Everett Jenkins Birthday Blog

Today is October 2, and on my Amherst College calendar I have penciled in "Gandhi Remembrance Day" for today.  This notation is to remind me to revisit the life of Gandhi  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi and to view, once again, the Academy Award winning biopic, Gandhi, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi_(film)\ Viewing the movie Gandhi and learning more about the man was a life changing event for me. I sometimes wonder what would happen if students all over the world were required to view the film and to learn about the man and his philosophy. Maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place.  Maybe, just maybe, the world would be at     Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins October 2, 2022

Today is September 30 and on my Amherst College calendar I have penciled in "Truth and Reconciliation Day" or as it is known in Canada "Orange Shirt Day" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Shirt_Day Granted, Orange Shirt Day is meant to address a Canadian tragedy.  However, sadly, the tragedy has an American component as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_boarding_schools Having viewed several testimonials from the "survivors" of the assimilation process practiced at the American Indian boarding schools, there was great suffering endured by generations of First Nation people which has never been adequately addressed.  It may be too much to ask that the citizens of the United States have their own Orange Shirt Day to address the wrong done.   However, it is not too much to ask that those who are acquainted with the issue set aside some time to remember what happened and why. I am acquainted with the issue and have decided to remember.  Ma...

  88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 Alphabetical Index 2022 9/11 Remembrance Day  A00067 A Day with Bernadette, A Few Moments with Moses the Ethiopian A00063 Abdul Qadeer Khan, Father of Pakistan's Nuclear Program  A00003 April 2022 Must Watch TV: Benjamin Franklin: A Film by Ken Burns  A00036 Art Laboe, R. I. P.  A00078 Bill Russell, High Jumper  A00062 Black Savants: The Remarkable Stories of Willard Wigan and Stephen Wiltshire  A00009 Book of the Month for February 2022: Your Blues Ain't Like Mine: A Conversation with Bebe Moore Campbell  A00022 Bruce's Beach Revisited  A00018 Busy Inside and Drive My Car  A00033 Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas in August  A00064 Driving While Black  A00028 El Dia de Los Muertos por Los Pajaros  A00005 False Prophets  A00007 February 2022 Must See TV: The American Diplomat (American Experience)  A00017 February 2022 Must See TV: ...

T oday is Coltrane's birthday.  I am a late comer to jazz and do not have an extensive historical connection to the genre.  However, it just "happened" that I was listening to The California Report Maqazine this afternoon https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine Today's report was about the The Real Ambassadors musical prepared for the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1962.  This report had an emotional effect on me.  Perhaps it will for you and others as well. Take care, my friends, and continue to live in Celebration of 'Trane. Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins Fairfield, California September 23, 2022

  I completed viewing "The U. S. and the Holocaust" last night.  It was as advertised.  Very compelling television, but I suspect it was not watched by many.  Very compelling history, but I suspect that the lessons were never learned.  Nevertheless, we continue to do the work of Sisyphus and as such I provide the following tidbits that may highlight what was recently seen. First, whenever I see clips of Jesse Owens running at the 1936 Olympics and hear about how the racist Hitler was angered by the demonstration of the superior athletic prowess of a black man, I am inclined to not ascribe the hate to all Germans, but rather to remember the story of Luz Long, the German long jumper who Jesse Owens beat in competition, but who befriended Jesse after the competition and warmly congratulated him in front of the assembled German people.  Please read for yourself about the story of love and brotherhood that was also a product of the 1936 Olympic Games. https://en...

On my Amherst College calendar, I have penciled in "The U. S. and the Holocaust" as the most important television program to watch for the month of September 2022.  "The U. S. and the Holocaust" is the latest offering from Ken Burns' and, according to Mr. Burns, it is his most important work to this date.  https://www.pbs.org/show/us-and-holocaust/ The importance of this particular offering stems from the ties between what led to the Holocaust and domestic events of today.  A recent Los Angeles Times review highlights the concerns. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-09-16/us-and-the-holocaust-ken-burns-pbs-review Having watched the first two hours, I suspect that this Ken Burns offering will not receive a warm reception.  After all, the subject matter is especially grim and, perhaps most importantly, American complicity in the Holocaust casts a light on the dark history of this country that many would like to ignore. One of the more compell...

Today is 9/11 Remembrance Day.  I begin my remembrance by recalling my comments as set forth below. After the travesty surrounding the American Withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, I felt confident that a reckoning would occur regarding the disturbing revelations set forth in  The Afghanistan Papers.   I was wrong. Once I received the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction report entitled "What We Need To Learn: Lessons From Twenty Years of Afghanistan Reconstruction" and after I read the almost comical depictions of corruption and incompetence that plagued our effort at nation building in Afghanistan, I thought surely there would be a public reckoning and flogging of those involved. I was wrong. Given all this evidence of corruption and incompetence in Afghanistan, I expected the Global Terrorism Index to record a banner year for terrorism. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GTI-2022-web-09062022.pdf I was wrong agai...