The Greatest Hits of 1960

I've been teaching at West Virginia University's branch of Osher  Life-Long Learning since the fall of 2013, usually one class in the fall session. I started with a two-part class about The Brill Building, based on the book Always Magic In The Air, The Bomp and Brilliance of The Brill Building, by Ken Emerson. He features seven sets of songwriters who worked in New York in the late fifties and early sixties, including Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, Carole King and Jerry Goffin, and Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield.

I've taught six-week classes about the history of Motown and the British invasion in the late sixties. My last class, this past fall, was called "The Beach Boys: Light and Dark." That one made me an emotional wreck. Even I didn't know how much "Dark" there was in their story. All of my classes have been well-received and reviewed. I have something of a following.

I normally don't teach in the winter, partly because classes are postponed if public schools are closed, which last winter was eighteen days out of thirty scheduled. This year they made the term four weeks instead of six so there could be time to make up missed classes before spring session starts. I decided to teach so I could be present during my election campaign. Today is the fourth week, and we have held every class on time. We lost classes early in the week last week and two weeks before that because of snow storms. They are being made up.

I have a book that lists the top 40 songs of every year from 1900 to 1999. The author, Joel Whitburn, has an obsession with pop music, which I suppose I can relate to. I picked 1960, and decided to cover Whitburn's biggest hits at a rate of ten each week. This has been great fun for me.

In 1960, I was in fifth and sixth grade. We had "Pre-teen Center" dances at Campfield Elementary School every Friday night during the school year. It started out being square dancing for kids, but   the kids preferred pop music, so we did some square dancing and then danced to pop music. I usually danced with Margo King, who I think of as my first girlfriend, or Nanette Birmingham, who sat next to me in sixth grade.  Two of the songs I remember were chart hits for Jimmy Jones, now nearly forgotten, in 1960. They were "Handy Man" (later covered by James Taylor) and "Good Timin.'" I also remember the fuss over Elvis returning from the Army. People in the class have their memories, too. One woman, originally from Philadelphia, had posters of local heroes Bobby Rydell and Fabian up in her room as a teenager.

One difference from my past classes is that I am only using YouTube to play music. It seems my vast collection of recorded music on vinyl, cassette and CD is officially obsolete. I don't download music or subscribe to streaming services, but everything you want to hear is on YouTube. (As I'm writing this,  I'm listening to Radiohead's "In Rainbows" from 2008) on headphones attached to an antique portable CD player).

My students are mostly a bit older than I, and we all get a kick out of clips of artists, some looking terrified, lip-synching to their own records in front of a bunch of giggly girls and pompaded boys on Dick Clark's Beech-Nut Hour. The kids are all chewing Beech-Nut gum and wearing buttons that say "IFIC, short for  "flavorific," how the gum is described.

Some of these artists look impossibly young, but Brenda Lee and Kathy Young were fifteen, Brian Hyland sixteen. Some of the artists were already famous, like Elvis Presley, some, like Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Paul Anka, Chubby Checker and Roy Orbison were just getting started, some, like Dion, changed styles completely after 1960, others like Percy Faith, who had the biggest hit of the year with "Theme From A Summer Place" seemed old-fashioned for the times, yet kept going, doing the same thing, for many years.

I've learned about "The Nashville Sound," having a string orchestra and chorus behind a country music vocalist, a more "urban" sound than one would expect. I've also seen how the separate chart for "R&B" music was about to become obsolete, with crossover artists like Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Ray Charles.

It's sad sometimes to watch videos of these young artists, knowing that some of them died in drug overdoses, or car accidents, or that, like all of us, are not the brash young people they were. This class has given us all a chance to go back to "those thrilling days of yesteryear" and remember who we were then, who we idolized, who we danced with, who was our crush, or even how our (mostly late) parents screamed "Turn that noise down!" at us.

I'm teaching a four-week class in April and May on the top hits of 1961.

Depression

On my chart at Kaiser in L.A., it said I had chronic moderate depression. I don't really take it seriously. I think of it as part of life. Yesterday I saw my cardiologist for a second followup to my new stents from the end of September. The numbers looked good, but the doctor asked about doing a new echocardiogram. If the echo isn't better than the one before the stents went in, he may want to put in a defibrillator. Monday, I had a basal cell carcinoma removed on my face. Medical issues could be a lot worse. I don't like to be reminded that I am no longer young.

The doctor asked how I felt and I said "Lousy." Part of that was that my face was still swollen from Monday, but what I said was "I'm a sixty-six year old gay man. How could I not be depressed?" The doctor thought that things are better than they were, but at thirty-eight, and not gay (as far as I know) he hasn't been through what those of us who are older have dealt with.

And of course, in West Virginia, we have our elected officials, who just today (February 11) are scheduled to vote on "The Religious Freedom Restoration Act." This bill would allow people to object to the state for making them do something they object to because of their religion. Rupie Phillips, a delegate from a rural place in southern West Virginia, and a Democrat, admitted that this bill, which he supports, is a response to the Supreme Court making same-gender marriage legal in all states. The bill would allow denial of public accommodations to gays, particularly in couples, because of religious principle. It will probably pass, despite opposition from Chambers of Commerce in Charleston and Morgantown, West Virginia University Faculty and Student Senates, and many national hotel chains.

It was reported in the Charleston Gazette-Mail today that two women applied for a  marriage license in Gilmer County yesterday and were screamed at by Deputy County Clerk Debbie Allen. "Abomination!" she said. I'm waiting to hear if this clerk is fired, but I doubt it. There's lots of hand-wringing about why young people leave this state in droves, but who wants to live in a place like this? Gilmer County has a state college and a population of less than 10,000 people. It is about eighty-five miles from Morgantown to Glenville, the town in Gilmer County.

Our four Republican delegates in our district pretty much think like this. We have one liberal Democrat, much beloved. Had she lost in the last election, I would have insisted to Joe that we move to Pennsylvania, only ten miles from downtown Morgantown. Her reelection, and all the people we have met from temple who hired Joe in the first place, and have been kind to us, give me some hope that there is an element of really good people here. That's who I wish to represent as delegate.

The election campaign is going slowly for me. I have not raised much money. I answered questionnaires from the teachers' union, the statewide AFL-CIO and the local carpenters' union , and also a state-wide anti-abortion group. I didn't agree with the anti-abortion group's agenda, but I sent them a note with their form suggesting that "pro-life" should mean restricting guns, making maternity and parental leave mandatory, increasing SNAP benefits, favoring comprehensive sex ed including birth control, and talking about th responsibility of men in causing a pregnancy. I've been to a number of Democratic Party events and Bernie Sanders events as well. Tonight, I'll be at the watch party for the Democratic debate sponsored by Morgantown for Bernie Sanders. There will be time for people to ask questions of the eight candidates running for five slots in the Democratic primary May 10.

We are headed to Israel at the end of the month for the CCAR (Reform rabbis) convention in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. When I was last in Israel, in 2007, I was with a congregational tour from our temple in L.A. I wished that I could have been with Joe on the tour, as he spent a year in Jerusalem as part of his rabbinic training. I worry some about terrorism, but more about my health, the logistics of getting there and back, and my role, since I won't be attending the conference.

I've been reading opinion pieces from Israeli Jews, stating that the West Bank occupation has turned into an annexation, and an apartheid state. There is not even a pretense that there might be an Arab state in the West Bank, or that Arabs in that area, who are not citizens, have any rights at all. Arabs in Israel proper have citizenship, but there is no official acknowledgement that they are part of Israeli society, not  even an "Arab History Month." Yes, I understand that they could have had a state in 1948, 1990, and 2000, but wouldn't accept peace, that Gaza was given back, and Hamas has created a terrorist state. I understand Israel shares a border with Syria, where a Holocaust of sorts is going on. Still, it's hard for me to defend everything Israel does. Of course, I shouldn't have to. I've always loved the United States, even if the George W.Bush administration embarrassed me. I stii love Israel, just not the current government. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of being in Israel at this moment.

Meanwhile, we've had more snow most of this week, and temperatures in the teens the last few days. The sun came out today for the first time in a long time, even as the temperature dropped. I am a sun-lover, even as a ne skin cancer survivor.

The Omer period is one of semi-mourning in Judaism. I have my own Omer period, February 6- to March 27. It commemorates that period in 2003, when I was living in Los Angeles. I flew to Baltimore February 6 for my mother's seventy-fifth birthday. I suffered a heart attack on the 9th and stayed with my mother after five days in the hospital, for a week. I came back to L.A. on the 22nd and went to work on the 24th. I came back to Baltimore March 16th. My mother was in hospice care. She died March 18th and the funeral was the 20th. I returned to L.A. after observing shiva, the week of mourning, on March 28.

It helped me to get this off my chest. I will feel better. I always do. I have to remember to look at how far I have come, continue to struggle with today, and be hopeful about the future.

 I wrote this Thursday (it's Monday now). I do feel less depressed, although the weather has been worse. Other delegates have said even more bigoted things than Delegate Phillips, but it has only made me more determined to win this election. I've been inspired by the one Jewish delegate in our legislature, Mike Pushkin, from Charleston, who pointed out that baking a cake for someone you don't like is an inconvenience. I won't share the rest of his thought. And Steven Skinner, our only openly gay delegate, from Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle, having to tell the troglodyte legislators that he didn't choose to be gay.

I feel better about going to Israel, although both Joe and I are concerned about stamina and logistics. We will be active voices for change in Israel, as we are here.

Buckingham County, Virginia

I wasn't sure about doing this trip. This is my forty-fourth county in this series, and I sometimes think "Enough already." Then, I'm trying to run a political campaign for state delegate, and Joe and I are going to Israel for the CCAR (Reform Rabbis) convention at the end of the month.

Buckingham County is between Lynchburg and Richmond and an hour south of Charlottesville. It's the geographic center of Virginia. To get to eastern Virginia from Morgantown means going over the high point of the Appalachians in winter. I learned when Joe went to Charlottesville with me in December 2012, that the weather can be fine in Morgantown and deep into Virginia, but it can be snowing, windy and cold in the mountains on the way. I don't know how people ever got from Morgantown to Richmond before the Civil War. Maybe there were passenger trains at one time, but before that?

The 2010 census reported 17,000 people in the county at a density of twenty-six per square mile. I found two motels in the county online. Both had terrible reviews. I broke a rule I made about staying in the county I visit, and booked my usual chain motel in Farmville, in Prince Edward County, twenty miles south of Dillwyn, the only town in Buckingham County. I had eleven places to find from the National Register of Historic Places. I came on the weekend because the weekdays are filled up with meetings about the election.

I followed Google maps to get here. They took me on back roads in Garrett County, Maryland to get to US 48 (Corridor H in West Virginia), a lovely four lane divided highway that at this point goes nowhere. It was in the low 20s F. with blowing snow. I stopped at a gas station just before 48 and got a bottle of iced tea and a pre-made turkey and American cheese sandwich on white bread. Local cuisine.

Farmville is a college town, like Morgantown. Longwood University is there and Hampden-Sydney College is nearby. I found a little coffee place and had a trendy salad for dinner.

Today was my day in Buckingham County. The National Register lists "Buckingham Court House" as a historic spot on "both sides" of U.S. 60. Buckingham Court House is the name of the village where the courthouse is located. There are a handful of homes and offices, some dating back to the eighteenth century. The original courthouse, designed by Thomas Jefferson, burned in 1869. The "new" courthouse dates from 1873. There is an Egyptian-style obelisk on US 60 with an inscription praising Confederate soldiers who "...fought for a just cause."

Buckingham County Courthouse, 1873

Buckingham Court House village, across US 60 from the courthouse

an inn, now used as a bed-and-breakfast and event center, west of Buckingham County courthouse

an 18th century house (porch and roof later?) just east of Buckingham County courthouse

The monument to Confederate soldiers and cannon across US 60 from Buckingham County courthouse

The James River forms the northern border of the county. I drove up State Road 56 looking for a house named Perry Hill. I found a sign saying "Perry Hill" and followed a long driveway up to the house- a privately-owned home. I turned around in the drive at the back of the house, and had started back. I thought I would take a picture from down the road and not disturb the owners.  A man came out and shouted at me from the house. He wanted to know why I was there. I told him I was looking for historic houses. He asked where I was from and I said "Morgantown" which seemed to work, because he asked me to come back. His name is Mark. He is in his early sixties, I guess, and was wearing sweats. He apologized for the shabby clothes, but said he was fixing up the basement. He told me the house was from 1851, built for a man who had fought with Admiral Perry in the War of 1812, hence the name. Mark lives in Richmond; this is his country home. He has a grown son who tried organic farming on the land for a time, but couldn't make it financially worthwhile. We talked for a half-hour or so.

Perry Hill.1851, Saint Joy

The view from the front of Perry Hill. That's lavender planted in rows.

Up James River Road, there is a sign for a state park ten miles west. That would be James River Park, and much of the road was crushed gravel and not paved. At the Visitor Center, exhibits explain the importance of James River to commerce in early Virginia, how it runs from the mountain peaks in Alleghany County (visited February 2013), through the town of Buchanan (Botetort County, last summer), past Charlottesville (December 2012) to Richmond, where it becomes a tidal estuary heading out to the ocean by way of historic Williamsburg and Jamestown to present-day Norfolk. 

View across James River from the state park

Green Hill Pond, James River State Park

It was already after noon, and I was hungry. I thought I would head to Dillwyn, the only incorporated town in Buckingham County, just north on US 15 from US 60, east of Buckingham Court House. The census gives the town population as 447. I looked for a place where cars were parked, and that was Pino's Italian Restaurant. I almost didn't go in, because there was a car in the lot covered with stickers expressing how much the driver hated President Obama. There was also a sign in the window advertising some big church revival meeting. I went in anyway, and the place was homey-looking, the waitress friendly and upbeat. A big guy at the next table shot me a look. I smiled and said "Hi!" and that was the end of that. I had a mini-pizza with mushrooms and a salad. It was good, but I'm supposed to be watching my salt and fat content.

I visited the library in Dillwyn and asked the two librarians where they would go in Buckingham County if they had a day here and had never visited before. The two of them, a pretty young African-American woman and an older stylish European-American woman looked at each other and laughed. They couldn't think of anything. I told them I had been to Buckingham Court House and James River Park and the younger one said"You've pretty much seen it." They said they go to Appomattox (30 miles), Charlottesville (also 30 miles)  or to Lynchburg or Richmond (each at least an hour) to do anything. I asked about the antique trains across the street, and they thought they might run on Saturdays, just not today.

Dillwyn Town Hall

Buckingham Branch Railroad Station, Dillwyn

old passenger car, Dillwyn

I tried to find some of the other historic places in the county, but they were hard to find- country houses on confusing back roads. I found Guerrant House, now with another name, north off US 15 near the hamlet of Arvonia, and the Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute Historic District, in Gravel Hill, northeast of Dillwyn. The school there operated from 1837-1863. There was also a plaque honoring Carter G. Woodson, who was once a coal miner in West Virginia, and was the first African-American to earn an advanced degree from Harvard. Woodson founded African-American History Week (now month). He was born in Buckingham County.

Guerrant House, probably early 19th century, Arvonia

In the Buckingham Female Collegiate District, Gravel Hill

In Buckingham Female Collegiate District

I had seen a local drive-in in Dillwyn and stopped for an ice cream cone before heading back to Farmville. I purchased no-fat, low-salt, low-sugar, vegan stuff for dinner in my room. It was enough.

A friend said on Facebook today "Come back from racist Virginia." I did see some Confederate flags around, and there are monuments to Confederate soldiers in Farmville and Buckingham Court House. Some of the desk clerks and guests at my motel are African-American, as were some of the people eating at Pino's Restaurant and shopping in the grocery store. It looks more integrated than Baltimore when I was growing up. I remember watching on the news around 1960, about how Prince Edward County closed all its public schools in defiance of Federal orders to integrate. Not that long ago.

I also noted that the major industry here is forest products. There were factories along US 15 north of Dillwyn that processed wood into chips. I saw them loaded into trucks and rail cars. There are many acres of devastated land where every growing thing was ripped out to provide wood, and there were trucks carrying logs along the highways. In places, there are replanted trees, almost always white pine, although the natural forest is hardwood and a different pine mix. Like West Virginia, the land loses where there is money to be made from extraction.

I'm back home tomorrow, probably via I-64 over the mountains to avoid possible bad weather. Today the temperature ranged from 21 F. in the morning to 46 in the late afternoon. Average, according to weather.com, is 26 and 50, noticeably warmer than Morgantown (21-40) at this time of year.

"Religious Restoration" and "Freedom of Conscience" Bills in West Virginia

Our legislature here in West Virginia is in session only sixty days, and yet, with the state's economy tanking, bills to allow discrimination against LGBT people, to allow guns to be carried without a permit, including on school buses, and to allow people who have not graduated high school to home school children have been the focus of our local Republican legislators.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail ran an article titled "Lawmakers voice support for nondiscrimination," about a video put out by Fairness West Virginia, the statewide gay rights organization, showing both Democratic and Republican legislators denouncing discrimination against LGBT people in the state. Tim Miley, the minority leader in the West Virginia House, a Democrat from Harrison County, thirty miles south of Morgantown wondered "...whether LGBT individuals feel welcome in West Virginia."

I sent the paper a rant Wednesday, too long for a letter. I haven't heard anything back from them, so I'm posting my rant here. I edited it slightly from what was sent.

I saw the video from Fairness West Virginia, showing bipartisan support for equal rights for everyone regardless of sexual orientation.Andrew Schneider of Fairness is a friend, and I'm glad he was able to get senators and delegates from both parties to endorse non-discrimination. 

I'm not sure it means anything. Republicans Charles Trump and Tom Takubo, who  both appear extolling fairness in the video are also cosponsors of "The Religious Freedom Restoration Act," which is widely perceived to be an excuse for people to discriminate against LGBT people, or anyone, in public accommodations. Saira Blair, Republican from the Eastern Panhandle says in your article  "..The video is by no means where I stand on any Legislation." I know she is her own woman (one hopes), but her father, Senator Craig Blair, is a Senate cosponsor of SB 11, The "Freedom of Conscience Protection Act" in the West Virginia Senate. Ms. Blair also said in 2014 ( I found this in "Teen Vogue") "I believe that marriage is a religious institution between a man and a woman."

Tim Miley wonders if ..."LGBT individuals feel welcome in West Virginia." I would say "It's lonesome." I came here in July of 2012 when my spouse was offered the Rabbi position at Tree of Life Congregation, here in Morgantown. Our experience with the congregation has been great. At the end of Rabbi Joe's two-year contract, he was offered another five-year contract by the congregation. We have been accepted as a couple in what I call the "South Park bubble," the neighborhood of big old houses inhabited by college professors from WVU, current and retired, lawyers, scientists, and people who are politically active. I once joked that it was the only place in West Virginia where you could have an Obama sticker on your car.

We try to ignore the slights. I questioned a new dentist about why she had a religious magazine in her waiting room that said that gays want to overturn the U.S. Constitution. I stopped going to a garage where there were religious and political pages on a wall, including one that said " We will not allow anyone to change the definition of marriage." A few times we have been treated badly by servers at restaurants, and crossed them off our list. The managers have often taken our side. I used to go to a WVU-operated gym where some of the staff wouldn't say "Hello" to me when I walked in. I don't go there anymore. We donated to the local AIDS service organization. I signed the check, which was  from our joint account and had our home address was on it. A thank you note came to Joe at the synagogue. I confronted the second-in-command at the organization, and he showed me how no one was listed as a couple at their annual fundraiser. And when we first moved here, I answered an article in the Dominion-Post about the high rate of suicide among young men in West Virginia. My letter suggested that many of these people might be gay, and harassed by family and schoolmates. I met with Mr. Musick, the head of this task force. He told me he could not mention anything gay in relation to suicide. We were also told that we should not go south of Clarksburg, except possibly to Charleston and Huntington, because our lives would be in danger. I found that to be an exaggeration. I travel frequently, but usually on my own. I don't have to look gay or Jewish. I've lived in Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Los Angeles, four of the most dangerous big cities in the United States.I don't scare easily.

There aren't a lot of gay people here. Gay men our age (currently 66 and 59) moved away when they were twenty. Joe had a friend in New York in the late 70s whose father in West Virginia suggested he fly out a second-floor window if he was a fairy. He took a bus to New York that day, changed his name, and has not had contact with his parents since. We joined a group called G2H2, Gay Guys Happy Hour. We go out to a restaurant once a month for drinks and dinner. The restaurants have all been great to us. I suppose someone could tell us they don't want to sell drinks and fifteen dinners on a slow weeknight because we are gay, but that hasn't happened. The men we have met at G2H2 live in their parents' or grandparents' old house in the country. The three older couples we have become close to live in Pennsylvania. A few, like us, live in Morgantown.

I serve on the LGBT Equity Commission at WVU as the community member. There will be an LGBT Center next year, and under President Gee, the University has made great strides in combating prejudice against LGBT people, and against religious and ethnic minorities. Our problem here is in the West Virginia Legislature, where Cindy Frich,one of our Republican legislators, asked for a resolution to the US government to have a constitutional convention specifically to ban any recognition of same-gender relationships. Joe Statler, another of our representatives, voted for it as well. I believe Delegate Frich is again asking for a constitutional convention.

My husband is happy with his work here at Tree of Life. When he signed his new five-year contract, I decided to be happy too. With some of the last money I inherited from my parents, we were able to make a down payment on a modest house in Suncrest. We applied to three mortgage lenders; only one called us back. And in an attempt to change the political culture of West Virginia, I filed to run as a delegate to the State Assembly. Morgantown has a sign on US 119 as you enter town saying "Building A Diverse Community." I would like to help make that diverse community a reality.

Barry Lee Wendell
P.O. Box 831
Morgantown, WV 26507
304-685-1098
blogging at:  themorgantowner.blogspot.com
campaign website: barryinthehouse.com
wendell.barry@aol.com

Since I originally wrote this, the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce has come out against these bills as "bad for business." They cite what happened in Indiana after bills with almost identical language were passed there. All well and good, but I would like someone to say "It's immoral to have a business open to the public, and say 'Not You' to a specific group of people." I grew up in Maryland when it was strictly segregated by race, and to a lesser extent, by religion. I would not want to see West Virginia go in that direction.

The S.A.G. Awards 2016

My SAG-AFTRA card says I've been a member since 1986- thirty years this year. I should get an award for that. There were originally two unions: The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists which was for radio announcers and actors, and The Screen Actors Guild, which was for movie actors. With the advent of television, AFTRA took the daytime shows and the news announcers, and SAG took prime time. I joined AFTRA first, because you could pay to join without working, and SAG a year or two later, after I got a speaking part on General Hospital in 1987. SAG used to be hard to join. I did it legitimately, although it did not help me get an agent. The merger was controversial because you didn't have to work to join AFTRA, but it was ultimately necessary to fend off rapacious producers who would pit the two guilds against each other.

This is the 22nd year of the SAG Awards, acting-only awards for people who can't get into the more prestigious Academy. Theoretically, it is more democratic, because only actors vote for other actors. There is still quite a bit of hype and advertising, and many good performances are overlooked for big names and studios.

The studios send DVDs, called screeners, to SAG-AFTRA members, with instructions that they are strictly for awards season and not to be sold or given away. One is supposed to destroy them. I've held onto a few. Usually, DVDs are not yet available to the general public. Lately, studios have been sending codes to allow one to watch movies online. Netflix, which we didn't have at home, sent me a card with a code for three months of free watching. I watched the first episode this season of "House of Cards" and "Orange Is The New Black" over the last two days. Joe and I watched screeners for "Brooklyn," "Spotlight," "The Big Short," "The Danish Girl" and I saw part of "Beasts of No Nation." They sent screeners for "Steve Jobs" and "Room," which I didn't watch, and "Straight Outta Compton" which I saw in an otherwise empty theater here in Morgantown. I could have watched some of the other movies online, but I didn't. "Trumbo" and "Woman In Gold" I saw in theaters prior to the announcement of the awards.

I didn't vote in the stunt or most of the television categories, and I know I slighted some good work because I didn't take time to see it. And I have my prejudices.

I only saw two of the best actor nominees: Bryan Cranston in "Trumbo" and Eddie Redmayne in "The Danish Girl." A close call, but I picked Redmayne, because he was believable in a "stunt" kind of role, and didn't try to make his character likable.

For actress, I saw Saoirse Ronan in "Brooklyn" and Helen Mirren in "Woman In Gold."  Ronan was heartbreaking, but Helen Mirren had a more powerful story to tell. I voted for Rachel McAdams in "Spotlight" over Alicia Vikander in "The Danish Girl." Both played young women believable in today's society, but Vikander was in a period piece. She and Redmayne seemed to be in different movies.

The only category where I saw every movie was "Best Ensemble Cast in a Movie." The nominees were "Beasts of No Nation" (which I did not watch to the end), "The Big Short," "Spotlight," "Straight Outta Compton,"and "Trumbo." All of these were great and I would recommend them. I voted for "Straight Outta Compton" because the actors are not well known, because the major parts (except for Paul Giamatti) are African-American, and The Academy didn't nominate any  African-American actors. The actors in "Straight Outta Compton" are as talented as any of the big names in the other movies.

I voted for Jim Parsons in "The Big Bang Theory" for television comedy actor because he is actually gay ( although his character is not) and "Orange Is The New Black" for television ensemble cat because it is mostly women (who get short-shrift in the movie biz) and largely minority. People think African-Americans and Latin Americans playing thugs on television actually are thugs, but of course, they are trained actors who can put that on. I also like that the actors are different ages and shapes on that show. I'm all about diversity.

I understand that my choices are not entirely rational, but I also understand that none of the award choices at this time of year are rational. A script, a director, how one relates to a character or a theme, and just what one chooses to see or not see, make a big difference.

The SAGAFTRA Awards will be on TNT Saturday night, January 30.

The Democratic Debate

I spoke to some people from "West Virginia for Bernie" a few weeks ago, and I added myself to their Facebook page. I got a message that they were having a watch party Sunday, January 17, at The Ramada Inn's bar, just south of Morgantown. They were planning to start early, and have some candidates for office speak for a few minutes. I wrote and asked if I could speak also. Ultimately there were six of us, and one proxy for the Democratic incumbent, speaking at this event. There are five seats at-large in our district for the state legislature. Mike Manypenny, running for US Congresss against our Republican incumbent, also spoke.

We each had five minutes to speak, including questions. I had rehearsed what I planned to say. I talked about being a West Virginian-by-choice, and my marriage to The Rabbi, who I pointed to in the crowd. My agenda is right for the Bernie crowd. I am against union-busting, so-called right-to-work, for prevailing wage, pro-union. I also brought up environmental issues, gun control, the importance of the election of judges in May, and abortion. I am for strong environmental protection, pro-choice, and against concealed carry with no permit, which the Republicans want to push this year. I felt I spoke as well as the other speakers.

I had time for three questions. Joe, who had heard me rehearse, asked about diversity. I talked about the signs saying "Building a Diverse Community" at the entrances to Morgantown, and how I would like to make that promise real. Someone else asked if, knowing that people in the legislature can be closed off and suspicious of people who haven't lived here for generations, or who they perceive to be "different." I said  I would wow them with my "Hollywood sparkle" and my natural charm.

The debate started at nine. We stayed for the first hour. The event was organized by Bernie's followers, so they loved him. He stuck to his story about breaking up the big banks and revolutionizing the economy to reduce income inequality. He and Hillary traded barbs about their past records. For her part, Hillary was able to defend herself aggressively and attack.  Martin O'Malley pointed out how he had balanced Maryland's budget and brought down crime in Baltimore. The others brought up the recent problems with police and unrest in Baltimore. He only said that happened after he left office.

 O'Malley got in one dig,which I was unhappy about. When Sanders and Clinton talked about their memories of the Civil Rights March on Washington in 1963, he said it was the year he was born. I was thirteen at the time of the great Civil Rights March, and I remember it clearly. My parents refused to let me go, not that I could have gotten there without them.

I would vote for any of the Democrats over any Republican. Bernie is a Jew from Brooklyn, and idealistic about what he can actually accomplish. Hillary is cold and calculating, which might serve her better than Bernie's idealism serves him. She has both help and baggage from her husband. Martin did well for Maryland, including pushing through same-gender marriage. I'm not sure many people know who he is.

I met some people and distributed my card. Someone approached me Monday at the Martin Luther King birthday bash. He had seen me at the debate watch party.

This week, I was to go to a union meeting Tuesday and a Young Democrats meeting Wednesday at WVU, but it was too cold for the former, and two snowy for the latter.

Once the weather is better, I hope to be out more. The deadline to register to run for office is January 30. Then we will all know how many of us are running for this office.

I can see where being Jewish and gay in West Virginia is not necessarily a winning combination. Not impossible, though. All of the candidates were strong and forthright in their speeches and were clearly coached in how to dress and speak. I have experience from acting and teaching in how to get my points across, and I hope to use that experience.

The State of The Union

I enjoyed President Obama's speech this week. He seemed relaxed and in good humor. I've never agreed with everything he has tried to do, but for the most part, I still believe in him.

In his speech, he talked about how The Affordable Care Act has brought health care to many who did not have it before. He also said "We've got to make it easier to vote, not harder." And "We have to reduce the influence of money in politics, so that a handful of families or hidden interests can't bankroll our elections." While the Democrats applauded this line, the Republicans sat on their hands. I guess the "hidden interests" and "handful of families" are the people who run the Republican Party.

I love that he said "...we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love." I've been with my Joe for ten years now, and we have been married for more than seven. I know it's hard for people to accept that two men or two women can be married, but we are, and Republican candidates for president who would annul our marriage are only mean and hateful. Religious arguments do not trump my freedom.

Our junior Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and our Congressional representative, David McKinley, have voted time and again to overturn the Affordable Care Act, and expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court decision forcing West Virginia to recognize our marriage. They have fought the EPA on clean air, supposedly because of the potential loss of coal mining jobs, but they have allowed mining companies to get out of pension and health care obligations for retired miners. It seems they care about the coal mine owners, not the actual workers. Local politicians like to deny climate change. Scientists, even here in West Virginia, have noted changes in the plant and animal life in our state with alarm.

The Republicans from our district in the State Legislature promised to provide jobs and fix the roads. In the current legislative session, which just started yesterday, they have already proposed bills to limit abortions, to repeal prevailing wage and make West Virginia a "Right to Work" state. They say the last two will mean more jobs in West Virginia. The truth is it will line the pockets of corporate CEOs at the expense of workers, and will ultimately hurt the state's economy.

Last session, our local Republicans proposed charter schools, asked for a US Constitutional Convention to ban same-gender marriages, introduced a voter ID bill, and passed a bill to ease safety regulations in coal mines. None of these will fix the roads or provide jobs.

That's what made me sad about the President's speech. He is compassionate and progressive, wanting to really do something good for average Americans. I only get fear and loathing from the Republicans.

My candidacy for West Virginia State Legislature is a long shot. It would be great if I could bring some of President Obama's leadership to West Virginia, to defend his legacy in a state where he is often vilified, to conquer fear of the future. I want to respect West Virginia's legacy, but I want to move our state forward.