Bar Crawl Radio

A program of good sounds -- mix of classic jazz and hip hop beats -- and noise -- nonessential helicopters circling our City. We talked with leaders of Stop the Chop -- Melissa Elstein and Ken Counghlin -- working to end the incessant noise of private helicopters hovering over our heads.

And we caught up with a former BCR guest -- jazz saxophonist Geoff Burke -- and learned about his unique synthesis of classic jazz and hip hop beats. and shared some of the music from the June 2023 concert at the West Side Community Garden on the Upper West Side.

Let us know what you think of our eclectic little podcast at [email protected]

Alan Winson and Rebecca McKean -- BCR Co-hosts

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In the spring of 1958 – the Golden Rule -- a 30 foot skiff crewed by four -- sailed towards the Marshall Islands where the U.S. military was testing atomic bombs. Their plan was to anchor their tiny boat in the waters close to the Bikini and Enewetak Atolls -- in order to stop the atomic testing.

Over six decades later a restored “Golden Rule” sailed up the Hudson River and moored at Chelsea Pier. It was Fleet Week and the skiff's message of nuclear disarmament was displayed on its mizzen mast.

For this program I biked over to the Chelsea Piers and spent some time on the Veterans for Peace Golden Rule sailboat with the crew and its supporters – as they continue to effort to end the looming possibility of Nuclear War.

Alan Winson - Producer BCR

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May 21, 2023 - 6pm. West Side Community Garden

It was a delightful evening in the West Side Community Garden in Manhattan. The Bar Crawl Radio audio wagon was set up on the grass in front of the stage in the garden – as neighbors secured a chair or wooden planter ledge to listen to the Lew Tabackin Jazz Trio. Tenor saxophone and flute musician -- Mr Tabackin has been playing these summer concerts for many years.

Jon Ross -- founder and director of MicroAid International -- joined us for a pre-concert warm-up conversation. We had talked with Jon about his work in building single family houses in areas hit by disaster on BCR #36 and #111. This evening we caught up with Mr Ross recent work with MicroAid -- and then asked him what he would do if he saw a stranger being attacked on the street – or subway.

Then -- listen to a sampling of the evening's music played by the Lew Tabackin Jazz Trio with Boris Kozlov on bass and Jason Tiemann on drums – including two flute pieces by Tabackin “Garden and Lifetime” – and – “Out of this World” – a piece he wrote named after the “B Flat” Tokyo bar where he performs called – “B Flat Where Its At” -- a Billy Strayhorn standard – “Day Dream” -- and finally a bunch of tunes by George Gershwin.

The podcast ends with 10 minutes of a longer interview I had with Mr. Tabackin in his UWS apartment in 2018. For the full interview see the additional material following this program.

 BCR Co-Hosts Rebecca McKean and Alan Winson

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Recently – David Brooks of the New York Times – wrote about the suicide of his close friend—Pete—and the feelings that followed. Brooks writes that experiencing the suicide of someone close “is not just sorrow; it is a state of consciousness that distorts perceptions of time, space and self.”

In 2015, there were over 44,000 suicides in America – the 10th most common cause of death and rising – I million attempt suicide each year – one every 35 seconds. In the world some kills himself – herself every 40 seconds.

Robert Altman's "Mash" [1970] was wrong -- suicide is not painless – it is a health issue that needs to be examined.

For this Bar Crawl Radio podcast Rebecca and I talked with two people who study and write about suicide – and with the friends of Jen who recently killed herself.

Carla Fine – has spoken extensively on suicide and is the author of the widely acclaimed book No Time to Say Goodbye – about Ms. Fine’s husband – a prominent New York physician who killed himself in 1989 when he was 43. Carla’s recent book was co-written with Dr. Michael Myers - it’s title -- Touched By Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss.

Michael Myers is a leader in the field of suicide and professor of psychiatry at SUNY-Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn. In his 2017 book on physician-suicide – Why Physicians Die By Suicide: Lessons Learned From Their Families and Others Who Care – Dr. Myers shares his experiences of counseling doctors who are considering suicide. 

If you or someone you know is suffering from a loss due to suicide, consider contacting The Samaritans NYC hotline -- 212 673 3000.

This BCR program was recorded in May 2023 at Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar in the UWS of Manhattan.

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Friday – April 7, 2023. This was the final day of the 2023 Nevada Desert Experience’s Sacred Peace Walk – one mile from the Peace Camp to the White Line – entrance to the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and the most bombed part of planet Earth.  In the distance – on land once occupied by the Western Shoshone people – over 100 moon-shaped craters litter the desert landscape. On this Friday – under a hot afternoon sun -- over 30 people presented their grievances at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site’s While Line. 12 would cross over and be arrested for trespassing on U.S. Government property.

 The morning began with breakfast at the Peace Camp and then a trip to Yucca Mountain to learn about plans to store all of this country's nuclear waste below this seismically dangerous area which the Shoshone call Snake Mountain. Then onto the statements and arrests at the White Line.

This last program of the Sacred Peace Walk series begins with a conversation I had on Saturday -- after the arrests at Mercury -- with Rich Bishop back at the NDE garden.  Rich is a poet and his mind works in wondrous ways – and that Saturday morning he said something that helped me – at least partially – answer the question I had been asking from the start of this voyage: Why do these people expose their intellect, psyche, and bodies for an impossible goal – that is -- to end the threat of nuclear annihilation?

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Thursday - April 6, 2023 -- of the Nevada Desert Experience's Sacred Peace Walk. This episode is a summary of the day. It was a beautiful desert day as the Peace Walkers traversed the last 15 miles to the entrance to the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. Darcy Ike had rejoined the group the day before and started the walk that morning with great enthusiasm -- about 7 miles down the road he had a full-blown heart attack and was take to a Las Vegas hospital by Creech Air Force Base ambulance. He would return home that weekend. Other than that the day was uneventful -- a long walk with new and old friends - to the Peace Camp overlooking the Nevada Nuclear Test Site entrance.

NEXT: Friday - Yucca Mountain -- Protests -- Arrests.

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April 4, 2023 - Wednesday - Sekhmet Goddess Temple - Indian Springs, Nevada. Nevada Desert Experience's "Sacred Peach Walk. In the morning and afternoon the Peace Walkers would protest U.S. military drone warfare at Creech Air Force Base. And, in the evening we would gather at the Goddess Temple bonfire ton celebrate the New Moon and honor the first night of Passover. It was an apocryphal overlapping of two Angels of Death -- one long past meting death in an ancient desert and the other in Nevada.

Up the road from the Temple – the Creech Air Force Base manages the training and deployment of military drone operators – whose job it is to watch suspected terrorists in places far away from Nevada and assassinate them – along with innocents – i.e. collateral damage. On this day, a few of the Peace Walkers committed to blocking the entrance to the Base and get arrested. Tuesday night Brian Terrell -- who had been arrested all over the world -- explained the arresting and charging process.

In this program I spoke with Brian who contrasted being arrested as a peace protestor in the U.S to the more civilized approach in other countries; and with those who were arrested that day. There was also speculation as to why there were so many vehicles arriving at the Base that day -- many more than normal days - and we got a statement from the Creech AFB on the cause of the delays. Finally, I talked with CJ - a young man who was arrested for marking up a Stop sign and the nature of his commitment to world peace -- and with his grandfather -- George Killingsworth.

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DAY FOUR of the 2023 Nevada Desert Experience Sacred Peace Walk – Why Do We Walk?

For the fourth day of our walk towards tMercury -- the entrance to the Nevada Nuclear Test Site -- would cover the miles we skipped the day before when we escaped the brutal desert wind and snow. After the morning bonfire gathering, the Peace Walkers were driven back to Lee Canyon for a walk back to the Sekhmet Goddess Temple. We passed a couple of maximum security prisons and the Creech Air Force Base. The next day -- Wednesday -- the Peace Walkers would return to the U. S. military drone base to block the entrance and get arrested. Tuesday we walked -- 17 miles.

At the end of the day we gathered in Mary Clare's living room and as she served up cookies and coffee we talked about the human relationship with the Atom Bomb.

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Rested from our walk thru Las Vegas, the day before, the Sacred Peace Walkers headed out of the Nevada Desert Experience compound for the walk in the desert -- north of the city. I went with Darcy Ike -- who I had spoken with the day before at the MLK statue in Las Vegas -- in his weather-beaten, gear shift sedan to the starting point at Kyle Canyon on Highway 157 several miles north of Las Vegas.

We followed the Porto Potty trailer for a while -- but then Darcy said he knew better way --

When we arrived, at Kyle Canyon -- Western Shoshone Tribal leader Johnny Bobb and his wife – Mary Lou -- had just started the morning circle. Just before we started to walk -- we learned that Darcy was ill – heart issues -- and had gone to a hospital. He would return to the walk on Wednesday. 

I could sense the excitement as we started the first leg of our walk to Mercury – the entrance to the Nevada Nuclear Test site – 50 miles in front of us,  The wind was a bit brisk and the skies were getting muddy. That day we were to walk 15 miles to Lee Canyon.   We never made it.

This episode features a conversation with Area one of the Priestess at the Sekhmet Goddess Temple.

Alan Winson

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