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"I do wander everywhere, swifter than the moon's sphere." -- Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Wandering and dreaming though our own midsummer can bring us hope and pleasure.
The president signs into law a measure aimed at curbing corporate crime. Let's hope it helps, but as long as we have a culture consumed with the notion that wealth is the most important measure of success, greed will too often trump decency and good judgment.
Let's dream of a curriculum that would require people pursuing MBAs to experience at least six months of public service among the poor, and come up with ideas about how to help better their lives.
Not only would this help build character and give them an idea how most people in the world live, but it would also expose the students to people who, once freed from the shackles of unjust economic structures, will become emerging markets.
The experience would surely sharpen their skills, and help shape a new generation of business leadership that would focus more on broad and lasting economic development and opportunity for the many than the quick, greedy grab for the few.
The president also got the Senate's approval for trade promotion authority known as the fast-track process. If used wisely and fairly, the president is in the position to jump start important trade talks that have been stalled for years over partisan bickering.
The trade authority is especially vital in our own hemisphere. The administration is aiming at having deals with five Central American nations -- Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua -- by the end of the year.
All of these countries, at one time or another, have endured or are enduring the oppression of cozy oligarchies that hog the land and resources and systematically exploit the poor.
Invariably, the United States has supported whatever right-wing dictatorship had power in that neighborhood and typically those in power used murder, terror and torture to control the oppressed.
Let's dream that those days are gone, and with an opportunity to trade goods, we can open our markets and extend a preferential option for the poor.
Bear in mind Bush's credentials as a free trader were severely compromised when he made a deal with the steel companies and unions to impose a hefty tariff on imported steel.
That's something Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton never yielded to and speaks volumes about the kind of unprincipled moves Bush will make to win political support in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The winds of war rustle around Iraq, but we still need open public discourse on why violence seems to be the administration's only strategy.
Senate hearings have helped bring some of the questions to the agenda and senators Joseph Biden and Richard Lugar must be commended for pressuring the crafters of the policy to answer the important questions.
Everyone knows Saddam Hussein is bad guy, but the convincing case has not been made as to how massive military action against Iraq will make the world and America safer.
The laws of unintended consequences are also at play, and if the United States is to get involved in more "nation building" in Iraq, we better get ready for a long, costly stay. If there is a case for that strategy, George W. Bush has not made it and the American people deserve the straight story. The Middle East is a terrible mess and any dreams we have of even discussing peace are far-fetched. We can only pray that some voices of reason will emerge and serious negotiations for the creation of a Palestinian State will begin.
Meanwhile, suicide bombers rewarded by Saudi Arabia continue to spread death and terror. The next time a bomb goes off, I would immediately expel 10 Saudi diplomats, but the Saudi-coddling Bushes will never offend their desert-dog pals.
Too much money is involved for Bush the Elder and his sidekick in Saudi business deals, former Secretary of State James Baker.
This remains the most under-reported major story of our times and I can only dream that the American media and people will someday wake up and smell the coffee.
My final summer wanderings bring me to pleasure -- baseball and basil. Let the Major League players go on strike. I don't give a tinker's damn. Sure I enjoy the Tigers at their beautiful new home, Comerica Park. My buddy, Peter Forster of the famous Niagara Falls Forsters, has a share of some season tickets and he generously takes me to a few games every year.
We have a blast, and as bad as the Tigers are, the experience is a joy. We always buy peanuts from the Episcopal Church next to the ballpark and wash them down with some cold Labatts.
But I equally enjoy Minor League baseball and we have some diamond gems.
The Toledo Mudhens just moved into a new downtown park, and the place is sparkling. I checked it out with some baseball buddies and the park was packed on a Friday night.
Before the game, we dined at Tony Packo's, the Hungarian restaurant in Toledo that native son Jamie "Klinger" Farr made famous with his frequent references to the place on the television series, "MASH." The food is tasty, ample and inexpensive. The Mudhens whipped the Rochester Red Wings, the only Red Wings no one roots for around here.
But seeing my favorite Minor League team takes me to Lansing, the home of the Lansing Lugnuts and Olds Park.
You have to love a team called the Lugnuts and the park in delightful. Box seats cost $6.
Baseball brings disparate souls together. For the last several years, I've made treks to Lugnuts games with three baseball fan friends.
Bill Alexander is a retired college English professor and native of Pigott, Ark. In addition to being and expert on William Faulkner, Bill is one of the wittiest people I've ever known and far and away the best joke-teller on Earth. He loves baseball.
Then there is Sam Mills. In his day job, Sam writes promotional and instructional material for a major computer services company. But his real love is poetry and he has a wonderful command of the language. He loves baseball, too.
Phil Hartlein owns an insurance company, and he's to the right of Attila the Hun. Phil is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force intelligence service, where he was a Russian language specialist, and, as you can imagine, he doesn't agree with anything I say about politics.
But even misguided Republicans love baseball. Phil does and he actually checks out the standings everyday of the Minor League teams he follows.
So baseball brings together such an eclectic trio, and we cherish taking in the Lugnuts games and enjoying each other's company.
The basil plants in my garden are about three feet high and I spend hours dreaming about what to do with them. The Romans were right -- basil is the herb of love. I delight in finding new uses and recipes with fresh basil. I use basil with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese made from buffalo's milk. Drizzle it with a little extra virgin olive oil, some basalmic vinegar, kosher salt and fresh pepper. Have some DiCamillo's or any hearty Italian bread with it. A salad to die for. Pesto, tomato-basil soup, basil on pizza, basil with roasted potatoes, use your imagination. The list goes on.
Keep dreaming and wandering. We're only at midsummer.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 6 2002 |