It begins with truth teling

5/14

Short day. Jeremy drops in to review yesteday’s candidates’ forum and talk about plans for the upcoming Make Music New York day in June. And also talk about his upcoming trip to Berlin, hoping to connect with my son Micah and the music scene there. 

While we’re talking, Anna stops in with puppy, ready to volunteer for Saturday’s open house. She’s also been baby sitting for Boxer Mike’s Dalmatians who seem to have fallen out of favor at Capital Hall despite Michael’s volunteer role as peace keeper and protector in a sometimes sketchy environment.

Saw Boxer Mike on the street with a wheelbarrow full of gloves and other equipment. He’s got a gig training the project  kids in a local park. Always wished we could hook him up with a space, but there were issues around appropriate clearance to work with kids, etc. And I still wish we could find  way to help him with literacy. 

Need to run to catch up with Zeljko and Zoltan at the Port Authority to bus up to Stony Point for a screening of the Second Meeting and push the conversation as to implications for peacemaking strategies to a deeper level. Dale and Keegan will meet us there.

When we were in RL’s studio waiting for his Barqu barque piece, Zeljko introduced RL to Zoltan. He talks of his son, Arya. Like many little guys, he loves cowboys. Zeljko said that when he gave Arya a cowboy hat, Arya said,  Now I am RL....

5/15

Today my friends leave. Zeljko already on his way to LA for his Pasadena premiere.  Zoltan to leave soon. Last night at Stony Point (http://stonypointcenter.org/) was a great end to this part of the journey. A national women’s group was on hand. And others. And we had a chance to explore deeper.  

Dale’s thoughts as he took off that night, Zoltan’s description of the 78 days of NATO bombing. We Americans are so innocent. 9-11 or Boston shakes us to our core, yet we have no idea what it’s like to be bombed for 78 days. With mainly civilian casualties. For Zoltan, it was not a military action but terrorism. And he also used the word capitalisme, which Zeljko missed the first time around. And also the experience earlier at the outset of the breakup of his country, having to lead his multi-ethnic unit back from Croatia to Belgrade while avoiding armed conflict and then seeing men who had been comrades for years leave and become enemies. I continue to learn how the whole Balkan story with its  conflicting mythic nationalist narratives is an important key to the mysterious work of peace making. One thing we could conclude, it begins with truth telling, authenticity. 

Stephen is working hard to wrap up Red Bull contracts. 

John H comes in  to pick up a Halbreich foundation check for the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space,(http://www.morusnyc.org/)  to give me one of their hats and to tell me of their new fight to keep the city and developers from taking over the Alphabet City community gardens.  The Lower Eastside/Chinatown/loaisai hood being the last stand  of struggle against gentrification in Manhattan. 

I take my baker friend Zoltan fresh baked popovers. He opens, sniffs, says ah, eggs...We share the popovers, ayvar, smoked meat and his favorite Budweiser then he’s off on his way back to Belgrade via London.

It begins with truth telling.