Spring in the city

Photos of spring in Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY by Mike Marcellino

Poets Rock Gallery RIVAA, 8pm, Friday, April 9th, New York City

Mike Marcellino releases his first album, "Notebook Writer," at Poets Rock Gallery RIVAA, 8pm, Friday, April 9th at Gallery RIVAA, 527 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, New York City.  Performing with Mike at the poetry and music show are Gil Fagiani, New York City poet and co-host of the open reading of the Italian American Writers Association, the longest standing poetry series at Cornelia Street Cafe, marking its 20th year in 2011.  New York singer songwriters performing are Stacy Rock, accompanied by musician Randall Leddy, and Chris Fuller.

While the show is free, donations are welcome to Gallery RIVAA.  Refreshments follow the show.  Take the F Train to Roosevelt Island.

Alphabet Coffeehouse, a new song

"It's wonderful! Thank you for telling me about it! It reminds me very much of the East Village and that day."

– Rebecca Turner, New Jersey singer songwriter, after listening to Alphabet Coffeehouse.


Alphabet Coffeehouse

Lyrics and vocal 
by Mike Marcellino

Music by Tomas Texino

Alphabet Coffeehouse,

“Where can it be?”

Wandering streets,

A to Z

the East Side,

New York City

aimlessly,

late afternoon, after a show.

Red, white and blue

chipped, cracked lettered

no name circle concrete park,

bed of violet flowers

in the middle,

back lit

crimson eyed Susan’s

no name circle concrete park.

Alphabet Coffeehouse,

“Where can it be?”

sundown of existence,

A to Z

the East Side,

New York City,

10^th and C.

Only a clue,

whisper,

unknown friend, fellow traveler

searchin’ for the

Alphabet Coffeehouse

9^th and C,

‘round the corner from Banjo Jim’s.

“It’s nothing,” the young man replied,

aimlessly.

“Everything is nothing here,” he said again,

“nothing” about

Alphabet Coffeehouse

“Where can it be?”

A to Z,

red, white and blue

no name circle concrete park,

flag pole,

no colors up.

“Everything is nothing here,”

echoed across

the East Side,

New York City’s

middle a projects

brick, white window sills

houses of thirteen stories.

Jump rope,

rapping voices,

rollerblades,

bikes

black and brown

German Sheppard

walkin'

over a freeway

crooked overpass -

bottom of 10^th,

East River Park.

Softball diamonds,

a dog like Sally with her master,

cars speeding, either way.

Banjo Jim’s open.

“Listen,”

the LA country girl sings,

Rebecca Turner,

no cover.

Alphabet Coffeehouse, copyright by Mike Marcellino 2009

Photos of Banjo Jim's in East Village, New York City from www.banjojims.com and Rebecca Turner, singer songwriter, from her bio on www.rebeccaturner.net

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

i think that was Dylan
by Mike Marcellino

You could say I grew up with Bob Dylan, and the likes of Joan Baez, Carolyn Hester, Hamilton Camp, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys.  Though I've owned more than a dozen of his albums, the ones that most influenced me in music, my own writing and political and social views were his first three - Bob Dylan (1962), The Freewheelin Bob Dylan (1964) and The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964) and John Wesley Harding (1967).


While I have not yet recorded "i think that was Dylan" you're invited to listen to my collection of 9 new lyrical poetry song recordings.  Some folks have compared my music to Dylan, though I don't sing, i talk, but then Dylan hardly does either.
Just click on this link to our Facebook music page where you may listen free, share our songs and "like" us. (or you may listen on the music player at the top of this blog)

Mike Marcellino's Facebook music page

It's hard to recall when I first listened to the folk songs of Robert Allen Zimmerman, raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, near the Mesabi Iron Range west of Lake Superior.  He was the grandson of Ukrainian and Lithuanian Jews, who escaped antisemitism in the early 1900s.

I've found very few albums in which I liked every song - Freewheelin' was such an album.  I liked Corina, Corina most and would listen to it over and over.  The times from 1963 to 1967 in Dylan's half century music career were turbulent. I listened to Dylan around the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, though time stood still as we sat glued to the television in a fraternity house on the campus of Wake Forest College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  I listen in my hooch at a base camp at the tip of the Viet Cong Iron Triangle stronghold northwest of Saigon in the Vietnam War.

Over the Dylan years, I've seen him in concert twice, the first probably the most memorable.  It was November 12, 1965 at Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio.  Six weeks later, the day after New Year's I would leave on a train filled with Army recruits on the way to basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Our seats were red velvet, right in the middle, not far from the front, perfect seats.  I was with a very pretty blond,  Cindy.  I was in love with her and her sister, Gretchen.  Wonderful girls, Swedish.  Dylan played alone, with his guitar and harmonica, the first half of the concert.  It couldn't have been better.  He came on electric in the second half.  You could hear a pin drop.  Everyone was in shock.  He had earlier been booed off the stage after three songs when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival. I though it was cool.  Still do, even though I was raised on the acoustic poet.

The second time I saw Dylan was at the concert for the opening celebration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on June 7, 1993.  He had lost most of his voice and Dylan and the night were both electric - romping around Cleveland Municipal Stadium with my ex-wife (who looked like a female version of Dylan) and our three children with nearly 80,000 screaming rock fans.  As I was on duty as an aide to the mayor, I had a seat in the sixth row for the ribbon cutting of the stunning building designed by I. M. Pei.  The spot lit structure's reflection on the waters of Lake Erie at night is still a sight.  Yoko Ono was there alone at the party after the ribbon cutting, John Lennon had been shot and killed December 8, 1980.

 "Search and Destroy" photo by Mike Marcellino, TET Offensive, Vietnam War, 1968.  After I was turned away from my request to meet with Dylan, I left a print of this photo at a studio in Cleveland where Dylan was recording or hanging out. Naturally, I did not get a thank you.


While Dylan was in Cleveland, I did try to meet with the icon, bringing some of my favorite photographs taken in the Vietnam War where I served as a combat correspondent and photojournalist.  I got as far as inside the door of the recording studio he was at in an eastern suburb, but no further.  I left Dylan this signed black and white photography of Army artillery forward observers with the 33rd Vietnamese Rangers on a search and destroy mission in the rice paddies.

Last year I got to thinkin' about the cover of the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan wrote a song about some crazy days I had spent roamin' the streets of New York City and wrote a song about those times.  Today on Gothamist.com I learned the story behind the cover art.  Bob Dylan wanted to recreate a photo of James Dean (see the link to Gothamist story) for the cover of "Freewheelin'" released May 23 1963.

New York City Album Art: The Freewheelin Bob Dylan 

  

Here's my version of the story in a poetry song I've performed.  The song was covered by Chicago folk singer Justin Boerema as we shared the stage at Spike Hill in Brooklyn. Justin was back lit in silhouette, wearing a Fedora, playing guitar and harmonica, real Dylanesque.  I hope to record the poetry song soon, perhaps on my trip to New York City in April.  I will be performing the song though and together we return  to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. 

i think that was Dylan

by Mike Marcellino

i think that was Dylan,

walkin down Jones Street

girl in his arm

right in the middle of the slushy road,

right pretty too,

comin right at me,

so i ducked

down into the

alley

found sally

and wrote this piece.

"i didn't see you there,"

 - went something like that

i think that was Dylan

walkin down Jones Street

trouble was the cold,

blinded me,

so i parked my car,

a cutlass i believe,

recklessly

at the first illegal spot i could find

went up to the bar

"Irish whiskey,"

i said that,

it must ta been in '65

i think that was Dylan

walkin down Jones Street,

go ask Sally.

i think that was Dylan copyright by Mike Marcellino 2009   

Miss the flavor of the Sixties?

Photo from the opening of the new Root Cafe last Christmas time.

Try a cup of Phoenix coffee at the reborn "Root Cafe"

by Mike Marcellino

If you hail from, ever in, or never been to Cleveland, don't miss stopping by The Root Cafe in Lakewood, Ohio (minutes west of Public Square downtown), for a trip back to why we miss the 60s and the best coffee, camaraderie, bakery, music, poetry and food like veggie pizza. (It already has two five star reviews on yelp.com.)


I've the pleasure of knowing the proprietors Julie and Bobby, who realized their dream with hard work and help from the community. The cafe moved a couple of doors down from their Lakewood Phoenix Coffee, but the beans are still roasted right in town by Carl Jones of Phoenix Coffee, rising from the ashes of his once famed Arabica Coffee, founded on Coventry Road, Cleveland's answer to Haight-Ashbury.


While Cleveland carries shackles of such recent pop titles such as America's "most miserable city" bestowed by Forbes Magazine, don't believe it. Cleveland won that title largely due to its lake effect blizzards and corrupt politicians, aspects it shares with many of America's big northern cities.


If you doubt that unsung Cleveland's a cultural gem, stop by The Roots Cafe. Tell Julie and Bobby (and their really smart, friendly kids, Hazel & Gabriel) that Mike says hello, and misses them and the rest of what makes Cleveland special. Or, maybe we can meet there, at The Root Cafe, 15108 1/2 Detroit Ave. for their all day celebration of the spring equinox Saturday March 20th.  (I once read poetry at an open mic at the old Lakewood Phoenix.)


And to see that Cleveland does have some decent public officials, stop by the office of U. S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, just down the road. He's the guy that ran for president to set up a Department of Peace.

Copyright by Mike Marcellino 2010

Palin's early presidential bid slips off course again

Will the real Sarah, please stand up?

by Mike Marcellino

Ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, vice presidential candidate in 2008, continues to go to the gold as she lays the groundwork for a presidential run in 2012.  Trouble is her apparent calculated public speeches and comments keep getting her off course and on some pretty think ice.

Only weeks ago Palin inked notes on the palm of her hand to remember to uplift people in trying to ignite the Tea Party by her speech in which she predicted flatly that the only way President Obama could get re-elected was the use what she referred to as "the war card" by declaring war on Iran.   That reminded me of the late Senator Barry Goldwater saying in a speech that he might use the atomic bomb against the communists. The difference is that then presidential candidate Goldwater's statement was a candid answer to a question, while Palin's created "the war card" phrase to nail her rival with a political shot.  Her shot trivializes the consequences of war and the complexity of U. S. relations with Iran, that country's nuclear program and Middle East peace.

In her latest pre-campaign episode, Palin lashed out bitterly against the makers of the latest episode of "The Family Guy," about a girl with Down syndrome with a joke about her family.  Palin's song, Trig, has Down syndrome.  Plan called the show's makers "cruel, cold hearted people" and accused them of "mocking her family."

Palin's criticism drew a response yesterday from actor Andrea Ray Friedman who portrays a girl with Down syndrome.  Ms. Friedman matter of factly explained that she has Down syndrome and also a sense of humor.

The Arts Beat "Culture at Large blog of Dave Itzkoff in The New York Times last night's has attracted 368 comments, one from a "conservative" Frank from Texas who wrote of getting annoyed by Palin.

Art Beat blog in The New York Times 

What may be most revealing about the latest Palin episodes is they seem to reveal her real nature.  Palin portrays herself as a political outsider, a female version of Joe six pack and all for regular people. 

The uplifting palm notes, coining "the war card" and now blasting the liberal media, in this case an animated television comedy series raise serious questions about the true nature of Sarah Palin.   

Palin's choice of words in public  reveals a politician trying to win a campaign not yet begun by creating her own issues that don't match up with reality very well. The latest "Family Guy" episode belies the nation of equality and the wrong in discrimination.  

I don't know about Palin, but I look at blacks and whites, people with Down syndrome, AIDS and soldiers and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as people.  Aren't we all just people after all? Isn't that equality?

When it comes to comedy, I like the kind that's funny and let's us laugh with each other, not at each other.  Other than that it doesn't make any difference if your mother is the ex-governor of Alaska and a former vice presidential candidate.  It's just a funny, quirky line in a television show, making fun of a politician, after all. 

When you've stated publicly that you may run for president of the United States, being the subject of jokes comes with the territory.  Lighten up Sarah.

Copyright by Mike Marcellino 2010

Poetry and art

Over the crow’s nest

By Mike Marcellino

When at times

you see your state

icy, lost

frozen.

Picture her at birth.

Imagine a man

with no country, alone

at sea forever.

Never to fly

Over the crow’s nest.

Copyright by Mike Marcellino Over the crow’s nest 2010

Print by Ashley Pastore

A political wild card plays the "war card"

Sarah Palin dazzles the Tea Party

by Mike Marcellino

For these two years now, I've been holding out on expressing an opinion about Sarah Palin, her brand of Alaskan politics, and run for the presidency.  (In fairness some folks in her home state may not want to be included in the Palin revolution.) Now, I'm trying hard to remember her main point in the vice presidential campaign, except that she didn't like McCain "handlers."

Here's the story by John McCormick of Bloomberg on Sara Palin's speech at the Tea Party rally.

Bloomberg story on Palin at the Tea Party 

Today, it wouldn't have surprised me if Governor Palin had tattooed her palm with the words, "Washington DC," to make sure she didn't wind up in the wrong capital.  What words she wrote on her palm before a speech at the Tea Party rally isn't the main point, though they are revealing.  The point is it suggests she had to remind herself that her choice is whatever it takes to capture the support of the disenchanted and Independents.  Before giving a speech I've jotted notes down on paper or a napkin just in case, but not to remind myself why I was speaking.  I also don't believe in speeches designed to tell people what they want to hear and to make them feel good.  Those speeches tend to ignore or warp the facts, don't get at the truth.

What put me over the top though, wasn't trying to remember whether she needed to be "uplifting" rather than, gee, "depressing" or even "real." 

What put me over the top was using "the war card" in your run for the White House.  Suggesting that President Obama could be reelected only if he used "the war card" by declaring war on Iran, is an incendiary, like throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire.  That there's been little reaction, says the pundits don't take Sarah seriously.  A mistake.  Palin also presupposes that Obama is wrong about everything.

Ms. Palin shows herself to be a "wild card" using the "war card" language.  It's irresponsible and certainly doesn't promote a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear program and proliferation of nuclear weapons.

I suppose this must be part of brushing up on domestic and international affairs in endless briefings since her first appearance in the national spotlight.  But, is the main thing she has learned looking through political glass that the way to win is to use "the war card"?

Look. I'm as overdosed on politics as usual on Capital Hill rather than statesmanship.  But, would a Tea Party person explain why Sarah Palin is an outsider?  I think most Tea Party people like Palin because she thinks so little of our President Obama.

Yes, Governor Palin, we could use a political revolution.  But, going to war, isn't a card for anyone to play in political games.  

Soldiers go to war, not politicians, and soldiers, their families and friends pay the price.

Whatever you do Sarah, put the "war card" rhetoric back in you desk.  Sign up for a course on the Middle East/South Asia.  A briefing may not work as Iran is 5,000 years old.

copyright by Mike Marcellino 2010

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino on radio

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino airs our fifth show on Blog Talk Radio Wednesday, Feb. 3th, 8-10pm EST.  We're pleased to welcome a new member of our cast - New York City poet, spoken-word curator & educator Adela Sinclair.


Stay tuned to Mike's Blog, The Point of the Whole Thing, for Notebook Writer show lineups and updates.   Our January show was among the most popular  in the books category on Blog Talk Radio.  Notebook Writer is the first Wednesday of every month 8-10pm EST.  Notebook Writer is produced by Red River Writers Live/Robin Falls (Red River Valley, Texas).

Our next show features guest writers & performing artists: Richard Cave, musician with the popular Haitian band, Camiri, whose members survived the earthquake in Haiti; Ray McNiece, Cleveland author, performance artist, educator and Izreal Kahlid Allah of Washington DC/Mobile Al, poet activist with Blacknez Recordingz and Lola Haskins, Florida author of seven books of poetry/prose, & and the forthcoming poetry collection "Still the Mountains" (2010) 

Host Mike Marcellino, a national award-winning journalist & author of The Point of the Whole Thing Networked Blog, talks with an eclectic mix of writers about writing and life, takes calls from listeners and performs his own stuff. An Army war correspondent, he first wrote poetry and prose during mortar & rocket attacks in Vietnam. He likes to surf and the film "Viva Zapata" with Marlon Brando. His new folk band is Mike Marcellino with Ensor. Mike's performed his brand of poetry folk music at clubs & coffeehouses in New York City, Cleveland, Tulsa, Baltimore and St. Augustine, Fl. 

Co-host Natalie Bliss, a poet, writer and artist from Auckland, New Zealand, likes Leonard Cohen, animals, rugby and teaches grade school kids art. 

Just joining the Notebook Writer Show crew as assistant producer is Adela Sinclair, a New York City poet, educator, spoken-word curator, performer and blogger. Member of the Madison Poets, Gallery RIVAA, PSA and PEN America. She holds a Masters Degree in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and is a NYC Department of Education ESL teacher. Organizer of poetry readings at Gallery RIVAA, FALL FOR ARTS Festival, Salmagundi Art Club. She enjoys setting poetry readings against the backdrop of paintings, sculptures, and photographs. 

The show airs from 7-9pm CST (8-10pm EST). Show call in number is 646-595-4478 or you may listen (or register to be on the air) on the show's Blog Talk Radio website. The show is also archived and Podcast.

Link for the upcoming show -

Notebook Writer with Mike Marcellino 

To listen to four previous shows search On Demand shows October 2009 through January 2010


Robin Falls (producer) on Blog Talk Radio

Haitian poetry song

Demele, it’s told
By Mike Marcellino

Reality is French Creole.
Demele, it’s told
Managing up on the ground,
down, once sold
Being bold
No longer doing what you’re told.

Reality is in French Creole
Demele, it’s told
Earthquake
Debate
Being late
Defying all odds
peas in a pod
in the face of suffering.

Reality is in French Creole
Demele, it’s told
Heartbreak
Getting up. Always
Waking in a fluster,
passing muster in a world ready to explode
Keeping hope
insight.

Reality is in French Creole
Demele, it’s told
Disentangle.
Carry on
(in Middle English)
Revolutionaries in quarrel,
wear outlaw labels.

Demele, it’s told, copyright 2010 by Mike Marcellino

A week after the Haiti earthquake the debate continues: Who should be in charge of the disaster response?

Time is still running out in Haiti
by Mike Marcellino

Note:  One January 14, two days after the earthquake struck Haiti, in a commentary, Mike Marcellino reasoned the the U. S. military was best suited to take charge of the disaster response.  Today, the United Nations and what's left of the Haitian government remain in charge.


Seven days after an earthquake struck Haiti, the question of who is (or should be) in charge of the disaster response is still debated.  U. S. Marines who landed five days ago asked the same question.

A retried U. S. Army general on PBS Newshour tonight said the U. S. military should take charge as it's self contained and able to address all the challenges from medial treatment to security.  They are also ready and near  Haiti.

A retired bureaucrat  with USAID (United States Agency for International Development) thinks the United Nations can do the job once coordination is in place.

At this point, the only thing for certain is who is not in charge.

The military isn't, apparently to avoid looking like a U. S. takeover of Haiti.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) isn't.  The U. S. agency responsible for domestic disaster response and should have learned some lessons form Hurricane Katrina. FEMA is expert in immediate reponse, such as USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) and making progress out of chaos.  FEMA refers all reporters' questions to USAID.

USAID, which falls under the U. S. State Department, is the U. S. agency in authority, but it doesn't provide immediate disaster response itself, only coordinates and provides material aid and expertise.

Even though disaster experts say the first 72 hours is critical to saving lives and preventing greater secondary health issues, the United Nations and a Haitian government in collapse remain in charge.

Today, critics and the media continue raise question, such as, why planeloads of medical teams and supplies of Doctors without Boarders continue to diverted from landing in the Haiti airport controlled by the U. S. military.

One thing certain is Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and it was devastated by an earthquake, leaving 200,000 or more dead, 3.5 million homeless and Port-au-Prince in shambles with chaos and violence in the streets.

Mike Marcellino is a two-time national award winning journalist.  He also served as a U. S. Army combat correspondent in the Vietnam War and worked as a Congressional staff member on international human rights issues affecting Soviet Jews and the people of Taiwan.

copyright by Mike Marcellino 2010

Time is running out for Haiti

Crisis in Haiti:  An analysis of the earthquake aftermath

by Mike Marcellino

Mike Marcellino is a two-time national award winning journalist and served as a US Army combat correspondent in the Vietnam War.  He also worked as a Congressional staff member focusing on international human rights, community issues and veterans health care.



Is Haiti on the edge of collapse? 

Does anyone know the true extent of the disaster and the threats it imposes?

Based on the latest news reports, it appears some capable organization must take control of Haiti to avoid catastrophe. 

Conditions are chaotic.  Time is running out to save people in the rubble, provide medical supplies and personnel to treat victims and prevent lawlessness to go out of control.

The U. S. military would seem to be the only organization capable of addressing the situation in time to avoid unnecessary death and a total collapse of the society in Haiti.   Perhaps, the Haitian government could allow the U. S. military temporary authority for a period of time to allow stability and some improvement in conditions.

Yet, President Obama doesn't appear to be moving in that direction.  Perhaps he will after Secretary of State Clinton reports on conditions on the ground in Haiti.   

This story filed an hour ago by James Reinl, foreign correspondent for The National (United Arab Emirates) with AP and Agence France Press best captures the urgency of the situation in Haiti, and the chaos on the ground there.

Here are some excerpts -

“We have now used up all of the medical supplies from NGOs based in Haiti. We haven’t yet received anything from the internationals. I know they are at the airport, but there is no distribution yet." (director, Port au Prince General Hospital)

“This is chaos. I’ve been to all the disasters in the world: Myanmar, Pakistan, Iran, India. They were organised much better – there is no organisation here,” said Luc Beaucourt, part of a field medics’ team from the Belgian charity V-Med. “Everything is destroyed. The government. There is no military.”  

“This is a historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in the UN memory. It is like no other,” Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AFP in Geneva.

To read the entire story posted on the Internet by The National click the link below.

Battle for life amid stench of death

Copyright Mike Marcellino 2010

A song of the Haitian spirit in "Flatbush," story of a homeland tragedy

Earthquake and America in Haiti
Saving lives and a nation
by Mike Marcellino

In the aftermath of the earthquake, President Obama is acting swiftly to bring critically needed aid to Haiti.  


But, with this massive natural disaster, the president has inherited a dismal American record in the world's first black republic created by former slaves.  The legacy includes occupation, rejection of  political refugees and neglect in nation building in the world's first black republic, less than 700 miles from Miami.
Haiti lies in ruins with estimates of 250,000 or more dead. 

Does the U. S. and United Nations grasp the enormity of the situation?  After 72 hours without water, food and medical attention, the survivors will start dying, according to experts. In addition to reaching people trapped in rubble in Port-au-Prince, other cities, like coastal town of Jacmel, are isolated as roads have collapsed.  

Military officials have already ruled out air drops of supplies citing concerns of causing chaos and violence, though 10,000 U. S. troops will be in Haiti or off the coast by Monday.



While all human disasters are equally tragic and disturbing, this one hit me personally as I recently spent time living Flatbush, Brooklyn, one of the largest Haitian American communities.

This working and middle class neighborhood is majority West Indian, especially Haitian.  They live in a flat plain founded in the 16th century by the Dutch whose graves remain, though faceless, outside a church filled with Haitians, who still practice voodoo.

Dutch graves in a cemetery outside a church in Flatbush, one of the largest Haitian communities in the U. S. photo by Mike Marcellino



Walking my friends' white dog around the block, going to the supermarket, buying some meat pies, getting to the train station or just wandering, I was struck by the kind, respectful and happy nature of my Haitian neighbors.  I rarely saw another white person, yet never felt like a minority.  


The spirit and nature of Haitians and others from countries like Grenada, Trinidad and Jamaica inspired a song I wrote and recorded simply called "Flatbush."  Now I feel my friends are in trouble and need help.

(If you wish, you may listen to the recording "Flatbush" on the music player on top of this blog) 
 


Haitians will survive, you can feel it.  They have "demele, " a Creole word that means "to manage life in the face of hardship." 


Haitians overcame slavery and founded the world's first black republic in1804.  They have survived dictators, being turned back by the U. S. Navy in their boats seeking political refuge, abject poverty (Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere) and hurricanes.   


The outpouring by the American people and organizations is encouraging.  You can even donate $10 automatically by texting the Red Cross on your cell phone. Folks in Miami are appealing on Facebook for volunteers to load supplies for Haiti.  A benefit concert, "Hope for Haiti," is already planned.

The sight of American troops on the ground in Haiti and a aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is America at its best.  Will we act quickly enough, or will get bogged down by red tape and the lack of imagination?

This disaster may have a silver lining if it serves as wake up call for the U. S. to stay the course in Haiti.  


The U. S. controlled Haiti for nearly two decades ending in 1934.  Marine Corps commanders governed the provinces.  More than 2,000 Haitians died in a revolt crushed by U. S. forces in 1918.  Marines killed 10 Haitians protesting economic conditions in 1929. 

Before the U. S. departure, a commission appointed by President Hoover, recognized material improvements during the occupation, but pointed out that Haitians were excluded from decision making  in the process.  The commission concluded:
"The social forces that created [instability] still remain--poverty, ignorance, and the lack of a tradition or desire for orderly free government." 


A bad example of helping build a free and prosperous nation.  


The New York Times Friday, published a debate among Haiti experts, "Is the U. S. Doing Enough for Haiti?"  In the article, University of Chicago professor Greg Beckett makes a case for "a long term commitment for durable change."

Beckett, a Harper Fellow in social sciences studying the environmental, urban and political crisis in Port au Prince, further states -

"The U.S. has a long, strained relationship with Haiti, and more than any other country it has a political responsibility to lead efforts to rebuild the country. In the past, the U.S. has occupied and administered Haiti, given support and financial assistance to governments, trained the military, led stabilization missions and shaped economic policy.

"The occupation of 1915-1934 centralized military and political authority in Port-au-Prince, but left little in the form of infrastructural improvement. Economic policies have left Haiti dependent and persistently poor. Aid initiatives have bypassed the government and contributed to the weakening of state and social institutions." 


Today, despite of the United Nations' peace keeping force of 8,000 troops and the presence of 10,000 humanitarian workers, Haitian mothers still commonly make "dirt cookies" for their children to eat. They can't afford food.

Yet, the Haitian spirit endures.  Haitians still pound shape beautiful metal art from recycled steel drums. Now they wonder whether any buyers will be able to reach them in the devastation.   


When the Marines open the roads again, let's hope the United States gets nation building in Haiti right this time.

The fate of rebuilding Haiti lies with America's first president of color.  But for now President Obama has a more pressing question to answer.  The Marines have landed in Haiti and they are asking, "Who's in charge." (source, Christian Science Monitor, Jan, 14, 2010)



copyright Mike Marcellino 2010

"The Walls of Fire" a recording, poem and photostory by Mike Marcellino

The walls of fire
By Mike Marcellino

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
rock cliffs and open fields -
Hornet’s Nest at Shiloh
Devil’s Den, Gettysburg.




The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
sea to shining sea -
lost in the Argonne Forest
face down on beaches at Normandy
frozen by the waters of Chosin Reservoir.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
paddies, highlands -
Nui Ba Dinh, the Black Virgin Mountain
the Ashau Valley
along the perimeter of Khe Sanh.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood, carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
empty deserts
filled with giant rising suns -
Fallujah rooftops
unknown streets of Sadr City
barren mountains, caves of Tora Bora.

The walls of fire
grow higher, still higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching.

The walls of fire copyright by Mike Marcellino 2009

Photos by Mike Marcellino, South Vietnam, 1967-68 Copyright 2010

(top) "My Girls" (right) "Oriental River" and (below) "Search and Destory"

Mike served in the US Army as a combat correspondent and photojournalist in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968.

He  recorded "The Walls of Fire" as the folk band's fourth poetry song in November 2009.  Mike is songwriter and vocalist and Tomas Texino composed the music.

You may listen to the recording of "The Walls of Fire" on the music player here or visit our band site at ReverbNation.  You've invited to be a follower of Mike's blog, "The Point of the Whole Thing" and a fan of the band on ReverbNation and the band's Facebook page.

Mike Marcellino on ReverbNation

Mike Marcellino on Facebook

"Flatbush," a song of Brooklyn

Stones of Dutch soldiers, Flatbush

photo by mike marcellino copyright 2009

 

Flatbush

by mike marcellino

Flew into New York

on the wings of Peter Pan.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Babylon.

A perfect trip, eleven minutes late.

Coastal Jersey the same,

belching chemicals and oil,

industrial desolation

in the boot deep down.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Peter Pan.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Babylon.

On the heels of Jupiter,

not a bad act to follow

on the right a Santa Anna’s

banner,

lighter green an' red, white

tricolor,

blazoned to the fire escape

of a third floor, dirty red brick

tenement,

a place of West Indians,

Flatbush,

a perfect spot for Jimmy Cliff.

Mariachi band fills the air

Saturdays.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Peter Pan.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Babylon.

Soft good mornings in English,

more likely Patois

from darkened skins

standin' outside temples

ol' ladies an' gentlemen

takin’ numbers outside

for dinner

in a church

a redemption,

after

a revolution

into

a resurrection.

  

Flew into New York

on the wings of Peter Pan.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Babylon.

Walkin' on grave stones

a 17th Century soldiers'

worn blank

in this once 

'Vlacke bos'

Dutch land plain.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Peter Pan.

Flew into New York

on the wings of Babylon.

Jupiter on the right now,

not as bright

on this clear

and quiet night.

Flatbush,copyright by mike marcellino 2009

You may listen to the recording of "Flatbush" by folk band Mike Marcellino on our ReverbNation music site or on the music box at the top of this blog.

ReverbNation 

"been down ta Las Cruces" by Mike Marcellino

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, New Mexico

been down ta Las Cruces

by Mike Marcellino

A soldier's reflection:  From the Cold War to Vietnam and Afghanistan 

Written in 2007 by Mike Marcellino, the poetry song was originally recorded and performed by Mike's first band, Split Peace in Cleveland and again recorded by his new band, the Mike Marcellino Band, accompanied by musician Tomas Texino, composer and producer.

In the piece, Mike recalls living in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a few months after returning from the Vietnam War where he served in the U.S. Army as a combat correspondent and photojournalist.  He sent the winter a tiny trailer outside a small horse ranch in the desert hills near the Mexican border.  His most enjoyable time were walking through the desert hills and escaping to Juarez, Mexico, now one of the most violent places on earth.

You're invited to listen on the music player on Mike's Networked Blog, or visit our band website and be a fan of our new folk band.

ReverbNation

Las Cruces is near the White Sands Missile Range and not far from McGregor Range, near El Paso, Texas.  It was on this range in 1967 that Mike, using a Pentax with a 300 mm lens, photographed in color and black and white the test firing of  Army Hawk missiles. The photos were picked up on the Associated Press wire and transmitted around the world.

For his first person story and photographs, published in "Army Times" and other newspapers, Mike accompanied a Hawk missile battery, part of the 32nd Army Air Defense Command stationed throughout in West Germany to defend against a possible attack by Soviet army during the Cold War.  This was before "the fall of the Berlin Wall" and the Soviet Union, reunifying East and West Germany.

Today, in part, the Army uses McGregor Range to practice urban warfare in a desert setting.  They call it "urban ops pursuit."  These soldiers and others like them are certainly tuning up for fighting in the Afghanistan War.  Some will die or be wounded in service to their country.

US Army National Guardsmen from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment, dash out of a building in pursuit (US Army photo)

Meanwhile, here are the lyrics of a song written by a soldier just back the the Vietnam War, the nation's longest war, taking the lives of more than 58,000 American troops.

been down ta Las Cruces
by Mike Marcellino

been down ta Las Cruces
by Mike Marcellino

been down ta Las Cruces
one time,

down ta
sundown wine
color slide pictures
of mists rising from
the dusty brown
tumbleweed town.

been down ta Las Cruces
down ta the circle
of six can't stand up inside
trailers
beside the coral
sleeping in the afternoon.

been down ta Las Cruces
down ta walking
desert brush hills
with mountain lions
and pretty fast rabbits.

been down ta Las Cruces

waiting for spring

down ta
Sunland Park

quarter horses

getting lost in
Juarez,

lost in Juarez.

been down ta Las Cruces
down ta

inside

my worn,
torn
second field forces
jacket
sittin' in

the backyard
sun beatin' down
makin' me feel

warm again.

been down ta Las Cruces
one time.

Copyright Mike Marcellino, 2007