DJ 3K

Back in 2009, when Derek Jeter was going for his club record 2,722nd hit to pass Lou Gehrig as the all-time leader for the Yankees, I came up with a couple dramatic scenarios that seemed to fit in well with the broad brush of his career. It turned out less so--just an opposite field hit over the first base bag. Leading up to today, the anticipation for hit #3,000 has built month by month, week by week, day by day (as well as the pressure, Derek admitted after the fact) with the added suspense of a 15-day injury break. Today's drama couldn't have been better if it was written for a movie script. Five hits in five at-bats, the second of the five a long homerun to right field for #3,000, and the last (#3,003) a game-winning single up the middle. Congatulations, Derek.

For sure, the #1 Yankee fan, up in heaven, is pleased.

Political Courage: Lessons from Latvia

The sub-text to the headline of Frank Rich's recent article in New York Magazine reflects the political reality for President Obama: "The president's failure to demand a reckoning from the moneyed interests who brought the economy down has cursed his first term, and could prevent a second." Confronting Wall Street over the crash of 2008 and bringing the responsible parties to justice has apparently not been on the President's agenda and many Americans wonder why.

Overseas, an interesting political situation has developed this spring in Latvia, the tiny Baltic country in Eastern Europe which has suffered through the same economic downturn. President Valdis Zatlers' (pictured above with President Obama) first four year term ends today and he was not elected for a second. Instead, he took quite a different route when it came to dealing with his country's oligarchs.

Despite putting his second term in jeopardy, he used the powers of the office of the presidency to dissolve parliament for its failure to waive the immunity of two of its members and a mayor of one of Latvia's largest cities, in an anti-corruption probe. The single-chamber Saeima responded along party lines in electing Zatlers' rival, Andris Berzins, in last month's presidential election. Tomorrow, Berzins will occupy Riga Castle and be Latvia's new President.

Zatlers' political future has been the source of a great deal of speculation, as he has remained silent on his plans until he is out of office. The future for Latvia includes a referendum vote on July 23rd to ratify Zatlers' dissolution and trigger parliamentary elections in September. Most Latvians I spoke with during our recent visit feel the referendum will pass by a large margin. They are less sure of any major change in September, but its evident that they feel at least the parliament will have heard their voice. Zatlers may take a greater role in the coming weeks.

With the current economic situation in America and consistent high unemployment, the controversy over the federal budget and deficit is coming to a head with an impending vote to raise the debt ceiling. Massive funding cuts to safety-net programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are threatened, with the continuation of tax cuts and loopholes benefitting the millionaires and billionaires and corporations who park their assets overseas rather than invest in America. These American oligarchs and their puppets in Washington must be confronted and the time is now.

I can't help but think that what is needed from the White House right now was demonstrated in Riga Castle by the President of a small Eastern European country who put his the integrity of his government above his own political needs and risked his second term with an audacious act of political courage. Hopefully, President Obama will take a cue from President Zatlers and act based on the needs of the majority of Americans.

Jāņi and Other Reasons to Celebrate Latvia

Beth and I recently enjoyed a two week vacation in Latvia, Estonia and Finland last month, featuring some entirely new experiences for both of us including celebration of Jani deina, the Latvian midsummer festival. Learning the traditions of my ancestors was fascinating and fun.

Our trip was highlighted by a number of occasions to spend time with my Latvian relatives, many whom I had never met. While Estonia and Finland were great fun and worthy of return visits, the Latvian stage of our trip was transformational.

This was my 5th trip to Latvia over a six year period (Beth's second) and continued my research of our ancestors, Oscar Wilhelm Maddaus and Augusta Dorothea Rathminder Maddaus, who emigrated from Riga in 1883 and settled in Brooklyn, NY. The research has uncovered some of the extensive portfolio of art produced by Oscar Wilhelm's father, Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus--11 works are extant that I have been able to document. His paintings and lithographs are held in 4 art museums, three in Latvia and one in Estonia, and serve as alter-pieces in 4 Lutheran churches. While not considered an important 18th-century artist, even by Latvian standards, his work is well-represented.

More complex, and no less extensive, have been the results of the research on Augusta's family. Born to a Latvian father and German mother, Augusta's family name is Rathminder in German, Ratminders in Latvian. Her father, Janis Ratminders, grew up in Zeikari, a hamlet overlooking Alauksts Lake in Vecpiebalga, in the Vidzeme highlands. For some unknown reason, Augusta mis-identified her father as Andzs Ratminders (Janis' brother) and only within the past three years have I been able to discover his true identity. But then, as they say, the fun began, as layer upon layer of Ratminders history and ancestry unfolded. Not only was Janis an interesting figure in his own right--teacher, poet, translator, journalist--his family included some fascinating individuals.

Andzs, his brother, was headmaster for 63 years at the school in Vecpiebalga and taught or hired a number of significant Latvians over the term of his duty.

Lize, his neice, had many suitors, including Andrejs Pumpers, the author of the epic Latvian poem, Lacplesis (The Bearslayer). Eventually, in her 40s, she married Matiss Kaudzites, co-author of the first Latvian language novel, Mernieku Laiki (Time of the Land Surveyors), still a classic. Matiss and his brother Reinis, fashioned characters from those in their community, most notably the heroine, Liene, based on Lize.

Other members of the Ratminders family left another legacy, the resilience to survive the World Wars and foreign occupations in the 20th century which ravaged Latvia until it's 2nd and current period of independence, beginning in 1991. Notably, it is the progeny of Jekabs Ratminders who survive today. The Ratminders name is history--the descendants are Ozola, Avens, Zarina, Snips and Neimane--and over the past year I've been introduced to many of these 4th and 5th cousins through the serendipitious acquaintance with a Latvian school teacher named Mirdza Zommere.

Not only has Mirdza introduced me to her school in Vecpiebalga, but she introduced me to her long-time friend, Anda, a descendant of Jekabs Ratminders and my 4th cousin, and since the first introduction many more. The history of my ancestry and the knowledge of Latvian traditions have enriched my life, but learning of the existence of and getting to know Ratminders relatives has been an unexpected, and treasured experience.