Sandy Andina: News

...will have to wait till tomorrow--got a lot on my mind about world and national affairs and need a little time to put it out there as effectively as I see it. Meanwhile, I was ambushed by a worldwide flock of little birds and am now (it had to happen sometime) on Twitter. Got a mobile device? Find me there and on Facebook--my username at both is sandyandina. (Not surprisingly, I didn't have to wrest it from some domain-name squatter: there are some advantages to having an unusual and oft-misspelled-and-mispronounced surname; had I kept my maiden name I might have faded into a small but still crowded field). Still on MySpace but more people are gravitating to Facebook, where I'm still a "civilian;" haven't figured out how to convert my profile there to a performer. Of course, for details longer than 160 characters, you'll have to check in over here! I promise not to "tweet" unless I have something to say that can't wait for this blog or e-mail bulletins.

Denise Marie Stein--half of Foxfire and a singer/autoharpist/dulcimerist extraordinaire--was promoted from earthly entertainer to the choir and band of Angels this past Mon. June 15. She bravely battled leukemia for four years, singing till the end. It was an honor and a delight to have known and shared the stage with her. Heaven is a more entertaining place from now on...adios till we all sing together again.

You may notice some gigs are no longer listed in my calendar. One, in July, has been removed because the organizer has decided that those of us playing the more prominent (and paid) concert series in the same area ought not take up slots in the free festival--I agree wholeheartedly. Nonetheless, I played the free fest last year, and urge those in the Madison area the weekend of July 17-19 to head over to Lisa Link Peace Park and catch part of Maxwell St. Days--the artists are of especially high caliber this year (some have previously played the aforementioned concert series) and very enjoyable.

As to the Indiegrrl Festival in Nashville in August, there's no way I can do that as was originally envisioned and still devote time and energy to my organizational duties....and, just as important, get some sorely-needed recording done for the followup Andina & Rich and my own next solo CD. Sadly, science has not yet developed a way for us to be in two different places at once--computers can "multitask" in that way but humans can't. (If things change and I will be in Nashville, rest assured I'll let you know).

On the creative and performing front, premiered a brand new song at the Old Town School First Friday Songwriters' Exchange the day it was written--and received very positive feedback. Played it for Steve the next day, and it will definitely make it on to the next Andina & Rich CD. (You'll just have to catch a concert or buy the disc, if you weren't at the OTS last week, to find out what it's about).

Mill Bluff State Park last week was beautiful, bucolic and filled with wonderful music from our fellow artists on the bill (and Andina & Rich, she said modestly). It was also the coldest non-winter day I've ever spent (eclipsing a raw and wet day April day in line at Disneyland in 1990 and a blustery windswept visit to Tienanmen Square in Feb. 1994). I was okay while on stage (courtesy of the stage being under a canopy and sheltered from the wind), but as soon as I got back into the audience, I had to bundle up with three layers of clothing, put up the hood of my parka, and stuff my hands into my pockets whenever I wasn't cradling the hottest cuppa Joe I could find. If June is busting out all over, you coulda fooled me. To add insult to injury, after the gig I loaded up the car with my gear--and discovered a flat tire. Props to Ingrid's brother Ed, who changed my tire to the "donut" spare, which got me back to Madison where I spent an unplanned night before getting a pair of new tires the next morning (20 minutes total, including rotating all four tires) at Weber Tire in Sun Prairie. No wonder the place is so popular, aside from their prices being lower than in the city.

Now, in medical news---good and bad. Good news is that my foot is not fractured and the bone itself is not bruised. It's just a worsening of arthritis (which I didn't know I had) in my 5th metatarsal and bunion and tendinitis, caused by a mild ankle sprain that came on gradually over the spring. Time marches on, and I limp instead. Bad news is that I'm stuck wearing a big honkin' immobilizer boot (like a cross between a cast and a ski boot) for the next few weeks, but will still be on my feet as tolerated. (I am definitely making a footwear fashion statement, even if I'm not "stating" that which I originally intended). At least no crutches, thank goodness.

My father-in-law turned 89 this week--mazel tov to him. And in less than two weeks Bob & I will celebrate our 38th anniversary. Where'd the time go? Since our wedding we've had eight Presidents, four wars, lived in three states and cities, lost (and regained) hundreds of pounds, been through the arc of four careers (two for each of us), earned one graduate and two professional degrees, produced one terrific and talented kid (whom we're in no hurry to push out of the nest till he's good and ready to fly). Not to mention going through three hair colors (not including gray, which I still refuse to let emerge).

So it looks like I'm taking the rest of June off to do a little legal work (that pesky retirement still doesn't seem to be fully "taking"), songwriting, rehearsing, eldercare and volunteering. Back into the whirl starting July 4th weekend in Madison!

Been awhile, hasn't it? A lot has happened since I last posted:

We had to find a new site for FARM 2009 so we could keep it in the Chicago area over Columbus Day weekend--and we lucked into a sweet one: the Holiday Inn of Bolingbrook, IL. We'll have the run of the place as the only event booked, reasonable room rates with flexible rooming arrangements--bookable directly with the hotel (that is, if you want to stay on site); a la carte dining with a plethora of nearby options (with free shuttle to and from them) or use the fridge in your room; full pool/sauna/spa and fitness facility; plenty of meeting space and a staff eager to please. Th-Su, 10/8-11. More innovations too numerous to detail here. Rates and registration info & forms (and mailings) out imminently.

Have had some marvelous performance experiences: Green Earth Fair, Live From the Living Room (where we shared the stage with Steve Deasey and an amazing performance from Foxfire---get well, Denise, we're all praying for you!), Folk It!

My best friend Bob Berlien (follow the saga on his and Kathy's LiveJournals) underwent lung-reduction surgery for COPD and blessedly, the pulmonary nodule discovered during pre-op testing proved to be benign. We all gathered at my place Memorial Day to rejoice in each others' company and grill dinner between the raindrops. A good time was had by all. No raindrops were harmed in the production of dinner, nor were there any inadvertent encounters between the gas grill and respiratory equipment. Can't ask for much more than that these days.

Traveled around the Madison and Detroit areas; got some great starts on rehearsing and planning the next Andina & Rich CD; and attended the wedding of my cousin's daughter in Salem, MA just this past weekend (at the beautiful, elegant and historical Peabody-Essex Museum and Library (and got to formally welcome her handsome and multi-talented husband into our family). It was a delight to be with family members I hadn't seen in months, even years. Those experiences have reminded me that friends and family are our most precious resources: life is short, share it with those you love, and reconnect with those with whom you've fallen out of touch for whatever (or no) reason.

Bummer is that it's getting tougher and tougher for me to walk these days--developed a nagging soreness on the side of my left foot that has progressed to a downright painful nodule (bone bruise?), plantar fasciitis, and perhaps even a metatarsal neuroma (meaning a swelling on a nerve) . Waiting for word from my podiatrist as to whether I should "pass Go" and head straight to my orthopedist instead (whom I feel I should ask for frequent flyer miles). Hoping that taping, ice, and the right shoes will help---and that I'll be able to spend enough time on my feet to get through an hour's set this Sunday at Mill Brook State Park in Tomah, WI. Sure hate sitting down to sing--standing works sooo much better for the voice. All in all, though, it's not life-threatening--it's just a foot, and it's only pain. (I've observed enough that can go wrong this past month to be sincerely grateful for that).

Also, for reasons we won't go into around here Andina & Rich (and Red Starr Productions) have opted out of this year's Nashville Songwriters' Festival--we felt that circumstances dictated that there would be ways to use that week in late June to best advantage. Those better ways include both more preparations for recording and a long-overdue visit from my sister and niece, whom I haven't seen in a year and a half and who haven't been to Chicago in twelve years.

Had a bit of excitement around here with Bob's dad--let's just say that long walks which one has been urged not to take, when one is elderly and dehydrated, don't lead to the most pleasant of experiences and are quite inadvisable (a lesson well-learned). On the bright side, he did get to meet quite a few of Chicago's finest (and EMTs) who came to his aid. He sincerely hopes not to see them again except on a purely social basis.

You will notice I have said nothing tonight about the major issues of the day, whether political, criminal, sports or religious. At nearly 4 a.m., I fear I might not be as articulate about them as I'd like, that I would be so impassioned about them as to cause misinterpretations and hard feelings, and that plenty of people (including yours truly) have posted about them ad infinitum on various internet forums--not to mention countless others who have held forth via more widely publicized channels. So I'm sticking to what I know best, going micro-and-not-macro.

Besides, my foot hurts.

Been quite a week--we've had snow flurries and 80F temps within a few days of each other; and major revelations about the (euphemistically yclept) "enhanced interrogation" techniques employed by the CIA (and, BTW, refused by the FBI), inquired into by the Pentagon as early as 2002 (receiving the answer it was both torture and ineffective) and facilitated by the bass-ackwards backfill legal memos concocted by the Bush DOJ. We've had both the Bulls and the Blackhawks make the playoffs, and the Cubs and Sox off to a good (albeit chilly and sleety start). Poor B-Rod has been refused permission by a Federal judge to go to the Costa Rican Jungles to appear in NBC's "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here" (but still eligible to appear on MSNBC's "Lockup: Club Fed" a/k/a "I'm a Convicted Felon, Get Me Outta Here"); as a result, he has filmed a bunch of spots for the show dangling from a harness and being blown about by a wind machine in front of a green Chroma-Key screen. All this is making my head spin.

So I am going to foment a different sort of debate here. I just got done reading Alton Brown's "Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run," which covered some of the same territory I did over the past few years, especially between Chicago and Memphis and missed a few spots for the piddling reason they were located along the Interstate. With that in mind (and because I now can't write "Highway 61 Regurgitated," at least not without violating some copyrights), I look back on my travels, around the Midwest and beyond (and in my own figurative backyard) to offer some of what I have found to be some of my favorite discoveries (mostly culinary but not always). Your mileage will invariably vary, so suggest away.

BBQ: Well-known:
Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous, Memphis, TN. Not much to say--it's not healthy to talk with your mouth full. No sauce, thanks---why sully that amazing dry rub?

BBQ: (Hole-in-the-wall Division): BJ's Travel Center, just. n. of New Madrid, MO. Alton Brown missed this one, probably because of his vow to eschew the Interstates. That's fine--more for me to chew along the Interstate. A tiny BP gas station and mini-mart when viewed from outside; the first hint it's at all special is the sweet smoke-and-meat smell that hits you as soon as you get out of your car. On one side of the room is the usual truck stop mini-mart; on the other, a buffet--and if you hit them at the right time, the ribs, chicken, sausage and pulled pork should just be coming out of the homemade oil-drum smoker out back. All you can eat (there's pasta, corn on the cob, at least one other veggie, salad, mashed spuds, cornbread and fried chicken too) for, last time I checked back in Feb., eight bucks. Only bummer is that the no-smoking section is one or two tables along the windows, but the BBQ smoke kind of obscures that in a hurry.

BBQ: (Intermediately well-known):
1. Dink's Pit, Bartlesville, OK. Intentionally ramshackle decor (might be a chain, I dunno) reminiscent of Famous Dave's but more authentically shopworn but good 'cue and nice crunchy fried okra--always jammed. Very reasonable.
2. Nick's BBQ and Catfish, Carlisle, AR. Cheerful swift service (no alcohol), very good BBQ, and the best....

Fried Green Tomatoes: See Nick's immediately above. Shatteringly crisp battered crust, not greasy, tender but still resilient tomatoes inside. Hang it up, Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop! Insanely reasonable, and the best....

Fried Catfish: Nick's; you know the drill by now....

Best Pies: King's Coffee, Dearing, KS. Meringues of all kinds, quiches you'd never expect in an honest-to-goodness full-service (read: two-group non-automatic Cimbali) coffeehouse in the proverbial middle-of-nearly-nowhere (All of Dearing could seemingly be dropped into a few blocks in the center of Coffeyville). There is a stage with live entertainment: mostly Christian music but occasionally also secular folk from moonlighting visiting performers doing the nearby Coffeyville Humanities Project (we would have done the same but our fingers were nearly bleeding from all the playing we were officially doing). The only real espresso in those parts north of the KS-OK state line.

Best "what's-a-joint-like-you-doing-in-a-place-like-this:"
Uncle Jack's. Independence, KS. Discovered by accident, when our GPS misunderstood our desire to visit Jack's Place in Liberty, KS. Microbrews. Wine-by-the-glass program (including food-and-wine pairings), bistro menu. Yes, you can get a dry Aussie Riesling or California Viognier and fresh-tasting crab cakes in rural Kansas. Pricey for the economically depressed area but cheap by city standards. Knowledgeable servers, too. Who knew?

Best (very) small-town diner food: Depot Restaurant (Hwy 412 bet. Bellefonte and Harrison, AR). We were hungry. We were lost (sorta). It was open. I can still taste the Hawaiian Creme Pie (pineapple, coconut, cherries, macadamias) nearly two years later. And it was the only time I ever insisted on packing my leftover fried okra as a road snack.

Donuts (I'm gonna get flamed for this for sure): Tie between Spudnuts (Univ. Way, aka "the Ave") and Green Lake Donuts, both in Seattle, WA. Haven't been back since 1978, so I don't even know if they're still around. But Spudnuts had the best yeast-raised (hadda be the potato flour) and Green Lake the best straight-from-the-fryer plain cake donuts I've ever, ever eaten--retreat to your respective corners, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts. Spudnuts also had the best donut shop coffee I ever drank. Asked the owner his secret--he pulled out a battered, dented aluminum measuring cup. He explained that he kept whaling away at the bottom of it with a ball-peen hammer till it held just the right amount of preground but very fresh coffee for a drip-urn full of joe (don't remember the brand--Stewart Bros. or MJB, I think).

Cheesecake (turn up the flame-thrower): Ben's Deli, Montreal, QUE. Oh, I hear the gasps from my fellow Chicagoans who swear by Eli's, as well as from those accusing me of denying my Brooklyn heritage by ignoring Junior's. Mind you, I'm not dissing either iconic U.S. cheesecake.....but tasting Ben's (thank you Kathy!) was an epiphany. Heck, the minute I even laid eyes on it I knew the cheesecake trophy would stay north of the border. Mile-high, nearly as light as an Italian ricotta cheesecake but as firm a crumb as the best NYC examples.

OTOH:

Aphids on roses and ear mites on kittens,
Leaky teakettles and wet woolen mittens,
Puncturing fingertips changing my strings:
These are a few of my least fav'rite things...

End of Part One. Gonna get a bit more local in the next installment.

Just as I suspected, most of those teabags waved and dangled at the Tax Day Tea Parties were not brought by the demonstrators from their own kitchens to show they were mad as hell and not gonna take it any more---they were indeed provided by the Republican National Committee at a cost of one millon bucks. Grass roots, my ass.

Also saw footage of a recently unemployed attendee at one of these parties who got up and addressed the crowd. He introduced himself, asked how his fellow demonstrators felt, and asked them to cheer if they were making less than $250K per year. As expected, the cheers were overwhelming and deafening. Then he mentioned that those folks would be getting a tax CUT from the current Administration. The cheers stopped, replaced by boos and catcalls.

Now wait a minute. These parties were supposed to be spontaneous protests by the middle class against what were perceived by them (rightly or wrongly) as undue taxation--current and threatened in the future--at the hands of the new Administration. But the minute someone spoke the truth to them, he was revealed as a Democratic "traitor."And in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry hinted ominously that if the Feds messed with Texas (or Texas' "sovereignty"), secession might be in order. (So far, he has yet to backtrack),

Folks, these tea parties have been exposed for what they really were. They weren't about taxation or economic suffering. They were carefully orchestrated Republican campaign rallies for 2010 and beyond, designed to "cement the base" (ever shrinking and hardening) and--more disturbingly--exploit those not only intolerant of dissent but intolerant in general. They were, with only a few exceptions, "venting opportunities" for those displeased with the mere fact of Obama's victory and what they perceived and continue to perceive it represents---regardless of (and doggedly resistant to) persuasion by actual facts. This type of visceral resentment is the instrument the GOP "big lie" played so skillfully in 1994 with the Contract on America--already, as they characterized health care reform back then, the party is beginning to paint currently proposed health care, business and banking, and environmental reforms as insidious "new taxes."

So now we know the secret to getting voters to oppose something that actually may be in their own interest:
First, if you're in a position to and intend to profit financially at voters' expense (e.g., continuing to cheat them, fire them, take bailouts and bonuses, deny their legitimate insurance claims, cancel their credit, etc.), tell them that you share their "core moral values." Throw around terms like "sanctity of marriage," "freedom," "terrorism," and "pro-life" to boot, whether you have either the power or even the desire to do anything about them.
Then, characterize everything that you don't like as a "tax" from "big government:" the magic buzzwords that apparently embody all that is evil and un-American.


Fool us once.....

Happy Tax Day! By now, I trust you are either well on your way to getting your refund, getting the IRS off your back by having mailed them a check, or keeping the IRS temporarily off your back (or delaying your own refund gratification) by having filed your extension application--or will by midnight. Maybe you attended one of those staged "tea parties" flogged by Fake News and bankrolled by Dick Armey and a couple of conservative PACs. (Hopefully, not as a participant).

Here's why I hope if you went, you were there as either a heckler or out of morbid curiosity. Just as in Thomas Frank's "What's the Matter With Kansas," the megawealthy corporate/Wall Street establishment (i.e., shepherds with Twitter cattle prods) has managed to once again hoodwink a not insufficient number of the poor and middle classes (i.e., sheep watching cable news or cradling their BlackBerrys) into defending the super-rich against the poor and middle classes. In scenes eerily reminiscent of the crowd at last summer's Republican National Convention, photographers snapped numerous images of people standing in rainy plazas mugging for the cameras, dangling teabags, hanging teabags off their umbrellas and even bedecking their rainhats and parka hoods with teabags to the point where they resembled Lipton sheepdogs. (And call it a hunch, but somehow I doubt these folks brought these little sachets of caffeinated symbolism with them from their own kitchens). And all the while, across the country, they chanted the trenchant, meaningful, protest slogan" "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" As if letting the GOP fool them into doing its dirty work was a form of patriotism akin to cheering on Michael Phelps in the Olympics or marching in a Fourth of July parade. Oh, please.

Gets better---conservative blogs and Facebook pages instructed "spontaneous protestors" to parrot canned talking points such as "This is not the time to spend money!" "We can't spend what we don't have!" "Get the government off our backs!" (funny, they didn't chant that one when they were being wiretapped and having their library cards and book purchases monitored) and "We're mortgaging our children's futures!" (which they likewise never chanted when the government was mortgaging our children's environmental futures---or when Wall Street, or themselves as willingly complicit junk-loan borrowers, were ACTUALLY MORTGAGING our children's and our own futures). One of these blogs actually offered $250 rewards for the catchiest slogans the "citizen teabaggers" could devise--thus saving the GOP a tidy sum it would otherwise have to have blown on focus groups and ad agencies.

Well, the truth is that this is PRECISELY what stimulating a foundering economy means--spending money we don't have to generate money we will make many times over. We've done it for decades, even centuries. It's called "credit," which (despite what every conservative other than those who issue bank cards will tell you) is NOT always inherently bad. Whenever a corporation, municipality, utility, or school district issues bonds, it's borrowing so it can spend money it doesn't have--and when you buy those bonds (yes, even those Series E savings bonds you racked up as kids) you are lending it to them. The cold hard truth is, as was shown when at first the New Deal succeeded dramatically and then went blooey when FDR obeyed those who warned about deficit spending, that if we DON'T go out on a limb and borrow or levy in order to spend money we don't yet have on certain necessities such as infrastructure, education, priming the pump for a resurgence of responsible consumption, and healthcare, we are going to be doing a heck of a lot worse to our kids' future than mortgaging it.

And taxes? Ah, yes, those evil taxes of which we must not force the super-rich and the largest corporations to pay their fair share. It was revealed today that 90% of the wealthiest corporations in America set up offshore accounts (cue the jingle..."Cay-man Is-lands...") to avoid paying ANY Federal income tax at all, sticking you and me with a HUNDRED BILLION BUCKS of a tax bill, sucking it right out of OUR pockets. Yeah, even those of you pulling down half a mill per year--YOU helped pay ALL of Coca-Cola's and Dell's income tax this year. Interestingly, one of the wealthiest corporations in America refused to set up offshore accounts, and ponied up its fair share like the rest of us: Home Depot.

So how would you like to stimulate the economy, show your appreciation for a responsible corporation, improve your own surroundings, and even employ many of our future Olympians between competitions? Fix your deck, plant your garden or window boxes, paint your house or apartment, buy a new sink or toilet seat, or even a carton of CFL lightbulbs--and buy the stuff from Home Depot.

So tomorrow is the day for Astroturf-roots "tea parties" all over America--or so the right-wing blogosphere and Fixed News Network are hyperventilating, while legitimate media are, justifiably, yawning and reminding people the Post Office will be open till midnight because it's April 15. How I wish I were gifted in the visual arts---if I were, I would be madly at work right now churning out picket signs and tee (NOT "TEA") shirts bearing the following graphic:

(Picture of teabag) = (Picture of bull sitting on toilet)

and selling them to the real grass-roots protesters across the street from Dick Armey's Army (yeah, he's in charge).
So in dishonor of this corporate, staged, flash(bulb)-mob stunt, I propose getting as hopped up on coffee (brewed, espresso, latte, instant, whatever) as possible and Take Exception (to) Armey (note initials).

And for some more in the "they-can't-make-this-kinda-stuff-up" department:

1. The NY Mets' brand-spanking-new Citi Field was christened by a lead-off home run by......a San Diego Padre.
Does anyone else notice the significance of the fact that Citi Field is located in.......wait for it.....drum roll.....FLUSHING????

2. What if Rod was one of us? He'd want to get a gig on a reality TV show, of course. And (the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois willing), he will--he is set to star (at $80K an episode), inter alia, with skater Nancy Kerrigan (guess this was below Tonya Harding's pay grade?) in a show titled "I'm a Celebrity--Get Me Outta Here!" set in Costa Rica, presumably in the jungle.....or at Robert Vesco's mansion.

3. For the second year in a row, a butchered goat carcass was hung in effigy from the statue (I believe of Harry Caray) outside Wrigley Field. Guess that's why Premier Meats couldn't fulfill my order for goat loin chops.....

My voice is back tonight! (Sorry, Stephen Sondheim, best I could do with limited bandwidth). I am totally pumped about tonight's double Andina & Rich/SASS! Trio show (despite what it may say on another site, it IS TONIGHT, SATURDAY APRIL 11!) at the Ethical Humanist Society, 8 pm, 7475 N. Lincoln in Skokie--details in the preceding blog entry as well as on the Facebook page of the Second Saturday Concert Series. We've got some special stuff up our sleeves for you!

The Emanuel Seder was a blast--well attended and catered this year (with wait staff!) by a member, Mark Warnaar, who is a chef. The food--especially the salmon and the desserts--was terrific, the ceremonies and singing--led by our own Energizer Bunny Ruthie Seidner--were beautifully planned and delightfully executed. I ran into friends I hadn't seen in months--and some I hadn't realized were members. Gotta go more often when I'm not gigging or traveling on Friday nights.

I'll be singing there next week, Sat 4/18, at the Emanuel Coffeehouse, 5959 N. Sheridan. Fronting my old buddies in the Ham-it-Up Band for a number and doing a set of my own in a stellar lineup--the temple's talent pool is deep indeed. All ages, creeds (including lack thereof), and kinds of people welcome, as long as you like to listen, sing along, and sip and nosh!

Well, it seems that not only did neighborhood churches celebrate Seders on Holy Thursday--so did our First Family! Yes, the Obamas hosted the first ever White House seder (especially appropriate because there's a rabbi in the family--Rabbi Capers Funnye of B'nai Zion is Michelle Obama's cousin). To paraphrase a terrific songwriter friend of mine, Anita Silvert, I'm sensing the beginning of "all roads converging."

Whether or not I see you tonight in Skokie, wherever and whoever you are, whatever you do or do not believe, I wish you joy this wonderful weekend of renewal, rebirth and reaffirmation. No matter the motivation for your celebration, may it happen with elation!

Interfaith families ARE fascinating, aren't they? (I never have seen chocolate Easter bunnies or even Peeps labeled Kosher for Passover--can you imagine the marketing possibilities of Passover Peeps--especially little marshmallow Pharoahs you can nuke into oblivion in your microwave? I think that the "Ten Plagues" Peeps collection might be a bit much, though).

Tonight we had our first tri-generational interfaith family Seder since before Gordy was born and the "mishpocha" (both Jewish & Catholic) would gather back in Brooklyn at my folks' place or Queens at my Aunt Pearl's. Bob's dad moved in with us in May, and had not planned to stay up late enough to participate (Bob keeps pretty late work hours). But he decided to give it a go. We kept the pre-dinner Haggadah reading and ceremonies fairly brief, as Bob saw so many patients he was nearly hypoglycemic by the time he got home (we moved up the whole Hillel-sandwich part to make sure he didn't get those two cups of wine into a completely empty stomach). For someone who hadn't attended a Seder in 25 years, Bob's dad did a pretty good job even with the tongue-twisting transliterations of ancient Rabbinical names. I spared Bob my leaden matzo balls this year--nothing could top my Aunt Pearl's, so light they needed guy wires to keep from floating skyward--and I did provide some prefab prime rib and gefilte fish; but I did just about everything else from scratch. Even dragged out the Cuisinart to make the charoseth (the apple-nut-matzo-wine relish that symbolizes mortar used by the Hebrew slaves in Israel but tastes a whole heckuva lot better), the only other time besides Thanksgiving and cranberry relish it sees action. Bob's dad, eschewing meat (even poultry) during Lent, got miso soup while we had chicken with mandlen (honey-I-shrunk-the-popovers made with matzo flour) and ate a little of everything but the prime rib. I did my best to point out which traditional foods overlapped both the Easter and Passover traditions.

Tomorrow night will be interesting. Gordy has a friend's Seder to attend. Bob has office hours. I have the temple Seder. I invited Bob's dad, but his church is holding one leading into the Holy Thursday service. He would have gone to the one at temple, but he'd have had to miss his church service; I'd have gone to the one at church, but since my own temple's holding one and I'm singing there next week I ought to go. I'm guessing that both houses of worship will hew much more faithfully (and lengthily) to the haggadah then we did tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised if St. Gertrude's were longer and stricter than Emanuel's (we're Reform and there will be a plethora of restless toddlers in tow). But I find it delightful that in a neighborhood that is overwhelmingly Catholic, darn near every family will have celebrated Passover in some fashion this year!

Sunday night's benefit at the Heartland started off slowly--due to rapidly deteriorating weather and even more rapidly shrinking parking, not enough of the ad hoc pre-show band had arrived in time to test the PA and we had the venue for a limited time. But RIck ran the lineup like clockwork, nobody hogged their time slots, and the place filled to the point where people had to rotate seats. There were amazing performances and collaborations (and people I hadn't seen in ages, such as Amy Lowe, Jim Post and John Benischek---who haven't lost a note to the march of time). Mick was energized by the presence of so many who love him, and gave a closing performance (as well as some deft supporting work earlier) that was truly stellar. His anthemic signature closer, "Last One of the Night People" left not a single dry eye in the house, with his spoken "good nights" on the outro to all the venues and local folkies who've left us. (I can't do "Ghosts and Angels" again without thinking of that performance, and I will be sure to mention Mick's salute during the intro). The really good news was that not only did I not end up winning anything I donated for the raffle, but we raised over $4K for Mick's expenses! There will shortly be a similar benefit to retire Tom Dundee's medical debt, and I'm sure we'll all do Tommy's memory proud. I'll keep you posted.

The memorial on Saturday for learning-disabled children's advocate and therapist Lannie LeGear was touching, sad, funny and uplifting. Gordy's eulogy was so moving that people buttonholed him for hours after the service to tell him so. Not only was Lannie a marvelous therapist and friend and national pioneer in getting the educational and medical establishments to recognize that learning disabilities are not limited to autism/ADHD/dyslexia, but she was a gentle and generous soul--proudly but matter-of-factly out long before it was socially the norm, she and her partner Dorothy sponsored a Hmong family from Laos and adopted them, eventually becoming grandmothers several times over. Dorothy brought the house down when she mentioned that the neighbors didn't quite know what to make of the "Unitarian lesbians sending their Buddhist kids to the Catholic school around the corner." I'm glad we can live in a world--well, at least a city--where that is not only possible but now raises no eyebrows, just knowing smiles and approving laughter. And I'm especially grateful that Dorothy shared Lannie with all of us. When people die, we speak of them "passing on," or "passing away." Lannie LeGear "passed in:" a little of her spirit burrowed into the hearts of everyone who had the honor of knowing her.

I am slowly but surely emerging from the depths of the allergy-cum-bacterial sinusitis/bronchitis that began to creep up on me Friday night (and mercifully abated just long enough to get me through my two songs on Sunday). I was able to get through a little chanting tonight, but still shutting up so I can be in good voice for the show I'm doing this Saturday night 4/11:

Andina & Rich and the SASS! Trio
at the Ethical Humanist Society
7475 Lincoln (at Howard and Skokie Blvd), Skokie
8-10 pm. $7 includes refreshments and parking.
You'll get a double dose of me--doing eclectic acoustic Americana with Stephen Lee RIch and original classic folk with Susan Urban and Kate Early. You'll hear harmonies and lots of humor--much of it topical (I haven't mastered subcutaneous, though I can sing "I've Got You Under My Skin") in a comfy and lovely room with great sightlines and perfect acoustics....and ample parking!

So Happy Passover, Happy Easter...and Happy Birthday, Rona!

Yup, www.sandyandina/swimsuit/nakedandalive.com is here! Catch pix of me in my string-theory bikini--not atoll inappropriate. Still working on the 3-D and see-through website versions; the HTML code for that is a real bare--er, bear.

Oh, and check today's date!!!!!

After a few teaser "shorts-and-T-shirt" days, winter decided to evict spring and move back in here. Came home in the pouring rain Sat. night and awoke yet again to a winter wonderland....that is, I wonder why it's still winter in this land. We had three inches of wet snow; but an hour later it began to freeze and then melt. I was greeted by what sounded like an army of crazed sports-fan-hooligan squirrels throwing teeny little beer bottles off the roof on to my deck--turned out not to be beer bottles, of course, but really ice chunks. Can't be sure that it wasn't the squirrels throwing 'em, though. We are facing some more "wintry mix" this Thurs. night and then--oh, joy!--possibly accumulating snow next Sunday. Just in time for the benefit for Mick Scott--a Chicago music legend fallen on medical and fiscal hard times--at the Heartland Cafe 4/5 from 4-8 pm. I'm doing a song or two with Andina & Rich and am also in the pre-show rock band. Please don't let the weather keep you from helping Mick and hearing some of the greats from Chicago's folk scene from the 1970s onward!
(Wish I could say this weather forecast was an April Fool's prank, but it was on TV tonight, still in March).

Re my last journal: So I lied--I didn't blog before New Year's or Kwanzaa. But I had a good reason. A few days after the terrific time I had playing at WDCB on Christmas Eve-Eve, I awoke to discover my "trigger thumb" (stenosing tenosynovitis) from three years ago had returned with a vengeance. I could not move my left thumb at all, and it hurt like a motherf......no, that's an insult to motherf*s..... Couldn't get a surgeon's appt. till after New Year (and had a devil of a time trying to type!) and this time there wasn't enough time between then and leaving for my Coffeyville-to-Memphis odyssey to rehab from surgery. Had to settle for one more cortisone shot, which was to tide me through the gigs and then get flushed out during the tendon release surgery I wished I'd had originally.

Meanwhile, while I didn't get to make it down to Washington, DC for the Inauguration (even if my sis had room for me, it'd have been a looooooong cold walk from the Metro to as close as I could get to the Mall), I was able to do the next best thing: Broadway Cellars in my neighborhood had an incredible inaugural brunch bash--my son Gordy, my "right hand" Carrie and I joined a restaurant packed with our neighbors and bedecked with HDTVs to chow down on Eggs Benedict, wash down copious amounts of Graham Beck (Stellenbosch AOC) Champagne--the Obamas' favorite bubbly--and see Pres. Obama drop the "-Elect" from his title. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we sang and we chanted as Mr. Potter (er, Dick Cheney) and the chopper bearing our former Nightmare In Chief left for lives of leisure. (Won't tell you what we chanted, but if you are Sox or Cubs fans who have witnessed home team four-baggers, you can guess). We're facing even tougher times than we expected in January, but let's let our President have the latitude (and our patience) to bring our nation back up out of an eight-year hole. Two months is barely enough to put out the competitive bid specs for the pulley, rope and harness, much less put them to use.

So the new cortisone shot took (could have seen how long it'd hold up, but that might have dissolved the tendon!) and Steve and I did the Coffeyville Humanities Project--17 shows in 5 days. As it was when I did it solo in 2003, it was exhausting but exhilarating. It was also heartbreaking, as massive floods had leveled much of the east side of town two years ago and severely damaged much of the rest of it. Whatever the flood and a continuing exodus did not take away, this horrid economy exacerbated. Venues I'd played and places I'd eaten and shopped no longer existed--not just gone out of business but physically destroyed. Lives were damaged...and lost. I had written "Carry You" for the victims of the Katrina flood, but I truly personally felt every word and note of it and sang it to the good folks of Coffeyville with tears in my eyes. But Steve and I also had the joy of being able to sing "Orange and Pink Prairie Sky" to the folks who and in the place which inspired it!

After finishing our sets, developing nasty blisters on my fingers, and taking several tasty detours to King's Coffee in Dearing, KS (still the home of terrific espresso drinks and pies to die for....and now killer quiches) and Dink's Pit BBQ in Bartlesville, OK (the real deal), we headed off to Memphis, delightfully playing tourist all the way. Visited the Tom Mix Museum in Tyler, OK (wish we'd had time for the WIll Rogers Museum); on the way out of Broken Arrow our trusty GPS, Chatty Cathy, began to have a nervous breakdown. She suggested "better routes" that seemed to exist only in a parallel universe, told us we were on different roads than what the signs said, sent us in circles (literally) at the OK/AR border--endlessly repeating "recalculating," and finally cried, "Insufficient memory available to calculate route!"

So I had to fire her and replace her the next day in Fayetteville with a more competent model (which set me back an arm and a leg and somebody else's arm and leg). All was well, we made (and ate--BBQ, catfish, fried green tomatoes, sweet tea, Arkansas wines--BURP!) our way east to the Delta. We visited the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, AR, where we saw some wonderful exhibits on the roots of blues, soul, rockabilly, and gospel and even saw the actual King Biscuit Flour Hour radio studio.

Then across the mighty Mississippi to the epicenter of Delta blues: Clarksdale, MS, site of the legendary Crossroads where Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the Devil for his talent. We eagerly drove into town, crossing below the underpass brightly emblazoned tagger-style with "Clarksdale--Home of the Blues," remembering the countless images of a lonely crossroads, at the center of which stood a solitary man holding a simple guitar and waiting for the demon whom he believed could ensure his genius would endure for the ages.

What we saw instead was a busy street corner bearing a pole, atop which were a crossed pair of garishly painted stylized fake guitars, bearing the legend "Crossroads" and signs for US 49 and 61. On three corners were gas stations and a strip mall; on the fourth, a Church's Fried Chicken. Were Johnson to have encountered the Crossroads today, he'd probably have shaken his head, gone to Best Buy up the road and bought a copy of Guitar Hero. (But he's no dummy---he'd have stopped at Church's first. Good chicken. Used to have one in my neighborhood. Makes KFC and Popeye's taste like dog food). One more piece of advice, though--when visiting the birthplace of the Delta Blues, renowned for its juke joints and smoky bars and exhaustive museum, do NOT do so in broad daylight on a Monday which happens to be a national holiday. You will be bitterly disappointed. We hightailed it out of town and caught some great 'cue at a truck stop just east of the river.

On to Memphis--Folk Alliance was terrific! This year I cut way back on performing (four showcases compared to last year's thirteen!) but had to, since as the President of the Board of FARM and the new Midwest Rep. on the Board of AFM Local 1000 (those of you who are traveling musicians and not yet members, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?) I had a slew of meetings to attend and chair. And I was flabbergasted to find myself given--along with my antecedent FARM Board Presidents and those of the other FA regionals--Folk Alliance's Spirit of Folk Award, at a ceremony broadcast live on XM Satellite Ch. 15, The Village. My husband Bob called me excitedly from the side of the road between hospitals when he heard my name mentioned on the radio. But these are the names unjustly missing from that plaque: fellow "Boardies" Chris Gaylord, Joan Hellmann, Tom Gorman, Roger Little, Annie Capps; and FARM pioneers and mentors Margaret Nelson, Walt Campbell, Dave Humphreys, Diane Ippel, Art Lang, and many more. We should circulate that plaque among us all year, much like the Stanley Cup among the players of the winning NHL team.

At Folk Alliance I got to hear wonderful performances from Roger McGuinn (and throw in harmony from the front rows!), Kathy Mattea, Rosalie Sorrels, John Sebastian (and even meet some of them), and share songs and enjoy the warmth and solidarity of my brothers and sisters of Local 1000: John McCutcheon, Steve Eulberg, Tret Fure, John O'Connor, Ken Whitely, Deb Cowan, Amy Fix and Paul Reisler; and have my songs adorned with tasty fiddle licks from Gina Forsyth of the Malvinas. (Gina, when it's time to record "Quarter Rat," we have to talk!).

Of course, there was wonderful food galore, including the dry rub ribs (that must be served in Heaven despite not being Kosher) from the Rendezvous---Bon Appetit and the Food Network agree; the soul food brunch and mimosas at Alcenia's and Gus' World Famous Fried Chicken; and a delightful visit to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, where I was transported back to my teen years--transistor radio under my pillow, Top 40 lists meticulously kept in my looseleaf. Saw Isaac Hayes' incredible solid-gold-and-ermine-trimmed Cadillac, Tina Turner's dress, James Brown's cape: and Steve Cropper's Strat, Duck Dunn's P-Bass and Booker T's Hammond (encased in plexiglass in such a way that I could pretend to be playing it!). Walked out grinning from ear to ear. It was worth tearing my left hamstring getting into and out of the van that got me there and back. Missed the trip to Rev. Al Green's church (it was opposite the Stax tour). Turns out I wouldn't have been the only Jew there. (As Marc Cohn put it in his marvelous song "Walking in Memphis," when a rousing gospel singer asked him, "Boy, are you a Christian?" he replied, "Ma'am, I am tonight." I'm sure my rabbi would understand...I hope).

My voice held out just long enough--days of singing and endless hours of meetings and schmoozing and catching up with friends old and new in the corridors and hallways, as well as a ubiquitous late winter cold virus, took their toll and gave me laryngitis to keep my aching hamstring company. Both healed within a week.

Good thing, because two days after I got back home I was under the knife to fix my trigger thumb. Dr. Schlenker's surgical skill and copious amounts of painkillers, ice (cans of soda make great icepacks) and physical therapy have brought my thumb--and playing--back up to speed (as did rest, chicken soup, and my voice teacher Randy Buescher for my voice).

Got to test my newly healed hand and pipes at Madison Songwriters' Group's (the only MSG that's good for you) Songwriters in the Round showcase this past Tues. at the Brink Lounge with Steve and the marvelous "Biblegum pop" duo Stereo Sinai (newlyweds Alan Sufrin and Miriam Brousseau, who honeymooned at SXSW!); and Sat/ night at the Chicago Songwriters' Collective's showcase at Sacred Grounds Coffeehouse (inside Living Hope Lutheran) in Frankfort, IL with fellow members Donna Adler, Steve Brasel, Ron Hayden and John Ludwig.

See you this Sun. afternoon at the Heartland, singing for Mick; and next week (Apr. 11) at the monthly Saturday concert series at Skokie's Ethical Humanist Society (great room and terrific acoustics, plenty of free parking), doing double duty as half of Andina & Rich and 1/3 of the SASS! Trio.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Maggie (tonight!) and especially Rona (the 10th!!!!!)

December 17--not even winter yet--and I'm digging out of several inches of snow, hacking away at an inch of ice below that, and bracing for a good ol' fashioned ice storm tomorrow (and hoping I have enough cardboard boxes and scrap firewood to burn in case the power goes out and so does the pilot light). Ah, Chicago. (Tell me again why I left Seattle 30 years ago.....). But there is really no refuge from the cold other than S. Florida (which has gotten down below freezing a couple of times when I visited). It's even snowing--and sticking--in Las Vegas and New Orleans. Thank goodness for eBay, Amazon, Peapod, etc.--on the one hand, you miss out on the festive experience of Yule-bedecked department stores, pungent bayberry potpourri, lines of little kids waiting to pose for overpriced pictures with Santa, and Christmas Muzak wafting through the malls. On the other hand, you are spared the festive experience of Yule-bedecked department stores......
Moreover, there's no fighting over nonexistent parking spaces in icy slushy lots; yet your loved ones still get their presents in time (provided you remember to wrap them).

Which leads me to present my Things I Don't Want for Christmas or Hanukkah List:
1. Fruitcake. Don't get me wrong, I like the stuff. But I'm still working on the one from 2004.
2. Cashmere socks. My sock drawer is the Bermuda Triangle for hosiery--and if I am going to lose various mates of socks, they might as well be cheap ones.
3. Cheese. See Fruitcake above (trust me, it's impossible to go through two pounds of cheddar before the mold sets in).
4. Cookbooks. I already have dozens I read and then whose recipes I ignore.
5. Handkerchiefs. I really relish the experience of sneezing into something and then having to wash, dry and iron it....NOT.
6. Perfume. It will only make me sneeze, and then I will have to reach for a handkerchief....
7. Barack Obama's Senate seat. Trust me, you can't afford it. Rod Blagojevich told me so.

Finally, I am going through severe Bar Show withdrawal. This year I had the biggest role I've had to date, the most fun playing it, made the most new friends, and watched it pass faster than it ever seemed before. Not performing any time in the near future except next Tuesday on the WDCB Folk Festival Christmas show on 90.9 FM (January is reserved for either recording, a knee replacement, or cataract surgery...and I'd vastly prefer recording; February will be spent performing and convening in and traveling to and from Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Memphis).

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a brilliant light in the Solstice, and a joyous Festivus for the Restivus. (As to Kwanzaa and New Year, I'll blog again before then).

Tonight was day 2 of "Jury Boys," the Chicago Bar Show's, 5-night run. The bad news is that this year I do not get to play guitar onstage.

But the good news is, mirabile dictu (are Jews allowed to use Latin?), I HAVE A MAJOR SOLO! Yup, I get to strut my stuff, belting out a big Broadway blues number as a rapacious investment banker. More than that I cannot reveal lest I blow the plot. It is an incredibly fun scene to do--I get to mug shamelessly as well! I am in awe of my immensely talented castmates--besides the gifted veterans, we have some new people with incredible voices. Needless to say, our director Mary and musical director Corey are first-rate, bringing out our best to give you one heck of an evening (and who says you have to limit yourself to ONE evening?)

And joining us, among others, are Barack and Michelle Obama, T. Boone Pickens, John Mc Cain, Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, George and Laura Bush, Joe Lieberman and of course "Radioactive" Rod "Third Rail" Blagojevich.......or ultra-reasonable facsimiles thereof.

The Merle Reskin is a wonderful theater with state of the art production facilities and terrific sightlines and acoustics anywhere in the house. You're gonna have a great time.

And so far, my voice AND knees are holding up!

....well, not exactly. You know the old wisecrack, quoting Shakespeare out of context: "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers;" and the inevitable rejoinder: "Next time your kid gets busted, call Shakespeare?" Well, there is another service we lawyers can perform--at least Chicago-area lawyers for five evenings in December: make you laugh.

Yes, it's that time of year again: Dec. 8-13, Tues-Sat, the Chicago Bar Association presents its annual Christmas Spirits revue (a tradition spanning over 80 years). This year's show is called "Jury Boys;" as in all years it is a fast-paced couple of hours of wickedly funny parodies of popular and Broadway songs--with professional-caliber acting, singing (including an 8-part-harmony chorus!) and even dancing. In fact, Roger Ebert once paid us as high a compliment as anyone could ever hope: he said Richard Gere's tap dancing in the film "Chicago" was as good as the dancing in the Chicago Bar Association show!

Why am I pushing this? Because, dear readers, I am outing myself as a "recovering" (far trendier, more youthful and less depressing than saying "semi-retired") lawyer. The "recovery" was taking rather nicely until I hit a snag last week--I inadvertently completed and reported having completed the mandatory continuing legal education requirement and thus must keep my license (okay, not so inadvertently--but what if one of my friends gets busted, needs a will or--and I know this is a stretch in today's economy--buys or sells a home? Gotta be able to lend a hand, you know). And--you guessed it--for the seventh year in a row, I'm in the cast.

Yes, for a mere sixty bucks (get your boss to ante up, since part of it is tax-deductible as a charitable donation and the rest can be "expensed") you can get to see me sing, act, and commit attempted dancing. You might even get to see me whip out a guitar and play--hey, that happened a couple of times!

Seriously, it's for a good cause: ALL the proceeds go to the Chicago Bar Charities, which help feed and clothe the poor, shore up some needy public schools, and provide shelter to the homeless and abused. This year we are offering theater tickets only--no need to pony up for a dinner package, so you can eat wherever you want. We're selling briskly for Saturday night (closing night) but excellent seats are still available the rest of the week.

Sponsorship packages are also available (see www.chicagobar.org and click on Christmas Spirits)--help us keep this wonderful tradition alive; and depending on at what level you choose to sponsor the show, you or your boss will get free tickets, an ad in the program, "brand placement" in the script or even the scenery, or even a walk-on part!

Details:
CBA Christmas Spirits presents
"JURY BOYS"
A Gridiron Musical of Bench and Bar
Tues. Dec. 8-Sat. Dec. 13, 2008
7:30 p.m.
MERLE RESKIN (formerly Blackstone) THEATER
60 E. Balbo, Chicago
Admission $60 (cheaper than the other musicals in the Loop!)

Make me happy. Watch me sing, act and try to dance (think of the pratfall possibilities!). Keep a tradition alive. Help a poor kid get free books, toys and school supplies. Most importantly, help keep 65 lawyers out of trouble, out of the courtroom and out of your hair for a week!

Wednesday night, having returned (somewhat) to earth after the election, I knew I needed to express the hope and excitement I felt in a song. I recalled a phrase from Obama's victory speech--"we must call upon our better angels;" I knew then that would be the song's title and recurring lyrical theme, but the song itself did not come together until the wee hours of Friday morning. Stephen Lee Rich and I practiced it and sang it at Two Way Street Coffeehouse that night. In the audience was WDCB-FM's Lilli Kuzma, who was kind enough to have me record it in the studio on Sunday. (Also there were February Sky--Phil Cooper and Susan Urban--who recorded some songs and interviews from and about their new eponymous CD, which I highly recommend). I promised I would post the lyrics. but I don't have a copy of the recording yet.

But you can hear it (and Lilli's interview with me) Tues. night Nov. 18 on Lilli's "Folk Festival" show fron 7-9pm on WDCB 90.9 FM and streaming at www.wdcb.org. I could not get the text editor to properly display the chords as I typed them (but I can send them to you on request). Here are the lyrics:

OUR BETTER ANGELS
©2008 by S. Andina

1.Our better angels--Will come through after all
We're a people divided But we're tearing down that wall.
Our better angels--When we called them they came
And this nation will never be the same.

2.Our better angels--Help us make our choice
They will bring us together And we're singing with one voice.
Our better angels--Hold the demons at bay
Take us by the heart and show us all the way.

CH: We stand at the bottom But we'll climb up that hill.
Yes we can, yes we did, and yes we will.

3.Our better angels--Help us do what is right
We invoked them together On that warm November night
Our better angels--We were summoned to bring
And through them we can do anything. CH

BR: Was it only four years Since we first saw the man
Who challenged our assumptions And told us "yes we can?
To ignore our fears. But there's still work to do
Let's dare to make our grandest dreams come true.

1.Our better angels--Are they up to the task?
They will do freedom's bidding Oh, If only we will ask
Our better angels--Bring us into the light
The top of the mountain is in sight. CH, then CODA:

We'll aim for the summit Of compassion and trust.
Yes we can, yes we will, and yes we must
Yes we can, yes we will, and yes we must.

If we as a nation lost our innocence on Nov. 22, 1963 when JFK was assassinated; if we regained our pure childlike wonder on that July 1969 night when people first walked on the moon; then last night, on Nov. 4, 2008 we finally attained our maturity.
I looked at my 24-year-old son and realized that Barack Obama will also be the bridge between my generation and his.
We live in interesting times, but now they are also extraordinary times. May they become exemplary times as well!

Whoo-ee!

President-Elect Obama......the only thing that would sound better than that would be President Obama.......76 days till that happens!

Got back from Grant Park and I am still not down off Cloud Nine yet. For the first time in my life, my uncompromised choice of Presidential candidate made it! And the feeling of being one with 125,000 people--diverse in age, race, gender, occupation, yet united in joy and purpose--all together on one fenced-in piece of land in the presence of possibly the most transformational figure of our time? Simply indescribable!
I have hope for America: social equality, fiscal responsibility, the end of unrestrained and unregulated greed, pride across all demographic groups, health care for all, accountability, transparency, honesty and mutual respect on the world stage. And I have hope for emerging governments--if we can transcend our racial differences (and, for VP, religious difference), surely other nations can rethink and shatter tribal-rivalry-driven politics.

Yes we did, and yes we will continue to do!

There seems to be a disease that cropped up yesterday: electionitis. The symptoms mimic those of a gastrointestinal bug, both "north" and "south." Log on to most political blogs and you will read post after post describing politics addicts' digestive symptoms in dreadful detail. One campaign worker who, when answering a reporter's query as to how he was feeling replied "cautiously optimistic," was countered by his colleague declaring "cautiously nauseous."

It's hit my family for certain. All of us are on liquid diets, unable to tear ourselves away from the CNN or MSNBC screen, like morbidly fascinated gapers passing a massive highway pileup. We realize we shouldn't look but we do anyway. (I should mention my father-in-law got a real GI bug and is getting IV rehydration in the hospital as we speak--except for a brief foray into the voting booth last weekend, he resolved to spend his TV viewing time on prime-time dramas, old sitcoms, and DVDs of "The Tudors." Unfortunately, his hospital roomie has had FOX News on all evening; hope this does not exacerbate Dad's dyspepsia).

It's 2 a.m., I've had 3 hrs. of sleep and about 150 calories all day, and still I type, surf back to the NY Times Op-Eds and Politics articles, and have "Hardball" on in the background after watching the SNL Monday Night Pre-Election Bash. (Yes, sadly, I am so glued to the tube that I have the L.A. network feeds on satellite). I wince at every Jeremiah Wright smear ad and notice that coverage of McCain/Palin rallies and strategies outweighs Obama/Biden by at least 3:2 (with even MSNBC trying in the last few days to load up on GOP pundits: scrappy-underdog stories get the most press attention. Payback, it seems, for Obama's remarkable journey.

Alas, part of the rally-coverage disparity is doubtless due to the heart-wrenching death early yesterday of Obama's grandmother Madeleine Dunham, who quietly lost a long battle with cancer. The Republican ticket has been hitting every battleground state today and a few more tomorrow; Obama gave a poignant speech in Charlotte, saluting his "tutu" for leaving this world the better for her having lived in it and shaped his and his sister's lives and ambitions. I only hope that she got her wings as soon as she arrived in Heaven, and is pulling strings as best she can. Tonight he is sleeping in his own home, perhaps for the last time with "Senator" his sole official title. Kinahurrah, of course.

I voted last week. If you haven't, please do so today. No matter how long you may have to wait in line, think of Barack traversing the country today despite his grief. Think of his mother awakening him at 4 am to supervise his homework. Think of his "tutu" raising him despite having to go to work every day as a bank vice-president. Think of how your vote may well change the country and the world, restoring openness, mutual respect, cooperation and accountability to government at home and abroad. Think of restoring our civil liberties, and assuring the next generation of kids that whatever their circumstances of birth they too can grow up to become President. That ought to make you think a little less about your feet, knees and back--or at least it should.

Tomorrow night at this time I should be heading home from a night in Grant Park. May it have been a celebration.

(Okay, so Halloween ended a few hours ago, but I was too busy handing out 25 lbs. of candy to the neighborhood kids and watching MSNBC and CNN and screaming at the TV set to write this in time. Indulge me).

Kinna-WHA??? Is that anything like a kinescope, or some town in Ireland? Nope. Ever watch a baseball game, and as soon as the play-by-play announcer mentions the pitcher has a no-hitter going, some batter knocks one out of the park? Well, as any Jewish grandma would tell you, that infamous jinx could have been proactively negated by muttering "kinahurra" (a far more evocative version of the plain-vanilla "knock wood," though not as graphic--or as messy--as the Italian "Scutta malocchio" followed by spitting through one's fingers).

Why am I being so paranoid (I prefer to call it "cautious")? After all, Obama is way up in the national polls--as much as 11 points in some of them--as well as ahead in all the battleground states (and on the verge of turning some more red states into tossups). Well, Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, "To be Irish is to know that the world will break your heart." I submit that the Irish have no corner on that; as a Democrat, I have twice in the past eight years put on my prom dress waiting for the doorbell that never rang. McCain/Palin is slinging ridiculous mud about "socialism" and "palling around with terrorists," and using "liberal" as an epithet akin to "leper." Unfortunately, it's beginning to work--there are enough undecided voters out there who are too honest to lie to pollsters but who can't bring themselves to vote for a black person (or at least a non-right-wing black person) and are looking for the flimsiest of pretexts to justify voting against him while denying race had anything to do with it. Add to that the youth vote who have registered in record numbers, but whose names haven't shown up on the rolls (suspiciously high numbers of Rock the Vote applications have been getting "lost" and "delayed" in election offices) or who couldn't cut class to stand in line for five hours. Then there's the dirty-tricks voter-suppression machine, already in high gear: bogus threats of arrest for voters with outstanding tickets, forged notices (some on stolen official state letterhead) instructing new Democratic voters in heavily minority areas to vote on Wednesday "due to unprecedentedly high numbers of new registrations," electronic voting machines flipping Obama votes to McCain. etc.

Michael Moore warned last night against doing the happy dance and spiking the ball on the five-yard line. I am so conflicted--I wince every time I hear MSNBC's and some NY TImes columnists verbal comfort-food-for-liberals, and am actually afraid to contact the Obama office to ask what happened to the e-mail I was supposed to get with a printable ticket for the Grant Park hoo-hah on Election Night.......jinx, jinx, jinx, kinahurra....I'm not even going to stick the bottle of champagne in the ice bucket, much less slip it into my purse and head down to Grant Park with it, until I see Obama ofiicially top 270 electoral votes. But I also long to hear that poll margins are widening again, without some smart aleck GOP think tank crowing they're dead even. I want some solid comfort--and I'm not going to get it.

I've seen this movie twice before (even more if you count 1968 and 1956). I only hope this time they show the Director's Cut with the alternate ending!

(Note--in coming days, per requests, I'll be posting archived pieces from my previous website. I'll label them clearly as oldies but goodies. And I'm working on the song clips as fast as I can).

I finally made the trek to a new web host, and welcome you to the new www.sandyandina.com. Still under construction, but everything you loved about the old site (including archives of my op-eds and tech tips and photos), plus streaming audio (and a monthly download) and video clips and Hot Links (mustard optional--sorry, no Frosty Malts since they'd short out the server).

Since I last had my own site (other than MySpace), I've firmed up my partnership in two bands--Andina & Rich and SASS!/The SASS! Trio, begun my seventh (!!!) Chicago Bar Assn. Christmas Spirits Show, co-released "Because We Can" (Travenia Records) by Andina & Rich and "SASS! Album One" (BWC Records); appeared on compilation CDs by the Old Town School of Folk Music, Sheheshe Music Services, and Dr. Demento (Basement Tapes #13). Am currently recording my second solo CD (my first, "Ghosts and Angels," is nearly sold out on CDBaby.com and my own stock, but available at iTunes and other download stores) and the first SASS! Trio CD; and Stephen Lee Rich and I will be heading down to The Gordons' excellent s. IL studio in January to record the second Andina & Rich CD. And I've lent my pipes and electric bass chops to a variety of others' CDs as well.

I''m now President of Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM), so you'll find me at Folk Alliance in Memphis again this year (Feb. 18-22); I'm also up for Midwest Rep. of the Board of Local 1000 of the American Federation of Musicians, so you might catch me prowling the halls of NERFA in three weeks if I can sneak out of Chicago for the weekend (not showcasing, just jamming and meeting my fellow musicians). I am Media Relations Director of the Chicago Songwriters' Collective and as ever, a proud member of: The Recording Academy, ASCAP, JustPlainFolks, GoGirls Music.com and Indiegrrl.com/Music For Life.

Watch this space for more news; meanwhile, check out the calendar! (And look me up on MySpace and YouTube--haven't figured out the musician end of Facebook, so I'm just a regular person there)