Arts Week Excitement Draws Near

By Claire Bryant

Members of the community collaborated on this Rangoli creation at Fountain Square during Arts Week Evanston last year

This Friday begins the City's annual celebration of the arts, Arts Week Evanston (AWE). This year will be different from earlier years: With so many performances, demonstrations and interactive art projects, the Evanston Arts Council has made this arts week bigger and longer than ever, say the organizers.

This year's Arts Week is so full of activities that it has forced expansion of the Illinois Arts Council's designated Arts Week, Oct. 8-14, to ten days, Oct. 6-15. Thanks are due to the Evanston Arts Council's decision to take over the planning from this year on.

"Last year the event was really small, and the Arts Council decided that this should be a really big event," said Lois Roewade, chair of the Evanston Arts Council. "We wanted to make this something visible for the community."

The first-ever AWE kick-off celebration and performance by S.O.U.L. Creations at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6 will jump-start the event's 75 activities, she said.

The Arts Council's desire to make this year different includes a plan to create an itinerary that involves not only Evanston artists and performers, but businesses as well. The Celtic Knot, 626 Church St.; First Bank and Trust, 820 Church St.; National City Bank, 1633 Chicago Ave.; Dream About Tea, 1011 Davis St.; Prudential Preferred Properties, 1600 Orrington Ave.; Tommy Nevins, 1454 Sherman Ave; and the Tibet Gift Center, 828 Dempster St. are a few of the businesses hosting exhibits and events.

New this year are several activities that will encourage community members to "let their own creativity pop out," said Ms. Roewade.

The "City in the Sand" sand sculpting on Oct. 7, 10:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m., is designed to get families active in AWE. The Arts Council wanted to "create a huge project that everyone could get involved in," she said. People of all ages can participate in the construction of the "City in the Sand" by bringing pails and shovels to Clark Street Beach and adding their own urban building.

Another interactive event is the "‘Plein Air' Paint Out." "Plein air" is a French form of painting - the name of which means "full air" - where artists set up their easels outdoors to paint. From Oct. 6 to Oct. 14 Evanston artists of all skill levels will be painting around the City. Although the "paint out" was designed to get Evanston artists more involved with Arts Week, anyone may participate, said Valerie Schiff, plein air painter and organizer of the activity. On Oct.15 the resulting paintings will be displayed in Room 106 of the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St. The works will be judged that day, with prizes from Good's of Evanston, 714 Main St., awarded to the winners.

Ms. Schiff will offer suggestions and tips for plein air painting at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center at 1:30 p.m. on Oct.7 in studio 214. Register for the "Plein Air Paint Out" on Oct. 5 and 6 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the main office of the Noyes Cultural Arts Center.

In addition to the plein air painting, Evanstonians can learn and participate in a variety of other arts including ceramics, woodcarving, acting, folk dance, singing and silk screening.

Although the Arts Council hopes there will be more hands-on participation this year, the theatre, music and dance performances will be as ubiquitous as ever.

The play "Honoring A Living Legend: The Life and Times of Allen ‘Bo' Price" illustrates the life of the long-time Evanston resident. The play tells stories from Mr. Price's travels from 1940s Foster Field, the receipt of his WWII draft letter and his impact as program director of Evanston's Drum and Bugle Corps. Ebony Joy, program director of the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Theatre, wrote the play to "pay tribute to this hero who has in countless and invaluable ways made Evanston's community a better place to live." The play will be performed on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.

Models of the five finalists for the new public art piece to be installed at Sherman Plaza will be on display at the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave. This gives the public an opportunity to view and comment on the sculptures.

On the final day of arts week, Oct. 15, the Public Art commitee will host a community party to welcome Evanston's newest public art, "Silver Wings." The dedication will be held at the intersection of Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard at 2:30 p.m.

The last performance of the week will be a recital of new music composition by The Musical Offering at their facility, 743 Custer St., from 4-5 p.m.

Ms. Roewade said while she does not think the "week" of Evanston Arts Week can get much longer, she hopes that this year will "lay the groundwork for more community involvement" in the future.

.
The dedication of the new public art piece "Silver Wings" will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the intersection of Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard.

Shalimar The Clown

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

"Shalimar the Clown" by Salman Rushdie is a novel with a twisting and fast-paced plot, set against the history of Kashmir, which was nearly destroyed by world politics.

As the story opens, Max Ophuls - a wealthy and powerful man, a Jew who survived service in the French resistance, an educated economist, who served as former ambassador to India - is slain by his chauffeur, Shalimar the Clown. The killing takes place outside the apartment of his 24-year-old daughter India, who sets out to find out what brought the seemingly gentle chauffeur to commit murder.

Shalimar the Clown, is Noman Sher Noman, the Muslim son of Abdullah and Firdaus Noman. He grew up in the village of Pachigam in a Kashmir with a majority population but a Hindu government. His name came from his trapeze act.

Boonyi Kaul, a Hindu girl, was a dancer in the company. Boonyi's and Noman's fathers were close friends, though of different religions. The Muslim Abdullah sometimes played the part of a Hindu god in their act, which featured both Muslim and Hindu songs.

Though a struggle over Kashmir followed the U.S.-supported division of India into Pakistan and India, many Kashmiris remained neutral. Shalimar the Clown and Boonyi married amidst relative peace. But when violence between Pakistani rebels and the Indian military erupted, people were forced to take sides.

Max Ophuls, a native of Alsace-Lorraine which alternated between France and Germany over its history, seemed a good choice to be ambassador to this divided land. Upon his arrival in India, he requested a trip to Kashmir and, to welcome him, the actors from Pachigam were invited to perform. That was when Max Ophuls saw and fell madly in love with Boonyi, the wife of Shalimar the Clown. In this tale of cross-cultural love, Salman Rushdie traces the roots of both Kashmiri unrest and Islamic fury against the United States.

Veggie Mama: Of Eggplants and Madness

By Anna Mussa-Ivaldi

Have you noticed how vegetables and fruits have been blamed through history for the most heinous diseases? From black plague to diarrhea, from toothache to madness, there isn't a single ailment that has not been blamed at some time on one member of the vegetable kingdom.

This has been particularly the case for a close relative of tomatoes and potatoes, belonging to the same "deadly" family of the nightshade.

But, like its close relatives, this fellow is not deadly at all. Contrary to popular belief, it is really a fruit and an important staple of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and African cuisines. It comes in many shapes, from round (a Sicilian variety) to elongated, from medium to grape-size (the Thai variety), and sports a wide range of colors: lavender, red striped, white and green, although the most common type is unmistakably purple.

By now you must have guessed the name of this month's vegetable/fruit: eggplant, or aubergine, as it is known in France. The color purple gave it away, I'm sure. In the United States and Canada it is known as eggplant, because one of the original varieties was all white and looked just like an egg.

Although it has been known in southern and eastern Asian countries since prehistory, the eggplant became known to the Western world only around 1500. Arab caravans brought it to North Africa and, from there, to Spain, when Arabs invaded that country.

On the European stage, however, the eggplant had a tepid reception: According to the World Wide Gourmet (WW Gourmet), physicians blamed the eggplant for "causing their patients epileptic seizures and fevers," and nicknamed it "Apple of Sodom." The scientific name was no more flattering: Solanum insanum (crazy): Botanists, in fact, thought eggplants caused madness.

It was the Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist Linnaeus (1707-1778) who took pity on the mistreated eggplant and re-baptized it with a less threatening, though not glamorous, name: Solanum melongena, that is, bad but soothing apple.

The WW Gourmet reports also that King Louis XIV, France's Sun King (1643-1715) was attracted by the purple splendor of the eggplant and asked his gardeners to grow it in his gardens. It took, however, two more centuries for the eggplant to go from ornamental plant to edible delicacy.

For a long time eggplant was a staple in the Mediterranean cuisine. Historians say the Spaniards brought the eggplant into the New World. But it was Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), third President of the United States and horticulturist, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor and violinist, who introduced it to the United States.

The WW Gourmet reports an interesting legend. Centuries ago, a Turkish priest wanted to marry a woman who was also a great cook. When he finally found one, he asked her father, as a dowry, for 12 large jars of olive oil.

After the wedding ceremony, the girl put a few eggplants to soak in oil. Eleven days later, the eggplants had absorbed all the oil in the jars, and when the priest ate them, he fell into a dead faint. That is why in some eastern restaurants we still find fried eggplants called Imam Bayildi, "the priest fainted."

That is it. The honor of the eggplant has been restored. Although it is not a bad idea to make certain connections between what we eat and how we feel afterwards, it is nice to know that now vegetables cannot be wrongly accused of heinous crimes. Except for baby spinach growing in California, of course.

It is said that those who have won wars write history. They forgot to include the word "men," as the voices of historically significant women have often been muted, or in some cases, altogether silenced.

"Helen"

A Play Review By Brian Murphy

Helen of Troy receives an update in the Next Theatre's production of Ellen McLaughlin's "Helen," where Helen speaks out while watching the Trojan War on CNN in a four-star hotel in Egypt.

Thus is the case with Helen of Troy. Her visage was the icon for beauty in Greek mythology, but her story and public perception varies throughout history.

Homer's "Iliad" presents her as an unfaithful wife who willingly travels to Troy with Trojan Prince Paris, while the Greek historian Herodotus suggested she was Paris's captive.

The Greek playwright Euripides wrote that Helen spent the ten-year duration of the Trojan War (waged by her husband, King Menelaus, to return Helen to Sparta) in Egypt, while an identical, cloud-comprised version, created by the gods, took her place.

It is upon Euripides' version that playwright Ellen McLaughlin based her play, "Helen," modernizing the tale by placing Helen in a four-star Egyptian hotel suite 17 years after the start of the war.

She spends her days swatting flies, berating the hotel servant and watching CNN and the Weather Channel for remote news coverage about the war and waiting to be rescued.

The result is an intelligent blend of savage humor, biting social commentary and bittersweet tragedy. Above all, Ms. McLaughlin's work is aimed at finally giving Helen a chance to speak for herself.

The Next Theatre's production is dazzling. Scenic Designer Keith Pitts's ("Accidental Death of an Anarchist") lavish set is the most elaborate stage construction Next has conceived in quite some time.

Helen's hotel room (the sole set of the play) is exquisite, sprawling with posh fabrics, ancient paintings, columns and a luxurious bed - all dripping with thick reds and yellows.

Costume Designer Michelle Tesdall has the daunting task of dressing characters as diverse as a hotel concierge/servant (Diane Dorsey) and Helen (Hollis McCarthy), perhaps the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

Servant's work ethic permeates her no-nonsense business suits, while Helen breathes beauty through her flowing, blonde hair and oozes sexuality through her silver/green garters and corset - a testament to Ms. Tesdall's keen design.

Director Andrea J. Dymond, the resident director at Victory Gardens Theater, takes the reins of "Helen," allowing the actors to move freely with words and motion, yanking the rope with magnificent resuls as Ms. McLaughlin's play periodically requires.

Hollis McCarthy is terrific as Helen, playing Helen's superior air for humor, only to drift into a serious tone in an instant.

For example, Helen, upset with Servant, launches into a soliloquy admonishing the help: "They make you want to rip your face off. If only I could have done that."

Beauty is both her gift and her curse. "Desired and detested - that's what it is to be beautiful," Helen muses.

She recieves visits from mythological beast Io (Tasha Anne James) and Athena (Laura T. Fisher is outstanding as the spiteful goddess, firing insults like a caustic Lily Tomlin), relating various accounts of what the people believe happened to Helen, and worse, what kind of person they think she is.

Ellen McLaughlin relates Helen's plight to those of famous women such as Princess Diana and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, women whose public perception, in many ways, became them. "

"Helen" gives one woman the chance to speak for herself and accept her humanity.

"Helen" runs 95 minutes with no intermission. Regular performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays; at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and at 2 p.m. on Sundays in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St. For tickets, call the box office, 847- 475-1875. The production runs through Oct. 15.

Evanston North Shore Bird Club Meets Oct. 24

"Birds of the Midwest" is the topic of the Oct. 24 ENSBC meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd. Bob and Kathy Andrini have been avid birders and photographers for many years.

They have traveled throughout the country in pursuit of their interests, and tonight they will share their experiences throughout the Midwest. Free; held at the Evanston Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd.; call 847-864-5181.

So Who Needs Spinach?

We all do. The website of the "World's Healthiest Food's" George Mateljan Foundation tells us, "Calorie for calorie, leafy green vegetables like spinach, with its delicate texture and jade green color, provide more nutrients than any other food."

Boomers who grew up with Popeye and overcooked spinach came of age under the spell of Cesar Chavez. Spinach salads provided a satisfying and moral alternative to traditional concoctions of lettuce during the boycotts of the 1960s and early 70s. And throwing a few leaves of spinach into some traditional soups made them "Florentine."

So the recent warnings about tainted spinach have thrown salad lovers into a spin. Some people may feel the need to look for another dark green leafy companion to their meals.

The University of Illinois Extension website (http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies), offers information on growing, harvesting and preparing vegetables in the Midwestern garden.

Raw Greens
Mesclun, or early field greens, and leaf and crisphead lettuces can provide tasty salad alternatives to spinach. The darker the leaf, the more nutrition, fiber and flavor within. Hardier greens, such as collard and mustard, are best eaten cooked. In between are the chards, which can be eaten raw or cooked.

There are five types of lettuce: leaf (also called loose-leaf lettuce), Cos or romaine, crisphead (also called iceberg, because it was originally shipped on ice) butterhead and stem (also called asparagus lettuce).

Crisphead varieties - Great Lakes, iceberg and Ithaca - are the most popular lettuces in the United States, possibly because of their superior shipping qualities, which make them most available. But iceberg is low in nutritional value and flavor: Its most abundant nutrient is water.

The green-leaf lettuces include black-seeded Simpson, Grand Rapids and oak leaf. Red fire, red sails and ruby are the red-leaf lettuces. Cos or Romaine lettuces include cimmaron, green towers and Paris Island. Celtuce is a type of stem or asparagus lettuce.

The nutritional value of lettuce varies with the variety. Lettuce in general provides small amounts of dietary fiber, some carbohydrates, a little protein and a trace of fat. Its most important nutrients are vitamin A and potassium. According to the American Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, foods rich in vitamin A and C (antioxidants) offer protection against some forms of cancer. Lettuce, except iceberg, is also a moderately good source of vitamin C, calcium, iron and copper.

Mesclun is a classic green salad mix originating in the South of France. It consists of a mixture of very young leaves and shoots of wild and cultivated plants, including endive, dandelion, arugula, radicchio, chervil, sorrel, and others. Sometimes edible flowers are included. As with other greens, the darker leaves are the more nutritious ones.

Cooking Greens: Chard, collard, mustard
These greens are for the most part tougher than regular salad greens and thus should be cooked, although some of the young leaves will work fine in salads.

Chard is a beet that has been chosen for leaf production at the expense of storage root formation. Chard packs a huge amount of vitamin A and it is naturally high in sodium and other minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.

Tender young chard leaves can be eaten raw, adding a beet-like flavor to salads and sandwiches. Chard can be used in place of spinach in any recipe, although chard will need to be cooked a bit longer. The stems of older chard require longer cooking time than the leaves.

Wilted Swiss Chard with Garlic
2 lb. Swiss chard, cleaned and coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh lemon juice, optional
1. Wash the greens in several changes of cold water. Swish the greens through the water one handful at a time.
2. Remove the stems and chop into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
3. Stack the leaves and roll them into a scroll. Using a sharp knife cut across each scroll until all the greens are prepared.
4. Mince the garlic and set aside.
5. Heat a skillet or heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and chopped stems. Sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté an additional 15 seconds.
6. Add the wet chard one handful at a time. Stir after each addition. After all the greens have been added, immediately cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the greens to cook or wilt about 5 minutes. They should be wilted and still bright green in color.
7. Remove the lid and continue cooking over high heat until all the liquid has evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice, if desired. Serves 4.

Collard
Collard is a cool-season vegetable green that is rich in vitamins and minerals. It is an excellent source of beta carotene and some vitamin C and calcium. The darker the leaf the more beta carotene provided. Like broccoli and cabbage, the antioxidants and phytochemicals in collards may help to reduce the risk of some forms of cancer and heart disease. Collards contain very small amounts of fat and sodium.

Collards will stay fresh for 4-5 days in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.

Collards are fibrous, tough, mild-flavored greens that require long cooking. Wash collard greens in several changes of cool water to remove all dirt and grit. Remove the tough stems and central vein as well. Depending on the maturity of the leaves, that may require 20 minutes to one hour of cooking time. The green leaves turn dark green during this long cooking process, and the cooking water will be greatly reduced. Unfortunately, nutrients are leached out into the cooking liquid that many people pour down the drain. This cooking liquid or "pot likker," as it is called in Southern states, is full of valuable nutrients. Save it to add to soups or soak it up with a piece of hot cornbread.

Mustard
Mustard is also known as mustard greens, spinach, leaf mustard and white mustard. Mustard greens, high in vitamins A and C, are in the cruciferous vegetable family. They share the same cancer-preventing benefits of broccoli, cabbage and kale. Mustard is a winter vegetable, abundant when other vegetables are not in season. Mustard greens are also a source of calcium that can be important to lactose-intolerant individuals and also contain a significant amount of iron.

Garlicky Mustard Greens
3 lb. mustard greens
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic
1 large red bell pepper, chopped (about one cup)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Pick through the greens, removing yellow, wilted greens and large tough stems and veins. Wash the greens in three changes of cool water, swishing to remove soil and dirt. Drain. Stack several leaves; roll up jelly-roll style. Cut crosswise into ½-inch slices. Repeat with remaining greens. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for about 3 minutes. Stir in greens, red bell pepper and chicken broth. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until greens are tender. Young greens cook quickly; large, older greens can take as long as 45 minutes to become tender. Add more water if needed. In a small bowl, combine vinegar and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Sprinkle over cooked greens, remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/chard1.html

"The Guardian"

A Film Review By Joe Linstroth

The United States Coast Guard gets its day in the Hollywood sun with "The Guardian," starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Unfortunately, the glow turns out to be little more than a few signal flares marking the plot points of an agonizing swim through an overly fished formula.

As far as the Coast Guard goes, rescue swimmers are the elite, the best of the best. Master Chief Ben Randall (Mr. Costner) is the most decorated rescue swimmer in the history of the Coast Guard (which makes him the best of the best of the best), but success has taken a toll on his marriage, his body and his psyche.

After his wife (Sela Ward) packs her bags and a terrible accident on the Bering Sea kills his crew, Ben needs to focus on saving his own life.

Reluctantly, Ben swaps his flippers for a whistle and is shipped to Shreveport, Louisiana, to help train the next generation of rescue swimmers.

The cockiest and most attractive of Ben's new trainees is Jake Fischer (Mr. Kutcher). A state champion swimmer with multiple scholarship offers, Jake is slumming it in the Coast Guard, and Ben cannot figure out why. The two frequently butt heads, and Jake breaks all of Ben's swimming records.

After the kid nearly gets kicked out for a bar fight and an off-base affair with a local girl (Melissa Sagemiller), Ben discovers that the two have more in common than just natural ability; they are both haunted by a dark past.

At two hours and fifteen minutes, "The Guardian" is a slog. The film begins and ends with two decent rescue scenes, but the middle plods along through push-ups, various breath-holding contests, and a passionless romance.

It does not help that Kevin Costner sulks and grimaces his way through the middle, playing his character as if he wishes he was doing anything else besides teaching kids how to swim.

Mr. Costner's choice leaves a serious Ashton Kutcher to carry the film, but his pursed lips and stern glares form a thin veil that fails to hide the buffoon persona he cultivated in "That 70s Show" and "Punk'd."

In the film one of the characters mentions that people forget about the Coast Guard until they actually need them. It is a shame that "The Guardian" is their only cinematic reminder.

Joe Says

2 hrs., 15 min. Rated PG-13 for language, violence, and sexual situations.

Trees aRound Evanston

Introducing the Sour Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)

In the early 1960s, a number of sour gum trees were planted in far northwest Evanston near Hillside Church. One modest specimen survives on the northwest corner of Bryant and Clinton, north of Hillside Church and east of Crawford Ave.

If you like fall color, the sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica) is your tree. Bright reds, yellows, oranges, reds and purples on lustrous leaves make this otherwise ordinary-looking tree radiate with autumnal brilliance.

According to the ecological restorationists' bible, Swink and Wilhelm (Floyd Swink and Gerould Wilhelm, "Plants of the Chicago Region", 1994), the best specimens in our region "achieve an immense size" in Warren Woods in Berrien County, Mich. This site, just east of Warren Dunes, is regarded by many ecologists as the premier example of a beech-maple woodland anywhere.

This deciduous hardwood tree is a scant native to Cook County. It prefers slightly acidic wet bottomland soils but adapts to a wide variety of conditions, including dry and clay soils. Its range includes eastern North America from Ontario, Canada, to Mexico. It is at its most majestic in the swamps of the southeastern United States.

Sour gum has a slow to moderate growth rate, probably depending upon soil, sun and water conditions. It typically reaches 40-60 feet high and 30 feet wide but has been known to grow to 100-plus feet in favorable situations. Its mature shape is unpredictable.

When young, it has a pyramidal shape and straight trunk. As it matures, its canopy may spread out to an almost flat top and its branches may extend out at right angles, sometimes drooping as does Hill's oak.

Lower drooping branches need to be trimmed for parkway purposes. Its light shade allows grass or other plantings to grow underneath.

Sour gum is dioecious (male or female specimens), but most trees also have "perfect," flowers with both male (stamens) and female (pistils).

The flowers appear in spring and are favored by bees for their nectar. Bees produce a choice light, mild honey with a particularly high fructose-to-glucose ratio, and the honey does not granulate.

It can command a good price because, in its pure form, it is only provided by beekeepers in northern Florida along the Chipola and Apalachicola rivers. Hives are situated on boardwalks high among the flowers during April and May.

The dark blue fruits with seeds, called "drupes," are small and fleshy and appear in fall. Being sour, they are unpalatable to humans but safe to eat. They are relished by wildlife, particularly birds, because they are high in crude fat, fiber, phosphorus and calcium. They are so small they are nearly inconspicuous while hanging on the tree.

In a good fruiting year, some observers say the fallen fruits can be annoying, particularly in combination with bird droppings. Others say they are quickly eaten and easily washed away. Male cultivars can be planted.

The best clue to identifying this tree is its leaves. They are small, egg-shaped and simple, with smooth edges. The dark green luster on the upper side is distinctive. Identifying this tree in winter is a challenge because the bark varies considerably from tree to tree. It can range in color from black to dark gray or brown, and even a professional might err.

Sources differ regarding the sour gum's susceptibility to pests and pollution. Some say it suffers from no serious disease problems, but others discuss a host of disfiguring though non-lethal leaf problems. Some say it is oblivious to pollution problems; others say it is barely tolerant. It is probably moderately tolerant to salt. One source summed it up: "No proven urban tolerance."

Sour gum wood is very tough and difficult to split and has been used extensively for tool handles. In colonial days it was used in conduits that transported salt water to salt works in Syracuse, N.Y.

Perhaps its most instructive attribute is its names. Its generic name, Nyssa, is derived from a Greek water nymph, appropriate for a tree that can grow with its roots submerged in water. Its species name, sylvatica, is for its sylvan or woodland preference.

Regarding common names, in our area it is typically known as sour gum, black gum or black tupelo. The "sour" probably refers to the taste of its fruit, but no one seems to know the origin of "gum," and the black is unexplained as well.

As for "tupelo," combine two native Cree words, "ito" and "opilina," say them fast, and with a little imagination you come close to pronouncing the Cree words meaning "tree of the swamp."

Strictly local common names are "Pepperidge" and "Beetle-bung tree." For "Pepperidge," you have to go back to Pepperidge Farms in Connecticut, where sour gums, called pepperidge in that part of the state, were prominent on the farm's landscape.

"Beetle-bung tree" is unique to Martha's Vineyard, where mallets, called "beetles," were used to hammer corks into the bungholes of whale oil barrels.

In "Hamlet," Shakespeare has Hamlet contemplating Yorick's skull and speculating to Horatio about the ultimate fate of Alexander the Great: "To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole? ... Why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?"

Fast For Peace Ends with Fountain Square Vigil

By Chris Cascarano

Members of the North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice (NSCPJ) congregated for a candlelight vigil at Evanston's Fountain Square on Thursday, Sept. 21, to celebrate International Peace Day and bring an end to an inter-faith fast in protest of the Iraq War.

Members of NSCPJ spoke beneath the war-memorial columns about their experiences. "Fasting was a very meaningful experience because I had set aside a day to think about war and its terrible effects," said Elliot Zashin of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation and Peace Dialogue Committee, a member of NSCPJ.

The interfaith fast ended with bread shared at a peace rally on Sept. 21.

The "rolling fast" began Aug. 6 and passed through five local faith-based groups. Individuals participating in the fast ingested only water for 12 or more hours during the week chosen by their congregation.

The "rolling fast" also worked in solidarity with the "Troops Home Fast" that began on July 4, organized by Code Pink, an all-women protest group. One member, Julia Fields of Code Pink, fasted for 33 days straight and 59 days total, she said.

The vigil highlighted two guest speakers, Kathy Kelly and Dan Pearson from Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a protest group against the Iraq War.

Ms. Kelly demanded immediate action to end the Iraq War. Quoting verbatim a fellow protester from Ireland, Ms. Kelly gave gruesome examples of the carnage war causes, citing one example where missiles struck a swimming pool filled with children, and asked the crowd, "If that doesn't rise ya', what will?"

Ms. Kelly, 52, has been involved in war protest since the 1980s and has been traveling to the Middle East doing peace work since 1991 during the Gulf War. Ms. Kelly also authored "Others Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Perkin Prison." Mr. Pearson, 25, spent time in the Middle East working with peace groups protesting the war in Iraq and with other groups helping with the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Mr. Pearson advocated communication between conflicting political parties, specifically supporters of the Iraq war.

To symbolize the ending of the fast, Kathleen Green of the Unitarian Church of Evanston and Dick Tholin of Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary handed out bread to all those attending the rally.

Closing the ceremony was a drumming performance by Julio Montano Montenegro and his son, Charlie Daniel. Mr. Montenegro is a trained anthropologist, founder of Artistic Dance Corporation and a member of the Process of Black Communities.

"It's encouraging to see people out here," said Bob Welland, a retired Northwestern University professor who said he remembered protesting the Vietnam War at Fountain Square in 1962.

An issue unaddressed by the speakers, but certainly on the mind of at least one protester was "the total absence of young people," said Mitchell Green of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation.

"It seems to be apathy, or they [youths] feel invincible," said Mr. Green, explaining why he thought younger people do not attend rallies. "I am hoping the same thing happens that did during the Vietnam War," he said, referring to the large student protests of the 1960s and 70s.

Northwestern graduate Lauren Crawford, 24, noticed the protest while walking by and joined for the latter half of the rally. "We [college students] are too busy," she said. "Life moves too fast; people are too strung-out to commit themselves to a cause."

NSCPJ is a group of Chicago and near-north suburban organizations supporting an end to the Iraq War. The group consists of nearly 20 sub-organizations several of which are religious congregations.

Groups participating in the fast included the Unitarian Church of Evanston, the Evanston Friends Meeting, the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Lake Street Church, and St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, all members of NSCPJ.

NSCPJ has held and supported a dozen protests in the past, holding their first vigil in August of 2005 to support Cindy Sheehan. Since then NSCPJ has held more demonstrations, calling for support from Democratic Representative Rahm Emanuel, bringing Ms. Sheehan and Juan Torres to the Lake Street Church in Evanston, and co-sponsoring the Union Park Rally and Michigan Avenue March in Chicago.

Amy and David Goodman Promote "Static" and Clarity in Journalism

Dickelle Fonda, left, is one of the founders of the Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice, which brought David (center) and Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" to Evanston.

An hour before they spoke to a crowd of nearly 600 people on the Northwestern University campus, Amy and David Goodman of the radio program "Democracy Now!" spoke with the RoundTable about their 80-city tour, their belief in the power of the word and their concern about the direction of mainstream media.

The two came to Chicago to promote their second book, "Static." They believe the mainstream media have been co-opted by the government. "It's a sad day when the government no longer has to cover up its dishonesty because the American media does it for them," the Goodmans write in the introduction to "Static."

Ms. Goodman told the RoundTable, "In this high-tech digital age, we're still getting a veil of lies, half-truths and misinformation. The media should be providing static of another kind: criticism and opposition.... When it comes to global issues, the media brings the voice of government."

Mr. Goodman added, "We're saying what has become obvious. This is just the culmination of many years of getting it wrong. The SOP [standard operating procedure] for the media is to act as a megaphone for the government.... A threat to the media is a threat to democracy. "

Ms. Goodman talked about the power of an image in the media, recounting an interview with Chicago radio station WVON. When she returned she recounted part of that interview. "I said that we all can learn a lesson from Mamie Till Mobely [the mother of Emmett Till of Chicago, who at 14 was brutally murdered in Mississippi and his body mutilated]. She wanted her son's casket open at the funeral, to demonstrate the horror of what had happened. She understood the power of the image. JET and other black magazines showed photographs of Emmett Till's head."

Ms. Goodman then discussed the famous picture from the Vietnam War era of a young girl running naked from the napalm conflagration that had been her village. "It is our [the journalists'] job to show the images," said Ms. Goodman.

But speaking of the war in Iraq, she added, President George Bush does not allow [taking pictures of] the body bags when they return from Iraq, no pictures of the wounded."

Independence and autonomy are critical for the media, said the Goodmans.

"A free, independent and unrestricted media is a cornerstone of democracy," Mr. Goodman said.

Ms. Goodman said, "The media must be skeptical, ask hard questions and bring in the full diversity of voices.... We must go to where the silence is."

"Democracy Now!" can be heard on WLUW 88.7 FM. The Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice is petitioning WBEZ to include "Democracy Now!" in its programs. Visit http://www.ilcpj.org/petitions/petition-info.php?pid=3.

Voter Information for Fall Election

Persons who wish to register to vote must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old by Election Day and a resident of the precinct at least 30 days prior to an election.

Registration is open at the City Clerk's office in the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., and at one of Cook County Clerk's six locations, at an Illinois Secretary of State's drivers' license facility or with a deputy registrar.

Registrants must present two pieces of identification, one with name and current address, the other with name only. When a first time voter registers to vote by mail, federal law requires that they vote in person on Election Day or during early voting.

On Oct. 7 Evanston residents can register to vote at the Evanston Public Library. Volunteer registrars from the League of Women Voters of Evanston will be in the lobby of the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave. from 1 to 5 p.m.

Regular voter registration ends Tuesday, Oct. 10 for the upcoming Nov. 7 General Election. The City Clerk's Office is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and will be open open extended hours on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Grace-period registration and voting occurs Oct. 11-24 only at the Cook County Clerk's main office at 69 West Washington, Room 500, in Chicago. Grace-period registrants are not allowed to vote at the polls on Election Day or at any early voting site.

Public Service Challenge Workshops
Anyone who is interested in shaping the future of Evanston education, is exploring running for District 202 or District 65 School Board, or wants to be an effective campaign worker for a School Board candidate should attend the workshops and lectures of Public Service Challenge 2006: Strong Leadership, Strong Schools.

The first session, "Education Vision and Funding" will take place on Saturday, Nov. 4. The second session, "Nuts and Bolts of Board Service and Campaigns" will take place on Nov. 18.

Both sessions will take place 8 a.m.-noon at the Joseph E. Hill Administration Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave. There is a $15 registration fee for each workshop; scholarships are available.Call 847.492.0992 or email leadership@evanstonforever.org.

Fifth Ward Meeting Oct. 19

Alderman Delores Holmes invites community members to the next Fifth Ward meeting, set for 7 p.m. on Oct. 19 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.

Ninth Ward Town Hall Meeting

Alderman Anjana Hansen has planned a Ninth Ward town hall meeting for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave.

Snapshot Evanston on Oct. 19

On Thursday, Oct. 19, from 8:30am to 2:30 p.m. the Evanston Community Foundation will host "Snapshot Evanston." This fast-track orientation to Evanston gives local residents and employees a broader knowledge of community issues.

Snapshot includes an overview of Evanston history, a bus tour highlighting important trends, and discussions with knowledgeable Evanston leaders. Snapshot is offered annually to the community at large with a registration fee of $75. Contact the Evanston Community Foundation, 1007 Church Street, Suite 108, Evanston, IL 60201. Call 847-492-0990 or visit info@evanstonforever.org.

Senior Connections Breakfast Oct. 12

Seniors Connections will hold "A Morning of Visiting," beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 in the Westminster Dining Room of Presbyterian Homes, 3200 Grant St. Dr. Martha Twaddle will speak and answer questions on the topic "Care-giving: Support Strategies and Everyday Miracles." R.S.V.P. to First Presbyterian Church, 847-864-1472.