Back in Brussels

I still woke up this morning thinking I might step out into the wonder of North Greenview ...

We arrived yesterday at 8 a.m. to Brussels' airport. We had a good trip. The three of us were able to catch some sleep on the plane, but Georgie and I had a long nap in the afternoon (I had a very long one!).

I will be leaving to the office in some 45 minutes (It's now 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 1 September).

Jarl and Georgie will have another week of holidays to get used to life in Brussels. Georgie will start the new school on 7 September; European School of Woluwe St. Lambert, Portuguese Section. She is very happy to be back in Brussels. You should have seen her happy face the moment we landed, reached our street, stepped inside the apartment, the moment she saw her room and her toys. Georgie was beaming and kept saying how happy she was feeling. But she misses Crown Fountain in Chicago; Georgie wondered if we could go there today.

I feel like I left some part of my heart in Chicago. I suppose we all have bits and pieces of our hearts wandering around. No need for mending, that's just the way things are.

As my mother-in-law, Ulla, would say, take a deep breath and put the boots on. And then face the morning one step at a time.


(L)

Dreamliner Van

During the GMGs' visit to Chicago (they left today to New York; we miss them) we drove around the city in a 7-seater van (a Dodge). We called it the "Dreamliner", as in the new Boeing 787 (currently being tested).

The van is indeed like a plane, huge, smooth, with inside lighting that soothes and calms, "tanned" windows, and automatic side-doors that open with a swoosh. Welcome to flying without leaving the ground!

I added a photo of the Dreamliner (sorry Airbus, I still like you!) with Gonçalo in mind, he who loves airplanes and bought a model of this one for himself while visiting the Boeing store (Boeing has its headquarters in Chicago).

(L)

Lincoln Town Car

After the Hiundai Sonata, we rented a Lincoln Town Car (LTC), to drive in the "Land of Lincoln" (that's the motto for the State of Illinois, in reference to the famous former US President).

The LTC is indeed a stately car, a sort of mini-limo, or as our friend Debbie puts it "an old man's car", followed by laughs and "my father drives one". In Portugal we would call it a "banheira", a bathtub.

But don't let yourself be misguided by all the negative publicity, the LCT is a spacious, very comfortable car, and it gives you the outside and inside temperature in Celsius (I liked that!). Its biggest problem? It guzzles a lot of petrol and the planet won't be any better for that. It's an experience, an American experience.

(L)

The Garden Buddha

There's a Buddha in our garden. We will miss it. Today, Georgie took a couple of photos of "The Awakened One". We are not Buddhists, but we like the concept of the "Middle Path", neither self-indulgence, nor self-mortification in life. I also like the concept that Truth can be revealed to oneself without the help of intermediaries, that all that we need is guidance, the conclusion being ultimately our own.

I still think the Buddha was too negative about the body in his teachings, concentrating too much on the mind and the state of bodiless Nirvana as the final destination. But what's a mind without a body? The work of neurobiologist Antonio Damasio, and his book "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain" in particular, shows that the dichotomy between the body and the mind is artificial, and that our minds - apart from being the product of the brain's physical processes - would be unable of rational thinking were it not for our somatic experiences, which is often how our emotions are translated into being. Yes, I loved the book and I recommend its reading.

Back to the Garden Buddha... it's a beautiful statue, serene and peaceful, like all Buddhas are supposed to be. The squirrels like to sniff him and sit on top of his head. The Buddha looks pleased. If we get a house with a garden, I may even get one.

Around the corner from our house there's another Buddha. This one is a big statue of a standing Buddha, in the garden of a Buddhist Temple. We used to pass by the temple on our way to Chase Park. Georgie was always fascinated with the offerings of water and oranges, as well as flowers. Who was going to eat and drink them? Would the statue do that? But statues aren't alive, are they? I explained that the monks probably sneak in at night and eat the oranges and drink the water. They don't want any of their innocent followers to think that the Buddha isn't taking the gifts. As if the Buddha would need any food or drink after attaining Nirvana, the bodiless state of no wanting and of no needing. Religion... (sigh)

(L)

dinner with Becky and Ed and the GMGs

We invited Aunt Becky and Uncle Ed to join us this evening for an American dinner: broiled chicken, sausages, cole slaw salad, potato salad, watermelon and chocolate chip cookies. We ate outside in the porch.

(L)

saying goodbye to Susan and Beth

Susan and Beth are the gentle owners of the house where we stayed for three months in Chicago. We said goodbye to them this afternoon in their garden (it's a little our garden too). Their home made our stay in Chicago more real, more pleasant, more memorable (toilet quirks and all... sorry, internal joke).

We had a present for them. A magic rabbit made of metal, red and black, that we had bought in Douglas, Michigan in July. It will keep company to the hare that comes in the morning to munch on the leaves in the garden.

We will miss their invisible presence around the house, their impromptu appearances in the stairs in the back, the enjoyable chats in the middle of the day. But we just say "hasta la vista"!

(L)

Lunch at the Hilton

Today we couldn't find anywhere to have lunch, so we decided to go to the Hilton... not the cheapest option (even the small cafe where we sat), but it was cool inside. Georgie was quite happy with our choice, as you can see from the photos. The lobby is quite impressive, don't you think?

The Hilton is hosted in what used to be "Palmer House". There have been three Palmer House Hotels in Chicago. The first (known as "The Palmer") was built as a wedding present from Potter Palmer to his bride Bertha Honoré. It opened on September 26, 1871, but burned down just thirteen days later during the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Palmer immediately set to work on a second 7-floors hotel designed by architect John M. Van Osdel. It was completed in 1875. By the 1920s, the business in downtown Chicago could support a much larger facility and the Palmer Estate decided to erect a new 25-story hotel. They hired Holabird & Roche to design the building. Between 1923 and 1925, the hotel was rebuilt on the same site (in stages, so not a single day of business was lost). At the time it was touted as the largest hotel in the world. Still today, it looks massive.

(L)

The "L"

There's no way we can avoid talking about Chicago's Elevated Train, or as the locals simply call it, the "L". Wherever you look, wherever you go, you have the train above your head.

Although Chicago only started having an elevated train in 1888 (in New York they introduced it in 1867), it soon became a city fixture.

For those of us who are used to the underground train (the Metro) or the regular train (on the ground), a train above our heads is a bit like being Alice in Wonderland. A flying train.

(L)

NEBRASKA

We went to see my cousins Mitzi and Jerry in Bennet, Nebraska (see the photo with the cute Post Office), a small town not far from the capital Lincoln (see the photo with the Governor's house), at the end of July. It was wonderful and so special to see them again. Last time we had met was in London in 1993. We had great food and conversations in their home. Mitzi served homemade bread and pancakes, made from her own-milled flour. Delicious!

Mitzi and Jerry met us at the airport in Omaha and after lunch we went to the Lewis and Clark museum nearby. Georgie loved to see the stuffed bear and beaver. The museum gave us a good insight into the expedition of 1803. (see the beaver photo and the one of Georgie paddling an Indian canoe)

"The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) was the first overland expedition undertaken by the United States to the Pacific Coast and back. The expedition team was headed by the US Army soldiers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The expedition's goal was to gain an accurate sense of the resources being exchanged in the Louisiana Purchase. The expedition laid much of the groundwork for the westward expansion of the US."

"The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of 2,147,000 km2 of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The Purchase encompassed all or part of 14 current U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The purchase, which doubled the size of the United States, comprises around 23% of current U.S. territory. The purchase was a vital moment in the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. At the time, it faced domestic opposition as being possibly unconstitutional. Although he felt that the U.S. Constitution did not contain any provisions for acquiring territory, Jefferson decided to purchase Louisiana because he felt uneasy about France and Spain having the power to block American trade access to the port of New Orleans. Napoleon Bonaparte, upon completion of the agreement, stated, "This accession of territory affirms forever the power of the United States, and I have given England a maritime rival who sooner or later will humble her pride."" (from Wikipedia with some cuts)

Nebraska (motto: "the good life") is a fairly large state with a small population, about 1.8 million. There are many farmers and there is a "small town"-feel to the place wherever you go.

Nebraska is unique in that it is the only state in the US with a unicameral legislature. So of course went to the capital and visited the Capitol!

The Members of the House call themselves "Senators". Nebraska's Legislature is also the only state legislature in the US that is nonpartisan. The senators are elected with no party affiliation next to their names on the ballot, and the speaker and committee chairs are chosen at large, so that members of any party can be chosen for these positions. The Nebraska Legislature can also override a governor's veto with a three-fifths majority, in contrast to the two-thirds majority required in some other states.

"The Nebraska Legislature meets in the third Nebraska State Capitol building, built between 1922 and 1932. It was designed by Bertram G. Goodhue. Built from Indiana limestone, the Capitol's base is a cross within a square. A 400-foot domed tower rises from this base. The Golden Sower, a 19-foot bronze statue representing agriculture, crowns the Capitol. The state Capitol is considered an architectural achievement. It has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects." And it is beautiful, as you can see in the photos of its interior. We had a very good guide, who would not let any one interrupt her sermonical tour. At one point a boy of ten heard a reprimanding "Respect!" from her when he tried to cross in front of her "stage".

We also went to see the countryside and its beautiful wild flowers, in-between the sprawling cornfields ... and soybean fields ... and alfalfa fields .... that's where we took the photo of the lilac flowers.

Nebraska is also known for being the Kool-Aid state (a very sweet drink with very little real juice) and the home of the wealthy and philanthropic businessman Warren Buffet.

(J)

City skyline and the three of us

Underwater Stress

Yesterday, August 23, the GMGs and the three of us went to the Shedd Aquarium, another of Chicago's attractions. But I'm not convinced. The price is way too high, and the whole thing was a bit too hectic and stressful for my taste.

We watched Fantasea, the Shedd's big show, with beluga whales, dolphins, a Californian sea-lion, penguins and a white-tailed falcon. Well, the penguins and the white-tailed falcon made an appearance, but it was hard to understand what the purpose of it was. Total flop, if you want my opinion. The beluga whales were fascinating, and the dolphins were delightful.

I always have mixed feelings about this kind of show because of their exploitative nature, but in the end we succumbed to the "consumer of thrills" that lurks in all of us. The organisers of the show went the extra mile to underline that the animals were not taught to do tricks, but being trained to show their natural behaviour on cue, but the circus element was very present and that always makes me wince. I don't like it.

Moreover, the whole place was full of interactive computer monitors (at children's height) and it was frustrating to see them pay more attention to the fish on screen than the real ones swimming around. Talk about over-stimulation and attention deficit! They should dump those computers in one of the tanks! On second thoughts, poor fish...

We also took part in an "experience". It felt more like an experiment, if you ask me. We went to see a 4-D film called "Happy Feet", about a supposedly cute penguin who loved to tap-dance and in the process changed the world and reconciled humans and beasts... sniff, sniff, bring in the kleenex please! What's a 4-D film? Well, it's one where there's cold wind blown into the room, and snow, and water is sprinkled in your face, and your chair trembles, and you are poked in the back, whenever something similar happens in the film. You may think that it sounds interesting, or fun, but to us it was more like a nightmare. Talk about over-stimulation and attention-deficit! I hope this is not the future of film, because it stinks!

The film also left me and Jarl in a pool of anger, because of its xenophobic undertones; the bad guy was a penguin with a Scottish accent, the fools were the "Amigos", a group of penguins with Spanish accents, the silly guru was an "African-American" penguin, and the hero was the only blue-eyed penguin of the whole of Antarctica, with a cute American accent... too much for us "evil foreigners" to take. The underlying message was sweet, how overfishing by humans is taking the penguins' food, and that there should be a ban on fishing in Antarctica, but this was all lost in the fast-paced, stupidity-induced plot. Give me an old Disney film anytime.

If you want my opinion, don't "shedd your money at the Shedd! Chicago has a lot of other great places to visit, worth your money, your time, and your intelligence.

(L)

Gonçalo, Manuel, Guilherme - the GMGs

The GMGs arrived to Chicago on Saturday, August 21, from Lisbon via Boston, where they spent a week with another Portuguese friend.

It's funny, weird, great to have them around. I thought we might spend holidays together in Sweden at the summerhouse someday, but Chicago took the lead I guess.

It was interesting to see their fascination for Chicago bloom little by little when Georgie and I took them downtown on the "L Train". Chicago has that effect on all the people I know.

Here are photos of our time at Chase Park, about a 10-minutes walk from where we live. Georgie and Guilherme had time to watch a bit of an amateur, but serious, basketball game at the park's community centre. Très américain!

(L)

Our street in Chicago

In less than a week's time we are leaving back to Brussels. Three months go by in a puff of air. It's that fast.

We love the street where we live and this week we started to document it with a few photos of our favourite houses.

Sometimes, walking down the street watching people go by, the lazy feet taking us slowly along the trees and the squares of grass, contemplating the beautiful facades and front gardens, tasting the breeze of summer in our bodies, we forget all our worries and wonder how we will ever manage to live in Brussels again.

(L)

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

On 17 August we had dinner at Ben's and Karen's house. We also briefly met their son, Jacob, who is now 16! We had a picture in our mind of a child, and he is now a young man. Children do make you realise that time goes by, that and old photos of oneself!

Talking about photos, for some mysterious reason the photos I was transferring this evening from my camera to the computer never materialised and now they are gone from the camera's card too. It's such a pity really, we had captured some fun moments with Georgie on Debbie's lap singing the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight... It's one of Georgie's favourites and Ben had a Public TV programme on Doo Woop with the group that made the song an international hit, The Tokens. Oh well, these things happen, but it's a shame. Better luck next time.

To compensate for that, here is a full explanation of how the song came about, found in the Smart Science homepage. It's not a story, nor even a history, it's more like a saga. It's long, but worth reading. After all, this song has been around for 71 years. Respect!

I have also included two photos, one of Solomon Linda and his band (the creator of the song), and another one of The Tokens, who made the version that is now known all over the globe.

"THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT

Mbube is Zulu for lion and is the original name for one of the most popular songs ever written. It was written in 1939 by Solomon Linda, a Zulu tribesman, who was born in the bush near Ladysmith, South Africa.

As a young man, Solomon Linda moved to Johannesburg to seek his fortune. He organized a singing group named the Evening Birds who sang on the weekends. They were a big hit in the beer halls in the Soweto Township where the black laborers lived.

Mr. Linda sang soprano while the other members of the group sang four part harmony. A style they originated was quickly copied.

In 1939 they met Griffiths Motsieloam, the black partner of Eric Gallo, a jovial Italian who owned the first recoding studio in sub-Saharan Africa. Linda was illiterate and could not read or write music. In 1939 they recorded Mbube and required three takes to get the final, incredible recording. Solly Linda, perhaps because he had no musical score to work from, improvised as he sang the falsetto part over the strong bass chant. At the end of the third take, he abruptly added the melody that has become associated with the words, "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight." It was a hit and, by 1948, had sold around 100,000 copies. Solomon Linda became famous among the Zulu immigrants.

At that time, Pete Seeger was a banjo player living in a cold water flat in Greenwich Village with a wife and two young children. The to-be-famous musicologist Alan Lomax popped up at Pete's place with some African 78s that he thought Seeger might like. One of the records was Mbube, which immediately fascinated Seeger. He transcribed from the record but could not make out the chant of "uyimbube" on the scratchy recording and wrote it as "wimoweh." He taught the tune to his band, the Weavers, a white singing group who sang folk songs and spirituals. They began singing at the Village Vanguard, where a Decca talent scout found them. Because their first record was a hit (Good Night Irene), they recorded more until they did a version of "Wimoweh," which became an enormous hit.

Seeger and the Weavers became victims of McCarthyism. But the song lived on and was recorded by Jimmy Dorsey in 1952 and others including a famous recording by the Kingston Trio live at the Hungry I in San Francisco that remained on the charts for three years.

Jay Siegel the leader of a young singing group from Brooklyn called “The Tokens” introduced the song to his group. He had learned it from an old Weavers album. Their producers had George David Weiss rework the song. Weiss gave the song the name, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and added the now famous line “In the jungle, the mighty jungle.” He also excised all of the falsetto hollering from the original and retained the famous, magical melody of Solomon Linda. Weiss obtained a copyright.

Recorded live in RCA's Manhattan studios on July 21, 1961, the song quickly became a big international hit, but not until some weird music history. The recording was the B side of a record with a flop on the A side called "Tina." An obscure DJ in Worcester, MA flipped "Tina" over and was so impressed that he played "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" frequently. The response was unexpectedly strong, and the song reached the national charts by November and quickly become the number one recording..

In the 1990’s, the song was adapted by Disney for use in “The Lion King”. Of course, it was used in the Broadway version too.

Solomon Linda received 10 shillings for the rights to his song about his childhood where he watched his family’s cattle at night to protect them from the lions.

The song has been recorded by 72 different groups over the years and has generated an estimated 15 million dollars or more in royalties, most of which have gone to George David Weiss. Solomon Linda spent his last years in poverty and died in 1962 of renal failure. His descendants have successfully prosecuted a lawsuit against those who have made so much money from Linda's genius. The settlement was reached in February, 2006.

Contents copyright 2006 by Dr. A. V. Persson and ParaComp, Inc. All rights reserved."

(L)

Ana Maria Pasteria

Ana Maria Pasteria is the name of an Italian restaurant a few metres away from our place in Chicago, on N Clark Street. Georgie and I were the first ones to discover it and since then we have been there at least three times; last time was with Denise and Andreia.

Georgie's favourite is the Linguine Pesto (very yummy indeed!). Their Tiramisu is divine!

Ana and Maria are two sisters from Italy who opened the restaurant in 1989. Their food is simple, really Italian, and very tasty. And the staff is friendly too.

(L)

Chicago Airshow

On Sunday afternoon we met with Aunt Debbie and headed to Phil's and Linda's deck to watch the Chicago Airshow. Phil and Linda are longtime friends of Debbie and her husband, Syd. Phil and Linda were great hosts and made us feel very welcome.

Apparently, this year the show was not as nice as in previous years (maybe too short?). We were afraid of the noise the planes would make and how Georgie might react to it (Georgie is quite sensitive to noise) and bought some ear mufflers for the occasion. They made Jarl look like Mickey Mouse... In the end they weren't needed, the planes were flying far away and were just about audible, even to sensitive ears.

(L)