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.

Tragedy in Tuscon

Saturday’s shooting of 19 innocent people at a strip mall in Tuscon, Arizona is disturbing and troubling, and to quote journalist Luke Russert, is an “ugly stain” on the political landscape of America. The incident, at a community outreach event organized by the office of Representative Gabrielle Gifford’s of Arizona’s 8^th Congressional District, left the Congresswoman critically wounded and 6 people dead, including a member of her staff, long-time Federal Judge John Roll, and 4 others, among them a 9-year old girl.

Most troubling, was the inclusion of Representative Gifford’s name on a list of 20 in the cross-hairs of a prominent conservative political action group during the recent elections. While no evidence connects the PAC and the shooter, the rise of inflammatory political rhetoric in our country over the past few years certainly is a contributing factor.

The time has come when, as Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik stated, that we, as a country, do some “soul searching” and set aside the “vitriolic rhetoric’ that leads unbalanced people to claim the innocent lives of citizens of this nation.

It’s time to end the ad hominem attacks on politicians, whether it’s President Obama and other leaders in Washington, DC or Governor Lepage and his new administration in Augusta. Justification by way of the first amendment does not excuse abhorrent behavior. Civil discourse benefits both the viability of the State of Maine and security of the United States of America.

The time has come, as well, for those vocal advocates of the 2^nd Amendment right to bear arms to take a leadership role in establishing conditions that will limit the future events in which a semi-automatic weapon is in the hands of a mentally unbalanced individual. The memories of Columbine and Virginia Tech, and so many other senseless massacres, are now joined by Tuscon.

Those gun-rights advocates, who know the infinitely more than the rest of our citizens about the power of their weapons, have the inherent responsibility to see that they don’t harm the rest of the population. It’s time for them to act, for the benefit of our country.

The victims of the Tuscon shooting are in our thoughts and prayers.

Apkārt Alaukstam

First held in 1984, the Apkārt Alaukstam (around Alaukst) is a 15 kilometer ski race circling Alaukst Lake in the central Vidzeme parish of Vecpiebalga. It has grown to one of Latvia's biggest races with nearly 1,200 skiers participating in 2010.


Unfortunately, I was 10 days or so late to ski in the race, but not too late to ski the loop. Prior to my visit to Vecpiebalga, I indicated a desire to ski while I was there and my contact at the school made the arrangements. Maris, the physical education teacher, was enlisted to take me out skiing and we hit the trail within a couple hours of my arrival. He seemed delighted as a matter of fact but, the more I thought about it, I would gladly give up my afternoon duties to go for a ski, too.


We circled the lake from the south end in a counter-clockwise direction with Ilgars, Maris's friend leading the way. They quickly established their superior conditioning (considering the great snow conditions they had all winter and the marginal skiing in Maine, I was happy to concede) and after learning I was 10 years older, they gave me alot of slack. We met year 10 student Matiss about a kilometer out and he stayed with me most of the rest of the loop. I took it as a sign of respect that he escorted me around, but found later that he had done 2 laps the day before!

The terrain undulated gently through most of the first 12k but just past an area I later found was my ancestral home (Zeikari), a formible hill rose up before us. Ilgars, Maris, and Matiss skied, seemingly effortless, up the long climb, while I dragged along to the rear, but they waited at the top to share the sweeping downhill toward the finish.







Later, after a shower and a hot cup of tea with honey, I slept soundly, waking the next day with slight soreness in my legs and shoulders, and well adjusted to the new time zone.

Latvia--August 2009

Our trip to Latvia last summer is now 3 months into history and so far I've intended, but not followed through with, posting blog entries to document it. I have the picture above set as background on my laptop desktop as a reminder. It was taken from the observation tower of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Old Riga, looking north toward the mouth of the Daugava River in the Baltic Sea.



The week-long stay was my second to Latvia (my first was in 2005) and Beth's first and once again I was determined to search for more details of my ancestors' lives there in the 19th century. In 2005, the search concentrated on my Great Great Grandfather Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus, an artist and art teacher in Riga. I was also looking for a connection to Andzs Rathminder of Vecpiebalga, presumed to be my Great Grandmother's father, but nothing could document their relationship.



Fortunately, in spite of Russification, two World Wars, German repatriation, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Stalin and Hitler, Nazi Invasion and near 50 year Soviet occupation, Latvia has been independent. Even more miraculously, a fair amount of historical information is available and my ancestors had profiles that warranted modest recording.



A recent breakthrough was the internet access to Raduraksti which consists of digitized records from many of the churches that were active in Latvia in the 19th century. Thanks to some hunches I followed in my search, I was able to find my Great Grandmother's baptism record and her parents names: Johann and Marie Rathminder. Johann's name in Latvian is Janis Ratminders, and he was the younger brother of Andzs Ratminders. Why my Great Grandmother mis-represented her parentage is unknown, but the clarification has opened up new insights to her up-bringing.



Our visit included viewing 9 of Johann Maddaus's paintings in a variety of locations including The National Art Museum in Riga, an exhibit at Rundale Palace, and churches in Garkalnes and Tirza, and a church in neighboring Paistu Estonia. We were taken to the site of Johann's burial plot at the Great Cemetery (Lielie Kapi) in Riga and to another church in Carnikava that once had an altar painting he painted. Both were obliterated during Soviet times, but were among those restoration projects which have been prevalent in Latvia over the past 18 years.



We visited Bauska, Baltezer's, Garkalnes, Carnikava, Vecpiebalga, Gaizinkalns, and Tirza, and met some of the most wonderful people, many of whom I had contacted by email prior to our arrival. We were treated with tremendous hospitality everywhere we went, and at times felt that it was as deeply moving for our hosts to have a great-great grandson of Johann Maddaus to visit his work as it was for me to see it. In many ways the circle had been closed with our meeting.

The Artist

A month after returning from a much needed vacation in Latvia (and Sweden), I 'm still processing the new information uncovered regarding my paternal ancestors who lived in Latvia in the 19th century. The search began at my older brother John's initiative in the early 1990's, in interviewing our father Ingo and documenting as much family history as possible in preparation for a Maddaus family reunion in 1995.

I'd always been interested in the connection with Latvia, since the word Riga rolled off Aunt Frieda's tongue during a family vacation she shared with us in Wells Beach, Maine in the early 60s. Technically a great aunt, she was born there in 1881, as were 5 of her 6 siblings. Riga was part of the Russian Empire at the time and the family patriarch, Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus, had been one of a number of Germans who settled there. Born in Hamburg, he was an art teacher and artist, specializing in portraits and religious art.

Brother John discovered, with the help of University Southern Maine Professor Juris Ubans, that 2 of Johann Maddaus's paintings were in the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art, including a self-portrait. The latter is the only image we have of our great great grandfather, but to date it's one of 9 paintings I've had the opportunity to see in Latvia and Estonia during my travels there in 2005 and 2009.

The breakup of the Soviet Union and end of its occupation of Latvia, as well as the advent of the internet, has led to the web publication of a tremendous store of Latvian history in the past 15 years. I've been able to identify members of Johann's family in addition to our Great Grandfather Oscar Wilhelm Maddaus (who emigrated to the US in the latter part of the 19th century) and locate the family burial site in Lielie Kapi (The Great Cemetery) in Riga.

Another revelation was the identity of Oscar's in-laws, the family of Augusta Dorothea Rathminder, the details of whom had been lost sometime after their move to the USA.

There's quite a bit of research to digest, but I'm hoping to record more of it here and in a family history at some future date.

Yankee Heaven

With the recent surge by the New York Yankees, propelling them comfortably into first place, I have to take back everything I said about them last May and half of what I said about their manager. While nothing is secure in these post-2004 AL Championship Series years, at least the current team is performing relatively consistently (even to the point of losing to Roy Halladay most of the time) going 47-17 in their last 64 games.

Looking down on the current team, I'm sure, is one of their greatest fans, my Dad, who must be pleased with the progress and cautious about making any predictions for the playoffs. The fact that the Yanks completed a 4-game sweep of the Red Sox on August 9, 2009, the 100th anniversary of his birth, was a special occasion for him, no doubt.

Dad especially liked the players who had paid their dues in the Yankees farm system; veterans like Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, younger guys like Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, and rookies such as Ramiro Pena and Fransisco Cervelli, are always perferred over Alex Rodriguez, C. C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett, whose talents are appreciated, and Carl Pavano and Rick Rhoden, whose failures were lamented.

Also looking down on the current team with great interest is "The Iron Horse," Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig. The all-time Yankees hits leader with 2,721 will be eclipsed in the the record books by their outstanding shortstop, Derek Jeter, in the next week or so. Jeter stands at 2,713 and with a .330 batting average, needs only 5 or 6 games at his current pace to surpass Gehrig's mark. I'm sure Lou will be pleased with his successor, a man of quiet dignity like himself, who plays hard day-in, day-out (most games played in the majors since 1996, his rookie year) and puts singles, walks and advancing the runner above homeruns and personal statistics.

Jeter was always one of Dad's favorite from the time he played for the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees in the early 90s. One game, Jacob, Dad and I saw in 1994, Jeter batted right after Andy Fox, and before Tate Seefried, and went 2 for 4 with an error in the field. His presence was the more remarkable aspect of that game. You just knew the sportswriters were correct in predicting that Jeter would be the next starting shortstop for the big club. He stayed with the A-C Yankees for 34 games, batted .377 and moved on to Triple A.

There's no doubt Jeter will reach the record but its interesting to note that he also needs 3 homeruns to reach the 20 plateau for the season, not a great accomplishment in itself, but what will establish a new team record--20 or more homeruns in a season by 8 players on a team. Knowing Jeter's team approach and flair for the dramatic, I wouldn't be the least surprised if his 2,722nd hit was his 20th homerun of the season, any more than if it was a hustling infield hit to deep shortstop with Derek just beating the throw to first (and a tying run scoring with 2 outs in the 8th inning).

Jacob and I will be watching whatever the hit might be and I'm sure Dad and Lou will be, too. Maybe they'll get together to talk about the Yankees of yesteryear and trade Yogiisms.


"I always thought that record would stand until it was broken." Yogi Berra

Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite

1916-2009

R.I.P

Wow!!

Maybe you have to be in your 50s to appreciate it, but what 59-year-old Tom Watson accomplished this week was extraordinary. Playing in the British Open at Turnburry in Scotland, Watson not only stayed among the leaders throughout the tournament, competing with athletes 20-40 years younger than him, he walked onto the 18th green on the 72nd and last hole of the tournament with a one-stroke lead and a chance to win.

That he missed the shot for the victory and subsequently lost a playoff for the championship to American Stewart Cink does little to diminish his achievement. Sure, it would have been great for him to win his 6th Open and be the oldest, by far, to win a major tournament. But the fact that he stood there on the 18th with a chance to win, at age 59, is just incredible.

I'm not a golfer, but I've enjoyed watching a tournament or two over the years and players like Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson always impressed me with their demeamor and skill. It's a pleasure to see Tom back in the hunt for another major title.

Well done, Tom!

Dresden Germany

President Obama's visit to Germany on Friday linked two sites: the city of Dresden and the site of the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald outside Weimar.

Although they're over 200 kilometers apart, they share a common history. The atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews during the Holocaust and the horrific firebombing of Dresden by US and British bombers display the indifference to humanity that underscores World War II, and, of course, all wars. Obama's choice of these two sites was an intentional act of reconciliation and remembrance, that neither may ever be repeated.

Dresden was the focal point of Kurt Vonnegut's 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death, reflecting his experience there during the War and serving as a kind of therapy for surviving the firebombing and the resigned acceptance, promoted by those who carried it out, of the thousands of innocent lives that were lost. Historians may argue the relative strategic importance of the city late in the war, but the justification of the act wears thin.

As a part-time musician living in North Conway NH, I often frequented the Otto Ninow Music Store in the center of town, mostly to buy guitar strings and later for beginning instruments for my sons. Otto had a bulletin board that displayed articles and business cards for local musicians and always gave us a discount. Usually there was no one else in the shop and he was quite the conversationalist, often making comments about the ebb and flow of the local business and the decisions of the town fathers.

One day Otto asked about my last name, was it German? He knew of course, and that led to an on-going conversation about the old country with new installments each time I entered the shop. I made sure to allow for at least 20 minutes for each visit.

Otto was from Dresden and was a mischling, a half-Jew, his father was protestant and his mother Jewish. His father was a band leader and Otto followed in his father's footsteps, and it saved his life. During the war he assumed a protestant identity and survived the war in-part by leading the Charlie Wonin (Ninow backwards) Band, many times entertaining the Nazis.

Otto described himself as an optimist and after the war opened a music shop in Riverhead, LI, New York, which is still operating I believe, and later his retirement store in North Conway. The latter had somewhat limited hours, especially during the ski season when he worked on the Ski Patrol at Black Mountain in Jackson. (Evening hours only) He kept up both commitments well into his eighties.

Otto Ninow: My Life, his autobiography (edited by Cronin Minton) provides some tragic insight into the Dresden firebombing. His mother, blind and 65, survived the bombing but later, after having the false assumption that her son was dead, took her own life. She and all 21 of Otto's Jewish relatives died in the war. Based on an unmailed letter she wrote to Otto after the bombing and a study of refugee movement to the city in advance of the Soviet movement from the east, Otto estimated the number of lives lost as not 35,000, but closer to 335,000. Though thankful to the Allies for his freedom from Nazi tyranny, he concludes that War is "LEGAL ORGANIZED MURDER."

Otto had an enduring motto: "Live every day on earth, and be happy with it, as though it were your last."

I haven't been to Dresden yet, but have it on my list of cities to visit.

Northeastern University Graduation

Friday, May 1, 2009

TD Banknorth Garden

Boston, MA

The Graduate

Bachelor of Science

Political Science

New Yankee Stadium

In the past few months, with all the talk of bailouts and stimulus packages, the use of the word billion has dramatically increased. (That reminds me of the birthday card my son Caleb sent me a few years back: Dick Cheney to W: "Did you hear we're getting over 100 Brazillian troops to help us?" W: Wow... that's fantastic! How much is a brazillion?") It seems only fitting that the Yankees would open a new stadium that cost that much ($1.5 billion that is, not brazillion).

Jacob and I planned a trip for the first series in the new stadium, a Saturday afternoon game with the Cleveland Indians. We got there at least an hour before game time thinking we'd have time to look around, see monument park and buy a cheese-steak sub before the game started. Everyone else must have had the same idea. We didn't see the monuments, although they're the same ones as in the old stadium anyway, and barely did a circuit around the stadium before heading to our seats with subs in hand, 2 outs into the top of the first.

One of the Yanks' new acquisitions, (costing almost as much as the stadium) Mark Teixiera, hit a homerun in the bottom of the first with Johnny Damon on base, and the good guys had an early 2-run lead. We should have left then while we were ahead, because it went downhill fast from there.

The Indians proceeded to pummel Chin-Ming Wang and a recent minor-league call-up who replaced him, for a major league record 14 runs in the top of the 2nd inning. Unbelieveable! Cleveland probably is wishing they could play all their games there. They used to say that the clubhouse in the old stadium smelled funny. The new stadium is spacious and luxurious and its the team that stinks.

We hung in until the fifth when, at 2-19, it was not even funny anymore. The final score was 4-22. It was probably payback for the last time I saw the Indians and Yankees play, when the Yanks scored 6 in the bottom of the ninth, capped by a walk-off homer by Alex Rodriguez, to win 8-6.

Jacob and I took a detour to Columbia University on the way back to the hotel and visited the Mathematics Department where my father earned his bachelor's and master's degrees back in the early 1930s. It's a pretty campus although high on a hill--we imagined that all 8 million New Yorkers will be up there when global warming puts the rest of the city underwater.