Thanksgiving in Color-Graphemic gustatory Synesthesia

“Color-Graphemic gustatory Synesthesia” by Kevin Dayhoff November 24, 2009

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The Thanksgiving holiday is always a mixed-up mashed-up confusion of words, colors, music, and taste. It’s an arrhythmic cacophony chromaticism of atonal colors…

The holiday started several days early as I devoured each word in Hindi at an Indian restaurant. I savored each morsel until they exploded into an arrhythmic cacophony chromaticism of atonal colors.

Vivid colors follow me everywhere – especially at Thanksgiving. I often try to photograph them. They are relatively easy to find.

At times, I feel stalked by them with a hurtling relentlessness. A regular paparazzi, if you will. But the sonorities of colors are my friends. Often they will phase-shift back into words that splash forth into music.

However, loud noises reduce everything into jarring spikes of stark gray tones, white noise and irrational cymbals - and I become worried. “I want the friendly colors back,” I plead.

Then again, on any given day, I rather enjoy reading the cross-eyed cartoons of Pablo Picasso and listening to the random dribbles of Jackson Pollock that drift in and out of my daily consciousness.

It is always fun to see and explore the relationship between abstract art, the daily colors, and music.

Old notes reveal that “Wassily Kandinsky once attended a performance of the grandfather of abstract music, composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951,) in 1911.

Monsieur Kandinsky later wrote to Monsieur Schoenberg and said:

“Please excuse me for simply writing to you without having the pleasure of knowing you personally. I have just heard your concert here and it has given me real pleasure. You do not know me, of course - that is, my works - since I do not exhibit much in general, and have exhibited in Vienna only briefly once and that was years ago.

“However, what we are striving for and our whole manner of thought and feeling have so much in common that I feel completely justified in expressing my empathy. In your works, you have realized what I, albeit in uncertain form, have so greatly longed for in music.”

We’ll explore more on that at another time.

Meanwhile, several days later I found myself traveling in the country to attend a family Thanksgiving dinner; an event which is always told in a southern gothic manner; full of fascinating family stories that often involve aspects of unexplained historical events, enigmatic dialogue, and inexplicable characters.


On the way I find myself at Paper Mill Road, MD Route 145, bridge crossing over the Gunpowder Falls at Loch Raven Reservoir. (Click here for a larger image of the bridges at Paper Mill Road: http://twitpic.com/r74zx or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/259790373/paper-mill-rd-bridges-span-gunpowder-falls-loch http://tinyurl.com/yhhkb3n)

The new – December 2000 – steel arch bridge juxtaposed side-by-side with the historic old 1922 rare arch truss bridge is the perfect metaphor for the occasion, especially since a tragic family accident with a bridge in the mid-1940s, is part of the family folklore.

One published account relates that the 1922 bridge is “one of a limited number of examples of steel bridges modeled after the Hell’s Gate Arch in New York City…”

It always reminds me of forty years ago in the late summer of 1967 when we first learned from “Mama” that the nice young preacher, Brother Taylor “said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

I first heard the song, “Ode to Billy Joe” by Bobbie Gentry on WCAO on the AM dial of the car radio. It was in this time period that I became firmly hooked on the existential - “Southern Gothic” genre of storytelling. To refresh your memory, the song can be found on the web at www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZt5Q-u4crc.

Of course you remember “Ode to Billy Joe.” Who can forget: It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day… And mama hollered at the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet." And then she said she got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge. Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

Yes, the Paper Mill Bridge is located in Baltimore County, MD. Ms. Gentry’s tale took place in “Carroll County.”

Ms. Gentry has to this day remained circumspect about the haunting and mysterious tale of Mr. MacAllister, but one thing we have learned is that the “Carroll County” she is referring to in the song is “Carroll County Mississippi.” Come to find out, there are approximately 13 places in the United States called “Carroll County.”

Thanksgiving always make me think of southern gothic storytelling – and Jimi Hendrix, who was born on November 27, 1942.

Other examples of authors of the Southern gothic genre of writing include William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote, and Harper Lee. Tennessee Williams is said to have described the genre as stories that reflect “an intuition of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience.”

As for Thanksgiving itself; instead of reading a Thanksgiving story, you eat it and enjoy the colors.

Fortunately much of Thanksgiving is written by the American composer Aaron Copland (Nov. 14, 1900 – Dec. 2, 1990 and painted by Norman Rockwell (Feb. 3, 1894 —Nov. 8, 1978.)

It was Mr. Copeland who actually won a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for Appalachian Spring. Nothing says Thanksgiving dinner better than Mr. Copeland’s ballets Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian Spring (1944, Fanfare for the Common Man (1943) and the music for the films Our Town (1940.)

Over the years, I have become much more enamored with Southern gothic storytelling, which is frequently more creative – and often more disturbing in the manner it which it peels away the layers of a community or society; yet does not tell a reader what to think, but causes them to think.

More often than not, the tale is told by way of dialogue as with “Ode to Billy Joe” where the story in the song creates many more questions than answers and this invites a ‘participation’ on the part of listener. Moreover, often you never get a firm grasp on the primary narrator.

Just as with Thanksgiving stories, the song’s plot makes known several themes. The first of which is obvious in that just like many popular Thanksgiving holiday stories, it reveals a snapshot of life in a particular period in history.

But it is the other prominent theme that is particularly disturbing as it peels away the layers of indifference that contemporary society shows towards our fellow human beings – or in the case of “Ode to Billy Joe,” the loss of life.

It is at this point that the narrator of this story from “Ode to Billy Joe” says: “Child, what's happened to your appetite? I've been cookin' all morning and you haven't touched a single bite,” and changes your channel back to the reality of the Thanksgiving dinner table.

You smile knowingly without giving away any of the plot and in the words of Jamie Kelly, “spare a thought for the millions of sweet potatoes, cut down in their prime.”

Over the years Thanksgiving has become synonymous with color-graphemic gustatory synesthesia. This piece is best read with the colors orange and beige and accompanied by the music of pumpkin pie with a whipped cream topping.

[20091124 colorgraphemic synesthesia]
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An ebullient porch

An ebullient porch

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September 5, 2009 by Kevin Dayhoff

It was the evening before the annual Sunday family get-together over the Labor Day weekend. The sun had gone down and a slight breeze cooled the broad expanses of the old wrap-around porch that so functionally adorned the centenarian three-story shingle-style merchants’ home.

Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/gvupg

Earlier the porch had the scene of kind and matronly aunts, sisters, and grandma scurrying about as they prepared with great anticipation.

They had all retired to the kitchen where they continued planning and preparing.

As I sat upon the porch my thoughts drifted about like the clouds. I’ve been told artists dream of castles in the clouds, writers live in them and psychologists are the landlords that charge rent.

At my advanced age, I’m comfortable with the concept that my cloud is my castle and I own it and I’m too tight to pay rent.

Although fall is just around the corner, the katydids and the crickets are still out in force in a cacophonous chorus of southern gothic musings and it is still hot enough to remind even the oblivious that Maryland still has one foot in the old south.

I thought of the title of the 1989 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, “The Remains of the Day.” The novel is about post-war Britain. The main character considers his past and is forced to come to terms with the gravity of the sacrifices he has made in the name of duty.

The plot, at the moment, is not why my mind wonders to the novel. It is the title, “The Remains of the Day,” which refers to a quiet evening when a person takes time to reflect the day's work.

It could also reflect pondering being older and looking back to take a tally of life work. In the novel, “The Remains of the Day” is also a metaphor for the last vestiges of England’s grand homes – and its waning position as a global power.

Although I was pre-occupied with the theme “porch,” my thoughts did not include the 1991 grunge tune, “Porch,” by Pearl Jam. I’m not sure I ever understood the song: “All the bills go by, and Initiatives are taken up, By the middle, there aint gonna be any middle any more, And the cross Im bearing home, Aint indicative of my place, Left the porch…”

Whatever.

It’s Labor Day weekend, a throwback to an ebullient era in the United States when one’s labor was the meaning of the person.

I am reminded that the porch – and the home – were built around 1910 at the end of what the local historian Chris Weeks called an “enthusiastic” period in Westminster, from about 1865 to 1910. He wrote in his 1978 architectural reference book, The Building of Westminster,” that it was an era when Westminster and “the entire nation was reveling in itself and its accomplishments…

“The city was beginning to attract heavy industry; there was a marked shift in population and economics…

“The citizens and their fathers had created a town in the middle of nowhere by using nothing but their own will and work…”

Mr. Weeks cites an excerpt of an address by Dr. J. W. Herring, at the Semi-centennial Rally in Carroll County on April 11, 1887:

“This ebullient era was neatly and succinctly summed up in an address by Dr. J. W. Herring… some of the Doctor's remarks are pertinent and valuable today:

‘Prominent, as we think, among the sources of the prosperity which followed [the settling of the county], and perhaps underlying them all, was the conservative disposition of the people…

‘Labor is not only honorable, but it is the legitimate and necessary law of our being… They [the early settlers] exhibited in large degree the virtue of self-reliance, without which no success can come, either to an individual or to a nation…

‘The prosperity which has marked our country's history and which we enjoy today is in great part due to the fact that our fathers depended upon themselves. They did not believe in the doctrine of 'delegated powers' as it represents one's own business.

‘And in this there is the suggestion of a valuable lesson… To produce, and not alone to consume, is the teaching which political economy would impress...’”

Whether our great nation still revels with pride in the values illuminated by Dr. Hering is for you to decide and the stuff of another musing for another time.

For now, as I sat on the porch in the dark, I daydreamed about my childhood days – - and the reclusive and enigmatic childhood friend of Truman Capote, Harper Lee.

Ms. Lee was born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama.

She is best known for her one and only book, which just happened to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” published in 1960, when she was 34 years old.

Earlier in the day, as I watched a cable news program, I kept wondering what Ms. Lee’s character, Charles Baker “Dill” Harris, would think of the caustic commentary about the breaking news momentary meaninglessness of today.

If you will recall “Dill,” who was based on Ms. Lee’s childhood neighbor, Truman Capote, was “Jem” and “Scout’s” summer friend, with an enormous imagination.

Dill - the porch - is my summer friend.

For those who have studied “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Dill represents the perspective of childhood innocence.

Some will argue that “Mockingbird,” like me, is an anachronism. I suggest that much of her commentary about the machinations of our contemporary society is just as relevant today – just different.

Nevertheless, for those of us who wallow in the loss of innocence five decades later, it is still a sin to kill a mockingbird.

In recent years, the summer months have almost been just as busy as the rest of year. Gone are the lazy southern Carroll County summers. However, growing up in Carroll County in the 1950s and 60s, lazy summer days were the opportunity to sit around and read and write all day.

From those long-gone lazy days, I usually associate “Mockingbird” with short stories like Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” “Rain” by William Somerset Maugham and “Portnoy’s Complaint” by Philip Roth – and why I’m still traumatized by the word spatula – except when Rachel Ray says it on her cooking show.

I think of the film “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” by Robert Altman – of whom I was initially introduced to when he directed a number of episodes of “Bonanza.”

“McCabe” introduced me to Leonard Cohen – and later his song “Famous Blue Raincoat.” Remember: “It’s four in the morning, the end of December. I’m writing you now just to see if you’re better…”

I think of Carole King’s “It’s too late,” and Carly Simon’s “That’s The Way I Always Heard It Should Be” – “My father sits at night with no lights on. His cigarette glows in the dark…”

It was over forty years ago in the summer of 1967 that I first heard the song, “Ode to Billy Joe,” by Bobbie Gentry on WCAO on the AM dial of the car radio.

Remember, that was when we first learned from “Mama” that the nice young preacher, Brother Taylor “said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

It was also in this time period that I became firmly hooked on the existential - “Southern Gothic” genre of storytelling.

Examples of authors of the Southern gothic genre of writing include William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Truman Capote, and Harper Lee.

Tennessee Williams once described the genre as stories that reflect “an intuition of an underlying dreadfulness in modern experience.”

The stories these writers tell are fascinating as often they involve aspects of unexplained historical events, enigmatic dialogue, and inexplicable characters.

But it is the other prominent theme of the Southern gothic story that comes to mind these days in the cavalier manner in which folks today will often engage in character assassination in the pursuit of a particular agenda.

It is the particularly disturbing dynamic that much like contemporary commentary, the southern gothic tale peels away the layers of indifference that contemporary society shows towards our fellow human beings – or in the case of “Ode to Billy Joe,” the loss of life.

In the song the family of the narrator nonchalantly mentions the gentleman’s death: “Billy Joe never had a lick of sense/ pass the biscuits, please.”

Of course the narrator of the story cares: “Mama said to me, Child, what's happened to your appetite? I've been cookin’ all morning and you haven't touched a single bite.”

Other than that, they may as well been having a dinner conversation about the weather.

One wonders what it would be like to have the likes of a Margaret Mitchell breeze her way across the porch and strike up a conversation.

According to a website devoted to the now-historic site where she lived on Peachtree Street in Atlanta Georgia, when she wrote the book, “Gone With the Wind,” Mitchell was born in Atlanta on November 8, 1900. Just like me, as a child, she was fascinated by Civil War stories.

The website biography explains that Mitchell was an “imaginative girl (who) wrote, produced, and directed plays, casting her friends, and inviting the neighborhood to the porch performances.”

It seems that Mitchell was a bit of a “free spirit,” who “scandalized Atlanta society by performing a provocative dance at a debutante ball. Two years later the headstrong flapper married Berrien “Red” Upshaw… a bootlegger…

“Financial pressures led her to begin writing for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine where she earned $25 per week. Their stormy marriage ended in divorce in 1924. Within a year she married John Marsh… an editor at the paper.”

Perhaps it may have been fun to imagine her visit during her “free spirit” days. If I were allow myself a brief farbissiner aside; it would be so refreshing to see Westminster being scandalized in some manner that does not involve narcissistically utilizing the cracked mirror by which much of the town now views its navel, in the name of progress.

Tomorrow – Sunday - will remind me of the scene on the balcony, or porch, if you will, of the Maison Fournaise along the Seine River in Chatou, France as painted in the 1881 classic painting, “Le déjeuner des canotiers,” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Of course, Caroline, Grammy and I once had a had a fête galante attending the “Luncheon of the Boating Party” with friends of Pierre Auguste Renoir on a balcony of the Maison Fournaise along the Seine River in Chatou, France in 1881.

http://twitpic.com/gxqc0

We went with Aline Charigot, a young seamstress, whom Mr. Renoir married in 1890. She is in the foreground of the above image playing with a small dog.

Behind Kevin in the yellow hat is Alphonse Fournaise Jr., who was responsible for the boat rentals. The woman leaning on the rail, wearing the yellow hat is Alphonsine Fournaise, the daughter of the proprietor.

She is talking with a gentleman, whom we cannot see, who is the former mayor of Saigon, Baron Raoul Barbier. Later he hit on Caroline. Not to worry, Caroline has had enough of mayors, she likes artists and writers.

Seated in the chair with the yellow hat in the right-foreground, is fellow artist and close friend Gustave Caillebotte who is talking with Angèle, an actress, in the blue dress, and Maggiolo, an Italian journalist.

I did talk with him some later. He also likes semi-colons. From right to left across the back is Jeanne Samary, an actress. She is wearing the blue dress and is behind Maggilo.

Hitting on Ms. Samary is the artist Paul Lhote and Eugène Pierre Lestringez, who is some sort of bureaucrat. All the way in the back, wearing the top hat is the editor of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Charles Ephrussi.

Editors are pretty cool and he was fun to talk with later. Here, he is talking with Jules Laforgue, wearing a brown coat and cap. He is a poet, critic, and Mr. Ephrussi’s personal secretary.

The dialogue tomorrow will be a collaboration of Tom Stoppard and Robert Altman and will, in part involve aspects of unexplained historical events, enigmatic dialogue, and inexplicable characters. The only thing missing will be the frilly – and manly – hats.

Maybe next year we could ask folks to wear hats… They go well with an ebullient porch. ( I also want to invite Anthony Bourdain – he won’t need an invite or a reservation.)

20090905 ked pubver An ebullient porch

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Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life

Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life

August 29, 2009 by Kevin Dayhoff

Memorial service McDaniel College Westminster MD to celebrate Dr Ira Zepp’s life Aug 29 2009 http://tinyurl.com/mrsl8y

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/08/memorial-service-to-celebrate-dr-ira.html http://tinyurl.com/mrsl8y

For more articles on Dr Zepp click here: http://tinyurl.com/n3u32e

_______

The death of Dr. Ira G. Zepp has reminded me of one of my columns that was published in Explore Carroll on July 25, 2008. The column was titled, “Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life,” http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/359/westminsters-sacred-places-are-shrines-community-life/, and it was about a 1981 book by Dr. Ira Zepp and Marty Lanham, "Sacred Spaces of Westminster."

That column, published in July, 2008, was edited a great deal in order for it meet my word limit requirements for the paper. What follows is the long unedited version:

“Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life” an unedited version of the column originally printed in my
“EAGLE ARCHIVE”column 7/25/08

Since this is a Sunday column, I do hope it's fitting to talk about sacred places.

Not necessarily houses of worship, mind you, though those are most often considered sacred places.

I'm thinking of the sacred public places as described in a 1981 book by Dr. Ira Zepp and Marty Lanham, "Sacred Spaces of Westminster."

I thought of the book as I sat in the council meeting and looked around the room and imagined all the history that room and the building we now know as Westminster City Hall -- a building that many consider one of the true sacred places in Carroll County - -has seen since it was built in 1842 by Colonel John K. Longwell.

Westminster Common Council President Roy Chiavacci always begins each council meeting by reminding us some of the history of Westminster City Hall.

Westminster purchased it from the estate of George W. Albaugh in September of 1939 for $11,000. After extensive renovations and improvements, without impairing the original features of the structure, the City offices were moved there from the old Westminster Fire Department building at 63 West Main Street, during the administration of Mayor Frank A. Myers.

I wonder what it was like to have lived there right after it was built by Colonel John K. Longwell in 1842. Or what it would have been like to have been there in August 1863? That was when, as Frederic Shriver Klein writes in “Just South of Gettysburg” that over forty prominent Westminster citizens were arrested by Union soldiers on the charge of “general disloyalty.”

Those arrested included Dr. Mathias, Dr. Trumbo, Dr. J. W. Hering, Colonel and Mrs. Longwell - and their wives.

According to “Recollections” by Dr. Hering, at Mrs. Longwell’s “trial” on August 27th, 1863, in Westminster, she was told that “among other things, you are charged with feeding the rebel soldiers…”

“Well,” she replied, “I did, I would feed a hungry dog who came to my house. I would even feed you, if you came to my house hungry.” At that, it is reported that Mrs. Longwell’s husband, Colonel Longwell, “nearly collapsed.” Reportedly, Mrs. Longwell subsequently took the oath of allegiance. Others, however, did not and were imprisoned at Ft. McHenry.

However, getting back to a discussion of “Sacred Places in Westminster” …

Although it can be argued that Westminster is no longer a sleepy southern town; when I attend council meetings and witness all the “Peyton Place” – “Harper Valley PTA” operatic dramas take place I often think of the existential "Southern Gothic" genre of storytelling – and all the accompanying “Sacred Places in Westminster” not to be confused with the “sacred cows of Westminster;” however that is the stuff of another future essay, or not…

The month of July is recreation and parks month. At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Tom Ferguson read a proclamation recognizing July as Recreation and Parks Month, and paid tribute to the city's recreation and parks director Ron Schroers, as well as other employees who work tirelessly for our benefit.

The mayor’s proclamation recognized the importance of recreation in our community; and paid tribute to the large number of volunteers in the community that make it happen.

Family and recreation has always been important in Carroll County and as a result we celebrate recreation and parks month twelve months out of the year.

Nevertheless, we are particular fortunate to have many talented, community oriented citizens who devote a great deal of time to the various recreation councils and committees throughout the county; and it is only fitting that we collectively take a moment to recognize their efforts.

Not to be overlooked is the fact that we are equally privileged to have a county and eight municipal governments which also recognize the importance of family and recreational opportunities.

Dr. Zepp and Ms. Lanham are examples of the enormous talent that we often take for granted in Carroll County.

Dr. Zepp is now retired, but when the book was written, Dr. Zepp was a professor of religious studies at McDaniel College and taught several courses which reflected the “comparative, phenomenological and historical methods used in (the) book.”

Ms. Lanham, in 1981, was the public relations coordinator and photographer for Westminster. Among her many journalism credentials, she had been the editor of the “Diamondback,” at the University of Maryland for two years, where she got her degree in journalism.

It is in this context that took me back to the sacred public places as was described so well in a 1981 book by Dr. Zepp and Ms. Lanham - “Sacred Spaces of Westminster.”

One of the many recreational facilities that Mr. Schroers oversees is the very popular Westminster playground in the heart of the city. One the very first pictures in the book is a picture, taken by Ms. Lanham, of the Westminster Playground.

Moreover, towards the end of the book, the authors discuss one of the overlooked sacred landmarks in Westminster: the Memorial Gateway to the Westminster playground off of Center Street.

Zepp and Lanham explain that the "gateway was given to the city by H. Peyton Gorsuch in 1937. Its primary purpose was to acknowledge the community's debt to Carroll Countians who had served in the nation's wars."

Next chance you get, stop, and read the memorial plaque affixed to the Memorial Gateway.

The book goes on to portray and discuss public places such as Belle Grove Square and various other parks, gardens, memorials and monuments.

Included are discussions about the Mather Gardens behind City Hall, dedicated on Oct. 13, 1963; the War Memorial at the forks of Pennsylvania Avenue and West Main Streets; Ward Memorial Arch at McDaniel College; and the Westminster Community Pond, dedicated by Governor Theodore R. McKeldin on September 10, 1954…

I am reminded of a great tradition in Westminster, which has long since gone by the wayside, of erecting huge archways in town at special occasions.

Fortunately pictures still exist of huge archways over Liberty Street, Main Street in the vicinity of the old fire hall or at the forks of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue – back in the days when it was still part of Westminster’s business…

When the book came out, I had been practicing landscape designer and a keen observer of Westminster’s historic places for many years, and yet, Dr. Zepp and Ms. Lanham’s work caused me to look at Westminster’s history and public design in a much different light.

In a classic example of not seeing the forest for the trees, I began to look at our many squares, circles, fountains, monuments in a very different perspective.

As an aside, who can recall that when the park area, in the center of Westminster, at Locust Lane was first developed, it had a fountain in the center of the plaza.

When the book came out I had been a practicing landscape designer and a keen observer of Westminster's historic places for years, and yet, Zepp and Lanham caused me to look at Westminster's history and design in a much different light.

To the best of my knowledge, the book has been out of print for many years. Perhaps with the permission of the authors, an initiative could be undertaken to reprint this valuable resource and have it available at the Historical Society of Carroll County.

#####

Memorial service to celebrate professor’s life August 29 2009

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http://www.mcdaniel.edu/10305.htm

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A memorial service celebrating Ira Zepp’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Aug. 29 on campus at Big Baker Chapel with the Rev. Carroll Yingling officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at McDaniel Lounge.

Zepp, a 1952 alumnus and Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at McDaniel College who inspired generations of students to lead lives committed to service, activism and peace, died Aug. 1. He was 79.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ira & Mary Zepp Center for Nonviolence and Peace Education, P.O. Box 552, Westminster, MD 21158. Arrangements are by the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home in Westminster. Online condolences may be made to the family at http://www.myersdurborawfh.com/.

Related:

Dr. Ira Zepp, 79, McDaniel College and Westminster civil rights leader, dies Published August 4, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
The Rev. Dr. Ira Gilbert Zepp Jr., professor emeritus of the religious studies department at McDaniel College, died peacefully at his home on Aug. 1. He was 79. In a memorial tribute by McDaniel College president Joan Develin Coley, she recalled that Dr. ... ...

Wednesday, August 5, 2009
R.I.P. – Dr. Ira Zepp
Kevin E. DayhoffLast Saturday word spread quickly throughout the greater Carroll County community that Rev. Dr. Ira Gilbert Zepp, Jr., professor emeritus of the Religious Studies department at McDaniel College, had died peacefully at his home. He was 79 years old.

Drs. J. W. Hering and Ira Zepp, Sacred Places and Westminster City Hall
http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/08/drs-j-w-hering-and-ira-zepp-sacred.html
http://tinyurl.com/nfe522
Pictured is Westminster City Hall MD around 1953. Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/ddez2
The death of Dr. Ira G. Zepp has reminded me of one of my columns which was published in http://www.explorecarroll.com/ on July 25, 2008. Find it here: http://tinyurl.com/6yb23j or find the full story on http://www.explorecarroll.com/ here: http://tinyurl.com/krebky

The Rev. Ira Zepp: Legacy of lessons
http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/08/rev-ira-zepp-legacy-of-lessons.html

Westminster's sacred places are shrines of community life EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff Posted on http://www.explorecarroll.com/ on 7/25/08 http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2008/07/westminster-sacred-places-are-shrines.html

20090829 sdsom Mem service to celebrate professors life Aug 29 2009

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/search/label/People%20Zepp-Dr%20Ira%20Zepp

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040426835 Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/ Blip.fm: http://blip.fm/kevindayhoff_soundtrack

20080107 Smigiel vs Franchot

Photo: Westminster, Md. - Members of the media gather around Owings Mills attorney Irwin Kramer, in front of the historic Carroll County Courthouse after last Friday’s hearing over a lawsuit brought by five Republicans and a businessman from Carroll County, which questions the legitimacy of Maryland's November special session. Behind Kramer are Maryland Senators Brinkley and Kittleman and Maryland Delegates O’Donnell, Smigiel and Shank. Friday, January 4, 2008 photo by Kevin Dayhoff

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Smigiel vs Franchot

January 7, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff

I attended the hearing Friday, January 4th, 2008 in Carroll County Circuit Court for the oral arguments in the special session lawsuit: Case No.: 06-C-07-0496648: Michael D Smigiel Sr, et al vs Peter Franchot, et al., which seeks to invalidate the legislation passed in the Maryland General Assembly’s 22-day special session that ended November 19.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market; Senate Minority Whip Allan H. Kittleman (R-Dist. 9) of West Friendship; House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Dist. 29C) of Lusby; House Minority Whip Christopher Shank (R-Dist. 2B) of Hagerstown; Del. Michael D. Smigiel Jr., the House minority parliamentarian; and John Pardoe, the owner of Byte Right Support of Baltimore.

WJZ TV, Channel 13 in Baltimore, had the best video coverage (http://wjz.com/video/?cid=5) of last Friday’s historic oral arguments. To find this and other news videos of breaking Maryland news, go to: http://wjz.com/video/?cid=5.

20080104 WJZ video coverage of MD constitutional test

The suit filed on December 13 was lost in the shuffle for many as the regular season of the National Football League drew to a close; Baltimore Raven’s Coach Brian Billick joined the ranks of Maryland’s 3.5 percent unemployed; and many were getting ready for Christmas or Hanukah.

The Circuit Court case names as one of the defendants Maryland Comptroller Peter V. R. Franchot, who ironically was very vocal in opposition to the special session called by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley on October 15.

Comptroller Franchot, scathingly wrote on October 23, in part, in his ongoing campaign for Maryland governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election; “As Maryland's chief fiscal officer, however, I must question the timing and necessity of this approach. Mindful of the reservations each of you has expressed about a special session, I must underscore the profound - and perhaps unintended - consequences of this undertaking on Maryland's economy, business climate, and quality of life, and to caution against acting in haste.”

In addition to Comptroller Franchot, the other defendants are the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Maryland Health Care Commission, the Health Services Cost Review Commission, acting Secretary of State Dennis C. Schnepfe, the Maryland State Board of Elections, and the Carroll County Board of Elections.

The lawsuit alleges that the General Assembly did not follow constitutional procedure, and therefore, the sales tax, which was expanded to include computer services and the increases to the state’s sales, income, corporate, tobacco and vehicle-titling taxes are invalid:

House Bill 1, Chapter 2: Budget Reconciliation Act; Senate Bill 2, Chapter 3: Tax Reform Act of 2007; Senate Bill 3, Chapter 4: Maryland Education Trust Fund – Video Lottery Terminals; House Bill 4, Chapter 5: Video Lottery Terminals – Authorization and Limitations; House Bill 5, Chapter 6: Transportation and State Investment Act; and Senate Bill 6, Chapter 7: Working Families and Small Business Health Coverage Act.

If you have not had an opportunity to visit the courtroom on the second floor of the 1838 “Greek Revival” courthouse on Court Street in Westminster, please do so at your next opportunity. If it were not for the fact that the room does not have a back balcony, and the wooden floors are now carpeted, one could easily conjure up visions of the courtroom scenes in Harper Lee’s classic Pulitzer Prize winning 1960 southern gothic, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

I went to the hearing with an open mind, however, like many, in December I had my reservations about the strength of the case being brought forward by the plaintiffs when the suit was initially filed. Then as I got away from the coverage of the elite media and began to examine the primary source documents, I began to see the “there - there.”

Actually several dynamics turned me around on the plaintiff’s case. My initial analysis continued to change once the Attorney General’s office began to pitch a fit about deposing the chief clerk of the House of Delegates, Mary Monahan – who has a reputation as a straight-up person. It is my understanding from anecdotal accounts that she was perfectly willing to testify…

Then came the transcript of her testimony, which is a must read for anyone interested in the case.

Concurrently, there were the acidic public comments from some of the main players. For example, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called the suit ‘‘bungled legal reasoning and frivolous,” according to Doug Tallman, writing for the Gazette.

The next shoe dropped when the Baltimore Sun published the Maryland Democrat Party’s talking points, in a most unfortunate editorial on January 2nd, 2008, “Much ado about nothing.” It was a “Hail Mary” pass in an attempt to replace the law by plebiscite and populism.

It was with that editorial that I realized that Maryland Democrats and the state had resigned themselves that the lawsuit was on firm legal footing as it was anticipated that they will lose. Please read the following excerpt. I did not make it up.

Yet even as the new rates settle in (changes to most, such as the income tax, are already in effect while the extra penny in the sales tax arrives tomorrow), a bit of uncertainty is still hovering in the air. That's because a lawsuit filed by Republicans seeking to undo the bills approved by the General Assembly during November's special session remains pending before the courts.

It's fair to oppose new taxes - although tax opponents are usually loath to own up to the adverse impacts of such a stance - but there's been ample opportunity to express dissent. There was plenty of debate in the House and Senate. Amendments were offered, some adopted and some not. Votes were taken. Ultimately, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the various pieces of legislation into law - in front of witnesses, too.

But the lawsuit would seek to scrap all of it for the flimsiest of reasons. The entire case centers on an obscure provision in the state constitution that says lawmakers in one chamber cannot adjourn for more than three days without a vote of assent from those of the other.

Leave aside whether that happened or not in this instance; why is this even a requirement? Here's the historic context: It's meant to prevent members of the Senate or House of Delegates from leaving town before the government's business is done. That was never at issue in this case. It's much ado about nothing. Republicans might as well be litigating the stock of paper used for bills or the Senate's opening prayer.

Reread it. After one digests what the Baltimore Sun wrote, the only conclusion is that so what if the Maryland Constitution was violated, the taxes are a good thing…

As the hearing evolved, the mood of the room seemed to swing in the direction of Irwin Kramer, the Owings Mills attorney representing the plaintiffs, as he as he forcefully articulated his case.

Austin Schlick, head of the Maryland attorney general's civil litigation division, representing the state of Maryland and Irwin Kramer, the Owings Mills attorney representing the five Republicans and a businessman from Carroll County who filed the lawsuit; advocated their client’s positions on what constitutes the “consent” as required by the Constitution.

The State’s case, on the other hand, seemed to falter on the law. The State’s presentation deteriorated and appeared disingenuous, if not circuitous, and ultimately began to fall back upon arrogance and politics – a point of which the judge seemed to have no tolerance. It was not Austin Schlick’s day.

At issue is whether or not the Senate obtained the appropriate consent of the House in order to adjourn for more than three days as required by Article III, Section 25.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. told senators on November 9, they would return to work on Nov. 13; however, it was later decided that the Senate not reconvene until November 15.

As a result all the legislation that followed, in the 22-day session which mercifully ended on November 19, should be ruled legally invalid.

Many of us clearly recalled when Delegate Smigiel (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton rose on the House floor and brought the Senate’s six-day adjournment to the attention of the House Parliamentarian, Del. Kathleen M. Dumais.

Incredibly, the Parliamentarian promptly produced a letter from Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Rowe which said that the work of legislature could proceed. This, in spite of Article III, Section 25, which states clearly: “Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, at any one time, nor adjourn to any other place, than that in which the House shall be sitting, without the concurrent vote of two-thirds of the members present.”

The state hinged its argumentation on two points, one the legislature may make its own rules and pleaded that the consequences of ruling invalid the increases to the sales, income, corporate, tobacco, and vehicle titling taxes.

Mr. Irvin Kramer responded effectively that the legislatures’ own rules invalidate the subsequent bills enacted after the Maryland Senate took a five-day break, without the appropriate consent from the House.

Furthermore, as was revealed in the deposition of chief clerk of the House of Delegates; the consent never could have occurred because the delegates were never given a chance to debate the consent.

Perhaps now we understand why the Attorney General’s office tried so hard to prevent the chief clerk from being deposed…

At the hearing last Friday, Schlick repeatedly attempted to argue that nullifying the $1.5 billion in increased taxes would place the state in financial peril and cause “extraordinary harm.” The judge sustained Mr. Kramer’s objections to this testimony, not once but twice, saying that matter was not before the court.

Lost in the reporting on the lawsuit by the elite media is the focus of the second constitutional test which contests the General Assembly decision in HB 4, Chapter 5 (Exhibit P) and SB 3, Chapter 4 (Exhibit O), to refer the contentious issue of slots to referendum this coming November in violation of Article XVI, Section 2, of the Maryland constitution.

As an aside, editorializations by elected officials and the elite media “to let the voters decide the issue of slots,” has always been the source of amusement by those of us who have studied the Maryland Constitution. Yes, it’s a great idea. However, in Maryland, there’s only one small problem; it is unconstitutional.

The plaintiff’s December 13 memorandum alleges that the legislation to refer the issue of slots to referendum was an effort “To avoid a lengthy and rancorous debate on slot machines, (in that) the Legislature attempted to shift their work on this controversial revenue plan to the public at large.”

“Though some issues may be referred to voters, the Constitution prohibits the referral of revenue and appropriations bills for maintaining the State Government or other public institutions.”

Article XVI, Section 2 of the Maryland constitution clearly states: “No law making any appropriation for maintaining the State Government, or for maintaining or aiding any public institution, not exceeding the next previous appropriation for the same purpose, shall be subject to rejection or repeal under this Section.”

This latest lawsuit is yet another in a series of awkward interactions between Maryland’s august legislative branch and Maryland’s judiciary. The two branches of government have been waging a low-grade guerilla war with one another for years, which has usually only been the topic of esoteric scholarly conversations between academics.

The “Wal-Mart bill” which violated the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act,” which governs worker health care plans, led the way. With more than ample case law to support the decision, it was quickly dispatched by a well-respected U. S. District Court judge, who easily understood that federal statute governs employee health care benefits.

Next, in August 2006, another highly respected member of the bench, Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Robert Silkworth struck down General Assembly’s (vote early and vote often) “early voting law. Duh, the Maryland Constitution says, in part: “… All general elections in this state shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November ...” No rocket science here.

One of the strongest judicial rebukes came on September 14, 2006, when the Maryland Court of Appeals, ruled unconstitutional the General Assembly’s legislation to fire the Maryland Public Service Commission. In its ruling the court said that the legislature’s attempt to seize authority otherwise relegated to the executive branch to be “… repugnant to the Maryland constitution.”

Ay caramba. Memo to the Maryland General Assembly, when all else fails, read the constitution. Help is available by any first year law school student – or even a local Boy Scout getting his citizenship and government badge.

Meanwhile, the judge, of whom I have known for many years, is a straight arrow and known to be a Maryland constitutional and historical scholar. After two hours of courtroom deliberations, Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Thomas F. Stansfield announced he would review the entire record in the context of the just-presented oral arguments and issue a written opinion as soon as possible with the understanding that the regular General Assembly session begins January 9th.

I’m not a lawyer, but I do have some insight into the Maryland Constitution, its history and the legislative rules and procedures involved. I walked out of the courthouse with a feeling that the plaintiff’s made their case – and the state did not.

As I wrote earlier in the comment section of He'll Rule the Wrong Way; after reading the Transcript of Deposition of Mary Monahan, Chief Clerk of the House of Delegates of Maryland; and the Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motions for Emergency Declaratory and Injunctive Relief; [www.kramerslaw.com/special_session.htm] and hearing the oral arguments last Friday; I will hypothecate that the Judge will rule in favor of the plaintiffs.

[Also, be sure to read “Lawsuit Conclusion,” posted Sunday, January 6, 2008 by David K. Kyle on “The Candid Truth.” Mr. Kyle has followed the lawsuit studiously. Click here: GOP Lawsuit, to view his excellent coverage.

Another blog post worthy of your time is, The Candid Truth - Lawsuit Conclusion posted by “Robert” on January 7, 2007 on Anne Arundel Maryland Politics.]

My hypothecation is that the ruling will narrowly confine itself strictly to the matters of law and will not get anywhere near legislating from the bench.

Furthermore, with the understanding that whatever is decided, it will be appealed, comes a greater burden for the Carroll County Circuit Court Judge. It will serve this judge well to concisely and definitively focus the matters of law before it so as to provide the higher courts the foundation with which to work.

This case is a constitutional test that will live in the judicial annals long into the future, and long after the politics of the day are forgotten. The decision at this level of the judiciary needs to be one of the best decisions this judge could possibly write. My guess is that he will not disappoint.

Ultimately, the case will be decided at the state’s highest court – where the Maryland General Assembly has not fared well in recent years.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

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For good newspaper coverage of the Special Session Lawsuit Case No.: 06-C-07-0496648: Smigiel vs Franchot:

Whatever folks want to say about the mainstream media, Maryland has some great writers out there who call it as they see it and do not write articles based on a pre-determined agenda or ideology. Folks like Doug Tallman with the Gazette (along with several of the other statewide beat writers at the Gazette.)

Or spend sometime with Liam Farrell with the Maryland Gazette or Len Lazarick with The Examiner or Tom LoBianco with the Washington Times.

These are just a few writers that come quickly to mind; perhaps some other bloggers have other writers in mind.

For more information:

Maryland General Assembly Oct. 29 2007 Special Session,

Maryland General Assembly Oct. 29 2007 Special Session Lawsuit Case No.: 06-C-07-0496648: Smigiel vs Franchot

Franchot Peter

Maryland General Assembly Opera

O'Malley Administration

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

mdga spec session dec 13 2007 lawsuit

20080107 Smigiel vs Franchot

20080107 Smigiel vs Franchot

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20071215 The 22nd Maryland Blogger Alliance Blog Carnival of Maryland is up at Mike’s Nether Land

The 22nd Maryland Blogger Alliance Blog Carnival of Maryland is up at Mike’s Nether Land

Mike Netherland has done a super job with The 22nd Blog Carnival of Maryland

Saturday, December 15, 2007

He wrote in his introduction:

I am pleased to host the 22nd Carnival. Below you will find posts that many of MBA's finest bloggers have personally selected from their own blog sites in hopes that exposure on Mike's Nether Land will provide their writings a wider audience than they would otherwise enjoy.

And YOU, dear reader, dear devoted Mike's Nether Land fan, can sample posts from a broad spectrum of ideologies without having to labor over yet another piece of right-wing zealotry and psycho-neurotic "issues" you usually find here.

Read through the entire Blog Carnival here: The 22nd Blog Carnival of Maryland

The 23rd edition is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 30, at Inside Charm City

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UPDATE on Maryland Blog Carnival

Hosted by members of the Maryland Blogger Alliance.

Carnival of Maryland 022 hosted by Mike's Nether Land on December 15^th, 2007

Blog Carnival 022 submission: “20071201 Operation Christmas Tree”

Saturday, December 1, 2007, over 300 volunteers gathered at the Carroll County Maryland Ag Center for “Operation Christmas Tree,” to pack 5,000 live decorated Christmas trees for the troops in Iraq.

Carnival of Maryland 021 hosted by Pillage Idiot on December 2^nd, 2007

Blog Carnival 021 submission: “20071128 Westminster Eagle: Kids and cops share a little holiday magic by Kevin Dayhoff”

Westminster Police Chief Jeff Spaulding joined Wal Mart store manager Harry Anuszewski and Wal Mart employee, Debbie Sabock on Friday, November 16, 2007 to kick off the 4th annual "Shop With A Cop" Christmas program. A YouTube video of the event can be found with My YouTube videos or go here: Westminster Maryland Shop With A Cop. For more information please call (410) 848-4646 and ask for a soft a cuddly police office who may be able to tell you more about the Shop With A Cop program.

Carnival of Maryland 020 hosted by Leviathan Montgomery on November 18^th, 2007

Carnival of Maryland 019 hosted by The Greenbelt on November 4^th, 2007

Blog Carnival 019 submission: 20071101 Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

My October 31, 2007 – Wednesday Westminster Eagle column is up on the Westminster Eagle web site and it pertains to one of my favorite forms of literature, Southern Gothic storytelling and one of my favorite songs from my teenage years, “Ode to Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry.

It was forty years ago in the late summer of 1967 that we first learned from “Mama” that the nice young preacher, Brother Taylor “said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge. And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge.”

I first heard the song, “Ode to Billy Joe,” by Bobbie Gentry that summer on WCAO on the AM dial of the car radio. It was also in this time period that I became firmly hooked on the existential - “Southern Gothic” genre of storytelling.

For more information on the: Maryland Blogger Alliance Blog Carnival of Maryland

Or click here: 20071023 What is the Carnival of Maryland? By Attila the Pillage Idiot

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