Monday, March 16, 2009
two sad events
Two sad events over the weekend.
Citizen Kafka (Richard Shulberg) died following a long battle with MS. A legendary figure around New York in music & alternative radio. In the late 90's, "Sid" brought his great radio show, Secret Museum of the Air, to WFMU from WBAI for about 5 years, co-produced with Pat Conte. They found an astonishing variety of music on old 78s. The guy was constantly in motion, an ebullient personality. I don't think I had conversation with him lasting longer than five minutes, he was always headed into the production studio or on his way out the door to a gig with his wacky bluegrass band. It's impossible to imagine him anywhere but New York City.
***
Tragic car accident, seven teenagers from Roselle Park High School, crammed into Mazda. The car flipped over on Route 35 in Toms River Saturday evening, injuring six & killing the captain of the wrestling team. I grew up in Roselle Park, I have some idea how ripped up the town must be. A similar tragedy occurred while I was in high school.
I read judgmental comments online about no seat belts, overcrowded car, probationary licenses. Yet, the first thought I had was that a bunch of friends from RP, driving around the Jersey shore, was what I would expect of teenagers from the town. Poor judgment, yes. But they weren't gangbangers looking for a drive by target. In my era, over 40 years ago, before seat belt laws & special licenses, we did that all the time. If someone had a car on Saturday night, you gathered up friends & drove somewhere; to the shore, to a diner, to visit somebody's cousin. If you went to a boardwalk, chances were very good you'd meet another bunch of kids from Roselle Park doing the same thing. Maybe that hasn't changed much. What also hasn't changed is that RP is a small town, 1 sq mile. You graduate with classmates you've seen every school day since kindergarten. They don't live 15 miles away but literally up the street & around the corner. This kind of thing doesn't touch the community in an abstract or distant way. It's like dropping a bomb on the town's heart.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Citizen Kafka (Richard Shulberg) died following a long battle with MS. A legendary figure around New York in music & alternative radio. In the late 90's, "Sid" brought his great radio show, Secret Museum of the Air, to WFMU from WBAI for about 5 years, co-produced with Pat Conte. They found an astonishing variety of music on old 78s. The guy was constantly in motion, an ebullient personality. I don't think I had conversation with him lasting longer than five minutes, he was always headed into the production studio or on his way out the door to a gig with his wacky bluegrass band. It's impossible to imagine him anywhere but New York City.
***
Tragic car accident, seven teenagers from Roselle Park High School, crammed into Mazda. The car flipped over on Route 35 in Toms River Saturday evening, injuring six & killing the captain of the wrestling team. I grew up in Roselle Park, I have some idea how ripped up the town must be. A similar tragedy occurred while I was in high school.
I read judgmental comments online about no seat belts, overcrowded car, probationary licenses. Yet, the first thought I had was that a bunch of friends from RP, driving around the Jersey shore, was what I would expect of teenagers from the town. Poor judgment, yes. But they weren't gangbangers looking for a drive by target. In my era, over 40 years ago, before seat belt laws & special licenses, we did that all the time. If someone had a car on Saturday night, you gathered up friends & drove somewhere; to the shore, to a diner, to visit somebody's cousin. If you went to a boardwalk, chances were very good you'd meet another bunch of kids from Roselle Park doing the same thing. Maybe that hasn't changed much. What also hasn't changed is that RP is a small town, 1 sq mile. You graduate with classmates you've seen every school day since kindergarten. They don't live 15 miles away but literally up the street & around the corner. This kind of thing doesn't touch the community in an abstract or distant way. It's like dropping a bomb on the town's heart.
Labels: in the news, obituary
