Cavedweller, Chisholm Trail, Bank Street Method

Ugh...woke up after five hours sleep to the sound of the garbage truck honking repeatedly for someone to move thier car. Started my period. Started to take a shower but the water was ice cold. Called Edy (the super)...voice mail full...called 311 to file another futile complaint with the city.

Socorro and I saw two screenings last night.

Chisholm '72 by Shola Lynch--The story of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's bid for The democratic nomination in 1972. The first minute of the film I thought, "Why have I never seen this? Why is this woman unknown to me? Why are voices so clear and reasonable, so absent from televised politics? Why was Chisholm un-invited to participate in the televised debate?"

These are painful questions to explore because they expose my great ignorance and the realities of american history.

It's no secret that women and people of color have had to struggle for rights in these United States. But even now, something is not right with our election process. My government professor at ACC was very passionate about the need for election reform...campaign finance reform. He spent a great deal of time explaining why it would be difficult for people in office to bring about election reform and why nothing in politics mattered more than election reform.

The first presidential race I remember seeing on tv was in 1976. When the peanut farmer with the big grin would defeat Ford. I remember watching the election results with my family. I was seven and my brothers were 9 and 13. My parents were very impartial, explaining the process to us. I don't think they even told us who they voted for.

I also remember the huge circus that preceed the election in which Carter was portrayed as a peanut with a grin...this was all I knew about him...peanut and grin vs. Ford the man with the same name as the car company. I was Shocked, surprised and amazed that peanut with grin could defeat a real person.

The other film was called Cavedweller, a story about a woman who returns to a rural town to reclaim her family after several years away. She ends up caring for her dying ex-husband while getting to know her estranged teenaged daughters. It was a good story, well acted and emotionally complex, simply told. If there are any connections to be made between these two films for me its that american life can be hard and imperfect and somehow still good.

Shirley Chisholm passed away this year...leaving an excellent example of a life worth living.

On the way back home, Socorro explained the Bank Street method of education to me.