'SAINTS' IN OUR TIME * LOOKING BACK * BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * VOL. 11 * June 25, 2010
SAINTS IN
OUR TIME
A FEW people in every age actually get broad public recognition of their 'sainthood' while they are still alive. Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa are examples in our time. Both spoke as "outsiders within," calling us to do our part in making a better world. Bill Sackter was a saint, too. ("Saints like Bill Sackter," Coffeeshop Newsletter, June 15).
I have met a few people whose 'sainthood' has been publicly acknowledged. Cesar Chavez, the great community organizer and founder of the United Farm Workers union, was one. I first interviewed him in the 1970s and thought then that I was in the presence of an extraordinary man. I last spoke with him in 1992, just a few months before he died. I remember thinking then: If there are saints in our day, I am in the presence of one.
Ernesto Galarza was another. One of the founders of Chicano Studies, he is probably best known for his biography, Barrio Boy. He was a gentle man and a profound thinker with a broad range of experience. I loved sitting in his backyard in San Jose listening to his wisdom about life.
Kenneth Clark was another. He was the wise person who wrote an important brief in the Brown Vs. Board of education legal case. His work on the psychological effects of racial segregation on children played a key role in persuading the US Supreme Court to order an end to de jure segregation. He was an extraordinary optimist who believed the "rule of Law" would prevail.
Corita Kent was also a saint. Her art celebrated life using what she saw around her. She showed us that what is ordinary also has a sacredness to it. She took commercial slogans -- like those for Wonder Bread -- and turned them into profound messages.
She believed that there is an artist in each of us. Her ideas about art are outlined in a book called Learning by Heart. Reading it is like listening to her.
Still, to be publicly acknowledged as a saint is a rare thing. Most of the saints in our lives labor in relative obscurity.
I believe there is a potential for saintliness in all of us. If we look carefully are are patient, we can moments of sainthood in people around us. And, at time, we can even find those moments in ourselves. We can be inspired by these moments given to us by ordinary saints, just as we are inspired by better-known saints.
I have met a few people whose 'sainthood' has been publicly acknowledged. Cesar Chavez, the great community organizer and founder of the United Farm Workers union, was one. I first interviewed him in the 1970s and thought then that I was in the presence of an extraordinary man. I last spoke with him in 1992, just a few months before he died. I remember thinking then: If there are saints in our day, I am in the presence of one.
Ernesto Galarza was another. One of the founders of Chicano Studies, he is probably best known for his biography, Barrio Boy. He was a gentle man and a profound thinker with a broad range of experience. I loved sitting in his backyard in San Jose listening to his wisdom about life.
Kenneth Clark was another. He was the wise person who wrote an important brief in the Brown Vs. Board of education legal case. His work on the psychological effects of racial segregation on children played a key role in persuading the US Supreme Court to order an end to de jure segregation. He was an extraordinary optimist who believed the "rule of Law" would prevail.
Corita Kent was also a saint. Her art celebrated life using what she saw around her. She showed us that what is ordinary also has a sacredness to it. She took commercial slogans -- like those for Wonder Bread -- and turned them into profound messages.
She believed that there is an artist in each of us. Her ideas about art are outlined in a book called Learning by Heart. Reading it is like listening to her.
Still, to be publicly acknowledged as a saint is a rare thing. Most of the saints in our lives labor in relative obscurity.
I believe there is a potential for saintliness in all of us. If we look carefully are are patient, we can moments of sainthood in people around us. And, at time, we can even find those moments in ourselves. We can be inspired by these moments given to us by ordinary saints, just as we are inspired by better-known saints.
IS MOVING
Uptown Bill's is moving from its current location on Gilbert Street to 730 S. Dubuque at the end of July. The new location is atop Public Access TV at the corner of Lafayette & Dubuque. More details soon. In the meantime, click on the attachment to this Newsletter to get a glimpse of the new sign for Uptown Bill's.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO
SEE THE EMMY?
Barry Morrow received an Emmy award in screenwriting for the movie "Bill." Barry donated the Emmy statue to the University of Iowa and it's now located on the third floor of the UI library. Go to Special Collections section and look along the glass windows for the small exhibit which includes the Emmy. Here's a link to the talk Barry gave when he presented the Emmy to the university: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_hoMjTuloo.
A GREAT CUP OF
COFFEE QUOTES
One more cup of coffee before I go to the valley below -- Bob Dylan
I never laugh until I've had my coffee -- Clark Gable
I have measure out my life in teaspoons -- T.S. Eliot
I could smell myself awake with that coffee -- Jaesse Tyler
Remember, even if you don't love coffee, coffee loves you -- Lex Gottschalk
WHEN"'BILL'" MOVIE WAS
FIRST SHOWN ON TV
New York Times writer John O'Connor gave a favorable preview to the movie "Bill" the day it was first shown on television in 1981. You'll find a link to his column at the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You'll also find it on the Uptown Bill's Small Mall Facebook page. While you're there, why not sign up as a friend.
CHECK OUT
THE BLOG
For more discussion of the issues and ideas found in this Newsletter, check out the Coffee and Community weblog. You'll find it at: http://coffeeandcommunity.blogspot.com
ON FACEBOOK?
Look for the "Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop" page on Facebook. You'll find coffeeshop news, photos and more. Also, check out the Uptown Bill's Small Mall page on Facebook.
LOOKING BACK IN
THE NEWSLETTER
From past issues of the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter during the month of June:
2007: Bill Sackter chosen as commencement speaker
2005: Don Quixote might have been a social worker
2003: Bill is a symbol of hope for the long-term
You can read these and many other back issues in the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter archive. Here's a link:
https://list.uiowa.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A0=WILD-BILLS-COFFEESHOP-NEWSLETTER
__________________________
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. The coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8 am.
Uptown Bill's Small Mall is the crosstown cousin of the original coffeeshop. Located at 401 S. Gilbert, it includes a coffeeshop, bookstore, performance venue and more. Uptown Bill's is open daily from 8 am. For more information, call 339-0401.
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of the coffeeshop. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is edited by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of the original coffeeshop. Next week, Tom will become the director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to Tom at tomgilsenan@gmail.com. Or simply click reply and start writing.
LOOKING BACK IN
THE NEWSLETTER
From past issues of the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter during the month of June:
2007: Bill Sackter chosen as commencement speaker
2005: Don Quixote might have been a social worker
2003: Bill is a symbol of hope for the long-term
You can read these and many other back issues in the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter archive. Here's a link:
https://list.uiowa.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A0=WILD-BILLS-COFFEESHOP-NEWSLETTER
__________________________
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. The coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8 am.
Uptown Bill's Small Mall is the crosstown cousin of the original coffeeshop. Located at 401 S. Gilbert, it includes a coffeeshop, bookstore, performance venue and more. Uptown Bill's is open daily from 8 am. For more information, call 339-0401.
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of the coffeeshop. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is edited by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of the original coffeeshop. Next week, Tom will become the director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to Tom at tomgilsenan@gmail.com. Or simply click reply and start writing.
--
New address in June:
210 S. Clinton St. No. 402
Iowa City, IA 52240
--
New address in June:
210 S. Clinton St. No. 402
Iowa City, IA 52240
posted by Tom Gilsenan @ 4:13 PM
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