest of American Big Money. Now these macho rambo idiots are afraid that peace might actually break out in Europe. Theyneed war and the threat of war to keep the gravy flowing their way.
A big plus in the move to Oregon, is that I can afford to own a home (California has long been prey to greed and speculation, and mere wage-earners can no longer afford a decent home). So, I have bought a four-bedroom "Suburban Splndor" split level, with two can accommodate a larger household (and visitors! do come!) in the future.
An even bigger plus is that my commute to work is reduced from 40 miles, 110 minutes one way to 6 miles, 15 minutes. With all the time added to my schedule, I should be able to take up more exercise, spend time on singing, and live a more healthful lifestyle. In preparation for this, I managed to lose nearly 25 pounds in a month eating Nutri-System styro-food. Eating in restaurants has brought back some of this, but soon I will have a kitchen.
The AIDS epidemic is still cutting a wide path of destruction through my network of friends, this year coming home to my San Francisco household where housemate Gary Compton died 26 September after a mercifully brief final illness. I lost two other friends this year as well. Gary was a good friend and I will miss him very much. The experience of being responsible for some of his care, however briefly, brought home to me especially that Bush's cheerleading for voluntarism is no more than his evasion of responsibility. The poor are expected to care for each other (poorly) while the wealthy parasites who call the shots in this country continue to extract billions in wealth from those who produce it. And they don't share much of it, either. Bush is proposing further tax cuts on un-earned income of those who make more than $200,000 a year! Heroism is now an everyday part of life in San Francisco's gay community, but heroes burn out if they are not backed up by time, money, and expertise from the federal government.
The other major event that I participated in was a concert tour of the Soviet Union by "Slavyanka" men's slavic chorus. After rehearsing with the group for a year, we spent a total of 16 days and nine concerts in the USSR. However, the last rehearsal before the tour was interrupted by:
ack in the USSR, the earthquake had unexpected consequences as the good Russians organized an earthquake relief concert for San Francisco shortly after our arrival, so an extra concert was wedged into out schedule (at the expense of touring the Kremlin, boo! hiss!) so that we could appear on Moscow TV and CBS Sunday Night news, dead of fatigue and 10-hour jetlag. I also discovered that I could navigate the Moscow subway system while being three sheets to the wind after an evening at the Uzbekhistan, even while giving crtical commentary on the station designs and decor!
The tour got better after the forced march through Moscow, and we got to relax into a more balanced chedule in the historic capitals of Vladimir and Suzdal', the Ukrainian capital Kiev, and Leningrad on the Neva. Kiev was experiencing a surge of nationalism, as the Supreme Soviet had just made Ukrainian the official language after 72 years of cultural subservience to Russian. A musical highlight of the tour was being permitted to sing "Blazhen Muzh'" in the cave chapel of St. Theodosius in Monastery of the Caves, along with the monks who now reside there. In Leningrad, we got to sing in the Glinka Kapella and the Philharmonic Hall, both rich in musical history. It was quite an experience to take the same stage where Wagner and Liszt conducted and where Tchaikowsky premiered his Sixth Symphony.
Alas, only a morning to see the "gems of the gems" in the Hermitage. Where else can you be in a roomful of Van Gogh's and feel that they aren't quite the sam as the two Leonardos and twenty-two Rembrandts that you just saw. I shall have to return to Leningrad in Summer.
It is certainly true that the average Russian has to deal with shortages of basic goods on a continuing basis. I expected to find a late 1930's consumer economy, and found a late teens one instead. For intellectuals, times are good, as freedom of expression has essentially been restored, and people can read severe criticisms of the state in daily papers. However, the consumer economy continues to deteriorate, arguably as the local party hacks who have not yet been booted out (although local elections next April may change this) engineer shortages and loot the economy for personal benefit while they still have power. Still, it is fair to say that only a minority of Soviet citizens want anything like the cut-throat capitalist system we have. Perhaps something more like the social democracies of Scandinavia may be a more likely long term goal.
I was just leaving Helsinki as Eastern Europe was experiencing a rapid transition from Communist monopoly to at least some form of democratic pluralism. This is astoundingly good news! I only wish the US response was less half-hearted and, dare I say "wimpy!" We'd do a lot more good with a $40 Billion aid package than with two gold-plated aircraft carriers, but guess which ones we're going to get. And we could save $100-plus billion by bringing most of the GI's home from Europe and letting Western Europe defend itself from an ever-diminishing threat! But those same idiot Ramboes are stuck at the controls. Don't blame me, I didn't vote for them!
The intense part of the year was caused by most of the above events (weight loss, Gary's illness, eathquake, USSR exchange and tour, job and household move) being compressed into the three months between Sept 10 and Dec 10! I need a vacation!!!! I will be home (in Pensylvania) for the holidays, so at least someone else will do the cooking! (Thanks, Mom!)
That about wraps it up. Business trips to Chapel Hill, N.C. and Boston (where I gave part of a tutorial at a national computer graphics meeting) and a road trip to Idaho, Nevada, and the Rainbow Family Gathering in July added some respite to the intensity.
My health is good, and my spirits better than ever, even as the fog closes in and the sun winds down toward its yearly nadir. I don't even need full-spectrum mood bulbs! Life and Livelihood are all much better than ever. Love is good, too, though that special person (whom I did not find in San Francisco; my heart is here) is still waiting in the wings, yet to take the stage...
Peace, health, and happiness, to you and yours, for many blessed and happy years! Na Mnogaya L'eta!
David Kerlick