I’m trapped with a TV again.. waiting in an airport on my way home. There’s a TV here that I can’t escape.. Again, the running story is the tragedy of the 17 year old kid, Trevon Martin who was shot by a volunteer security guy. I’ve been here for about 45 minutes and the conversation continues, the same image of the smiling kids, the face of the guy who killed him. the police videos, the grieving parents. Then a quick cut.. and an aging entertainer comes on the show.. he sings a few songs.. then the shows host brings the conversation back to Trevon Martin.. What’s going on here ? This is not an issue of race, it’s not an issue of vigilantism.. it’s a tragic mistake.. two people in the wrong place, and dreadfully wrong circumstances.. and at least 4 shattered lives..
A bit ago the news guy had an interview with Trevon’s parents.. he was asking them questions like “was your son’s killing racially motivated”, “what do you think should happen now”.. and on and one. The poor kids parents were remarkably composed. They were clearly grief stricken and angry.. but they did their best to answer the questions posed to them.. My heart just went out to them.. Here they were in the center of a huge media spectacle of a huge media circus.. and they just needed to grieve.. Anyone who’s been through sudden loss like this will back me up on this.. there is no time or logic so close to a death of a loved one.. you just need to go to that really dark place and try to take it in.. and you need to be surrounded by love… not anger.. not curiosity.. not questioning. What’s happening to those poor folks is the worst torture I can imagine on top of the deepest loss. I wish the the world could leave them alone for just a few days..
I don’t know these folks, but I’m sending out love and support to all of them.. .on both sides.
nite all, nite sam
-me
I accidentally watched TV tonight.. Actually, I was eating dinner.. and there was a TV within eye shot.. so I could not look away. Even though I was having a great work talk with my buddy Tony, I could not shut out the stream of images that came over the tube.. I never can. The sound was off, thankfully, but over dinner I saw images of a fatal drug bust, and the grieving families, I saw the story of the young black man shot by a vigilante in Florida. I saw his grieving dad… at that and had to stop our conversation and sit for a bit. I also saw today about Dick Cheney’s heart transplant.. I’d seen it a few days back as well, and hadn’t commented on it.
Every time I hear of an organ transplant I have to stop and take a breath. hearing the recipient’s story is always easier.. but I know that hard duality that one persons best day.. is another family’s worst.
Still I have to say that despite what bad political feelings I may have had (or still have) for Cheney I was only happy for him. The internet abounds this week with tongue-in-cheek comment about Cheney’s change of heart.. but who knows.. a man living with that much pain and uncertainty would have surly carried emotional baggage. Perhaps that baggage manifest in a dark and mean world view.. .. maybe a fresh chance at life will mellow the man.. One thing I should add here is that the mechanical left ventricular assist device (LVAD) that kept Cheney alive these past several years is exactly the model that my brother used to fashion the world first non pulsating total artificial heart. .. interesting coincidence.. no ? .
What really made me happy though was the attention that his transplant will bring to the issue of organ donation. Say what you will of the man, he’s now a walking advertisement for life’s greatest gift.. Since Sam became a donor, I’ve used every chance I could to advocate for organ donation. What really helps is when a more visible person has a chance to do the same. I’m hoping that Cheney will join with other well known folks like Dave Crosby and Phil Lesh and make donor awareness a personal cause.. (Now there’s a trio I’d like to see play together) .
So congratulations Mr. Cheney .. i’m glad you have a new lease on life.. I hope you use it well.. And my heart goes out to the donor and his or her family.
Woke early in my folks house this morning… which was no surprise as that’s where I’d gone to sleep last night.. . I spent the early morning with my folks talking to my parents about the brain, memory and our ability … or inability to remember, concentrate.. etc. Coincidentally, that was the topic of a radio program that was on as I drove back up here to Vermont. In part of the show Jonah Lehrer was being interviewed about his new book “Imagine: How Creativity Works” . I haven’t read the book.. but based on the interview.. and the cool piece on brainstorming I read by Lehrer in the New Yorker I plan on reading it soon. In today’s interview Lahrer was talking about the role of the prefrontal cortex.. or more specifically the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex in the process of creativity. . The prefrontal cortex is the late developing part of the brain that is responsible for impulse control in adults. The fact that this part of the brain does not fully develop in people until about age 23 is supposedly one of the reasons that teenagers supposedly have less impulse control than adults. That’s the central thesis of books like “Yes, your teen is crazy” (its an average thing.. I know plenty of restrained teens and impulsive adults) .. Anyway… in this piece today., Lehrer described several studies… including one in whih jazz pianists were put in a functianl MRI machine and asked to play a rehearsed piece of music.. then to play an improvisational piece.. While the prefrontal cortex was fully engaged in a technical and rehearsed piece In the improv piece, the artists seemed to have a way to turn down the activity of that part of the brain. . The thinking is that’s the part of the brains saying “don’t screw up.. don’t play the wrong note”.. By suppressing that, good musicians are able to “go with it” and improvise.. just like children.. Lehrer went on to say that this is the part of the brain development that seems to be developing during the ‘4th grade slump’ .. when kids start to question the quality and execution of their own creative work…. interesting. On that point, The most interesting study Jonah mentioned was one in which two groups of people were asked to do a set of creative tasks around idea generation.. Their output was scored (somehow ) on quantity and quality.. one group was asked ot do the tasks as they were.. the other group was asked to imagine that they were doing the tasks as 7 year olds.. The latter group came out with significantly more and better ideas…. just because they were pretending to be kids…
Here’s to immaturity !
nite all, nite sam
-me
ps. Please check out this great piece on our neighbor and freind Pat Quinn that was on WCAX last night. Pat’s been our next door neighbor for 30 years.. all three of the boys spent a whole bunch of time at his and Janet’s house over the years.. He’s an amazing guy !
