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http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2010/11/8/my-life-between-two-cultures/
My Life Between Two Cultures - Part 2
By Kyoko Inoue / 8 Nov 2010
>> Part 1
4. The Inoue Family Meets Their American Relatives
In 1942, my relatives, like all the West Coast Japanese and Japanese Americans, were shipped to a concentration camp. They were initially sent to Tanforan Race Track in California, and then, I believe, to Tule Lake. I know nothing about their lives in the camp because I do not recall my mother ever speaking about them.
In 1946, my younger uncle was drafted into the United States Army and was sent to Kobe, Japan for a two year stint. In the spring of 1947, he came to visit us in Takasaki, wearing an American uniform and looking very handsome. His first visit left me with an unforgettable memory. My parents took him and the children to a nearby hot spring. On our return trip, when we arrived at the station, the station master led us to a beautiful empty car set aside for the American occupation personnel. We were the only passengers in the car. The rest of the train was jammed with the Japanese travelers, many of whom were probably trying to return to Tokyo with the little food that they had acquired on the black market in the countryside. People were climbing through the windows to enter the cars. I experienced the privilege and power represented by a member of my own family who, ironically, had been incarcerated allegedly as untrustworthy when his parents' homeland was in a war against U.S. As a twelve year old girl, I recall thinking that there was clearly something strange in our world!
I have one other important memory from those days. My American step-grandmother in Oakland sent us care packages containing used clothes, food, soap and various items. Those boxes had a special dry and pleasant "American" smell. My grandmother included a box of delicate brooches made of shells that she had made in the camp. She also sent me a beautiful red jacket and a cobalt blue skirt—I had never seen such a lovely outfit. I wore them proudly, but, of course, when the rest of the Japanese people were clothed in drab worn clothes, I no doubt stood out like a sore thumb!
Our family life was atypical because of how my mother raised us. Perhaps because of her experience in America, she had an unusual sense of equality of men and women. We children called each other by our first names with -chan, the diminutive polite ending; I and my next brother, Eiji, were never addressed as onee-san, "older sister," or onii-san, "older brother," which was the typical Japanese custom. Both girls and boys were equally expected to participate in household chores. My mother always walked side-by-side with her husband, never behind him. Also my mother never polished her husband's shoes, as many housewives of her generation (and some even today) were expected to do. Although my father did not do many household chores he did participate quite actively in child rearing.
5. Travel to America
During the seventh grade, when Japanese children start studying English, my mother taught me how to pronounce the letters of the alphabet in American English. From that time on, I did well in English at school and English became my favorite subject. At some point in high school, I decided that I wanted to go to America to study. I begged my mother to ask her brothers if they would be willing to sponsor me with a financial guarantee for my education. Looking back on it, it was a daring request from a relative they hardly knew. In those days, the United States government required full financial support by an American citizen for all foreign students who desired to study in America.
In July 1956, having completed two years of education at a junior college, I set sail on a small Japanese freighter; my boat fare had been paid by an American women's organization called the College Women's Club of Tokyo. I enrolled at San Jose State College as a junior in the program in school librarianship that fall. College work was incredibly difficult. Although I spoke English without much of a Japanese accent, my reading and writing abilities were far from adequate. My vocabulary was so small that I could not improve my reading speed. As a result, studying occupied much of my time, and I remember nothing but studying and working.
My relatives were farmers and nursery men working very hard from early in the morning. I quickly realized that what I had asked my relatives to do for me was rather out of line. Feeling deeply indebted, I tried to earn as much money as I could to supplement my uncle's support money. I also helped my aunt around the house and my uncles in the nursery as much as I could. For all foreign students, working outside the campus was illegal. Nonetheless, during the first year, I worked for a couple of families as a maid in exchange for room and board, and took a job cleaning venetian blinds at an office building—poorly paid and tedious work! No one seemed to care that hiring me was illegal.
6. Back in Japan—Still a Stranger!
I graduated from San Jose State on 1958. In September 1959, after a year of internship at the Children's Library of Brooklyn Public Library, I returned to Japan, expecting never to return to America. During the next nine years, I taught English at a conversation school. Most of my colleagues were Americans, and teachers were required to speak English in classrooms. While living in Japan with my family, I spoke English five days a week. As time passed, my English improved to such an extent that I began to wonder who I was. How it was that language had such an important impact on one's sense of identity?
7. Living Between Two Worlds
In 1968, I returned to the United States for graduate work in linguistics. After getting a Master's degree in TESOL at the University of Hawaii, I spent five years at the University of Michigan. In 1975, having earned a Ph.D, I came to UIC as an assistant professor of theoretical linguistics. I also established a Japanese language program at UIC.
My life in America has been challenging and fascinating. In both my personal and academic life, I dealt with questions about the differences between American and Japanese societies because I had to function as a faculty member in the university community like everyone else, and I had to understand the values and perspectives of my students. To give one example, for a long time I did not know that silence in meetings meant tacit approval of proposed policies, even though I had expressed disapproval earlier. In Japan, it often means tacit disapproval. I had to train myself to express opposition at meetings without fear of isolation or reprisal. Through various experiences like this, I realized over time that I was having a life between two cultures. While trying to adjust to American academic life, I did not want to give up my Japanese identity.
I have visited Japan to do research and spend time with my family as often as I could—nearly every year during the past ten years. I continue to be interested in changes taking place in Japan. I love both Japan and the United States and I only wish I could live in both countries at the same time.
*This article was originally published in Voices of Chicago, online journal of the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society.
© 2010 Kyoko Inoue
chicago educator identity Japan language occupation post-war post-WWII student World War II
Kyoko Inoue
Kyoko Inoue is a Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests in the past twenty years have focused on the intellectual history of modern Japan and comparative American and Japanese cultures. She has published MacArthur's Japanese Constitution: A Linguistic And Cultural Study Of Its Making (1991), which was named an outstanding academic book by Choice, and Individual Dignity In Modern Japanese Thought: The Evolution Of The Concept Of Jinkaku In Moral And Educational Discourse (2001). She teaches courses in two distinct areas: theoretical linguistics, focusing on English syntax-semantics, and comparative studies of American and Japanese cultures and histories; she is now developing a course in comparative cultures and literatures, focusing on modern Japanese and Japanese American literatures.
More information about Kyoko Inoue's publications: http://www.uic.edu/depts/engl/people/prof/kinoue/bio.html
More articles by this author
* Discover Nikkei is a project of the Japanese American National Museum, made possible through the generous support of The Nippon Foundation
The articles in this series were originally published in Voices of Chicago, the online journal of the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, which has been a Discover Nikkei Participating Organization since December 2004.
Voices of Chicago is a collection of first-person narratives about the experiences of people of Japanese descent living in Chicago. The community is composed of three waves of immigration, and their descendants: The first, about 300 people, came to Chicago around the time of the Columbian Exposition in 1899. The second, and largest, group is descended from 30,000 who came to Chicago directly from the internment camps after World War II. Called the "ReSettlers," they created a community built around social service organizations, Buddhist and Christian churches and small businesses. The third, more recent, group are Japanese nationals who came to Chicago, beginning in the 1980s, as artists and students and remained. A fourth, non-immigrant, group are Japanese business executives and their families who live in Chicago for extended periods, sometimes permanently.
Chicago has always been a place where people can re-create themselves, and where diverse ethnic communities live and work together. Voices of Chicago tells the stories of members of each of these four groups, and how they fit into the mosaic of a great city.
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I thought you might be interested in this item at http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966089929 Title: The almost moon : a novel Author: Alice Sebold; Recorded Books, LLC Publisher: New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2014. ISBN/ISSN: 9780316144636 0316144630 OCLC:966089929
Alice Sebold; Recorded Books, LLC.
New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2014.
A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky. For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page. Read more...
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Find more information about: Alice Sebold
Title from resource description page (Recorded Books, viewed June 19, 2014).
Alice Sebold.
A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky. For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.
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THE MAGPIE GROUP
A Network of Fans, Activists & Supporter Groups United to achieve #ASHLEYOUT
The Magpie Group is a network of fans, activists and supporter groups, committed to achieving regime change at Newcastle United Football Club.
Mike Ashley has proven to be catastrophic owner, making mistake after mistake in his running of our club. He has demonstrated time and time again that he is not fit to own or run a club, let alone one which is at the heart of our community. Our aim is to facilitate a change of ownership so that Newcastle United can strive to proactively fulfill its potential as a competitive sporting institution.
We will no longer accept the continuous exploitation of our club and its loyal fan base who, under Mike Ashley, exist to be nothing more than an advertising vehicle for his sports retail business.
We want our club back!
#ASHLEYOUT
Newcastle United Sell Out
Magpie Group Donations
If you'd like to contribute toward the fight against Mike Ashley's running of Newcastle United you can donate to the cause, via PayPal.
All donations received will go towards funding activities & materials designed to make Mike Ashley a more willing seller to investors – investors who wish to fulfill the club's sporting potential. Any outstanding monies remaining on completion of our mission, will be donated to local good causes.
He is only one man. We are a City!
Join the mailing list to receive the latest information, news & updates. If you'd like to be more actively involved, scroll down and Get in Touch.
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#WomeninAg: USDA Profiles a Lakota Cattle Rancher
Sally Gifford June 13, 2018
Kelsey Ducheneaux takes a selfie with a cow on her family's beef cattle ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.
Each month, USDA shares stories of women in agriculture who are leading the industry and helping other women succeed along the way. This month, we hear from Kelsey Ducheneaux, a member of the Lakota Sioux Nation. Alongside her work as a beef cattle rancher on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Ducheneaux is the youth programs coordinator and natural resource director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council, a national organization working to improve Indian Country.
According to your LinkedIn, you've had an impressive history of recruiting young people to agriculture. Why is this important to you?
Where I grew up, opportunities don't really come knocking because no one has ever built a door. We're in an incredibly rural part of South Dakota; while we're rich in both human and natural resources, we're suffering from the symptoms which centuries of poverty has inflicted and most often it's our youth that suffer the most. In my outreach and advocacy for careers in agriculture, I put my energy towards helping our young people realize that the wide-open spaces we call home are not just "the middle of nowhere." Instead, I want them to look around their home and to see resources, which have the potential to grow food, which can in turn feed their family. There's a whole lot of pride that comes with being responsible for something as beautiful as our landscapes. I've learned that with just a little effort, I can inspire young people to believe in themselves as much as they believe in agriculture.
What should the world know about your story?
My story looks the way it does as a result of many people offering me an opportunity that I felt comfortable and confident in pursuing. I could not be where I am today, had it not been for many generations of sacrifice, hard work, and support. I strive every day to carry out my story in a way that can help to put others in a place they are proud of, like I am fortunate enough to experience.
What is the mission of the Intertribal Agriculture Council? How did you get involved in this organization?
The mission of the Intertribal Agriculture Council is to provide a unified effort to promote change in Indian Agriculture for the benefit of Indian People. IAC programs further the goal of improving Indian Agriculture. The IAC promotes the Indian use of Indian resources and contracts with federal agencies to maximize resources for tribal members. The IAC has been at the forefront of engaging youth in Indian Agriculture, and it captured my attention when I was still in high school. I attended my first annual IAC Symposium as a junior in high school. I still remember the moment that I decided these are the people I want to spend my career working with.
The IAC was committed to providing access to professional development opportunities as I sought my college education., It's been a dream come true joining them in full employment after achieving my undergraduate degree. I tell people every day that I have the very best job in the world.
Tell us about your work as youth programs coordinator and natural resource director at the Intertribal Agriculture Council? What are some specific projects you work on? How does your work intersect with the USDA?
Since 2015, my work with the Intertribal Agriculture Council has allowed me to engage with over 550 native youth from more than 150 tribal nations. Most of this interaction takes place at the regional youth leadership development events which the IAC works to coordinate.
Our one-of-a-kind youth leadership development opportunities expose youth to land conservation and stewardship, traditional food preparation and preservation, agricultural production planning, entrepreneurial business ventures in food and agriculture, and resource management as a community development tool. These events are building intertribal collaborations and national networks which will be the source for life changing impacts for generations to come.
When I tell people, I have the best job in the world, I mean it. Every day I get to work at the crossing of Tribal land stewardship and native youth leadership development. In my job, I share the vast opportunities that exist for native peoples in the field of agriculture. From economic development to improving food systems, from cultural preservation to utilizing technological advances; agriculture has the ability to bridge the largest gaps in Indian Country.
In so many of our native communities, access to our historical food systems and agricultural production patterns has been restricted for long enough that we've forgotten what they look like. In my work I get to experience community development driven by reconnecting native youth with holistic agricultural development. I've realized that a change led by youth is more sustainable. I know that our outstanding network of youth is going to be largely responsible for the greatness we will experience in the years to come.
Kelsey engages with the next generation of tribal land stewards at an Intertribal Agriculture Youth Food Sovereignty Summit. (Image: Donita Fischer)
What personal challenges have you encountered as a woman in ag? How did you overcome them?
I consider myself incredibly fortunate in many ways, but one that stands out is my upbringing as a woman in agriculture. I was raised on a ranch where being a girl was considered my strong suit, rather than being viewed as my weakness. In many native societies, familial structure follows a matriarchal organization. Following suit, my family raised me to work alongside the men in any job. As I ventured into my career, my biggest challenge was realizing that other societies tended to view women in agriculture as less superior.
My parents raised me to be aware, diligent, stubborn (sometimes to a fault), and empathetic, which has allowed me to be comfortable in any arena I dive into – even if it is a male dominated field.
Who are your role models?
I'd sure hate to imagine where I'd be in life without my large, supportive family!
One of my largest role models is my mother. Her tenacious, compassionate heart is one I'll strive every day to mimic. My brother and sister came along right when I needed someone to look up to me and they are the spark which ignited my desire to help youth.
In the work that I get to do now, I meet many inspirational young minds and I find that the average age of my role models continues to drop. Our young people are so creative, innovative and caring.
What advice do you have for young women interested in agriculture? What's the best advice you've received?
"It's what you learn after you know it all that really matters."
As a young woman interested in agriculture, I find it incredibly crucial that we find ways to challenge the status quo. It must be our job to seek more efficient, harmonious ways to work with the land and its resources. There will be many trials to overcome, so don't be afraid to take that leap of faith. In these instances, the grass really is always greener on the other side!
I also want to encourage young women to take pride in their work. When you've witnessed an accomplishment, share it! Especially when you're the one reaching that milestone. Remember that once you've climbed the ladder of success there's almost always someone that doesn't have the capacity to reach that bottom rung. It is your job to climb back down and help others find their way to the top to enjoy the view alongside of you.
Where do you see yourself in five, ten and twenty years and how do you hope to get there?
I honestly couldn't imagine myself in a better place than where I am at currently. I'd like to think I'm spending most of my days on horseback alongside my family and friends, still enjoying a career that uplifts rural agriculture, Indian Country and most importantly, our youth!
What was it like being the first Native American student to give the student address at the commencement ceremony at South Dakota State University?
There are some moments that words just can't describe. This is one of them.
As the first Native American student to have such an opportunity at South Dakota's Land-Grant University, I felt as though I had played a hand in claiming new territory. Higher education is not nearly as attainable as it should be for youth, especially those of Indian Country. I witnessed the stage as a platform to advocate for what is attainable for native youth back home. Since my graduation, it's been so rewarding to witness SDSU President Barry Dunn's Wokini Initiative reveal a more culturally appropriate approach to inspiring our youth to pursue higher education. It is an exciting and inspirational time throughout Indian Country.
What does agriculture mean to you?
In my travels around the country, I've learned to view agriculture as societies surviving in harmony with the land and its resources. To me, agriculture is the act of caring for the land which we are borrowing from our children. Any work that we do on, to, or with the land, should be done in a way that leaves a healthier ecosystem in our wake.
(Sally Gifford originally conducted this interview for the USDA blog. For more conversations with #WomeninAg click here, and check out the hashtag on twitter.)
Sally Gifford is a USDA Communications Coordinator. Her portfolio includes work with the Foreign Agricultural Service, Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Women in Agriculture and the Office of Tribal Relations.
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April Simpson
As Local News Outlets Shutter, Rural America Suffers Most


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Statistics show a sharp fall in computer crime in the UK
News by Tom Reeve
Computer crime has fallen by 30 percent in the past year, according to latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
Computer crime has fallen by a staggering 30 percent over the past year, according to statistics from the government's official statistics body.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), computer crime offences – which include computer viruses and hacking – fell from 1.6 million incidents to 1.1 million between 2017 and 2018.
The figures are based on results from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), seen as a more reliable measure of crime as experienced by UK residents than either police or Action Fraud data.
The CSEW has been collecting data on computer crime since 2015 when new questions were added to the survey.
The main source of the decline was a dramatic reduction in the number of computer virus incidents being reported by survey respondents. The figures fell from 1.1 million in the year to June 2017 to 606,000 in the year to June 2018.
In the same period, Action Fraud reported a four percent increase in computer crime, rising to 21,947 offences for the year to June 2018. However, it also noted a 24 percent decrease in reports of computer viruses which fell to 6,260 offences.
The growth came from an increase in "hacking – social media and email" over the past year (up 42 percent to 8,834 offences). This is thought to reflect an increasing awareness of social media scams among the public, leading to a greater likelihood of incidents being reported, the ONS said.
However, one industry commentator is warning that the statistics cannot be accurate. Mark Nicholls, director of cyber-security at Redscan, said that hackers change tactics to avoid detection so the true scale of crime will be higher.
Victims are either not aware that they have become a victim of cyber-crime or are too embarrassed to report it.
"Does anyone really believe that cyber-crime is on the decline? I don't think so. A 30 percent decrease in computer misuse offences must be taken with a large pinch of salt, since there are inherent challenges in reporting accurate statistics in this area," he said.
He said that the statistics, which are based on interviews with householders, do not show the extent of crime against businesses.
Adults aged 16 and over
Offence group
Jul '16
to Jun '17
Percentage change
and significance
Number of incidents (thousands)
Computer misuse
Unauthorised access to personal information (including hacking)
Unweighted base - number of adults
Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics
Attacks & Hacking Hacking Malware Crime & Threats Government, Regulation & Compliance government
MORE FROM SC MEDIA UK
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LuminosityLink RAT author sentenced to 30 years in prison
Facepunch 2016 breach exposed 343,000 users
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Anne Hinrichsen
studied piano in Lübeck with Prof. Jacques Ammon and Prof. Konstanze Eickhorst. She continued her studies in Freiburg with Prof. Gilead Mishory. The native North German developed her great passion for chamber music and orchestral piano long before her university years.
She was a scholarship holder at the Orchestra Academy of the Zurich Opera House. In addition to her current occupation as an accompanist and lecturer at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Anne is a sought-after accompanist for instrumentalists, vocal soloists and choirs as well as a regular member of various ensembles, including the Foyer series of the Zurich Opera House and the Tonhalle Orchestra.
Activities in choir and orchestra conducting round off her professional profile. Anne Hinrichsen has worked on two season contracts at the Konzerttheater Bern as a piano accompanist / musical director of several productions. She is also a permanent adjunct of the Bern Symphony Orchestra.
Anna Kirichenko
studied piano and composition at the Neshdanova University in her home town of Odessa, Ukraine. She continued her studies in piano with Professor Hans Leygraf at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Since her debut with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, she has worked in close collaboration with orchestras throughout Russia and Ukraine. Concert tours have taken her to Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland, the Baltic countries and the USA; there, she performed as soloist and chamber music partner of musicians such as Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Franz Welser-Möst, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Kurt Rydl, Klaus Thunemann, Karl Leister and Reinhold Friedrich.
A prizewinner at the Prokofiev Competition, she has had guest performances at many international festivals. She has made recordings with Bavarian Radio, the BBC, Radio France and the Deutschlandradio. Since 1998, Anna Kirichenko has been teaching at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy in Berlin. From 2000 to 2002, she also had a contract with the Cologne Music Academy.
Jin-Young Lee
was born in Busan, South Korea where she also studied the piano. After completing her degree, she continued studying with Prof. Bernhard Wambach, Prof. Arbo Valdma and Prof. Jürgen Glauss at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen and at the University for Music and Dance in Cologne where she obtained her diploma and her concert exam.
In addition to her solo career as a pianist, Jin-Young Lee focuses on chamber music, contemporary music and accompanying Lied singers on the piano. She works regularly as a piano accompanist with renowned singers, instrumentalists and conductors at international music festivals, master classes and competitions.
As a soloist and chamber musician she has undertaken numerous concert tours throughout Europe and Korea. Since 2006, Jin-Young Lee has worked an instructor at the University for Music and Dance in Cologne.
Petya Minheva
was born in Bulgaria. After studying at the Sofia State Academy, she continued her studies in Bern, graduating with the "concert diploma". Petya completed her studies with Prof. Eckart Heiligers at the Zurich University of the Arts where she obtained the "chamber music diploma with distinction" in 2009.
Petya Mihneva is a laureate of the Duttweiler-Hug Competition Zurich, of the international "Classic and Modern Competition" of Bulgaria, of the Franz Schubert Competition Bulgaria and of the Bulgarian competition for piano accompaniment. Petya was awarded special prizes at the Seiler Competition and at the "Music and the Earth Competition" in Sofia.
As a concert pianist and chamber musician she has appeared at various European music festivals, e.g. at the Feldkirch Festival 2009, the Mostly Mozart Festival Bern and the Biennale Bern. She works as a piano accompanist at the Zurich University of the Arts and is a member of the Norea Trio. Petya Mihneva is a much sought after piano accompanist at international master classes and competitions.
Bettina Seeliger
was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany. She studied harpsichord and recorder in Nuremberg and completed both subjects with a teaching diploma. She continued her studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Andreas Staier and Jesper Christensen where she specialized in harpsichord and chamber music and graduated with a diploma in early music.
Bettina Seeliger is a versatile harpsichordist and teacher. Since 1994 she has been teaching music at the Lucerne University of Music as a lecturer for harpsichord, basso continuo and performance practice. At the same place she works as a harpsichord accompanist. Since 2006 she has also been teaching harpsichord didactics at the Zurich University of the Arts.
Chamber music plays an important role in Bettina Seeliger's musical activities: Since 1994 she has been a member of the ensemble musica poetica Freiburg, of which several CD recordings are available. Her interest in the music of the 16th century, in particular the sound and playing of the Clavicytherium strung with gut strings, led her to the Ensemble Canti B, with whom she recorded a CD in 2017. She regularly plays in other chamber music formations and baroque orchestras.
Jermaine Sprosse
studied harpsichord, clavichord, fortepiano, improvisation and instrumental pedagogy with distinction at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He can look back on a remarkable number of internationally significant competition successes. Among the most prestigious are a first prize at the Concorso Internazionale di Musica Antica Nervi in Genoa and a second prize at the TIM Competition in Paris.
Jermaine Sprosse is considered one of the outstanding interpreters of the music of C.P.E. Bach. Another specialty of his is improvisation: about a given theme, about a certain key, musical form, time signature or even about emotions - he knows how to inspire. He also attaches great importance to chamber music collaboration and has worked with musicians such as Maurice Steger, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher and the Zurich Baroque Orchestra.
He worked as an accompanist at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis for several years and passed on his knowledge in numerous master classes, among others at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and most recently at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the Festival de Musique Improvisée de Lausanne. Today Jermaine Sprosse is a much sought-after soloist and chamber musician. He works at the Friday Academy in Bern and is principal organist of the Christian Catholic Church Allschwil Schönenbuch (BL).
Helga Váradi
Her studies took her to various European cities, from Budapest to Szentendre, Vienna, Lyon, Basel and Zurich, where she perfected her repertoire of historic keyboard instruments (harpsichord, organ, fortepiano). In Vienna she also studied arts management.
In 2014, she won the international "Gianni Bergamo" prize in Lugano for her harpsichord playing. Ever since she has collaborated with numerous renowned ensembles, including the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Graubünden Chamber Philharmonic, the Argovia Philharmonic, the CHAARTS Chamber Artists, Camerata Zurich, Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra Budapest as well as the Kaleidoskope String Quartet and the Galatea Quartet. Further collaborations have taken place with the dulcimer player Nicolas Senn, or with the journalist and television personality Werner van Gent.
In addition to her activities as a keyboard player and church musician, she also works in the research department at the Zurich University of the Arts. She is currently documenting the life of violinist Stefi Geyer (1888-1956), Béla Bartók's childhood love. Her first CD "Bartók & Baroque" was released by CLAVES in 2018 with works by Béla Bartók on harpsichord, with the personal recommendation of her son Péter Bartók.
Martin Zimmermann
studied piano at the Zurich University of the Arts and musicology at the University of Zurich. He went on to study historical keyboard instruments at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg and the Musikhochschule Freiburg.
Martin Zimmermann is a sought-after continuo player, chamber musician and soloist. With a repertoire ranging from the earliest keyboard works from the Middle Ages to contemporary world premieres, he has performed in several European countries and has made several radio and CD recordings.
He has also devoted himself to research, conducted biographical research on the history of Viennese music in the late 17th century and contributed to the Corelli Complete Edition. Martin Zimmermann, who works at the Zurich University of the Arts, is currently researching the praxis of 20th century basso continuo playing.


text:
Essex Police chief is set to stand down
Published: 10:25 AM November 19, 2012 Updated: 6:45 PM November 1, 2020
THE Chief Constable of Essex Police is set to stand down before the end of his contract, it was revealed on Saturday.
Jim Barker-McCardle has held the post for the last three years and has two years left on his contract.
In an e-mail to all PCC candidates during the elections, he announced his intentions to stand down, but did not give a date for his departure.
A police spokeswoman said: "The priority of the chief constable is to welcome the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner to ensure the very best police service is delivered to the diverse communities of Essex.
"As a courtesy, the Chief Constable wrote to all PCC candidates before the election about his future plans, but his current focus remains firmly on policing Essex and supporting Nick Alston in the weeks ahead."
Nick Alston is due to take on the role of police and crime commissioner on November 22.
A spokesman for Mr Alston added: "During the course of the PCC election campaign, as a courtesy, Chief Constable Barker-McCardle made all candidates aware of his medium term plans.
10 Care home residents and staff receive Covid-19 vaccine
"The Police and Crime Commissioner greatly looks forward to working with chief constable Barker-McCardle, who has tremendous policing knowledge and experience, from November 22 onwards."


text:
Toxoplasma Invasion into Host Cells--Protein Kinase C
Toxoplasma gondii is an important opportunistic pathogen that causes severe complications in immuno compromised individuals and can be the cause of congenital defects when a fetus is infected during the first trimester of gestation. Toxoplasma, like the other member of the phylum Apicomplexa, such as Plasmodium and Cryptosporidium, is an oblegate intracellular parasite that actively invades its animals host cells,a process unique to this calls of parasites. Although host cell invasion is the most important step in the life cycles of this class of parasites, little is known about its underlying mechanism and regulation. AN understanding of the molecular mechanism of the invasion process in T. gondii could potentially identify targets for chemotherapeutic intervention, and could also serve as a model for understanding this process in other apicomplexan parasites. We have found that invasion of Toxoplasma into its host cells is regulated by the protein kinase C (PKC) pathway. A number of inhibitors, specific for different players in this pathway, inhibit the invasion process after attachment and reorientation, but prior to the actual start of invasion. This pathway does not appear to be required at any other step in the Toxoplasma tachyzoite life cycle. We have tentatively identified a parasite PKC (TgPKC) and four PKC substrates, the downstream effectors. This project has two major specific aims. The first is to characterize the PKC enzyme (s) of T. gondii and analyze its sensitivity to a range of inhibitors and activators. We will also attempt to generate novel TgPKC-specific peptide inhibitors. Because it is unlikely that sufficient quantities of PKC can be purified from Toxoplasma tachyzoites for a thorough enzymatic analysis and extensive search for effective and specific inhibitors or activators, the initial focus will be on the molecular cloning of cDNAs and genes encoding TgPKC and their high level expression in the baculovirus expression system. The second specific aim is to characterize the PKC substrates in Toxoplasma. We have identified four potential PKC substrates and will attempt to purify these for further characterization with an approach used successfully in the purification of several major PKC from mammalian cells. Further characterization will include the generation of monospecific antibodies to be used for the molecular cloning of sequences encoding these proteins and for immunolocalization of these proteins in parasites. Depending on the information thus obtained, the TgPKC substrates will be further characterized.
Beckers, Cornelis
Nat'l. Inst. of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
5R29AI041765-04


text:
Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-02-03
BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY
Thessaloniki, February 3, 1998
[01] PARLIAMENT APPROVES AMENDMENT ON PUBLIC UTILITIES
[02] FARMERS LINE TRACTORS ALONG HIGHWAY, BUT HAVEN�T BLOCKED THE ROAD
[03] GREEK FM: TURKEY HAS TO RECOGNIZE THE HAGUE
[04] CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS TO BE FILED OVER LAST YEAR�S CAPSIZED SHIP
[05] DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH US ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE
Athens, February 3 (MPA)
The Greek Parliament has approved the government's amendment concerning changes in labor relations in public utilities and enterprises (DEKO), in spite of the strong objections voiced by trade unions.
The amendment was carried by 142 votes in favor and 121 against. Two deputies -former New Democracy ministers Vasilis Kontoyiannopoulos and Giorgos Souflias- abstained, while 35 were absent -20 of them being members of the ruling party.
National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said public utilities have to undergo restructuring in order to survive.
Thessaloniki, February 3 (MPA)
The farmers of central Greece have parked their tractors along the length of the national highway, but haven�t proceeded to blocking the traffic .
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas again rejected farmers' calls for direct talks with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, saying there were specific bodies for this, while the Agriculture Ministry was "always open".
Meanwhile, farmers protesting the government's agricultural policy yesterday blocked the road leading into Preveza for half an hour. They said yesterday's protest, without the use of tractors, was a warning and that further action would follow in the coming days.
The Greek government wants Turkey to recognize the jurisdiction of the International court of Justice at The Hague, stated the country�s Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos.
Mr. Pangalos also criticized Greece�s main opposition party leader, New Democracy�s Kostas Karamanlis.
The Piraeus Public Prosecutor is expected to embark on criminal proceedings today over the sinking of the Greek cargo ship "Distos" which capsized on December 28, 1996, off the port of Kimi on the island of Euboia, in which 20 persons drowned.
The public prosecutor stated he has received a summary of the expert report on the cause of the tragedy, which report focuses on the standard of maintenance of the ship.
The main burden of responsibility however appears to be attributed to the Hellenic Shipping Registry and the owner of the vessel, "Herakles", a subsidiary of the AGET cement company.
The cargo ship, laden with 5,300 tons of cement, left Volos on December 26, heading for Piraeus. The following day it sought shelter at the nearby island of Skiathos due to bad weather and sailed for the Athens port. Late on December 28 it capsized, after tilting 90 degrees.
Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos yesterday received the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Mark Grossman, the Vice-chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff Joseph Ralston and ambassador to Athens Nicholas Burns. According reports, the Minister and the US officials exchanged views and information on the recent crisis with Iraq and Mr. Grossman said that the US is awaiting for the diplomatic initiatives to defuse the crisis
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos is said to have pointed out to Mr. Grossman that all diplomatic efforts must be exhausted for a peaceful settlement of the crisis.
Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/
mpab2html v1.01c run on Tuesday, 3 February 1998 - 12:44:35 UTC


text: Barbara C. Smith is the Director of Choirs at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen, Arizona. With teaching experience in elementary, middle school and high school, she is in her sixteenth year of teaching - specifically, her ninth year at Cesar Chavez High School. Mrs. Smith is a graduate of Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music and Drama. Mrs. Smith is also a graduate of The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas earning a Master of Music Education. Mrs. Smith is an active member of the Arizona Music Educators Association (AMEA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). She has served as clinician for both the Creighton Elementary School District Choral Festival and the Festival Honor Choir for the Greater Phoenix Choral Festival. In addition, Mrs. Smith has directed the Choristers Children's Choir at Trinity Cathedral. In her younger years just after college, Mrs. Smith lived and sang professionally in New York City. Her highest honor was being cast as Maureen in the touring company of the Broadway Musical 'Rent'. In her free time, Mrs. Smith enjoys watching movies, shopping, tap dancing, and working out at the gym. Her home is in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband Brad, son Dylan, daughter Cecilia, and their dog Zita. Contact Information Barbara C. Smith Director of Choirs Cesar Chavez High School 3921 W. Baseline Road Laveen, AZ 85339 (602) 764-4507 bsmith@phoenixunion.org


text:
Evolution of Cannabis
About GBB
Affiliations and Announcements
GEORGIAN BAY
About Georgian Bay Biomed
Georgian Bay Biomed was founded in 2014 with the intention of becoming the world leader in highly advanced, automated, and science-driven cannabis production.
To discover what an optimal future in cannabis production may look like, our core team set off on an intensive journey of research and discovery. After years of consultations with industry veterans, academics, researchers, scientists, students, legacy growers, politicians, leading technology and automation companies, GBB is now positioned to set new standards in the high-efficiency production of consistent, high-yielding, top-quality cannabis.
Leading this charge within GBB is a diverse group of executive professionals with deep experience in a wide array of industries. From regulated health industries, big pharma, and food distribution to technology, farming, and cannabis, our leadership's muti-faceted real-world experience will enable the company to safely and successfully navigate, operate, and quickly adapt within a rapidly developing market.
With an eye to the future, our core team is working in tandem with a strong group of world-leading innovators and scientists to help guide our technology and automation build outs. Based on real-world application and years of top-level research, our new approach to production is shepherding in The Evolution of Cannabis.™
CEO – Tim Boosamra
Tim's 4 years of leadership at Georgian Bay Biomed leverages 20 years of prior experience in packaged goods manufacturing, finance, sales, regulations, distribution and international networking. Most recent leadership roles include VP of Sales & Business Development and VP Business Partner Relations during a 16-year tenure with Provincial Sales and Marketing - a national sales and marketing firm - primarily engaged in the grocery industry. As Founder and VP of Sales for the Animal Treats division at an international pet manufacturer, Tim also led a diverse team from product creation/inception through to successful international launch.
CFO – Jeremy Blumer, BComm, CA, CPA
Former Head of Accounting of BlackBerry Ltd. where he led all global reporting & compliance for operations, as well as planning in over 50 countries worldwide. He also oversaw all quarterly and yearly reporting to the SEC. Most recently, he was the CFO for Maricann Group Inc. where he successfully led the RTO transaction (CSE: MARI), helping raise in excess of $50M through institutional and retail investors. Jeremy brings over 22 years of finance experience in the fields of complex accounting and reporting, operations finance, planning & analysis, M&A, negotiations and international modeling within both public and private company environments.
Chief Operating Officer – Adam Boothby
Adam guides GBB's build-out and operations as former COO of a greenhouse technology and organic farming company in New York, where he was brought on to work hand-in-hand with an internationally renowned energy efficiency specialist in the development of new-zero energy greenhouse growing. In addition, Adam draws on his previous strategic, operational, and business development experience in senior management roles across a variety of industries including communications and logistics, travel and music.
Quality Control Officer – Doug Busse B.Sc.
39 years experience in Regulated Health Industries including start-ups through Big Pharma. Specialties include compliant Manufacturing, Auditing, Quality Management Systems development, Training, Implementation, Batch Record review and Batch Release, Man-in-Plant QA and Technical oversight. Operated successful consulting practice and managed successful licensing of Drug Products, Medical Devices, and Marijuana for Medical Purposes (Cultivation & Sale)
Exec VP Michael Bosman – Commercial & Medical Operations
20 years of pharmaceutical experience in multiple therapy areas at both Global and Affiliate operations at 3 major organizations GlaxoWellcome, Eli Lilly, and, most recently, Novartis Pharma. Senior roles have included New Product Planning, Market Research, Marketing, Sales, Brand Planning and collaboration with Clinical and Health Policy/Regulatory divisions. Michael has been an active team leader during all phases of product development from 6 years pre-launch through launch through to generic introduction. Michael has also served as Global Expert Consultant on Customer Segmentation and Direct-To-Consumer Marketing.
VP Sales – Dave Thomson
With over 10 years of Food & Beverage sales leadership with national and global retailers, Dave has extensive experience with global/national household brands as well as private label products across numerous categories. Dave's deep first-hand knowledge pertaining to the beverage industry is the result of his Account Management of Powerbev Inc. (Red BULL). His expertise in food/beverage began with Provincial Sales Brokerage and most recently, Dave has served as Director of International Sales for Super Pufft Snacks Corp., one of Canada's largest and most successful Canadian food/beverage exporters - recently named 'Exporter of the Year'.
365 Evans Avenue, Suite 503
M8Z 1K2
info@georgianbaybiomed.com


text:
IBM: Multi-Cloud Complexity Next Big Enterprise Roadblock
Helping IBM multi-cloud customers tackle integration challenges was a consistent thread this week at IBM Think 2019 in San Francisco.
Nicole Henderson | Feb 15, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO -- IBM is working on solving a lot of enormous, global problems using its technology, from reducing food waste and the spread of foodborne illnesses to helping people communicate during natural disasters. What runs behind the scenes is a vast network of clouds, containers, edge devices and more that help its researchers bring these innovations to life. Diverse, multi-cloud environments can create other problems. Namely, their complexity makes them difficult to manage.
"About year or so ago, [IBM] looked at what is happening around enterprise adoption of cloud and realized that there are 20 percent of workloads that can move to the cloud, and there are a lot of choices there, but there was something fundamentally holding back the rest of the 80 percent," IBM general manager, cloud, Don Boulia tells ITPro Today.
IBM determined what was holding these workloads back were enterprise concerns centered around three main areas: integration, data, and consistency. How IBM multi-cloud customers will tackle these challenges was a consistent thread this week at IBM Think 2019 in San Francisco.
"If your applications are all over the place, what becomes important is integration," Boulia said. To that end, IBM introduced the IBM Cloud Integration platform, a container-based platform that connects applications, software and services regardless of vendor or where the data is hosted. It offers a set of integration tools in a single development environment.
"So, we've been talking about agility for a long time … and typically what that means is that you can build things fast," Boulia said. "The success in an enterprise is not about how quickly you build stuff, but how quickly you get it into production. And to get things into production, you must take care of the boring stuff like security, availability, backup, SLAs, etcetera."
The IBM Cloud Integration platform helps enterprises do this because it allows integration specialists to write, test and secure code one time, store it in the platform, and then reuse it, saving them time while ensuring they are compliant with security requirements.
In addressing the challenge around consistency, IBM introduced the IBM Multicloud Manager commercially in October 2018, which allows enterprises to manage Kubernetes clusters across multi-cloud environments. Steve Robinson, GM, IBM hybrid cloud, said that enterprises can set consistent policy and more dynamically move them from one location to another.
"For us, one of the exciting things about Kubernetes was that it was a consistent model adopted by the community be open and it was available everywhere across different providers," Boulia said. "And secondly, Kubernetes was designed to a point where it did meaningful stuff both to the newer cloud-native applications as well as traditional applications."
Wrangling legacy and traditional applications will continue to create challenges for enterprises as they consider what to do with the 80 percent of the applications that still haven't found a home in the cloud, as they also try to maintain consistency across their environment.
"I think to a certain extent the last few years have been significantly disrupted by cloud in a variety of factors, in the way it changed people's opinion, the way it changed VCs behavior, how it changed enterprise behavior. I think to me, the most important thing, however dull or boring it might sound, is to really harden that," Boulia said.
"And hardening is unfortunately boring. It is painful, it doesn't get headlines, but it is what makes technology sustainable. And if you look at the spirit of a lot of our announcements, we didn't answer the next form of cloud, or we didn't say computing is going to move from cloud to something else. It was how do you make this more sustainable and more scalable and more relevant to become a foundational technology."
"And over the next 12 months, I see that as being really imperative because I think part of the dangers of innovation is you never stick long enough to something before the next thing comes up. And enterprises don't have the skill or the ability for a variety of factors to keep up with that pace of innovation. There must be a point of stability where they can transform themselves and get ready for the next phase of innovation. And I think we are in that gap with the initial stuff around the cloud."


text:
Malaysia receives MD 530G light attack helos
by Gareth Jennings
All six MD 530G helicopters for Malaysia are lined up at MDHI's Texas training facility for their official handover to the Malaysian MoD. They are currently in transit to Malaysia, arriving before the end of Q1 2022. (MD Helicopters Inc.)
MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI) has formally handed over six MD 530G armed reconnaissance and light attack rotorcraft to Malaysia, the company announced on 13 January.
The latest-generation 'Little Bird' helicopters were delivered to the Malaysian Ministry of Defence (MoD) at the company's Texas training centre in the United States. They are currently being transported to Malaysia, arriving before the end of the first quater of (Q1) 2022.
Malaysia became the launch customer for the MD 530G when it signed for six helicopters in February 2016. The MD 530G is the latest standard of MDHI's range of light attack and scout helicopters based on the Model 369FF 'Little Bird' airframe (Boeing utilises the same airframe for its AH-6i [International]/S [Saudi] platform).
Air vehicles Armed forces Army Defence procurement Equipment in service Army Malaysia Rotary-wing aircraft
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/malaysia-receives-md-530g-light-attack-helos/
MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI) has formally handed over six MD 530G armed reconnaissance and light attack...


text:
Relief Gang gives toys to families in need Christmas morning
By Ivory Hecker, FOX 26 News
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Rapper Trae Tha Truth's Relief Gang handed out thousands of gifts to families in need Christmas morning, teaming up with a former Texans football player to make it happen.
The group adopted about 200 families in need, inviting them to the Relief Gang warehouse to pick up Christmas presents.
Former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster pitched in to help pay for the gifts and load them into people's cars on Christmas Day.
"We funded most of it, and then yesterday Arian Foster came, and he matched what we did, so now we have more than enough gifts," said Trae Tha Truth, co-founder of the Relief Gang nonprofit group.
"I got quite a few gifts, quite a few nice gifts for the kids," said Jackie Cooper, one of the gift recipients. "I really appreciate it. I follow Trae on Instagram and everything. I try to support him. He's a blessing to us you know."
Cooper says her home experienced damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and she's grateful for the extra help getting gifts this year for her eight grandchildren.
"We got this toy from Relief Gang and Trae," said Lauren Detana, holding up a box that contained a shiny new doll for her two-year-old daughter Aaliyah.
Her little family struggled to buy Christmas gifts after Hurricane Harvey destroyed their home.
"We got about four-and-a-half to five feet of water within 24 hours of the first day it started raining," said Jacob Rivas, Aaliyah's father who was there at the Relief Gang warehouse to help his daughter pick out presents. "We were probably about a mile away from Greens Bayou. We live in Humble, and we didn't think it would get that high. We had just purchased the property. I tried to go back the next day to see if there's any belongings I could save, and I ended up walking in chest high water to see my home, you know. Everything was gone."
Jacob, Lauren and little Aaliyah say they're currently living in a family member's garage.
"For Trae and Arian to take time to come out and give to us--it really means a lot," said Lauren.
Relief Gang and Foster spent several hours handing out gifts today, but Trae Tha Truth says they still have more presents to give away.
If your family is in need, or if you'd like to donate to the work Relief Gang is doing, send an email to reliefgang@gmail.com.
13 women test positive for STDs, Houston janitor peed in office water bottles
Tyre Nichols: Body cam video released, 5 officers charged with murder


text:
Blue Jays in Seattle vacation packages on sale
By Chris February 23, 2017 01:49pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 23, 2017
VICTORIA, B.C. – Opening Day of the 2017 West Coast League season is now just over three months away, and so to is the second annual HarbourCats vacation to Seattle.
Last September, 140 HarbourCats fans boarded Wilson's Transportation buses and joined an estimated 20,000 Blue Jays fans in taking over Safeco Field for a midweek series between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 2017 series takes place on Friday, June 9 through Sunday June 11, making a great weekend getaway kickoff to summer. The package also includes two nights accommodation at the Hilton Embassy Lynnwood.
It also coordinates with the beginning of the HarbourCats regular season. The HarbourCats open their home season on June 5-7 at Royal Athletic Park and will be playing on the road in Wenatchee during the Mariners and Blue Jays series.
Tickets for all three games, which have been confirmed, are lower level located along third base and the left field line.
Complete package details:
Travel on Wilson's Transportation buses from to and from Victoria and Seattle. Ferry cost also included.
Field level tickets for all three Blue Jays @ Mariners games at Safeco Field.
Two nights at the Hilton Embassy Lynnwood.
Total cost is $798 per person (based on double occupancy). Different rates available for triple as well as single occupancy. Registration for HarbourCats season ticket holders is $725 (based on double occupancy).
"The 2016 Blue Jays in Seattle trip was such an enjoyable experience to share with our fans and we are excited do it again this year," said HarbourCats managing partner Jim Swanson. "This is an exciting opportunity to see Canada's major league team in person with many of our closest friends from HarbourCats games, and also a chance to enjoy a summer weekend in Seattle. We are thrilled to again partner with Flight Centre in again putting on this great event."
To register, contact Carey Shelby at Flight Centre (1-866-299-5614) or carey.shelby@flightcentre.ca
WINTER BASEBALL TRAINING
The HarbourCats are offering a series of instructional youth baseball camps at the Westshore Training Academy (2950 Westshore Parkway, Victoria, BC).
HarbourCats personnel will conduct the camps including Jim Swanson (MLB scout), Troy Birtwistle (HarbourCats assistant coach), Andrew Wilson (HarbourCats assistant coach), Brad Norris-Jones (HarbourCats general manager) and other guest instructors.
February 25 – 26
March 11 – 12
Saturday sessions run from 3:00pm until 5:00pm, and Sunday sessions run from 6:00pm until 8:00pm.
Registration cost is $20 for single sessions.
Brad Norris-Jones will be conducting individual or group sessions on select weeknights (Monday to Thursday).
Over 60,000 fans attended HarbourCats games in 2016 for an average of 2,239 fans per game, which led the West Coast League and ranked ninth in all of North America among summer-collegiate clubs. Secure your favorite seat today for the 2017 season.
Seating location and pricing options are as follows—
DIAMOND CLUB SEATS (Field Level Box Seats in 2016)
$550 (SOLD OUT)
The HarbourCats office (1814 Vancouver Street, 778-265-0327) is open and operating under off-season hours.
Office hours through March are:
MONDAY-FRIDAY – 10:00am – 4:00pm


text:
Tucson: 2018 Land Use – Peer Exchange Panel
Salt Lake City: 2018 Land Use – Peer Exchange Panel
Richmond: 2018 Land Use – Peer Exchange Panel
Columbus: 2018 Land Use – Peer Exchange Panel
All Projects >
Molly Urbina
CEO, Urbina Strategies, LLC
Participated In
Molly is President and CEO of Urbina Strategies, LLC providing expert land use and resilience consulting for private, public and non-profit sectors. She recently served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Resiliency and Recovery Office appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper in January of 2014. She served four years as the resiliency and recovery leader of the state to coordinate the diverse and complex portfolio of disaster recovery and resiliency efforts with a sense of urgency. Working with federal, state and local partners to advocate for and leverage resources, develop relationships and long-term plans/strategies to support and empower Colorado. She led the Governor's mission to build back stronger, safer and more resilient from the historic 2013 flooding while also shaping an adaptable and vibrant future.
Prior to her appointment with the Governor, Molly served as the Deputy Manager of Denver's Community Planning and Development Department from 2005 to 2014 as an appointee of the Mayor of Denver. She oversaw the city's planning and zoning/building functions encompassing broad city visioning and tactical plan implementation. She was integral in the drafting and enactment of Denver's citywide zoning code rewrite and mapping, passed by City Council in 2010.
Before joining city government, Molly spent much of her career in the construction and real estate development industry. She served as the director of government affairs for Oakwood Homes and as the director of development services for CRL Associates handling government affairs and land use consulting for local and regional clients.
Molly has served on the Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver board since 2013 and is currently President. She also serves on the national board of EcoDistricts beginning in 2017 and the Denver County Courts Judicial Nomination Commission since 2015.
Copyright © 2019 National League of Cities. All Rights Reserved.
National League of Cities
660 N. Capitol Street, Suite 450
Email: rosecenter@uli.org
– Land Use Fellowship
– Economic Development Fellowship
– Other Programming
An Inside Look at Economic Development in Japan
Cameron Arial's 2018 ULI Fall Meeting Blog
Zen Trenholm
Janine Clark


text:
What Would You Do If You Found a Bag of Human Ashes?
It began as a typical park cleanup near the Wissahickon. It turned into a months-long quest to figure out who Charles Chester Smith* was — and why nobody seemed to want what was left of him.
By Liz Spikol·	 10/11/2015, 5:59 a.m.
Photograph by Liz Spikol
*The names of this person and those related to him as well as identifying details of his death have been changed.
The day I found Charles started out pretty much like any other — well, except that I was doing a park cleanup and I never do park cleanups. It's not that I don't care about parks. I do. But I don't have the social acumen for group activities that compel small talk, especially when that small talk might be about recycling. At the last park cleanup I attended, for example, I worked mostly alone, and came across a dead rabbit.
It was perfectly preserved. Lying on its side, eyes open, ears erect, it almost appeared to be mid-stride. Its fur was damp from the dew that day, its fluffy body marred only by a small red aperture where a BB pellet might have entered. Its body was entirely surrounded by fall leaves — the colors were sumptuous. I sat with it for a while, feeling sad and regretful and overwhelmingly sorry for a whole mess of things that had nothing to do with this tiny rabbit's existence. When one of the other cleanup attendees asked what I was doing, I yelled back, "I found a dead bunny!" She seemed to think it was strange that this would delay me, and I was reminded again of how different I am from other people, the normal folks who go to a cleanup and pick up trash without crashing into existential crises. I felt tragic for the rest of the day, but made small talk, and more small talk, while the vision of that rabbit stayed in my mind like a lingering camera flash.
But do I love parks? You bet I love parks. So I did another cleanup for LOVE Your Park Week, and that's how I found Charles.
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The LOVE Your Park Week cleanup started in a wooded area next to the parking lot at the trailhead for the Wissahickon bike path. It's adjacent to the Wissahickon Transportation Center on Ridge Avenue, which has 11 different bus routes coming through — a busy place. There are always lots of people around, waiting for SEPTA or walking gingerly across the Ridge Avenue Bridge so they don't collide with bicyclists.
Yet the green space at this spot — where the Wissahickon empties into the Schuylkill — is stunning; there's an old stone bridge that spans the banks of the river there and, beneath it, a dam that creates a waterfall. It's the ultimate representation of one of Philadelphia's greatest strengths: the way natural beauty is found in the middle of urban chaos.
Unfortunately, the woods and riverbank there seem to be considered by some residents a suitable place to throw trash. I guess if you're waiting for the bus or standing in the parking lot and no longer feel like carrying that single-use plastic bottle of water (which, unlike Philadelphia's high-quality EPA-regulated tap water, might contain E. coli), it doesn't seem out of order to just pitch that bottle — or beer can or potato-chip bag or ballpoint pen or plastic bag or banana peel — into the woods. It's a bad decision, but we all make them, and one day a group of dedicated small-talking strangers will come along and pick up your trash for you, erasing your sins.
This time the army of strangers was outfitted with trash bags in one hand and trash pickers in the other. I was walking just inside the wooden fence next to the parking lot, keeping to myself, when I saw a clear plastic bag of white powder, about the size of a gallon milk jug. Cocaine? How exciting! Of course, I knew no real Philadelphian would stash such bounty here — or anywhere, for that matter, other than up his nose — so it had to be something else. The bag was dirty, with a couple bugs crawling inside of it, and the grain of the powder — extremely fine but with chalky chunks — looked familiar. Suddenly, I had two visions: an Oriental Shorthair cat with a triangular face that resembled a praying mantis more than a feline and whose meows sounded like a human infant, and a shy tan Chihuahua with a black button nose who always kept her tail between her legs unless she smelled steak or saw her owner unexpectedly. Both of these animals were long dead, but their ashes were in my apartment, in separate cedar boxes, because I'm the kind of person who keeps the remains of her pets. Not only that; I know the consistency of those ashes because I wept over the teensy baggies when they were handed to me by the vet. My next thought, then, was this: Wow. This must've been one hell of a big dog.
I took the bag into the parking lot for a closer look, reviewing the American Kennel Club registry in my head as I did: Great Dane? Mastiff? St. Bernard? I once worked at a newspaper where the publisher brought his Bernese mountain dog into the office of the paper's very stuffy British owner, and the dog — a puppy, but already as large as a Smart Car — peed all over the carpet. Maybe this was one of those dogs? Then I saw there was a piece of paper in the bag. It had a picture of a building and a printed name and then something else I couldn't quite make out. Black type on white paper. The bag was fastened with a twist tie. Naturally, I opened it.
I took the powder-covered paper out and shook it off. It was from the Ivy Hill Cemetery Company on Easton Road, not far from my house. It read:
CREMATED REMAINS OF
CHARLES CHESTER SMITH
DATE OF DEATH: 5/8/2009
CREMATED ON: 5/22/2009
AGE: 54 Yrs.
Suddenly my fingertips, covered in white powder, felt hot. This was no dog. It was a human being. I dropped the card back into the bag and wiped my hands on my jeans, leaving white streaks. My heart was pounding. What should I do? I looked around at the group of strangers with their bags and trash pickers, all bent over, working silently, like an urban spin on The Gleaners. I thought about telling one of them, but this wasn't like finding a dead bunny. And it definitely wasn't small talk.
There was no way I was leaving the ashes there. Later, someone suggested that I had disturbed the intended resting place of this bag of remains, but that wasn't so. This wasn't the kind of spot where one goes to scatter ashes — or even to plunk down a nine-pound bag of them. It was the kind of place where people dump unwanted things. And at any rate, while it's permissible in some cases to scatter ashes on city land (more on that later), it's not permissible to leave a plastic bag of them adjacent to the watershed — but that has more to do with the plastic than the incinerated flesh. In any case, they would have to be removed.
I put the bag of ashes in my car, on the floor behind the driver's seat, until I could figure out what to do. Then I felt unsure. The bag looked so vulnerable back there, so unprotected. I guess it might have been unprotected for six years in the woods, but just sticking it in my car on top of an outdated newspaper and an old paper map seemed wrong. The ashes were so visible. I took the bag out and put it into a green trash bag as though I was putting a sheet over a dead body, and then I put it back into the car.
I looked around for my boyfriend, who'd organized the cleanup, to tell him about the ashes, but didn't see him, so I went back to picking up trash: a hubcap here, a cigarette butt there, a glass bottle and a pocketknife. I slid down a hill and landed next to a dead sparrow. I stopped briefly but didn't mourn it as I had the rabbit. What's a dead bird after you find a man?
The mausoleum at Ivy Hill Cemetery. Photograph by Liz Spikol
IVY HILL CEMETERY, founded in 1867, is one of more than 200 cemeteries in Philadelphia, three of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. When history buffs come to Philadelphia, they often stop at our cemeteries. Seven signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here, as are 40 Civil War-era generals. So are Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, Commodore John Barry, General George Meade and countless other historical figures. There are cultural icons, too, like Thomas Eakins and John Barrymore.
There are also the unknown dead, buried in places like Weccacoe Playground, once an African-American burial ground, or in the city's potter's fields, where the unidentified dead were buried until the 1980s, when the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office began the practice of cremating identified but unclaimed bodies. The office keeps the ashes for about 10 years, to provide time for relatives to turn up. In 2010, 1,500 unclaimed remains were buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery with a tombstone that read: 1,500 CITIZENS CONSIGNED TO EARTH/CITY OF PHILADELPHIA 2010.
At Ivy Hill, along with the graves of Joe Frazier, Harold Melvin, Marion Williams, two Civil War generals, and several other notable people in sports, music, and political and military history, there is a grave for one of these unclaimed citizens: the child known as the Boy in the Box. In 1957 his naked body was found in a cardboard carton in a thicket near Susquehanna and Verree roads. The box was from the J.C. Penney at 69th and Chestnut and originally held a white bassinet. The kindergarten-aged boy weighed 30 pounds and had blue eyes and light brown hair. He had bruises all over his body and was covered in a cotton blanket. Who was he? How had he come to such a sad end? Despite decades of work by multiple detectives and an investigation by the superb minds at the Vidocq Society, the boy's identity remains a mystery. But after many years in a potter's field, his remains were moved to a more dignified resting place: an elevated plot with a stone bench and a large marker that says AMERICA'S UNKNOWN CHILD at Ivy Hill's entrance.
When I found out the Boy in the Box was buried at Ivy Hill, it seemed like a sign. I wrote about him years ago and was friends with one of the men who worked on the case, the late forensic sculptor Frank Bender. And wasn't it some kind of kismet that Ivy Hill was so close to my house? Perhaps I'd found Charles for a reason. The best omen of all was the way Joe Frazier's image on gray marble was hit by sun and clouds the first time I went to Ivy Hill, making him look like a heavyweight hologram. Help me, Obi-Wan Joe. You're my only hope.
The office at Ivy Hill was plain and workmanlike. There was nothing to suggest that the women who worked there were dealing with the business of death; they could as easily have been doing taxes. While I stood by her side, a woman looked up Charles's cremation identification number on the computer and located the funeral home where he'd had his service. I didn't know why I was standing there while she did this, but I was happy to keep her company. Then she gave me the name of the funeral home and the phone number and told me to give them a call to locate next of kin. I was confused. Charles was in the car. Behind the driver's seat. Didn't they want him? No, they did not. If the funeral home was uncooperative, they said, then I could bring him back.
Later that day, I called the funeral home. At this point, I had Googled Charles, of course, but there were few results. There was no obituary in local papers. I learned only that he was born on Sunday, June 27, 1954, the day the world's first nuclear power plant opened not far from Moscow.
The woman at the funeral home found the records immediately. She said his wife was the contact person they had listed, and she told me her name: Sheila Smith. Terrific. She also said the number for Sheila had been disconnected. She volunteered to walk to Sheila's house, which was only a few blocks away, and knock on the door. She said she'd call me back with an update.
That call never came. When I emailed later, she wrote back simply: "I have not been successful in finding the next of kin."
Had she gone to Sheila's house or not? I did a search for Sheila's name along with addresses near the funeral home's location — and there she was. Well, if they weren't going to pound on the door, I would. Charles needed resolution! I wanted to give these ashes to someone who'd known him. It didn't have to be someone who'd loved him. Maybe he wasn't lovable. But I felt it should be someone who remembered the timbre of his voice.
The four-story red brick apartment building, with vacant lots on either side, was boarded up, its windows broken or covered by graffitied plywood. What was once an ornate entryway with an awning was now a bare metal skeleton with a little bag of trash hanging from its curlicued metalwork. The door was padlocked. Later I learned there'd been a terrible fire at that building in 2011, two years after Charles's death, displacing its roughly 30 residents. The damaged mess of a building is now for sale for half a million dollars.
The Ridge Avenue Bridge near where Charles's ashes were found. Photograph by Bradley Maule
CREMATION IS INCREASING in popularity. According to the Cremation Association of North America, in 1998, 24 percent of dead people in the U.S. were cremated. In 2014, that percentage jumped to 46.7. Pennsylvania sits just below the national average at 42.9 percent. One reason for the increase is that cremation is more cost-effective than burial. A direct cremation in the Philadelphia area — no service, and you take the ashes home with you — generally starts at around $1,000. Like furniture delivery, this varies depending upon where the person is coming from and going to. But even taking extra fees into account, burials are much more costly. There's the casket and the plot and the headstone and the mortuary services and perpetual grave care. In 2012, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a burial with casket and vault (sans plot) was about $8,000.
Other factors play into the popularity, though. Barbara Kemmis, executive director of the Cremation Association of North America, notes that cremation is more conducive to 21st-century realities, like the fact that family members often live at a distance from each other. "Cremation allows people to follow a different time frame," she says, so that families can gather six months after the death to scatter the ashes. Cremation also allows for much more, shall we say, customization: Cremated remains can be shot into space, fashioned into jewelry, turned into vinyl records, or tattooed onto a loved one's body. "If you dream of something you want to do with cremated remains," Kemmis says, "you can find someone to help you do that."
In November 2005, Tempe, Arizona, bar owner Christopher Noteboom came to Philadelphia for an Eagles game. The Doylestown native had lost his mother to emphysema in January, and she'd been cremated. She'd also been a very big Eagles fan, so Noteboom honored her in bold fashion: by running out onto the field in the middle of a game to scatter her cremains. He got as far as the 30-yard line, "leaving a cloud of fine powder behind," according to AP reports at the time, before being escorted away by security and then arrested. Later, he told the TV news, "I know that the last handful of ashes I had are laying on the field, and will never be taken away. She'll always be part of Lincoln Financial Field and of the Eagles." Similarly, country music star Tim McGraw, Tug McGraw's son, surreptitiously deposited a handful of Tug on the Citizens Bank Park pitcher's mound before Game 3 of the 2008 World Series, to honor his dad. He was not arrested, however.
In Pennsylvania, ashes can be buried belowground and marked with a plaque or headstone; buried aboveground in a columbarium; scattered on private ground with permission of the landowner; or scattered on certain public grounds with approval or a permit. According to federal law, ashes can be scattered at sea as long as you're three nautical miles from land, the water is at least 600 feet deep, and you report the scattering in writing within 30 days to the EPA. It is also legal, by the way, to throw a dead body in the ocean, as long as you report it to the EPA using the same Burial at Sea form — though the questions for non-cremated remains are a little different, i.e., "Did the remains appear to rapidly sink to the ocean floor?" I find it fascinating that I need an advance permit to park a moving truck in front of my building but I can take a dead body out to the ocean without doing a jot of paperwork beforehand.
Had I known this, perhaps I would have dumped my grandmother in the ocean, since she spent some of her best times at the Jersey Shore as a young single gal (but not as a virgin, she'd remind me, lest I make the mistake of saving myself till marriage). Instead, we did a bargain-basement cremation for her. The place my father found was so cheap, in fact, that he asked why. The guy replied: "Don't ask why we're so cheap — ask the other guys why they're so expensive!" My dad thought that was pretty good logic.
IT WAS A MAN's VOICE on the recording: "This is Rob and Jen. Leave a message." I spoke quickly. "Hi, I'm looking for a Jennifer Smith who may have been related to Charles Chester Smith who died in 2009. I, um, I have … I was doing a park cleanup and I found a bag of ashes, Charles's ashes, and I'm sorry to bother you but I'm trying to reach someone who's part of his family."
I had already reached out to Jennifer on Facebook, though she wasn't active there anymore, and sent messages to a number of her Facebook friends with similarly awkward wording about dead people and cremains. When she called me back, she wasn't happy.
"How did you get my number? This is a private number."
"Well, I'm a journalist, and I used a database. … "
"I haven't been married to Charles in 16 years," Jennifer said. "He was married to someone else."
"I am so sorry to bother you and intrude on your privacy. It's just that I have his ashes, you know, and I'd really like a family member to have them … if they want them."
"Where did you say you found them?"
I told Jennifer the whole story. She was amazed. She'd been married to Charles for 20 years. "But we all live in West Philly. I have no idea how in God's green earth they ended up there."
Jennifer said nothing specific about her marriage to Charles, and I felt rude asking. After all, who knows what happened between them? They were divorced — maybe this was a terrible reminder of a life she'd rather forget. She did say, though, that her son — along with Charles's oldest daughter — made all the arrangements for the cremation. The ashes were supposedly divided between his second wife Sheila and someone else, and then, as far as Jennifer knew, Sheila and her daughter moved out of town. As for Charles's other kids, his two sons were now incarcerated. I told her Ivy Hill could take the ashes back, but she said she wanted some time to resolve this among the family. Later that day, unable to contain my curiosity, I drove past the house that Jennifer and Charles lived in when they were married. There were red and pink heart stickers all over the mailbox.
HERE'S WHAT ELSE my journalistic database told me about Charles:
He spent most of the '90s and 2000s living in West Philly, close to the El.
He filed for bankruptcy four times.
He was sued by a couple of very sketchy-sounding mortgage companies in the '90s, one of which was successfully sued for violating the Truth in Lending Act.
He was sued twice by individuals for outstanding debt.
A small-claims suit for just over $2,000 was filed by Slomin's Inc. against someone with his name shortly after his death. The Haverford Avenue residence that's listed on that filing is now a church.
I have addresses, financial records and little more. This is not enough. How could it be? My curiosity about people — what my childhood Fairmount neighbors called my "noosey-ness" — is not, as some have mistakenly thought, the journalist in me. It's a hunger for narrative. I am keen on details that will reveal the larger structure of a person's life, especially if that person is a stranger. But unlike a woman on the train, about whom I can invent a story, the ashes of a man leave me little to go on. I feel that if I knew what he looked like, some mystery would be solved. So I ride through his former neighborhood, down tiny streets and dead ends. But the drive is crushingly depressing. I sometimes forget how bombed-out and wretched Philadelphia can be. Was it like this when he lived here? I just don't have enough information.
I have found a Sheila Smith who could be the one. She's on Facebook and the right age. Her profile dovetails with what Jennifer said. We have mutual friends, which suggests a Philly connection. I send her a note and wait. And wait. I realize it's entirely possible she doesn't want to hear from me, but they were married when he died. Finally, after a long 12 days, I get a message back: "I am sorry but I never live there before, my home is Ohio but I live [somewhere else] now." Another door closed.
So I decide to throw in the towel and reach out to my friend who works in law enforcement — let's call him Julio. He's the lucky guy who gets my texts when strange things happen around me that I can't explain. He doesn't get easily ruffled. A typical exchange might go like this:
Me: "I just heard gunshots and screams and breaking glass. What do you think?"
Him: "I think you should move."
I once asked him for help with a kitten stuck in a tree, and he suggested I tell the cops the kitten was armed because I'd be sure to get them to respond that way. When I make a rock album, it will be called Kitten's Got a Gun.
I text Julio about the ashes. His first response: "Only you, Spikol." My goal, to be honest, is to determine that Charles was a terrible person. Then I can accept that he ended up dumped next to a parking lot. I'm hoping for a lengthy criminal record, maybe some domestic abuse. A murder would be good. Over coffee, I ask Julio if he can put Charles's name into a database, just see what he comes up with. He predicts that getting such information will take about 45 seconds. He also predicts this: "I'll bet he had some kind of '70s Afro." I laugh and disagree: "I get a balding vibe," I say. Then I sigh. Yet another indignity: The body of Charles Chester Smith has been turned into a macabre parlor game.
TODAY IS THE DAY I return the ashes. They've been under my sink for ages, nestled between the Endust and the Shout. Not very dignified, I know, but I put them there after realizing that my dog might get curious about the bag, with its smells of the Wissahickon, and do something inappropriate. Seemed like Charles had suffered enough without getting peed upon by a spoiled three-legged Chihuahua.
I'm supposed to meet Jennifer outside my office, on the corner of 19th and Market, for the handoff. It seems garish to hand her a trash bag with her ex-husband, so before we meet, I go to the store to find a gift bag. It's ridiculous, I know, but it's the only thing I can think of to make the situation better. Obviously, the ones that say CONGRATS or have colorful balloons on them are out of the question, so I go to the plain ones. But what color do I buy? Red makes me think of the Phillies, though I'm willing to admit not everyone would have that response. Blue seems too happy-skies. Yellow is sunny. The alternative? Black. Well, that's appropriately funereal. But on my way home, I second-guess myself. Isn't that overdoing it? Putting them in a black bag? Sadly, there is no etiquette guide for this situation.
Jennifer and I have simply said 19th and Market at 1 p.m. In front of my office building, for reasons that remain obscure to me, there are people playing tennis — net and all. There are tables with bank reps trying to get people to sign up. There are worker bees eating lunch and having cocktails. There are people waiting for the bus and emerging from the subway entrance. It's crowded. How will I recognize Jennifer?
I stand on the corner holding the black bag, trying to look like a person holding human remains. I look at all the 60-plus women who walk by and wait for some kind of awareness. I've been living with Charles for a long time now and feel we are intimate. I've invented things about him: I think he was a large man, with a wide smile and a big, deep laugh. I think he had a mustache. I think we would get along. Because of this imagined intimacy, I believe I'll know his ex-wife. One lady with short gray hair and a black-and-white silk shirt looks like she might be right, and she's walking slowly, as though she might be looking for someone. I walk toward her, but someone cuts in front of me to hug her. "Barbara!" the other person says. Okay, not Jennifer. I resume my watch on the corner. In the next 10 minutes, the only other possibility is a woman who comes up from the subway and looks around confusedly. She's wearing a denim cap, an American flag t-shirt and denim shorts, and something tells me that Jennifer wouldn't wear that outfit. Still, she's definitely looking for someone. I approach gingerly. "Jennifer?" She smiles with delight. "No!" she says.
It turns out Jennifer won't be coming today; her daughter Shauna will drive up to the corner of 19th and Market instead. When I open the door to her SUV, Shauna is talking on the phone to a friend. "Hold on a minute," she says to her friend. She gives me a huge smile. "Thank you so much," she says. I plunk down the black bag on the passenger seat and blurt, "Is this your dad?" So much for being sensitive. "No," she says. "My mother hasn't been married to Charles for decades. She does have children by him, though. He had children." She says they're going to try to get those children to take the ashes. I want to ask if the arrangements are secure, but how is it my business? Her friend is still holding on the phone, and she's parked illegally. I know I should let her go. But I have to ask: "How did he die?"
"Heart attack," she says. "He was sick. He died young. He had diabetes."
I let her get back to her phone call and the rest of her day. But as I walk back to my office, I feel so lonely. I know he wasn't anyone to me, really, just a figment of my imagination. Yet I feel like I've lost someone. I'm also worried about where he'll end up. The sons are in jail? For how long? Will the daughter want him? Or was it daughters? I'm still unclear on the kids thing, but I don't need to untangle it anymore. It's no longer my mystery. This fact makes me feel out of control and slightly panicked, as though I want to get him back. Maybe I should have scooped some of him out of the bag and saved it, I think. I am really glad I have this thought after Shauna is gone.
When I said goodbye to Shauna, I told her I was writing an article. She said, "That's good. You can call me if you have any questions." Of course, I have nothing but questions. Who was Charles? Was he a good person? Do his children look like him? What was his favorite food? Did he like dogs? Was he the kind of neighbor who helped people with their groceries? Most of all: What did Charles do that led to his being abandoned? Maybe what I really mean is this: Did he deserve it? Does anyone?
I'M ON THE TRAIN, traveling from Mount Airy to Center City, when I get the text from Julio: "I. Was. Right." That's followed by a photo of a man who looks distinctly 1970s, with a salt-and-pepper Afro. I don't have to ask Julio who it is. I laugh at first. Yes, Julio was right about the Afro. My boyfriend looks over my shoulder. "It's him," I say, and suddenly I'm sobbing. "Hey, hey," my boyfriend says, "what's going on?" I don't have an answer. I just can't stop crying. The next text says, "Died 10 months after that photo was taken." Julio won't tell me where the photo came from, but he does say it's not a mug shot, and that Charles didn't have a criminal record. From all appearances, Julio says, Charles was a good person.
In the photo, Charles's black-collared shirt is open at the throat, revealing a double chin. He has a beard and mustache. His eyes are distinctly wet, as though he's been crying. His mouth is slightly crumpled. He looks undeniably sad. My whole body feels possessed by a desire to grab the man in this photo and tell him, "It's okay, I've got you." But it isn't true, I don't have him anymore, and I don't even know if he went to the right place.
I look back at the photo and everything seems confusing and upside-down. For a moment, it's as though photography is as magical as it seemed in the mid-19th century, when the daguerreotype was born and people saw themselves frozen for the first time. This tiny photo on my iPhone has turned back time, transforming a pile of white powder into flesh and blood. It has brought Charles back to the world of the living, just for a moment. Which is why I'm now struck — for the very first time, I'm ashamed to say — by the reality of the situation: Charles Chester Smith is gone — and I don't just mean his ashes. Charles Chester Smith is dead.
Published as "What Would You Do If You Found a Bag of Human Ashes?" in the October 2015 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
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