IN OUR MIDST * GIFT OF LISTENING * SO MUCH MUSIC * TV, TOO * SANTA IN OUR MIDST * Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter * Vol. 13 * Nov. 20, 2011

REMEMBER GIVING

IN THANKSGIVING

As you head home to your family and friends for holiday celebrations, please keep in mind the people among us who are hungry and homeless. They are in each of our communities, from Sioux City to Iowa City from Decorah to DesMoines. 

If you take a walk around Iowa City early in the morning, you are likely to meet people without a home trying to keep warm in stairways and parking ramps, The same is true in other communities around Iowa and beyond.

Groups like the Catholic Worker, Rescue Mission and the Salvation Army have been providing food and shelter for individuals and families all over the US for many years. There are also locally-grown groups which can use your help, including: Shelter House and Crisis Center in Iowa City,  John Lewis Coffee Shop organization in Davenport, Reggie's Place Coffee Shop in Des Moines and The Banquet in Sioux Falls. A gift to one of these agencies is especially helpful during the holiday season. 

LOVE TO SEE YOU
ON THANKSGIVING
Uptown Bill's will have its annual Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Nov. 24 from Noon to 2 pm. You're welcome to come for dinner or just stop by and say hi on your way to Grandmother's house. Salads, desserts and side dishes are welcome. 

At 2 pm, we plan to show: Bill On His Own, the 1983 TV movie about Bill and Wild Bill's Coffeeshop. Mickey Rooney plays Bill Sackter; Dennis Quaide plays Barry Morrow.

No Open Mic on Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 24), but our Spoken Word Night will be held as usual on the night before (Wednesday, Nov. 23, 7 pm). 

CONSIDER A GIFT OF 
LISTENING, TOO
Nourishment comes not only from food. It also comes from being recognized, acknowledged and listened to. Bill Sackter had a gift for this. In the coffeeshop and on the bus, he listened to all who wanted to be heard. His example is something we can learn from in our own lives.

There are so many opportunities for us to listen. They often come when we least expect or when we do not feel "ready."

Anna taught me that. She first called me when I was a newspaper reporter. It was the second day ofHanukkah and she was terribly depressed. She missed her family and friends and wasn't able to get to the synagogue anymore.

Why did she call me? Her reply: I get your paper and thought you might listen. It wasn't exactly an opportune moment (my deadline was two hours away) and frankly I didn't know what to say.

But she didn't want me to talk, she wanted me to listen. So I listened. After an hour or so, she said thank you, Happy Hanukkah, and goodbye.

The next year she called again during Hanukkah. You listened to me last year, she said, so I figured you probably would again.

These calls became a Hanukkah tradition. After several years, she told me that she had been so depressed the first year that she'd been considering turning on the gas and killing herself. "But I didn't because you listened," she said.

Anna died a natural death more than a dozen years after her first call. But her lesson about listening has stayed with me. I suppose our opportunities to listen aren't usually so dramatic. But one never knows.
     -- Tom Gilsenan

HANUKKAH BEGINS AT
SUNDOWN ON DEC. 20
Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of light, begins this year on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at sundown. The eight day festival commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem in the second century BC. For more about this festival, click on this link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

LOTS OF SPECIAL EVENTS

FROM NOV. 28 TO DEC. 3

Monday, Nov. 28, 4:30 pm 

UI World Music Ensemble

A UI jazz ensemble playing "world music" with a strong rhythmic content.  This 14 member group plays music from Trinidad, Cuba, Brazil, South Africa, West Africa, New Orleans and Jamaica among other locals.  

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 6 pm

Live TV broadcast: Tom's Guitar Show

Tom Nothnagle hosts this weekly show broadcast on PATV and on the web. It's a show about guitars and guitar playing, featuring lots of music and a bit of conversation. On the last Tuesday of each month, the show is broadcast live from Uptown Bill's.

Wednesday, Nov. 30

6 pm: Holiday Art Projects

Create your own holiday decoration with materials provided by the coffee house. Or bring your own arts/crafts project.

6 pm: Readers & Writers

Weekly opportunity to talk with others about what you've been reading lately. 

7 pm: Spoken Word

Weekly showcase of poetry, short stories, flash fiction and other writing. Performers have 10 minutes. Sign up at the coffee house.

8 pm: Live TV broadcast: The Smartest Iowan

Are you the Smartest Iowan? Match your knowledge against contestants on this live TV presented by PATV, community television in Iowa City. This week's show will be broadcast live from Uptown Bill's. 

Thursday, Dec. 1

6 pm: Art Night

Join others in an hour of art and creativity. Take part in a special project for the evening (materials provided)  Or bring your own art/crafts.

7 pm: Open Mic

A weekly showcase of singer/songwriters. Poets, storytellers, comedians and other performers are welcome, too. Each person or group has 10 minutes to perform. Sign up at the coffee house. 

Friday, Dec. 2

5 pm: Friday Night Jazz Series presents Padley/Smith Combo.
7 pm: Uptown Bill's Benefit Concert hosted by I-Envision

Saturday, Dec. 3

4:30 pm: Irish Sessions.

Monthly gathering of musicians who play Irish music.

7 pm: Saturday Night Music presents The Mayflies

Distinctly Midwestern mix of blues and country guitar, folk and rock lyrics, plus fiddle and mandolin.

HOLIDAY MEMORIES OF BILL

Excerpted from "The man who would be Santa," a chapter in the biography of Bill Sackter written by Tom Walz. Called "The Unlikely Celebrity," the book is available at Uptown Bill's in Iowa City or from your favorite independent bookstore.

Bill Sackter clearly had a special charm that drew people of all ages, races and social classes. His inner self flowed with such innocence that children followed him as they might the Pied Piper. In the place of a flute, Bill played the harmonica.

I suspect it was these personal attributes that made Bill so suitable for the role of Santa Claus. In most respects, Bill was the perfect Santa, except perhaps for the fact he was Jewish. When he was in his late 60s he was the right age to play December's mythical hero. His short, roly-poly body could not have been better crafted for the part. Also, his beard was long and unruly, and touched with the right shade of gray. He loved to laugh. He had eyes that twinkled; he had feet that could not stop dancing (or prancing); and he had a spontaneous ho-ho-ho that made up about five percent of his vocabulary.

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Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com

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. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8 am. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 11th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Saturday from 7 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook page. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0401. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible.

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In the spirit of Bill Sackter, Uptown Bill's strives to nurture and encourage a gathering place where people of all abilities are welcome. Find us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Watch us on You Tube: www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLEE41220297F8D82C

Visit our web page: www.uptownbills.org