From Paris to New York and a Year for the Ages

Wifredo-Lam 

props from cop21

summer 2015. families collide in santiago, one group from the portugal way, another by way of Madrid along the camino de santiago in August.

This writer in Sheffield town hall in the springtime. 

Hanging out in the Yucatan with Caroline in june. 

My last morning in Paris, I jogged from the Marais across the Siene past my beloved Notre Dame, by the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, the hotel Esmarela, where we got William Burroughs' bed bugs, and back to the Pompidou Center again.  It was a final hike in a year that included trips to Sheffield England, Austin, Tx, Mexico, Madrid, through the Camino deSantiago, through Porto and Lisbon Portugal, seeing a little art, and back to New York, where street clashes, drag marches, and stories are everywhere.

rebel friends around the world, matteo and this writer in paris. 

On my return, a few of us went to court after our civil disobedience over our expired contract, entering year seven without a resolution. 

ron was there every inch of the battle. 

All year we rode bikes through corners of the city, exploring Washington Heights, throughout the corners of the city, writing and thinking, drafting field notes, watching kids grow up, taking sabbatical, playing banjo and so on.  One book came out and I worked on three more, including my old San Francisco novel that never seems to leave me, a few chapters of which finally saw the light of day in 2015 in Rebel Friendships.

Thanks to mom for a wonderful dinner at Café Sabarski before the holidays on my return.

And thanks to the Public Space Party for their solidarity and rollicking fun this year.

Back at home, the images of the trail, the art i discovered, the people i saw.  It all resonated.

Thanks to the artists all their moods, especially Wilfredo Lam, whom I fell in love with in Paris. 

My favorite Wifredo-Lam. 

Thanks to the kids and Caroline for putting up with all the events and moods I dragged them to this year.

 

Moody and pensive bs who caroline had to put up with. 

rebel friends everywhere. 

Thanks for new friends and historic buddies, everyone who read one of the blog entries or stories.   

Thanks to Bread and Puppet and the streets of New York City and the friends emanating from everywhere.

Thanks to everyone who came to a reading or listened.  You made it really special for me, especially as I rambled on through it all.

In his lecture “Rebel Friendships, Essential Others and Social Movements,” Shepard drew on his ethnographic studies of social services and social movements as well as his vast experience in community organizing and activism. He stressed the importance of listening to people whose views differ from your own. “Engaging in a real dialogue is like jazz, you can’t play unless you’re really listening to the other musicians,” said Shepard. “The current gridlock in American politics is a result of a lack of dialogue and empathy; there is a need to foster new forms of ethical relationships and partnerships.”

Professor Shepard presents “Rebel Friendships, Essential Others and Social Movements.”

We hung out in Princeton for much of the end of the year, going to see Star Wars twice. Loved it the second time after I got over the similarities with 1977 original, spellbound with the conflict and the drama. Found myself getting weepy seeing the old heros reappear again.   The battle never really comes to an end.  Such are the forces light and darkness splitting through time, barbarism vs socialism over and over anew.  

Jenn Shepard

We even got a few rounds of class struggle in before Simon landed on the nuke card.

Jenn Shepard

No one wins in that class struggle.

Thanks for playing Will, Jenn and company. 

Next year, there will be new books and stories that you’ll hear plenty about. 

But for now, I’m really glad you could all be part of it.

Thanks for a splendid year 2015. But I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store for us. 

I can't thank you enough for the adventures friends and family.