Yes! Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is Open

We have just returned from a two day tour of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument sponsored by the Western National Parks Association. The Monument  has had some bad publicity in recent years because of its closeness to the border; if you are interested, you can get a rundown of  "the troubles" in the newspaper article cited just below. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/fighting-drugs-border-violence-arizona-organ-pipe-cactus-132342614.html .  On the other hand, as of January 2014, things have clearly changed for the better.  Nowhere in our recent visit were we aware of anything but a dedicated Ranger staff and a magnificent desert wilderness. All I can say is "y'all come, it's waiting for you."

There's no question that our positive experience was enhanced by two top notch guides, in addition to Susan Cross, our Western Parks organizer. Guide one was author and historian Bill Broyles, who literally has written the book on Organ Pipe. Check it out at      ISBN 1-877856-69-X
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/187785669X/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

 

     
Guide #2 was retired Organ Pipe ranger, Caroline Wilson.
   



 

Both were accessible, personable, and above all knowledgeable.

Our two day excursion began in Tucson where we boarded our coach and headed west on historic Hwy 86. 

 

  

 

We stopped briefly at the restored stage stop at Three Points (Robles Ranch Junction). For a bit more history of that spot check out  http://www.azplanning.org/newsltr/June%202002.pdf  

 

A bit later we drove past Kitt Peak  and its famous Observatory. 



Lunch found us in Sells, AZ, where the Desert Rain Café served up local delights including my pork  ribs, beans, and salad.

 

Then it was on to the Tohono O'odham Cultural Center and Museum.

The Center was located on this site because of the views of Baboquivari Peak, which is sacred to the tribe. A cave atop the mountain is home to I'itoli, their Creator and Elder Brother.  See more here about that story.  http://climbing.about.com/od/mountainclimbing/a/Facts-About-Baboquivari-Peak.htm 

 

 At the center we listened to a number of presentations on tribal history and Native American crafts. Joe Joaquin, a Korean War hero and tribal elder made some fascinating comments about the continued efforts to repatriate both land and tribal artifacts.   

 

Bernard and Maria also helped us understand the nature of the Tohono O'odham and their crafts.

Just before we left, our bus driver Paul, offered to snap a shot of Jan and me in front of an intricate fence constructed entirely of mesquite logs.

 

 Later that afternoon we pulled into Ajo and the La Siesta motel. 

 

Ajo is to some degree defined by its gigantic slag or tailing piles left behind by a now closed copper mine.

Dinner was at the Estrella Diner, which proved to be more of an eclectic international restaurant than a diner.  My wife had a salmon burger with delicious sweet potato fries. One of our table mates had a German bratwurst plate smothered with kraut, and I settled for a quesadilla with a tangy homemade salsa. There was also a nice wine list and a great selection of beers including a milk stout that  I  sampled to great satisfaction.

 

Bright and early the next morning we breakfasted at a real diner called Marcela's. Our group literally filled the place and it did take them a while to get everyone served, but no one walked away hungry. Each plate was stacked with French toast, eggs, sausage, and bacon.




Fully fortified we now headed for Organ Pipe itself.   

 

 

We inspected our first Organ Pipe Cactus up close at the Visitor Center

 

 

 

 

Then, after some introductory remarks,

 

 

 we piled into two ranger driven vans to navigate the 21 mile unpaved Ajo Mountain Drive. It would be a lie to say it was a comfortable ride, but there was something new beyond each bump. 

 

We were treated to vistas that rolled on all the way to Mexico in the distance.

 

 

 

At another stop we got a thorough lecture on the Organ Pipe life cycle and its basic structure.

 

 

This guy listened intently but took no notes.


We saw some rare cactus Cristates  (Crested) and even one nestled in the center of  an Organ Pipe.

 

 

 We also picked up some geology along the way.  The lighter bands in the rock are tuff--a volcanic deposit in between other layers. 

In now dry washes such as the one below early inhabitants may have planted crops along side of rivers that flowed more frequently than now.



And we got a view of an equally rare double natural arch.

 

 

A definite highlight came when Bill Broyles led us off-trail to one of those spots treasured by every plant and creature in the desert--an open water source.  Incredibly the ponds are filled with marine life--even shrimp.  How they survive through periods when the water dries completely up is one of those evolutionary miracles that makes the desert fascinating.

There were actually two little ponds.  The lower one  had actually been dammed at some point. 

 

 

 

 All too soon we had to return to our own tour bus for the three hour drive back to Tucson.

In sum a most enchanting and educational trip.  Thanks again to the Western National Park Association for adding these opportunities to their already wide list of services. Check them out at http://www.wnpa.org/default_html.asp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arcadia Surfaces Again

Some years ago I christened this blog "Stirring The Pudding" because of my admiration for Tom Stoppard and his marvelous play Arcadia. My wife and I had seen the play in London and I was immediately moved to want to direct it. It had that marked combination of intellectual depth combined with humor that has always appealed to me. Stoppard's work ever since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead  gave us its opening series of existential coin flips has been on my bucket list of titles. Both plays show a fascination with mathematics as well philosophy.  Both ironically, while making pronouncements of indeterminacy, futility, decay, and chaos, illustrate that the theatre can do what physics cannot.  In life you cannot remove the color of the jam once stirred into a pudding. Time is irreversible and the 2nd law of thermodynamics ensures that tea, once poured, will only cool. On the stage outcomes  are pre-determined and you can go back and forth in time and space seamlessly.

I did end up directing Arcadia in the late 1990's and it became one of my favorite productions.  Upon our arrival in Tucson two weeks ago, we saw that the Rogue Theatre was doing it and scrambled to get a pair of tickets.  

And guess what, you can re-stir the pudding in your imagination.  Yesterday I re-lived my own production of the play while seeing another production of it. At times I could see my cast members and hear their voices; at other times the superlative cast of the Rogue company took over the narrative.  All I know is at the finish I could waltz again with the past while still acknowledging that life can only move forward not back.

A heartfelt thank you to this fine group of actors and their talented director Cynthia Meier for demonstrating so fully the power of the theatre to make us laugh, love, think, and feel. 

Special kudos goes to the entire Rogue Theatre organization and its supporters. What a kind and friendly group.  We were met with smiles and conversation by staff and audience members alike.
The cast was accessible after the show and the talkback was spontaneous and energetic.  People who treat customers like this are not only fine artists but also commercial managers of the first order.

If you should find yourself in Tucson, look no further for great theatre than The Rogue Theatre.

Helsinki beyond the Harbor

Most visitors to Helsinki, Finland arrive by cruise ship and have only a few precious hours to spend in the city.  This means they can seldom do more than visit the waterfront market and make their way up to the Cathedral Square.  These are exciting and lovely but represent only a small part of Helsinki's charm. 

With a little more time you can manage a walk along the Esplanade, a ride on one of the many tram lines, and visits to some of the major sites. 

A Figgy Pudding to Stir for Christmas

Volume XXXX                                                                                                                                             Dec. 25, 2013

Christmas 2013

“True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” Kurt Vonnegut

True terror may also be that you realize you have been writing this letter for forty years.  In December, 1973, I wrote, “We’ve returned from our year in London and have been spending the last few months going through the typical cultural re-entry shock that goes with any foreign experience.”   This summer, returning from Finland, we went through that re-entry for the umpteenth time. It still carries conflicting emotions. We are happy to return to our own comfy cocoon in Monmouth, yet also chagrined that so many here in this country still seem to believe that people in foreign lands could not possibly have better health care,  education, or a better standard of living than an American.  Don’t get me wrong.  Needy is still needy wherever you are and by any standard Americans, including us, have been blessed with an unmatched fullness of life and liberty. On the other hand a recognition that the world has caught up and in some cases passed us is a truth that can no longer be denied.   

Now before the soap box collapses, let it also be known that 1973 was the year I started my beard. I didn’t like it at first, but then it grew on me.  All together now, LARGE GROAN! 

On the family news front son David and his wife Lotta continue to reside in Finland and dote on our only granddaughter Frida. She is now walking and climbing in the best of De Young tradition. To be honest, two sets of grandparents and a bunch of aunties on both sides are doing some doting as well.  Taking a look at her can tell you why.

We spent two weeks in Helsinki this past summer and bonded sufficiently to enable Frida to recognize us now during our Skype calls. Lotta plans to go back to work in February. David has not been able to get a job yet, but the government is paying him to study Finnish and he hopes to be able to compete better this coming year.  It has not been easy but they are surviving, prospering, and loving parenthood. 

 

 

 

We were also able to spend time with our new in-laws, Jukka and Anna-Maija. While touring the studio of a well known Finnish artist, Soile Yli Mayry, we sat for a picture of all of us in front of one of her paintings. Just in case you can’t tell, the artist is the lady in the red glasses and black tights.  STOP!  Medical advice break:  If you hear a ringing in your ears, don’t answer it.  Additional break to fill up the page: Do you need something to liven up the conversation while checking out at the grocery store?  When the clerk asks you, “Paper or plastic?”, just say, “It doesn’t matter, I’m bi-sacksual.”

Now on to the Brown household. Daughter Amy is continuing her teaching career while husband Todd is still working long hours as well.

 

 

 

But this year the parents will have to take second place to our oldest grandchild, TJ, who will be graduating from high school in May. His grade average has remained over a “B+” and he has been accepted into the Fire Safety program at Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI.  While keeping up with his coursework, helping at the fire station, and a part time job at a day care center, he has also managed to study for and pass his national EMT certification exam. We are so proud of him!    

Younger brother Mikel, 11, continues to do well in school and took after his brother by playing catcher on a summer baseball team.

 He is an avid iPad operator and loves to do crafts. He also shows some signs of becoming a philosopher. His mom reported last week that while he was looking at the ads for new computer games, he noticed that most of them were marked “M” for mature.  He then observed, “How does that make any sense? If someone was mature they wouldn’t be playing computer games, would they?” Hmmm--- a definite case of early onset wisdom.

Here’s your final break: Have you ever found it a little scary to see Braille numbers on the keypad for a drive-thru bank machine?   Jim and Jan are also chugging along.  Jan, as promised last year, gave up the AAUW Art Presenter Program after 40 years.  She does remain on the Warren County Library Board and is still active in AAUW.  For his part Jim has given up chairmanship of the Old Friends Talk Arts program at the Buchanan Center for the Arts.  To make up for this sudden influx of leisure both of them are now spending more time at the local history museum where Jim is a board member and Collection Management Chair.    

Even though our travels this year have been focused on Finland, we did manage a trip to Cancun in January to join our old friends the Spaetzels from Beloit College days.  

Then there was a swing through Arizona in February, and Carolina, Georgia,  and Florida early in the summer. Finally we took a side trip to Barcelona, Spain, on the way back from Finland. Full photo coverage for the very curious is available on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83918664@N00/.

And that’s the way it is forty years on.   We send you holiday greetings wherever you may be and wish for you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year.  Cheers!

Jim and Jan De Young  jdeyoung@maplecity.com   http://www.stirringthepudding.blogspot.com

p.s.  WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?  Do you need more nostalgia? Try http://mentalfloss.com/article/52164/11-things-we-no-longer-see-movie-theaters  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Play Identification Quiz

Last week Sue Van Kirk, a good friend, budding author,  and former literature teacher challenged us  us to identify a list of  major novels based only on their first sentences. 

Here's Sue chowing down at her favorite Phoenix eatery.

She implied that the well read among us would have no trouble doing this and pronounced that it would take 13 out of the 15 to earn an “A” grade from her.   Surely, I thought, Ms. Van Kirk and her friends would also score well on identifying the following major works of dramatic literature based on their first lines. 

I have directed nine of them and have taught them all at some point in time.  Many are iconic works in the canon and should not push you too hard; others may stretch you a bit.  One final hint.  None are musicals, which is no surprise to anyone who knows me.   

1.       “Nothing to be done.”

2.      “If music be the food of love, play on.”

3.      “Yes, I have tricks in my pocket; I have things up my sleeve.”

4.      “Children, youngest brood of Cadmus the Old, why do you sit here with branches in your hand while the air is heavy with lament?”

5.       “The train’s in, thank God. What time is it?”

6.      “Willy?”

7.       “Who’s there?”

8.      “Is that you Petey?” 

9.      “Oh my word, I don’t think they are even up yet.”

10.   “I pray you all give your audience and hear this matter with reverence, by figure a moral play.”

11.    “Oh God for an end to this weary work; a year long I have watched here--head on arm.”

12.    “Jesus H. Christ!”

13.   “Now fair Hippolyta our nuptial hour draws on apace.”

14.   “With one particular horse, called Nugget, he embraces . . .”

15.   “Septimus, what is carnal embrace?”

 

No Peeking now until you have finished.

 

 

I’m an easier grader than Sue so My grading scale:  13-15 Right–  ”A” You are a dramaturgical scholar of the first order. Take a solo call in front of the curtain. 10-12 Right– “B” Almost at the top.  When I went to school this was still considered an excellent grade. Take a solo bow during the cast call.   9-11 Right  “C” You probably didn’t take my theatre history sequence but still a respectable showing. You're at least in the cast call.   7-8 Right– “D”  Not everyone sees or reads classic world drama. As Sue suggested you might try another field. We may still let you pull the curtain and put your name in the program.   Below 7 Right–”F” Your theatre chops are below par. Get thee back to a viewing and/or reading regimen before you try out for Jeopardy. .

Answers: 1 Samuel Beckett Waiting for Godot  2 Wiliam Shakespeare Twelfth Night 3 Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie 4 Sophocles Oedipus Rex 5 Anton Chekov The Cherry Orchard 6 Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman (If you missed this one your are truly in need of further instruction) 7 William Shakespeare Hamlet  8 Harold Pinter The Birthday Party 9 Henrik Ibsen Hedda Gabler  10  Everyman  11 Aeschylus Agamemnon  12 Edward Albee Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf  13  William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream  14  Peter Shaffer Equus  15  Tom Stoppard Arcadia

To the winner goes the balloon.

 

Where Were You Fifty Years Ago on That Fateful Day?

 

In the summer of 1963 my wife took this picture of me on a ferryboat in Switzerland. We were having the time of our lives and in the middle of a long traverse of Europe with two suitcases, rail  passes, a camera, and a tattered copy of "Europe on Five Dollars a Day."  We were as young and carefree as we were ever going to be.

One month later I took up a position as a speech and theatre instructor at Monmouth College in Illinois.  On Nov. 22nd 1963  I was driving a carload of Monmouth students down Highway 150 (No Interstate 74 in those days). It was a noisy and excited group as we headed for Peoria to compete in the Bradley University Speech Tournament. We stopped for gas at a tiny Standard Oil station in Brimfield, Il. To pay you had to go into the station and inside a radio was on and the voice sounded serious.  As the attendant was finishing my transaction, he said, "Didn't you hear? The President's been shot."   I can still see him standing behind that counter today. I can still hear his voice.

I returned to the car, slid back into the driver's seat, and said "I think we need to turn on the radio. President Kennedy may have been shot."   By the time we got to the Bradley Student Union there was no doubt. When we entered the building there was just an eerie deadly silence. The main lounge was packed with students and their teachers all sitting in stunned silence around the grainy image of a black and white television.  For the next day and a half we went about our competitions but always  returned catatonically to that lounge and that TV set to watch the sad story of  JFK's assassination unfold. To this day it was the most somber event I have ever been a part of.

Did it influence us?  Yes!  Camelot was a presence for us that is hard to communicate today even to young and idealistic Obamamites.  We had cast one of our first presidential ballots for Kennedy and he was going to take us to the moon and beyond.  It's not just an accident that the middle name of our son,  who was born in June of 1964,  is John.

 

We have probably made that Peoria trip hundreds of times in the past fifty years. My wife grew up there and her parents lived there then.  Ironically, just today my wife and I happened to make that same drive again to stock up on groceries at Sam's Club.  Brimfield is just a quick passing shadow on a bypass now, but every time we have cruised past since 1963 the memory of that little Standard Oil station and the students in our car surges back.

That's where I was when our president was killed.   That "one brief shining moment" was gone.

Peace.

 

Still traveling fifty years later this time with two cameras.  My wife took this one of me with our son David John De Young in Helsinki, Finland.

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

Monmouth College Illinois Homecoming 2013

Monmouth College celebrated its 2013 Homecoming this past weekend.  We attended the dedication of the Kieft wing of our new Science and Business Center and later Friday evening we deposited Doc's ashes under a new tree near the front door.  That was a sad event, but with each passing year I am moved by the joy that most returnees seem to feel when they come back to Monmouth.

Time chisels off the rough edges of past  experience, but it also exposes the erosion resistant core.  I heard again the stories of  how your education and your teachers shaped your lives for the better.  A resounding "Thank you" to each one of you who shared a bit of your story with me in the last two days. You made my weekend and I am sure the weekend of every professor you saw.

Here's to Big Red!

 

And our Pipers.

 

Hail the King and Queen!



Our first performers at the new Fushion Theatre show the promise of the next generation.

 

Craig Watson our Hatch Teacher of the Year and family.  Well deserved, old friend.

Here's some of my favorite people.  Brad Nahrstadt, Jeremy McNamara, and my wife at the parade.

Ralph and Martha Whiteman continue to show their support for the college every moment of every day.

 



And Prof. Doug Rankin continues to pass the parcel on to the next generation.
Love you man with all my heart!