Head out into the streets and let people know the injustice surrounding them, their daily lives, how they are affected, and how their dollars can be the most important way to speak out against inequality, poverty, and the commodification of people’s lives.
Alas, I will be in Georgia at this time, but I hope that many of you can go out and highlight this. We owe it to ourselves to speak out, we owe it to our families, our ancestors, our children, Nelson Mandela, and whatever god you believe in. If you think that voting doesn’t matter and your vote doesn’t count, then why the hell are they trying so hard to take that away from you? Think about that. People died for this. There’s a reason.
Alamance NAACP to Picket at the Burlington Maxway on Monday Dec. 16th
The Alamance NAACP is joining a statewide effort to bring attention to the business practices and the political priorities of our State Budget Director Art Pope. We will lead an informational picket at his company’s Maxway location at 508 N Church St, in Burlington on Monday December 16th, at 4:00 pm. Art Pope also owns the Roses at 2236 N. Church St.
We are leading this informational picket of Art Pope’s businesses to bring attention to the fact that he has used profits from his family’s business to become the overwhelming state leader in political spending and influence. As is often the case with those who use their money to buy influence over the political process, Art Pope would rather his customers not know the politicians and policies he supports with their money.
Baby, it’s cold outside. The rain’s pattering down and it’s nearly freezing out there. Two days ago it was in the high 70s and I was on my roof taking a sun bath.
I played a rock and roll show last night that was ahh-may-zing with Pete Pawsey, my old friend and dear host. He asked me to play a set to open for the Radar’s Clowns of Sedation (the band he sings and plays with) and sing a few songs worth of harmony in their set. The band was SO good! Gratitude is emanating from my memory banks for everyone’s energy and on-point-ness, and of course Pete’s on-bar crooning…. Excellent drums, guitar, bass, Pete (whatever the hell he was doing on guitar) and mandolin! I enjoyed the show for its raw nectar quality and the glimpse into a group I’d only sang with a few times shining like dark, purple star shine into the bar and onto and into the people in it.
My set was extremely fun, I played the old Danelectro and it sounded just right (surprisingly, since it used to belong to Jimmy Brad, amazing the thing doesn’t sound like blood and PBR). Singing Sixteen Tons for the first time in public convinced me that I should sing that song every day. Pulled some sort of wholly heavy ghosts from under the floor to dance with us. Bob Johnson’s Resonator Uke showed up in the end, playing Baby It’s Cold Outside, Santa Baby, and All of Me… Yum. (“There are only two mantras, yum and yuck, mine is yum.” – Tom Robbins)
Thanks to everyone involved, last nights show was a success. I hope to play again with those guys, maybe start up a smokey jazz band…. I’ll even sit atop the piano. Oh yeah, and to the beautiful woman dancing burlesque at half-time: Thank you for making my night.
mahaloArts is very pleased to present Anita Lorraine Kinney aka SLAKFAC (sweet little anita kinney from alamance county) – a singer/songwriter/poet/musician and North Carolina native, currently residing in Saxapahaw. Her music comes from a folksy, country, and bluesy place in her heart and is driven by love and a passionate dedication to social justice. Come be delighted and informed!
mahaloArts, in partnership with Johnny’s, offers an on-going series featuring local performing artists. The format for these two-hour events generally includes performance and storytelling by guest and host Alison Weiner, with one intermission.
Today was gorgeous day with the clouds having sunshine flowing through them warming up the cold, surprised souls walking the streets this morning. I stayed in bed. It was warm and more inviting than the cold wind that was making its way into the third floor window I’d left open last night to hear the sounds of the streets below me. Last night I sat in the dining room of my host home, nostalgic for correspondence days of old when people wrote letters, waiting with anticipation the sound of the post person bringing them the mail.
When I finally got out of bed after doing some computer correspondence and organizing from afar, I made my way around
Lancaster on foot, with my yellow puffy vest on to keep warm. I ate at Prince Street Cafe and drooled over a Bon Apetit magazine with lovely recipes of cuisine that I can only dream of creating myself… that is until I get into a kitchen and am no longer on assignment, on the road. I visited an old historic cemetery wherein lie the remains of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Whig party representative and hoarded stowaway slaves during the Underground Railroad. This cemetery was very old and a site of significance because of its purpose of being a multi-racial burying ground when that sort of thing was unheard of during that time. I then walked into a record store, proceeded to get overwhelmed by the vinyl surrounding me, head to toe, floor to ceiling. I imagined making a “playlist” before digital. Made me smile… When I walked out, I saw a poster of singing in the rain which screamed, “You need to be skipping down the street!” …and so I did.
I had a presentation tonight at Millersville University. My student J. and a professor he’d scheduled to be there to present were the only other people in the room. No one showed up for the event. It was even catered by the school. If I were that student, I would have been mortified and extremely embarrassed. I’m not sure how J. felt about it, but I could see in his face that he was trying diligently to keep it together. It was a disappointment and a stark reminder of how hard it is to get people into a room to talk about hard issues. I hope that we can rectify this situation in the future, but I have a small amount of faith in J.’s organizing skills at this point and I hope that he can redeem himself with the remainder of this semester.
To celebrate my successful evening, I went to the local pub and met up with a friend of mine from 15 years ago. His name also starts with J. We reminisced about our memories together growing up in Alamance county and how our lives had changed since that time, so many years ago. It was a good meeting and now I am back in my beautiful host home, about to go to bed. You win some, you lose some, but not ever do you not get a chance to learn. I had a feeling that something was awry with this student tonight… I will look forward, again trust my gut feeling, and take this evening as a reminder that my work is worthwhile because otherwise it wouldn’t be so hard.
I’m sitting in the sun right now, just about to have breakfast for … lunch at 3:20ish. All food being cooked to order in a place called Breakfast Bum. This means I will have bacon twice in one day. That is good news.
Last night, reunited with my darling girlfriend from my time in Vermont. Recently I’d decided to change the course of the capstone/thesis program I am working on. She was in the same program and it was great to talk about that with her, share with her the passions that led to this change of heart and direction. Realizing that I have no choice, this path is choosing me just as much as I may have any agency or authorship over the situation.. great concept. So that was in DC, I arrived last night late in from the excellent presentation at the University of Mary Washington. The couch I slept on was comfortable and this morning I felt somewhat refreshed, but if you remember, I was up late last night blogging and thinking – so my 5.5 hours of sleep felt a little more like 3 than I wanted them to.
It took me 30 minutes to get out of DC metro area, JEEEZ what traffic. I got lost several times, turned around is more like it. Also, I had no cash and the guy at the toll booth chuckled at me and told me they’d mail it to me. That made me laugh too. I’m glad he was a jolly old man instead of a grumpy old codger. 🙂
The drive to Salisbury to meet my student at Salisbury University was BEAUTIFUL. I found an old diner called Holly’s, I wrote some post cards, and ate bacon and eggs with a surprisingly yummy gravy this far North. Took some back roads and cruised into Salisbury wondering where all of a sudden I had ended up. A bustling college town, busy with commerce and students walking around in the midst of farming villages and rural little areas…
M., my student here is a determined young man and I met with him for about 2 hours discussing the creation of his new chapter of Democracy Matters. He’s almost finished with the process of establishing an official chapter of DM on campus and will start to have official meetings and hosting events as soon as he can. We brainstormed events and actions he could take and I told him about my inspiring experience of lobbying in DC years ago advocating against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with members of indigenous nations from Alaska and Canada. He was excited to hear about the connections we made in DC and how it felt to have a direct communication with a Congressperson. I’m going to help him organize an advocacy trip with his students and I’m going to put together a Advocacy Day for Fair Elections once the Fair Elections Act is reinstated for Congressional consideration for all my DC area students.
Now I’m here and just got my plate of eggs and bacon and yummy potatoes with peppers and onions. Seriously, who’s going to finish typing when THAT’s an option?
My eyelids are heavy and I am warm, my feet are hot after having been reminded of what it’s like to walk around a college campus, up and down stairs, all over town, all day. To be reminded also that this is the essence of life – experiences.
Today started with me sleeping in and getting some extra needed rest after a long day yesterday of driving, prepping, and a late night meeting with my student and a meeting with my glass of wine after. Even later night rantings about the meaning of words and letters and thoughts and feelings. Even LATER night pondering of which stars are really surrounding us and then me thinking that bed would probably help me solve more of those issues than staying up thinking about them. 🙂
My student M. at the University of Mary Washington is a gem of a student. She is eager and driven. I am inspired by her approach to grassroots organizing. It is an approach that is inclusive and fearless, realistic and she sees situations for what they are, not what she wants them to be. This is key in this path. Right now I’m too tired to go into it as thoroughly as I’d like – so I will just say this, her approach works because she can analyze situations for what they are and she will go far for not making assumptions.
My presentation tonight went very well and the students were very receptive. Each student has legitimate concerns with the system of blatant and equal opportunity corruption that is blanketing our election system and therefore our daily lives. Making those connections are so important.
I can feel the energy draining from my fingertips so this note will be cut short by my lack of being able to keep my eyes open. Today was a wonderful day. I enjoyed Fredericksburg. I typed on a real typewriter today too.. can’t wait to do that again. Soon. Here I come Maw Maw’s basement. Romance in the touch of a black, metal, lettered key, whose strokes are permanent in old machines. Permanent and therefore begging for determination and confidence. Two things I have right now, along with many other important things. Goodnight Moon.
Lancaster on foot, with my yellow puffy vest on to keep warm. I ate at Prince Street Cafe and drooled over a Bon Apetit magazine with lovely recipes of cuisine that I can only dream of creating myself… that is until I get into a kitchen and am no longer on assignment, on the road. I visited an old historic cemetery wherein lie the remains of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Whig party representative and hoarded stowaway slaves during the Underground Railroad. This cemetery was very old and a site of significance because of its purpose of being a multi-racial burying ground when that sort of thing was unheard of during that time. I then walked into a record store, proceeded to get overwhelmed by the vinyl surrounding me, head to toe, floor to ceiling. I imagined making a “playlist” before digital. Made me smile… When I walked out, I saw a poster of singing in the rain which screamed, “You need to be skipping down the street!” …and so I did.
anita lorraine moore 