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The Great “2 Scoop” Coverup…

The Great “2 Scoop” Coverup…

*TOP SECRET*

Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to read this blog with out the proper security clearance…. What the hell, go ahead.

The Great “2 Scoop” Coverup…

As reported by Jeannie Moos on CNN, Mr. Trump does like his desserts.  Click here to learn more:

This is probably the second biggest coverup in the Trump Administration… The truth be told, it would seem that Mr. Trump wears extra long ties in an attempt to try and “coverup” the apparent increasing size of his tummy. Maybe longer and wider is now called for.

Thin tie, BIG EGO! Newsweek cover 1987

 

Donald Trump, owner of New York’s Trump Tower, holds the bridle of a polo pony while talking to Andy Warhol on Nov. 4, 1983. Yale University polo player Eric Stever sits astride the horse.    (Credit: AP / Mario Suriani)

 

From left, Donald Trump, owner of the New Jersey Generals, Fred Wilpon of the Mets, Sonny Werblin of Madison Square Garden, and George Steinbrenner of the Yankees attend a breakfast forum dealing with the future of professional sports in the New York metropolitan area, Thursday, Dec. 16, 1983 in New York. (Credit: AP/ David Pickoff)

 

Meryl Streep mimicked Donald Trump’s attire, including tie habits, during a performance at the 2016 Public Theater Gala.

(PAUL ZIMMERMAN/WIREIMAGE, LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS)

 

(GQ.com, Joe Raedle)

 

Do golfers ever where ties? Just wondering… (Sportingnews.com)

The bottom line…
Whatever the case, I’ll stick to my
2 Scoop” Coverup theory. But here is a more expert opinion The Wardrobe Whisperer speaks…

* Trump’s long ties… 

Peace. I am Bob Danon, and integrity does matter.

You will find The Brokennews NeWerd Dictionary by clicking here:

Got something to say… Make that call.

For future reference:  The Congressional Switchboard: Let your voice be heard…

Call your Representative or Senator- 202-224-3121

Joy to the world…

Joy to the world…

Xavier Joy memorial service 30 min. prior to the start of the service. By that time, nearly every seat at Rockefeller was filled, while others were standing along the side aisles (Photo taken by Bob Danon)

 

This past Friday morning (06/16), was the memorial service for Xavier Joy, the young man who was gunned down on Chicago’s south side, two blocks from his home, at 10:00 pm, on the night of June 08, 2017. I did not know Xavier, or “X”, as his father and friends called him. But his step-grandmother, Fran Joy is a friend of mine. Fran is a wonderful artist and recently had an exhibit in my Evanston art gallery, The Danon Gallery. Last week, I posted a column about Fran the artist, a particular painting she had done which I purchased, and the murder of her grandson. You’ll find that article of June 12 here:

The service itself was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was held at the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. Because I grew up in Hyde Park, I was familiar with this structure. And although I had not been inside in decades, one never forgets. Wikipedia will tell you that- “Rockefeller Chapel is a Gothic Revival chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. A monumental example of Collegiate Gothic architecture, it was meant by patron John D. Rockefeller to be the “central and dominant feature” of the campus; at 200 feet it is by covenant the tallest building on campus.” But until you have been inside, those few Wiki- sentences don’t come close to the grandiose architecture, inside and out.

Like many important structures of religion, the potential greatness is often not realized until the people have filed in, the music has been played or until the actual words are spoken or sung, reaching the highest and most distant corners, the carved ceiling beams or the highest of the stain glass windows. Such was the case on this particular morning. There were easily 1200 to 1500 people at this service. And barely a dry eye in the place. So sad…

Almost every pew was full, while still others in attendance stood on the side. The faces were black, brown and white. There were young children with their parents, dozens of teenagers. There were adults of all ages- young, older, old and still older. Many of those in attendance were friends of the Joy family.

The service began with a musical tribute by Orbert Davis, followed later on in the service by the beautiful voice of Dee Alexander. A procession with  African drummers marched down the long Rockefeller aisle, a musical  tradition by the Drum Ensemble from the Muntu Dance Theatre. The Opening Prayer and Reading of Scripture was given by the Reverend Dr. Reginald Williams Jr. The Speakers included: Jan Schakowsky and Bobby Rush, both U.S. Congressional Representatives. Michael Stautmanis was there representing President Barak Obama and read a touching letter from the President and his wife, Michele.

Other speakers included Rebecca Huffman and Michael Brown from City Year Chicago. Gabriel Sanchez, the love of Xavier’s young life spoke with a beautiful smile, and tears, of a past together and a future snuffed out just a week earlier.  Xavier’s mother, Nykea Pippion McGriff, her eyes hidden behind large, dark sunglasses, remembered the pride and joy she found in her son’s young life with memories that will live on forever.

Xavier’s former school principal at Whitney Young High School, Dr. Joyce Kenner, spoke… her words brought laughter and tears. She mentioned his smile, and his caring personality. She spoke of Xavier’s accomplishments along with so many others she has had the honor to guide over the years, she too cried in her closing… a mother to so many. She has seen and heard of so many young black children losing their lives. She said it must stop, She said “we must give back to Xavier…”

The last to speak was Ra Joy, Xavier’s father. He made us smile, he made us laugh, he made us cry. The pride in his son was seen and heard over and over with great sports stories, stories of trips to water parks, “X” being a proud big brother, about his son’s competitive nature whether in football, shooting baskets, or playing chess.  

Hearing the mother and father speak of losing their wonderful son reminded me of that very sad expression- Children are not suppose to die before their parents. I’ve known a few other families over the years when parents buried a child and I can not imagine anything as painful.

Xavier Joy was a graduate of Whitney Young High School. He was a good student, an accomplished athlete, a wonderful son, and a great friend to many. He attended Morehouse College for a short while, returning home, to mentor young students in both the Chicago and Evanston School Systems. He gave back… Xavier gave back because he learned from his family that, that’s what one does.

A young man, Vic Mensa, my guess a friend of “X,” closed out the service with a rap song. It wasn’t difficult to sense his feelings during this moment. He was so involved, so terrific with the words pouring from his heart.

AN ALL TOO COMMON OCCURRENCE- Scene in the 6200 block of South Ingleside in Chicago, where Xavier Joy was killed late on June 8, 2017.
(Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

 

The bottom line…
For over a week now, I have learned about, and thought about Xavier Joy. This was a terrific kid. And for that week I’ve been crying, and I suspect I will always cry when I read what I and others have written, and I didn’t even know him. His grandmother is my friend and I feel her pain. And on this morning, over a thousand people, in a beautiful setting, laughed, and cried and hurt so deeply. And all I can really think of is how many times a week this type of terrible thing happens to our black youth… To Chicago’s black youth. Yes, the circumstances of each shooting and murder are different. But losing a loved one, particularly a child is unacceptable. Not just because a loved one’s life is so quickly and brutally taken. But because the loss of even one child, or one person, gunned down can be stopped. And it should be stopped. So why hasn’t it?

Peace. I am Bob Danon, and integrity does matter.

For future reference: The Congressional Switchboard: Let your voice be heard…

Call your Representative or Senator- 202-224-3121

You will find The Brokennews NeWerd Dictionary by clicking here:

It’s about way more than just violence…

It’s about way more than just violence…

 

“INEQUALITY SPARKS BLACK FLIGHT FROM CITY…”

When I first read Mary Mitchell’s column in last Sunday’s Chicago Sun-Times, June 04, 2017,  I was a bit stunned by the numbers she was quoting. It wasn’t just the shootings and deaths- “Over a 15-year period, there were 5,600 murders and nonfatal shootings in three predominantly black Chicago neighborhoods: Englewood, West Englewood, and Austin.” Mary pointed out that- “Those neighborhoods also had a 28 percent decrease in black population.” You can read Mary Mitchell’s entire column here:

As Mary went on to explain, it wasn’t just the violence, it was also the lack of opportunity for blacks in Chicago. “After a lifetime of living in Chicago, my husband is seriously talking about moving away. He cited high taxes, crime, and bad politics. Black people are are fleeing the city’s predominantly black neighborhoods on the south and west sides. Chicago, once a haven for the black middle class, is no longer seen as a place of economic opportunity for African Americans.”

Mary and her husband have lived the “black experience” their entire lives. I have only observed that experience. I did however observe it in ways up close and personal,  to a far greater degree, than experienced by many I have met over the years and many of those I know today. You see, I grew up in Hyde Park, on Chicago’s south-side, back in the 1950’s-60’s. It was an amazing childhood both through elementary school and high school. There was racial balance, respect and lifelong friendships as a result. I have always been proud to say that my Liberal roots were sewn in Hyde Park. Just as many in Evanston can make that same claim.

From the time I was seven, much of my early life was spent at the Hyde Park Y.M.C.A. During the school year I took various after-school classes there- gymnastics, swimming lessons and swim team, basketball, and leadership programs. The summers were spent at either a Y.M.C.A., or  Chicago Park District Day Camp. There was “racial balance and respect throughout.”

My years at Hyde Park High School during the early-mid 60’s had a student population that was at least 60% black. We had no racial issues. There were parties, interracial dating, neighborhood clubs, scouts, church choirs, and of course the anchor I believe was the University of Chicago. There were so many interracial friendships I can’t even break it into numbers or a percentage.

My other life…
My life for the last 41 years has been owning an art gallery and a custom picture framing business. I own the Danon Gallery, in Evanston, Illinois, which in many ways was and is like Hyde Park. The art gallery pays the bills, but over the years, writing has been my passion. And that passion led me to my on-line blog brokennews.press. I’ve been writing it for a year now and I love it. The writing gives me a chance to vent, express, stimulate and to reach out, hoping to make a point or sway an opinion. At the same time, it forces me to often read or listen to other points of view I don’t necessarily agree with, but I have learned to appreciate the experience.

Six or seven times a year I hold art shows in my gallery called “3rd Thursday Gallery Shows.” The last one was May 18th and I featured two wonderful Evanston artists, Sarah Kaiser and Fran Joy. Fran painted the image you see at the top of this page back in 2014. The painting is of a young, teenage boy she met at Cabrini Green some 20 years ago while counseling his parents. At the time, the boy sat across the room, silently and maybe nervously fidgeting. Fran never knew the young man, but she has carried that experience, and that boy’s face in her mind and heart all these years.

The bottom line…
Of all the works Fran Joy has in my gallery, this one struck home the most. I didn’t realize why at first, I just knew I liked it. A little over a week ago I decided I had to have it, still not knowing why, until… Until a young couple came in my gallery last Saturday, 06/03. They admired all the work in the gallery but stood staring at “I want to live!” I proudly told them I was going to buy it from the artist. They asked me what it was that I saw in that particular painting.

I stared at the painting on the wall for maybe a minute. As I did, I started to get choked up, and fighting back the tears, and not very successfully I said- “when I look into his eyes, I see the liberal roots of my childhood, I see the fear and pain in his unfair world, that maliciously singles out boys like that… which forces those words from his lips.” I could barely hold it together. Several hours later I saw Fran Joy at another Evanston Art show and related this experience to her, again barely holding back my tears. She started to shake, herself ready to cry, feeling the pain and tension in my words across the three or so feet that separated us.

 

(Photo of Xavier Joy courtesy of Morehouse College)

He too wanted to live…
Last week, on the night of Thursday June 08, 2017, at 10:00 PM, Xavier Joy was gunned down, just two blocks from his home, on Chicago’s south-side. He was a graduate of Whitney Young High School who majored in political science and played defense  on the  Morehouse College football team. He worked mentoring young students in both the Evanston and Chicago Public School Systems. Xavier Joy was the son of Chicago political reformer, Ra Joy, the executive director of CHANGE Illinois. As reported by ABC-7 Chicago, Xavier Joy was 23.

Not knowing but fearing the worst, I emailed Fran Joy this past Saturday, inquiring about what I hoped wouldn’t be true. She quickly emailed back the following- “I was going to call you yesterday. Sad to say he is my step-grandson and we are all devastated. He was a good kid with great parents. I’ve known him since he was a baby. I’m very close to Ra, his dad. We are heart broken. Isn’t it weird how you bought that painting? Maybe you were plugging in to this nightmare. I was out to his dad’s last night. It’s so awful. Very close knit family. Thanks for reaching out.”

I am so proud to own this work of art painted by my friend Fran Joy. Yet, the sadness in my heart will always be felt, now more than ever, as I look into the eyes of the young man in her painting, and the words painted across his shirt- I want to live! Xaiver Joy, like many, has been denied.

Peace. I am Bob Danon, and integrity does matter.

Friday, June 16, 2017- There will be a wake at 11:00 AM, followed by a Memorial Service at Rockefeller Chapel, at the University of Chicago, at 12 noon. The address is 2800 South Woodlawn Ave., in Hyde Park.