Erin Brockovich: Beauty Queen Turned Environmental Activist

Annabelle Daniels: 74-454-9346. 10 years old, 11 in May. Lived on the plume since birth. Wanted to be a synchronized swimmer so she spent every minute she could in the PG&E pool. She had a tumor in her brain stem detected last November, an operation on Thanksgiving, shrunk it with radiation after that. Her parents are Ted & Rita. Ted's got Crohn's disease, Rita has chronic headaches, and nausea, and underwent a hysterectomy last fall. Ted grew up in Hinkley. His brother Robbie, and his wife May and their five children: Robbie Jr, Martha, Ed, Rose & Peter also lived on the plume. Their number is 454-9554, you want their diseases?

("Erin Brockovich", 2000)

Gifted with a photographic memory, endless energy and a passion for justice, Erin Brockovich spearheaded an environmental case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company and won a record $333 million for its 600 victims.  Now she heads up her own company as an environmental activist, receiving thousands of advice-seeking letters, each of which she answers personally.

Born in Kansas in 1960, Erin Pattee was the daughter of an engineer father and a journalist mother.  As a young adult she held various jobs including one at K-Mart, but all were unfulfilling.  She studied electrical engineering at university.  Moving to California in 1982, she entered a Miss Pacific Coast beauty contest and won first prize.  She married, had two children and divorced.  Then she remarried, had a third child, and divorced again. 

As a divorcee with three children she found herself unemployed and in financial straits living in the San Fernando Valley.  She was seriously hurt in a car accident and hired lawyer Ed Masry to take her case.  Unfortunately, Erin Brockovich lost the case but she gained a job at Mr. Masry's law firm as a file clerk.  It was at Masry that she stumbled upon an environmental case involving possibly tainted drinking water due to an ongoing contamination (30 years) from a local company in the town of Hinkley, California.  Disappearing for a few days, Erin hopped in her car, drove through the valley, and hunted down the alleged victims of the case.  One by one, she got to know their stories.  One by one, she started to form a bond with the families.  One by one, she gained their trust. 

Upon returning to the law firm, Ed wanted to fire her, thinking that she was playing hookey.  However, once he heard how much time and energy she had put into the Hinkley case, he let her stay.  Within no time, the Hinkley case became Erin's "raison d'etre"; after searching all of her life for a purpose, she had found one.  With her baby on her hip, and her two other children in toe, she would visit the local water company, request their records, and photocopy the necessary documents to prove their case.

Initially , PG & E tried to settle out of court with Masry and Erin, offering a pittance of a settlement. In the meeting, one of the PG & E company lawyers questioned Erin who asked her if she enjoyed the glass of water that she was drinking saying: "We had that water brought in specially for you folks. It's from a well in Hinkley". The woman, with a cold stare, declared the meeting to be over. 

In time, Ed Masry brought another law firm into the picture to make their case against Pacific Gas and Electric that much stronger.  One of the lawyers looked down her nose at Erin, knowing that she had no legal training or education.  Never one to bite her tongue, Ms. Brockovich set her straight by rhyming off facts, figures, names and dates about the case that might only be found in a computer data bank.  And it was her gift for details along with her passion that won them the case.

Note:  In 2000, Erin Brockovich's story was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts.  Ms. Brockovich has written a book titled Take it from Me:  Life's a Struggle But You Can Win which hit the bestseller list.



Photo courtesy www.lawyersandsettlements.com.

  

A Mouthful of Marbles vs. An Earful of Beethoven

A mouthful of marbles and smoking cigarettes, unorthodox remedies recommended by his former speech therapists, did nothing to help future king "Bertie" to break his stuttering habit.  It took an Australian would-be actor who had treated shell-shocked World War I vets to cure the monarch of his speech impediment.  Back in 1925 at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium, Bertie was asked to make a speech which had disastrous results.  The following year, Bertie heard about the speech therapist, Lionel Logue, and after some persuasion from his wife, he made an appointment with him.  Mr. Logue bet the future king that he could get him to read the Shakespeare soliloquy "To be or not to be" without stuttering.  Then he gave Bertie a pair of headphones, played loudly a piece of classical music on the gramophone, and had him recite a perfect soliloquy.  However, when Bertie took the headphones off, he continued to stutter. 

Through muscle relaxation, breathing techniques and vocal exercises, Lionel started to treat Bertie on a regular basis.  Mr. Logue probed Bertie about his childhood, knowing that speech impediments usually started early:  he found out that Bertie was left-handed and was forced to write with the right hand; he was knock-kneed and had to wear corrective metal braces; one of his nannies had withheld food from him; and his brother John had died quite young.  All of these factors could have contributed to his lack of confidence and his speech impediment.  Through it all, Bertie's dedicated wife, the future queen mother, was by his side, encouraging him.

In the meantime, in 1936, Bertie's brother King Edward VIII abdicated the throne after only a year to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson.  Bertie was reluctantly thrust into the limelight when he was crowned King George VI later that year.  He summoned Lionel Logue to Buckingham Palace where they worked on a speech to be delivered right after the outbreak of World War II.  The king, while looking at Logue, spoke into a microphone and his words were transmitted by radio to his public.  Logue would mark certain parts of the speech where he thought the king might stutter; if you listen to a recording of the delivery you can hear the monarch pause many times, likely trying to summon up the courage to continue.  By this time, King George and Lionel Logue had become good friends.  The Australian was present for all of the king's speeches during World War II.  Just as President Roosevelt's fireside chats on American radio helped calm the fears of the public, so too did King George's speeches on British radio. 

Mr. Logue's successful treatment of Bertie's stutter instilled him with much needed confidence at a crucial time in history; he encouraged Bertie, telling him that he could easily fill the role of king, if his brother abdicated.  Some go so far as to claim that Mr. Logue saved the Monarchy, given that he equipped King George for the role of a leader and given that his brother King Edward VIII was sympathetic to the Nazis and might have led Britain down a different path if he had remained in power.  Lionel Logue received a medal for his service to the king and the two men remained friends until King George's death on February 6, 1952.



Photo of King George delivering his speech on September 4, 1939, courtesy http://static.guim.co.uk.

The Help

I just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  It is her first novel and yet it climbed to Number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list last year.  Set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, the novel is based on a young journalism major named Eugenia (Skeeter) Phelan who has just returned from university and is looking for a purpose.  She comes up with the idea to write a book called The Help about the relationship between black maids and the white families for whom they work in the Deep South. 

Skeeter is pleased to gain the trust of two maids, Aibileen and Minny, who pour out their life stories.  It turns out that Aibileen, normally a passive woman who bites her tongue, is also a writer who pens her prayers every evening.  Minny, however, is the type who has always spoken her mind, which has led to her losing many a job.  Both women give Skeeter much to write about.  However, Skeeter has to work much harder to gain the trust of the other ten maids, as her New York publisher has requested the opinions of twelve maids in total.

While she is gaining the trust of the maids, she is losing the trust of her white socialite friends.  A humourous scene ensues where one friend named Hilly Holbrook has requested that Skeeter type a request that everyone send her their old coats to be donated to charity.  Skeeter obliges but deliberately types "commodes" rather than coats in the message, and Hilly's lawn ends up littered with toilets.

As tensions between blacks and whites mount in Jackson, Mississippi (Medgar Evers, an NAACP field secretary, is shot and killed in his own driveway) more black maids start to speak out.  One constant struggle for the maids is how to balance work life and home life.  Yule May longs to send her two sons to college, but is short $75.  She begs her employer to lend her the money, but she turns her down, saying that charity begins at home.  Minny spends her days toilet training Mae Mobley, the young daughter of her employer and the seventeenth white child she has raised, while her own children fend for themselves at home.  In the meantime, Skeeter wonders what happened to her family's maid, Constantine, the woman who largely raised her, who mysteriously moved away while Skeeter was at college.  Her mother is not forthcoming with an answer; she is more concerned about her socialite daughter finding a husband. 

The history is fascinating in this Southern tale.  It is a sad commentary on not only how whites treated blacks in the Deep South in the 1960's, but how women treated other women, since the black maids took most of their direction (and abuse) from white housewives.  Kathryn Stockett effectively paints a picture of the Deep South.  One scene stands out where Skeeter is talking with her boyfriend in a gazebo on a cotton plantation; you can just imagine you are there.  If you like American history, The Help is the book for you.


Photo courtesy www.entertainmentwallpaper.com.

Tak Ta Tum

	TA
	A slang word for Thanks. The word is a result of the heavy Danish influence on the English language. Most people do not realize that the English language roots are really Danish or Jutland. Equiped with this knowledge this word is easy to decipher. The Danish word for Thanks is tak. In Scotland and upper England it was common to drop the k at the end because of the way words were pronounced during the time of old English and Middle English. Hence the slang word "Ta" which should actually be pronounced "TA-k" but over time became "Ta" is really Tak meaning "Thanks". (www.urbandictionary.com) Never teach your baby or toddler to say "ta" instead of "please" or "thank you".  You will regret it!  When my son Thomas was little, we taught him to say "ta", eventhough he was spoke clearly and likely could have handled "please" or "thank you".  He became really good at it.  Slowly, the "ta" was corrupted to "tum".  I waited too long to teach him the real words.  And then when it was time to learn the proper terms, Thomas resisted.  He cried and cried when he didn't get something because he said "tum" rather than "please".  It took us months before we got the word "ta" or "tum" out of his vocabulary.  Unfortunately, by this point, his sister Jacqueline started using "ta".  Once again, we had a hard time weaning "ta" from her vocabulary.  Finally, we had two "ta"-free children.  However, the disease was infectious:  now I couldn't stop using "ta" since I had used it for so many years.  The word would just slip out unintentionally.  Now Jacqueline is 8 years old and every so often that dreaded word still escapes from my lips.  So, if you find yourself teaching your child "ta", think again.  You don't want the dreaded "ta" disease!

Norman Rockwell

Everyone's heard of the phrase "It's as American as apple pie."  When talking about Americana, one could also say "It's as American as Norman Rockwell."  Born on February 3, 1894, Norman Rockwell dreamed of painting covers for the Saturday Evening Post.  He submitted "Boy with Baby Carriage" in 1916 to the magazine, starting a relationship that would last 47 years and include 300 covers.  In his lifetime, Rockwell painted 4000 paintings, often using children as his subjects, although he also painted adults and adult themes. 

A look at a Norman Rockwell gallery is a look at the 20th Century history of America.  It starts with "Excuse My Dust", the painter's portrayal of an early automobile in 1920.  He painted "Wonders of Radio" in 1922 to highlight Marconi's invention.  Charles Lindbergh's Flight shows the aviator's first trans-Atlantic flight in the 1930's.  Next came Rosie the Riveter, focussing on women wartime factory workers in 1943.  "War Bond" helped sell war bonds to America in 1944.  Another invention was illustrated in 1949 with "New TV Set".  Rockwell's religious upbringing influenced his painting "Saying Grace" from 1951.

"Choir Boy" from 1954 has beautiful colours.  With another child as his subject, he painted "Before the Shot", a little boy getting a needle in the doctor's office, in 1958.  "The Problem We All Live With", about the integration of a young black girl into an all white school accompanied by the National Guard, focusses on Civil Rights.  The following year Rockwell painted Southern Justice:  Murder in Mississippi which I suspect is about the slaying of the four white Civil Rights activists.  Lastly, Rockwell's Christian faith was evident again in his piece "Uneasy Christmas in the Birthplace of Christ (Christmas Eve in Bethlehem)" from 1970.

Happy Candlemas!

Although North Americans know February 2 as Ground Hog Day, European Roman Catholics used to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple on this day, lighting candles as part of the ceremony.  Some Christians consider Candlemas to be the last day of the Christmas season, thereby taking down their Christmas decorations that day.  Here is a poem dedicated to Candlemas that I found on the Internet.


As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and rain
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

(Author Unknown)



Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Groundhog_Day.



Photo of stained glass window at St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, courtesy www.blogger.com.

The Greensboro Four

"It was February 1, 1960.  They didn't need menus.  Their order was simple.  A doughnut and coffee with cream on the side."*

Four black men from the local Agricultural & Technical College walked into a Woolworth's at 132 South Elm Street in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960.  They headed for the "Whites Only" lunch counter, sat down on stools, placed their order, and then waited...and waited...and waited.  In fact, they sat on their lunch counter stools all day.  They studied, they did their homework and they waited in silence. 

News spread across town.  In time their numbers grew.  They returned on Day 2, twenty strong, prepared for another long wait.  Reporters started to cover the event, called a "sit-in".  The manager called the police but the police chief said that unless they protested violently, he could do nothing.  And so they sat.  All they wanted was a cup of coffee and a doughnut.

By Day 3, news had spread even further.  At 60 strong, the growing story was widely covered in the press.  When Whites approached the lunch counter, some refused to sit with them, some heckled them (KKK) and some joined the sit-in.  The protesters' numbers were so great that they had to start taking shifts to cover the day.  They did their school work.  They waited in silence.

By Day 4, their total reached 300.  "The times, they were a-changing" in North Carolina as other cities joined in:  Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham, and Winston-Salem.  Later, sit-ins were held in Richmond, Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee.  One report stated that some protesters even had food poured on them by rabble rousers.  But still they waited.

By February 7, the sit-ins totalled 54 in 15 different cities.  And still they waited.

Black organizations suggested a boycott of all stores with segregated lunch counters and many complied, sending Woolworth's sales plunging by a third.  Protests spread to lunch counters at Kress and Walgreen's. 

President Eisenhower made a speech announcing that he was "deeply sympathetic with efforts of any group to enjoy the rights of equality that they are guaranteed by the Consitution."  Yes, "times they were a-changing".

Finally, on July 25, 1960, the black employees at the Greensboro whites only lunch counter were served on the same stools that the Greensboro Four had sat on.  The following day, Woolworth's opened up the counter to all blacks and 300 were served that day.  The Greensboro Four, Joseph McNeil, Frank McCain, David Richmond and Ezell Blair Jr., finally got their cup of coffee and doughnut.

It would take another four years, but the Civil Rights Act was finally signed by President Johnson in 1964, thanks largely in part to the lunch counter sit-ins of 1960.

*Sit-In:  How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down (Andrea Davis Pinkney)




Photo courtesy http://2.bp.blogspot.com.

Photo courtesy http://2.bp.blogspot.com.