The wedding/la boda

What we wanted: a simple family wedding with a few friends... Bastille Day which is meaningful to us both... and that is what happened. Here are some pictures:

It was on a weekday, at noon, and we had some friends and family, and poetry and song. Jim recited Burn's My luv's like a red red rose:

I recited, en español and English, el soneto 17 de Pablo Neruda:

And then Alessandro played Bach's Bourrée, and then I played and sang Razón de vivir:

I should not have worn makeup, which I never do... I blubbered the way people do and was embarrassed, but finally, we were James and Silvia Forsyth, as well as James and Silvia Brandon Pérez:

That evening we went to the Symphony and heard Chris Botti make magic with his trumpet, and then we stayed at the Whitcomb Hotel.

Clarification: Music after 3 PM

Guitar and song, food, etc., after 3, which is when the Castro Valley Dems finish their annual picnic.

Yet more on the SOAW!

How could I forget our first joint arrest...

We were at a conference in DC, and then, right after interpreting for Father Roy,

people started to lie down in front of the White House... it seemed like something to do at the time...



And the picture at the start of our blog was taken in front of the Vatican Embassy in DC, where we were protesting Father Roy's ouster from his calling for supporting the ordination of female Roman Catholic priests. I actually met a female Catholic bishop!

The Castlewood workers

They have been locked out for 16 months; the original reason given, in the failed contract negotiations, was the cost of health care. The real reason is a hatred of unions. The workers, prior to being locked out, were offered their jobs if only they would vote out the union. They voted to remain, and have been locked out since. They have been picketing ever since, and a fund has been set up to help them with their daily expenses at E-base.



This year at the country club's men's golf invitational, the golfers were unpleasantly surprised by a 'sit-in.' For 3 hours, the way to the course was blocked by our people. Needless to say, the golfers were a tad upset...



Eventually, of course, we were made guests of the Santa Rita Jail.

More on the SOAW

Jim and I are one of those couples that went from friendship to love at the School of the Américas Watch vigil, held every November, the week before Thanksgiving, in Fort Benning, Georgia. We had both been attending for several years, even before we knew each other, but last year was special...

The first year I went as a legal observer with the National Lawyer's Guild, but after that I went as an interpreter and also sang with the musician's collective. Last November was quite difficult, because the authorities went all out and arrested even bystanders. Listening to the stories of victims and their families is difficult in itself. María Elena Bustamante, for example, whose young doctor brother was butchered by SOA graduates...



Jim walked and volunteered, despite pain in his legs...



The November event is about remembering and honoring the many innocent fallen...



I wrote new verses of Guantanamera, which I sang on Sunday:

Guantanamera, no más tortura en la tierra

The Temptations!

I should not start this out with the Temptations, but it is the reason we drove all the way to the Marin County Fair yesterday. The place was packed, but we found one of four last parking spots on a side lot near the entrance, and were in time to see and hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which played things such as Lecuona's Siboney... then we walked around, looked at some of the exhibits on the building and maintaining of the Golden Gate Bridge, and heard yet another concert, this time by a new folk group called Spark and Whisper, http://www.sparkandwhisper.com/, which I was quite impressed by... good playing and wonderful songs, and one of them from Jersey (I do consider myself a New Jersey girl by way of La Habana...).

When we finally made our way back to the Play Fair Pavilion it was packed, so we stood on the side, and watched the Temptations, with original founding member Otis Williams. It was a trip back in time, with classics such as My Girl, Smokey Robinson's The Way You Do the Things You Do... and the audience, myself included, singing and dancing along. I have to say, had I only stood for an hour and a half I would not have been able to do it, but I can dance my way out of anything...

The tickets were a gift from Jim's daughter Joan, who always wins radio call shows... This time her win included the latest season of The Closer...

But the Temptations! For free! And so much more, with My Guy!!!!!

We came home to eat some more of a weird concoction I had made for lunch, with brown rice and chicken, onions, garlic, red bell peppers, overripe tomatoes small plums and eggplant, and tiny blue potatoes. It was delicious, even if the cook says so herself.

Paellas for Peace

Early on, after Jim realized that around me, a head of garlic is an emergency (inasmuch as we use a head per day or every two days), we started offering our services in silent auctions, making paella. He has become quite the sous chef... We made paella for the South Hayward Parish benefit, and are waiting to make it for the successful bidder in the benefit for the La Peña Community Choir.