Here are this week's items: a local concert; the new consumer; the non-summer of 1816; notable anniversaries; first Americans; North Korea's 1%-ers; in Denver a noted passing.

The Aurora Symphony Orchestra (ASO).  For more than thirty years the ASO has been bringing classical music to the community. This season's last concert was representative: a piece composed by an orchestra member, Stravinsky, and Beethoven's 5th. The present conductor, from Costa Rico, is in his second year and chosen by ASO members from among five applicants. A major ongoing  problem is finding a permanent performance location.

Not your old box store. Quarterly financial reports for many American standards (e.g. Macy's, Best Buy, etc.) are down, some by at least 40%. The linked article notes, "The [old school store] industry is suddenly awash in talk about being “overstored,” too many physical outlets chasing too few shoppers." Store closings will, of course, have repercussions for both the particular chains and their communities.

A summer of winter. Two hundred years ago, snow fell unexpectedly over New England. The US experienced its coolest, cloudiest summer in hundreds of years. Unbeknownst to much of the world, in Indonesia, Mt. Tambora had erupted in what many scientists believe remains the most violent explosive event in recent world history. Untold millions of tons of soot and ash were spewed miles up into the atmosphere. Asia went dark! Weather and agriculture were effected worldwide.
     Most Americans do not realize that the our beloved, much visited Yellowstone National Park (the first) sits atop a massive volcanic caldera and potential super volcano. Volcanologists are certain that if Yellowstone were to erupt, the resultant event would prove catastrophic for much of the US -- not to mention its world-wide effect.

Anniversaries: May 14th: In 1948, Israel is "born" and recognized almost immediately by President Truman. Hence, this is also the date that our involvement with (nay embroilment in) the ongoing Arab-Israeli situation. In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition, destined for the Pacific coast, left their camp near present-day Hartford, IL.
     May 16, 1966: The not-so-nice so-called Cultural Revolution began in Communist China, heralding the "Little Red Book" era and the deaths of untold hundreds of thousands. Occasionally some repercussions of those troubled times still resound in Chinese policies.

First (Native) Americans. The story and dispute continues: when/where did early man arrive in the western hemisphere? Among archaeologists there are generally the "Clovis" and the "pre-Clovis" schools of thought. The link above describes yet another, older (?) site which appears to suggest another  pre-Clovis site has been uncovered, this one in Florida.
     Archaeology's dating tools/techniques continue to improve, further fueling this long standing, not always "gentlemanly," dispute. Much as in politics and foreign relations, archaeologists have tended to become "linked" to this or that theory and school of thought. Foolishly, professional reputations are thought to be at stake.
     FYI, the term "First Americans" is used by our neighbors to the north in Canada. Here in the States, we've adopted "Native Americans." 

The ultra-rich in North Korea. We mostly associate North Korea with a tragically failed command economy, extreme poverty, outright starvation, a dictatorial family dynasty, and a troubling nascent nuclear program. Scattered, irregular reports from foreign visitors and defectors tell of growing economic disparity in the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea).

North Korea now has a 1 percent. And you’ll find them in“Pyonghattan,” the parallel ­universe inhabited by the rich kids of the Democratic People’s Republic....[The country] as a whole remains economically backward — industry has all but collapsed, and even in Pyongyang, the official salary remains less than $10 a month — but the rise in recent years of a merchant class has created a whole layer of nouveaux rich in the capital city.

Looking back, much the same disparity developed in communist Russia, becoming one of the factors in the ultimate demise of the USSR. The Soviet communist party, indeed non-party elites in all tightly controlled countries, develop their own parallel social and economic universes little resembling those of the workers. For example, the average Russian could never have hoped to own a car; rather, they crowed onto ever more crowded subways, trams, and buses. All the while the elite sped around Moscow and the other larger cities using their "private" restricted center lanes.

Sister Brendan Jordan. Sadly, last Sunday (5/15), I received an email from a retired colleague telling me that Sr. Brendan, a beloved member of the Mullen High School community, had passed away. The email noted that a dinner and mass had been scheduled at the Church of the Risen Christ to celebrate Sr. Brendan's upcoming retirement. It continued, saying that Sr. B would have enjoyed the dinner and mass, but had vowed never to retire. RIP, Sister.

Thank you for reading. May your upcoming week be pleasantly tranquil.