May 21, Day 2 - Maple Leaf and Eagle Conference

 Today was a day of "brain candy." With our film presentation behind us, the three of us could go to seminars that interested us.

  Barbara went to one that had 3 different speakers. The first woman, a poet, discussed the impact of the poems that Abraham Lincoln memorized and what they revealed. It was interesting. That session also included an interesting paper about "radical" farming. He drew links between the writing of Wendell Berry and bell hooks. One of the lines that will stick  was about the difference between the politics of "tending" vs "intending," the latter implying wielding power and the former implying nurture and growth. She also heard a New Mexican folksinger who has a project of bringing food and ten disparate people for a meal in "Together at the Table." 

  Mark, Barbara and Fran went to a workshop about Southern Culture. The best one was about the rivers of the south and how they have changed. The rivers used to be full of a variety of fish and wildlife. Over the last centuries they have been subject to much erosion (some of it due to cotton plantations), being dammed etc. His paper was written by a historian and an expert on aquatic plants. It was very interesting. Another one at that session involved literature and Southern stereotypes. His thesis was that the South has a pessimistic attitude toward life, but that is a gross simplification! And, the final one at that session was a doctoral candidate whose paper focused on Black abolitionists and their resistance to colonization. He mentioned Absalom Boston and gave a nod to Nantucket and to us.

    Mark and Barbara also went to a presentation by Stephen Rabe, who has written extensively about political relationships between the United States and South America. But, in his retirement, he decided to write a book based on his father's experience parachuting into Normandy in 1944 and how the village that these men accidentally landed in came together to protect them - at a cost. The book sounds great and we plan to read it.

     We took a segment of the day "off" and went to Stockmann Dept. Store. Mark bought a new "Fat Moose" jacket and Barbara bought a very small backpack to help with packing and lessening the weight in her rolling bag.

    In late afternoon Barbara went to a performance/talk by a man who has written a book about Pete Seeger and who knew him well. It was a sing along. He talked about the evolution of Seeger's work and his focus on the labor movement, women's rights, Civil Rights and the environment. He discussed Seeger at the McCarthy hearings and the price he paid for that. Interesting.

 

  Finally, we all went to a reception hosted by the City of Helsinki. We were greeted by a man elected by the Green Party and who is a deputy minister.

There were "heavy nibbles." 

    A very good day.