I Speak of Dreams

Jeannik Méquet Littlefield, 1920-2013

Jun. 21, 1920 - May 24, 2013  Resident of San Mateo, CA

Jeannik Méquet Littlefield, prominent patron of the arts, has died in San Mateo, CA, at the age of 92.

Born in Paris and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, Mrs. Littlefield came to the United States as a foreign exchange student at Barnard College in 1939. She continued her education stateside, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in English from Wells College in Aurora, NY, and a master's degree in English from Mills College in Oakland, CA. Already fluent in French, German, Russian and English, she began studying towards a Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1943 she joined the war effort as a translator, and moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the French Air Mission. There she met Edmund Wattis Littlefield. The two married the following year.

After the war, the Littlefields moved to Burlingame, where Mr. Littlefield joined a family firm, Utah Construction Company, as Financial Vice President, soon becoming CEO of what became one of the largest mining and construction companies in the country. In 1976, the company (now Utah International, Inc.) merged with the General Electric Company in what was the largest merger in U.S. corporate history at the time. Mr. Littlefield stayed on at G.E. as a board member and served many other corporate boards over the course of his career.

As her husband's work increasingly involved extended stays abroad, Mrs. Littlefield joined him on business trips to South America, Australia and Japan, but she also became involved in her own community. She served as a board member of the San Francisco Opera from 1977 to 1992, and was also involved with the Symphony and the Ballet. Her support of the San Francisco Ballet's New Production Fund was instrumental in the 2004 world premiere of Mark Morris' Sylvia, the 2009 world premiere of Helgi Tomasson's Swan Lake, and the recent May 2013 US premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella. The Littlefield Foundation continues to be an ongoing supporter of a variety of arts and education.

Following her husband's death in 2001, Mrs. Littlefield moved to San Mateo, where she renewed her connection with Bay Area organizations, especially the San Francisco Opera, where she has sponsored productions since 2002. Her 2006 pledge of $35 million to the Opera was the largest donation from an individual to an American opera company at that time. Mrs. Littlefield was an ongoing supporter of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which includes both the Legion of Honor and the de Young Museum. In addition to sponsoring the show Women Impressionists at the Legion of Honor, she was the Grand Patron of the recent exhibits at the de Young Museum of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay.

In addition to the arts, Mrs. Littlefield enjoyed golf, bridge, and skiing. She was a popular member of the Vintage Club and a frequent visitor to The Living Desert, a wildlife preserve in Indian Wells, CA where she had a winter home. She found a spiritual home late in life at St. Dominic's Catholic Church in San Francisco. She took great joy from in her support of education, including the French-American International School, Wells College and Mills College.

Mrs. Littlefield was the eldest daughter of Gustave Méquet, a translator for the League of Nations who spent much of World War I in a German prison camp, and his wife Jeanne, a college graduate with an abiding interest in music, chemistry and physics. Gustave and Jeanne had two other daughters, Jacqueline and Renée, both of whom are now deceased.

Mrs. Littlefield is survived by two children: a son, Edmund Wattis Littlefield, Jr. and his wife Laura of Arlington, Washington; and a daughter, Denise Sobel of New York City; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Littlefield's second son, Jacques Méquet Littlefield, passed away in 2009.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, July 31st, at 11 am at St. Dominic's Catholic Church, 2390 Bush Street, San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Food Bank, or a charity of your choice . 

(Click to enlarge images.  Opera image source http://bunnym.blog.sohu.com/99235080.html  Wedding image source http://library.weber.edu/asc/ucc/founders/images/edjeannik.jpg  Family image source http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/i/partypictures/10_14_08/320-Denise-Sobel,-Jeannik-L.jpg)

Memorial Day 2013: Robert Service's Missis Moriarty's Boy, 1916

Image source http://war-poets.blogspot.com/2010/09/robert-service-only-boche.html

From Ballads of a Red Cross Man, dedicated to his brother Albert, killed while serving in the Canadian Army.

Missis Moriarty's Boy


Missis Moriarty called last week, and says she to me, says she:
"Sure the heart of me's broken entirely now -- it's the fortunate woman you are;
You've still got your Dinnis to cheer up your home, but me Patsy boy where is he?
Lyin' alone, cold as a stone, kilt in the weariful wahr.
Oh, I'm seein' him now as I looked on him last, wid his hair all curly and bright,
And the wonderful, tenderful heart he had, and his eyes as he wint away,
Shinin' and lookin' down on me from the pride of his proper height:
Sure I'll remember me boy like that if I live to me dyin' day."


And just as she spoke them very same words me Dinnis came in at the door,
Came in from McGonigle's ould shebeen, came in from drinkin' his pay;
And Missis Moriarty looked at him, and she didn't say anny more,
But she wrapped her head in her ould black shawl, and she quietly wint away.
And what was I thinkin', I ask ye now, as I put me Dinnis to bed,
Wid him ravin' and cursin' one half of the night, as cold by his side I sat;
Was I thinkin' the poor ould woman she was wid her Patsy slaughtered and dead?
Was I weepin' for Missis Moriarty? I'm not so sure about that.


Missis Moriarty goes about wid a shinin' look on her face;
Wid her grey hair under her ould black shawl, and the eyes of her mother-mild;
Some say she's a little bit off her head; but annyway it's the case,
Her timper's so swate that you nivver would tell she'd be losin' her only child.
And I think, as I wait up ivery night for me Dinnis to come home blind,
And I'm hearin' his stumblin' foot on the stair along about half-past three:
Sure there's many a way of breakin' a heart, and I haven't made up me mind --
Would I be Missis Moriarty, or Missis Moriarty me?

image source: http://marylinemartin.blogspot.com/2011/01/sourire-quand-meme.html

I blinked and she was gone

Over the weekend, I hosted a party honoring my darling daughter's graduation from university.  It was a lovely event, with family and friends from near and far coming together to celebrate.  Over the years, Jumper Girl has been blessed with a number of caregivers, with whom we are happily still in touch.  Many of them were at the party.

Of course we were telling stories.  One story was the time that Jumper Girl, age about 2, escaped from our secure back yard, when my back was turned for just a minute.  At that time,  we were putting jingle bells on her shoes, because she had developed the vexing habit of running away and hiding, especially in the house.   At the time of this story, we were outside, and I think I had bent over to pull a weed or something.  When I looked up, she was nowhere in sight, and the gate, which I swore she couldn't open, stood ajar. Worse yet, her be-jingled shoes, which I believed she was incapable of removing on her own, were lying in the middle of the lawn.

I think every parent, if they were honest with themselves, has had such moments with their children.  You know, the ones where the child demonstrates some new skill in such a way that places the child at risk, if not outright danger.  

This last week has been a particularly haunting one in that respect for the autism community.  On May 12, 2012, nine-year-old Mikaela Lynch managed to get out of her secure back yard and vanished.  She was found dead in a nearby creek on May 15.  On May 19,  eight-year-old Owen Black somehow slipped out the beach condo where his family was staying and was later found drowned in Perdido Key.   Age of Autism is reporting that a third child, Drew Howell, also slipped out of his parent's house and was found within minutes.  Sadly, Drew had drowned.

Mikaela and Owen were autistic, non-speaking, and by all reports,  had the obliviousness to danger that some autistic children exhibit.   The thing about autism though, is that many autistics exhibit developmental delay.  Pay attention: delay.  Skills do develop, only on a different timetable than expected.  Parents and caregivers can be taken by surprise by a sudden jump in skills.

A friend of mine who has a child, Frank*,  much like Mikaela and Owen,  told me a story a while ago.  Their backyard was they thought doubly secure, with locking features that Frank couldn't reach, and that were beyond (they thought) his fine motor skills.  One fine day, while his mother wasn't looking, he reached over and handily undid the latch.  What had happened?  Oh, all the work his PT and OT had been doing on gross and fine motor skills paid off.  He had learned to balance on tiptoe, and had mastered the snap lock. Fortunately, his mother heard the gate open and had caught up with Frank before he got into any danger.  

While the search for Mikaela was going on, many of my  friends who are parents of autistic children -- some like Mikaela and Owen, others who have more of a sense of danger and less likelyhood to wander off -- wrote again and again about their own close calls with a child escaping, despite extreme care and hypervigilance.

While Mikaela was missing, there were some who said said vile things about the Lynch family.

One of the autism parent bloggers decided that must not stand, and organized a blog drive for today, "An Outpouring of Love for the Mikaela Lynch Family".  You can peruse a list of posts at http://www.blenza.com/linkies/links.php?owner=sunday75&postid=19May2013.   

My heart aches for each family -- the Lynches, the Blacks, and the Howells. Each of those children had teachers and helpers and therapists who also are suffering.  To lose a child....  The pain is unspeakable.  To those who loved Mikaela, Owen, and Drew, I am so, so sorry for your losses.

There is a website honoring Mikaela's memory, http://mlvillage.org/

We are a community of Mikaela’s family and close friends that are dedicated to the life and love of Mikaela Lynch. This wonderful girl has touched so many lives around the globe. It is our intent to continue to spread the love that Mikaela shared liberally. We hope to have your help in our mission. 

The local paper, the Lake County News, reported that

The site includes a donation link. One of the child’s teachers, Alyssa Winn, reported that Mikaela’s family currently is choosing a foundation – likely one benefiting children with autism – in order to make a donation in her name.

Oh, the end of the Jumper Girl story?  We were lucky. I went around the west side of the house, but she had gone around the east side. Just as she got to the driveway, one of the caregivers arrived and apprehended her.  We upgraded the escape prevention that day, and now it is one of those family stories....that families tell each other for fun, but also as a reminder.  It could have been my child.
-----

*pseudonym 
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gate_ajar.jpg 

When dyslexia goes to college....

When a well-remediated, hardworking dyslexic student matriculates at a university with excellent disability support, and the dyslexic student finds a field of study that ignites that student's passions, this is what happens:

Oh, those honors?

 

 

My Jumper Girl!  I am so proud of her, for so many reasons.

The Recipe Aisle: In which I waste two perfectly good portabella mushrooms on a bad dressin

I really love portabella mushrooms (mature, farmed Agaricus bisporus, as in the image, image source ).  I especially love them grilled.   And the best grilling marinade is a raspberry vinegar.

I thought I had at least a cup of raspberry vinegar in my pantry when I went to the market this afternoon.  I was wrong.    

 

 

So I thought I could substitute this Wishbone commercial product, 

"Superfruit Berry Vinaigrette"

Yuck.  No.  Totally wrong.

It smells and tastes like tutti-fruiti bubblegum, and somehow, the grilling just intensified the artificiality of the flavor.

This would be equally inedible fresh, on salad.

Inedible.  I am sorry, mushrooms, but it's the compost heap for you.

 

 

 

 

 

May 15: Sensory Processing in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders: From Scanner to Bedside -- 2012-2013 Autism Lecture Series, San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay

2012-2013 Autism Lecture Series, San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay

The 2012-2013 Lecture Series is presented by Wings Learning Center and hosted by Notre Dame De Namur University Education & Leadership Department

To register:

http://wingslearningcenter.org/lectureseriesregister2012.html

• May 15, 2013 Sensory Processing in Autism & Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders: From Scanner to Bedside Dr. Elysa Marco, M.D., Director of Research UCSF, Autism & Neurodevelopmental Programs, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry & Pediatrics

You may register for one or more lectures. All lectures are $25 each to attend and occur from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Wings Learning Center, 411 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA 94063

Contact: Karen Kaplan: email: kaplan@wingslearningcenter.org phone: (650) 365-3250

Registration for lectures: http://wingslearningcenter.org/lectureseriesregister2012.html

The Souls of Black Autistic Folk: A Series by Nicole Nicholson

Back in February 2013, Woman With Asperger's (Nicole Nicholson, poet and thinker-at-large) started a series on the artist Paul Robeson, Asperger's, and the African-American experience.

This month, I’m going to explore Robeson — who he was an an artist and a person, and through the lens of Asperger’s. Robeson was born in 1898 and died shortly before I was born (January 1976). I wonder — and would like to explore — about the reality he encountered as an African-American autistic in the early part of the twentieth century, and how that reality compares to the reality I encounter today as a multiracial African-American autistic.

And of course, this exploration will lead me to related questions. I know I am not the only African-American autistic out there. In my journeys over the last three years I have encountered some wonderful individuals, including record producer and autism advocate Michael Buckholtz. Logic dictates that he, I, and the few other individuals I have met cannot possibly be the only African-American Aspies out there. The big question in this case is: where ARE we? Through a bit of exploration, I hopefully may find some general answers (while being careful to respect the privacy of those who cannot be “out”) this month.

The series:

• The Souls of Black Autistic Folk: A Prelude to the Journey
• The Souls of Black Autistic Folk, Part I: An Introduction to Paul Robeson
• The Souls of Black Autistic Folk, Part II: Paul Robeson, the Aspie?
• The Souls of Black Autistic Folk, Part III: Difference and the Question of Visibility

Nicholson concludes with these thoughts

As we move between the realities of being African-American and autistic, we each need to decide what we do with them. Do we merge them, as DuBois suggests? Do we compartmentalize them? Do we find a way to achieve a healthy synthesis of the two that will promote greater understanding of autism in the Black community as well as of African-American autistics themselves?

I know that I am a Black autistic soul. I happen to be one which whips language and words around her tongue and slides them out through her pen. I happen to be one with a collection of my own narrow/special interests, talents, and philosophies. I happen to be one who is still healing from the effects of childhood bullying. But I know I am not the only one.

If you would like to read more from Nicole:

• Woman with Asperger's blog
• Twitter: @aspergerwoman

For those of you who aren't sure who Paul Robeson was: athlete, attorney, actor, singer, political activist:

.

From the introduction to Robeson's testimony at HUAC

Many African-American witnesses subpoenaed to testify at the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings in the 1950s were asked to denounce Paul Robeson (1888–1976) in order to obtain future employment. Robeson, an All-American football player and recipient of a Phi Beta Kappa key at Rutgers, received a law degree at Columbia. He became an internationally acclaimed concert performer and actor as well as a persuasive political speaker. In 1949, Robeson was the subject of controversy after newspapers reports of public statements that African Americans would not fight in “an imperialist war.” In 1950, his passport was revoked. Several years later, Robeson refused to sign an affidavit stating that he was not a Communist and initiated an unsuccessful lawsuit. In the following testimony to a HUAC hearing, ostensibly convened to gain information regarding his passport suit, Robeson refused to answer questions concerning his political activities and lectured bigoted Committee members Gordon H. Scherer and Chairman Francis E.Walter about African-American history and civil rights. In 1958, the Supreme Court ruled that a citizen’s right to travel could not be taken away without due process and Robeson’ passport was returned.

The PBS "American Masters" episode on Paul Robeson.

(note to those new here: I also use this blog as a personal aide-memoire)

Teaching self-regulation and emotional insight improves overall learning

I am not a huge fan of the term "emotional intelligence" but character educator Annie Fox makes some good points in this essay via Puzzle (originally published at Take Part)

 

EQ involves the ability to think about feelings in rational ways, and to use the information to manage one’s behavior and maintain healthier relationships. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, points out that no matter how intelligent we are, if we lack people skills, we’re “not going to get very far.”

The role of education is to equip students to get as far as they possibly can. Kids with low EQ create academic and social problems for themselves and others, and the result is that the overall school climate suffers.

The good news is that we can improve school climate by raising EQ. If you are a parent or teacher, or want to be one, take note. Here are tips on how to create a safer and more compassionate school culture.

Fox goes on to list the core skills needed:

1. Teach the language of emotions.
2. Teach nonviolent conflict resolution.
3. Teach forgiveness.
4. Teach about the myth of justifications.
5. Teach them to work in groups.
6. Teach compassion through service to others.

Tools for argumentation: Hierarchies of argumentation; Logical Fallacies

Hierarchy of argumentation:

Image Source: Facebook page, "The Internet Offends Me" https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=609225245772600&set=a.609225239105934.1073741828.606775609350897&type=1&theater

The person who posted the image above wrote,

I suggest that if you find yourself participating in a posting match with someone who seems aggressive, intent on misconstruing an idea or goes off on a wild tangent that you direct them to this graphic and ask them which tier of the hierarchy does their present argument rest.

Logical Fallacies

Image Source: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ Click to embiggen

Jesse created the logical fallacies page and poster in after trying to his/her two boys. The idea was to have a youngster-friendly, really simple ways of explaining the concepts behind some of the more common fallacies.

A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning. Logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people. Don't be fooled! This website [https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/] has been designed to help you identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly, incoherent head.

At Your Logical Fallacy Is , you can download free, printable PDFs of each fallacy, or purchase a handsome poster for a mere $20.00.

Are you longing for a unique, bohemian dress or shirt? Look over here!

image source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/127726070/bohemian-trapeze-tunic-dress-free-people?ref=shop_home_feat Click to embiggen

A couple of weeks ago I hung out with Charissa Drengsen,  artist and designer.  She and her sisters were all dressed in her own creations, such as the one pictured to the left.

Charissa really is a talented designer and couturiere, combining and refashioning garments into something new and enchanting.

You can see some of her previous work at her "out of print" page. Current creations are available at the NovelAtelier Etsy page, http://www.etsy.com/shop/novelatelier.

She's also working on something new: fabric and wallpaper designs.  I loved the ones I saw, sort of a subtle, William-Morrisesque feel,

<A William Morris print.

But with the figures being composed of a hypnotic kaleidoscope of contemporary images.

Drengsen also has paper art and gifts.  Go shop.

(The obligatory disclosures: I have no financial relationship with Novel Atelier and this was NOT a paid post.  I just like her work.)