Miscellany

  Beyond Borders Storytelling in the Bay Area • Founded by 3 returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Beyond Borders Storytelling (BBS) is dedicated to promoting understanding between peoples and cultures of the world through the art of storytelling. They have been running International Story Jams in San Francisco every other month now for over 3 years, and the organization is looking for Peace Corps Volunteers living in the Bay Area to share 5-10 minute stories of their overseas experiences at their next  Story Jam on April 12 at Piano Fight, 144 Taylor Street in San Francisco. Most storytellers have never told a story on stage so BSS provides free workshops, practices and coaching to prepare them for live Story Jams. To prepare people for the upcoming event BBS is having a storytelling workshop on March 15, 6:30pm–8:00pm at the Hostelling International USA offices located at 1212 Market St, Third Floor, in San Francisco. This . . .

  Thanks for the ‘Heads Up’ about the following article from Carol Scott (Ethiopia 1966-68) • Third World and ashamed of it Published in the New Orleans Advocate December 27, 2016 As a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, I lived and worked with people who had very little. There were children selling Chiclets on the square, women cooking tortillas on makeshift grills on sidewalks, young men singing on buses and trains, prostitutes advertising themselves in alleys, and elderly shaking tin cans on street corners. Poverty was a way of life for many. I came to define “Third World” by the number of people eking out an existence on the street, and by the way in which the government supported them (or didn’t). In reality, the definition is far more complicated, and the term itself is misleading and controversial. By my definition, though, Ecuador was certainly “Third World.” The other day . . .

  pity this busy monster, manunkind, not. Progress is a comfortable disease: your victim (death and life safely beyond)                                                                                                     e.e. cummings Trump is riding a fresh wave of success for getting Carrier to keep 1,000 factory jobs in Indiana. He said he would bring back work to America and he has brought back 1,000 even before being sworn into office. Now, he hasn’t brought back ‘all jobs’ but Carrier does a lot of government work that is ‘signed off’ by the Executive Office in the White House so the company knows when to ‘fish and cut bait.’ According to Mohan Tatikonda, . . .

  Inspired by a speech by Rep. John Garamendi (Ethiopia 1966-68) Peter Yarrow wrote a song entitled, “The Children Are Listening” with his friend Kevin Salem producing. The graphic is entitled, “Campaign for Civility” and was designed by the legendary designer, Milton Glaser. Peter writes, “Operation Respect’s CEO and President, Molly McCloskey, has created a link on the Operation Respect website that includes a 6 minute version of Garamendi’s speech, and has sent out 60 emails to various educational allies who are leaders of various educational organizations.” Operation Respect is NOT connected to any political advocacy, party or political agenda. It is a 501(c)3. The link to John Garamendi’s 6 minute video speech to the House of Representatives is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6uFYikh31A&feature=youtu.be And listen to Peter’s song here:  

  There are a few hours left for you to register as an “early bird” and get a discount on the admission fees for the annual RPCV conference — this year celebrating the 55th Anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps in Washington from September 21st to September 25th. There are also discounts for “seniors” and recently returned PCVs. Go to the registration page to get the details and sign up. We shall be there Peace Corps Worldwide/Peace Corps Writers will — 1 – be part of the “Stories of Peace” program  the afternoon of Wednesday, the  21st. “RPCVs have some of the most compelling and inspiring stories. Sign up for this series of workshops to learn how to find, craft and share your story. You will participate in a workshop on “Spoken Word Storytelling,” a workshop led by John Coyne of Peace Corps Writers, and a panel discussion featuring published RPCV . . .

  RPCV NYC held its 5th Annual Story Slam on the upper West Side on Saturday night, June 25th, at Hostelling International. A packed house of RPCVs, and would be PCVs, heard eleven, mostly humorous, tales from Peace Corps life. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of New York City is a nonprofit group connected with the NPCA It is made up of, mostly, recent (i.e., within the last ten or fifteen years) PCVs. This group, like all RPCV groups, either by location or country of service, is involved in fund raising projects of countries where they serviced, and also for local NYC projects. Donations at the door (suggested $5) went to help underfunded project through the Peace Corps Partnership Program. That said, what was the evening like? My experience with RPCVs and their stories over the last 55 years is that all of us have one good paragraph, one great story, . . .

• Impressions of Cuba A Thirty-Year Retrospective by Patricia Taylor Edmisten (Peru 1962-64) • Why Cuba? The year before my mother married my dad, she and her cousin Celia took a Greyhound bus from Milwaukee to Miami. After sight-seeing in Miami, they took an amphibian plane to Havana where they ran into some wealthy American men (playboys) who showed them the sights, including the newly opened Tropicana night club that still entertains visitors with scantily clad women dancing to fiery salsa. I don’t know why my mother, a first-generation daughter of a Bavarian-born pastry chef, chose Cuba. Her affinity toward Latin America developed after that trip even though she returned only once, after she had talked my dad into a family road trip from Milwaukee to Mexico City and Acapulco in 1956. It was my mother who encouraged me to say yes to a 1962 telegram from Sargent Shriver inviting me . . .

The Peace Corps, as we know, has Three Goals, but the agency traditionally has only spent about 1% of their budget on the Third Goal of the Peace Corps act, i.e., that’s the RPCVs community. That given, Tom Hebert (Nigeria 1962–64) has come up with a great idea to help RPCVs, would-be PCVs, and the Peace Corps community-at-large with the “Peace Corps Settlement House” in Washington, D.C. The Peace Corps Agency, of course, will not support the effort. As the Peace Corps Director wrote Tom recently— I know how passionate you are about the community enrichment that is possible through the settlement house model. I know that you also realize that the leadership for a settlement house project must come from foundations, the NPCA/RPCV community, and committed others, because it is outside the authorities of the Peace Corps. So this is what Tom Hebert has in mind. If you are willing and can help . . .

Looking different, but with the same purpose to promote, publicize and recognize the writers of the Peace Corps — whose writings are the ultimate fulfillment of the Third Goal! The site is now much more secure vis-à-vis hacking so John and I don’t have to lose any sleep about that issue — as if we ever did — by I do believe our tech guy, Noah, did. There’s been some rearranging to make more accessible articles about our countries of service. Just click on the tag at the bottom of the righthand column to read about your other home. A word of warning — this transfer has been a huge job and all is not complete. Yet to come is a complete review of articles to assign them to their appropriate country tags, the Bibliography of Peace Corps Experience Books, the listing of books published under the Peace Corps Writers Imprint and some rearrangement of Category assignments. . . .

Peace Corps Worldwide will be down over this coming weekend for upgrades. During that time John will be shoveling snow, I will be picnicking in the park and my son Noah will be working his technical magic on the site! Thanks, Noah.

Mayor Kenney (right) speaks with former U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford during the opening ceremony for the 21st annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service at Girard College on Jan. 18, 2016. by Maria Panaritis If you thought public office would make Philadelphia’s new boss less Jimmy and more Mayor, think again. Kenney, the former longtime City Councilman whose sleeve and heart are famously one and the same, had a moment that nearly brought him to tears the other day in front of a large crowd of onlookers. It happened at Girard College as Kenney stood on stage with a smorgasboard of other political VIPs for the 21st annual Martin Luther King Day of Service. Dignitary after dignitary approached the podium to reflect on the legacy of the slain civil rights leader. As they did, Kenney seemed thrilled to be standing next to one of his heroes, former U.S. Sen. . . .

​Over 180 friends and colleagues of Harris Wofford packed the Celeste Bartos Forum of the New York Public Library last week for a conversation with Harris and Bill Moyers, and a special preview of the documentary being made about Harris’s life.  Generous donations are helping with the goal of completing the film in time for Harris’s 90th birthday this April, but more support is still needed.  You can contribute online here:supportwofforddoc.splashthat.com.

On Saturday, January 23, guests will gather at the Gearan Center for a ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as dozens of dedications celebrating donors at their namesake spaces within the building. An open house for members of the greater Geneva community will be held a week later on Saturday, January. 30. EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.