Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
The last time (just two weeks ago) we walked together in Ireland, we celebrated a 26th generation rescue of an ancient moment of Ireland’s history. Today we look at another side of that “Elegant, Authentic and Original” tale. It included the O’Conor heritage at Clonalis and the FitzGerald lineage of Glin Castle.
My marketing communications assignment in the 1980s was to rescue the image of the Whiskies of Ireland and reaffirm their claim to be Elegant, Authentic and Original. The whiskies were sabotaged during Prohibition when the unscrupulous placed a shamrock on barrels of bathtub blends to give them credibility, thus creating the false impression that the amazing whiskies first distilled in 1608 at the world’s oldest licensed distillery, were hard drinks for hard drinkers. Who better than descendants of the most ancient nobility of Ireland to help reinvent the image? After visiting the ancestral home of the ancient O’Conor family at Clonalis as it was being brought to new life by the O’Conor-Nash family, I headed south to West County Limerick and Glin Castle.
It is the seat, since the 18th Century of an ancient family whose title includes more than 700 years of history. I was to be the guest of Desmond FitzGerald, the hereditary 20th Century successor and 29th Knight of Glin. This long line of Knights of Glin traced its title to the 14th Century and ancestors who arrived in Ireland in the first wave of Anglo-Normans in 1169. (It is worth noting that the prefix Fitz in an Irish surname denotes Lineage from the Normans. They were invited to Ireland towards the end of the 12th Century at the invitation of Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster. Their service was to help him resist England’s King Henry and regain his kingdom.) What the “Knight” later termed “a romantic title” had by then survived through the male line for seven centuries. It was recognized by chieftains, and successive Irish governments.
What brought me to Glin that day was the reputation of the man who inherited the title in 1949 at the age of 12. Desmond FitzGerald was an internationally recognized expert in Irish architecture, furniture and gardens. After graduation from Dublin’s Trinity College and Harvard, he wrote extensively and was Ireland’s representative for Christie’s. Who better to join Pyers O’Conor- Nash to lend their voices to the story of the Whiskies of Ireland, and their claim to be “Elegant, Authentic and Original”?
Driving up the driveway that evening to meet the Knight and his writer-wife Olda, Madam FitzGerald, I saw a home that had been built for John Bateman FitzGerald in the 1780s. The Knight himself described his ancestral home as looking “like a large version of a child’s toy fort.”
We talked at the fireside in one of the 21-bedroom Castle’s fireplaces. The Knight spoke passionately of his long experience as a connoisseur of the full spectrum of luxuries he defined as “Elegant Ireland.” Later, as I drifted off to sleep in the Yellow Bedroom they had selected for me, I thought, “Just right.” The Knight could designate a handful of unique products and experiences that could be offered to a fortunate few. They would represent all who could understand the meaning of “Elegance.” The little booklet would capture the island’s long tradition of creating and honoring what is indisputably “the best.”
The Knight described his unique guide, Elegance of Ireland in the words of its forward:
To put together this connoisseur’s guide to some of the best things of Ireland, I realized that the only problem would be to select a small enough sampling to fit between these covers. What follows then is a selection, made by one lover of Ireland’s glories, of a handful of examples of elegant, authentic and original “Best Things of Ireland.” And I suppose I could say that they deserve to be toasted with a spirit that is, itself original, authentic and elegant.
I will further narrow that field by recalling a very few of the items Desmond FitzGerald, The Knight of Glin designated in a decade past. And I will expect that you will share with me the shock of the pricing he suggested. I will also caution the reader that I state them as facts of history, with no effort to confirm that they or their purveyors are still available (at any price).
A copy of Elegance of Ireland resides in the NYU Library as part of the Archives of Irish America gathered with the support of NYU Glucksman Ireland House and the genius of archivist Dr. Marion Casey. Twenty-first century internet search engines might help identify sources mentioned in the slim volume. Or the curious might send a query to one of the Irish agencies located in Washington and New York City: The Embassy of Ireland in DC or The Consulate General of Ireland, its Tourist Board and trade promotion agency Enterprise Ireland located in the country’s offices in New York City.
These a few of the Knight’s selections:
A lordly and legendary Irish Wolfhound puppy bred by the Kellys of County Dublin’s Nutstown Kennel. The price of $650 with another $350 to cover Aer Lingus’ gentle crating and air fare. The Aer Lingus fleet of jets was judged worthy to transport Ireland’s premier art treasure, The Book of Kells. It traveled back to Trinity College after a multi-city US tour that included an historic temporary residency at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For those whose taste ran to even larger creatures, the Knight suggested this. With the guidance of an on-the ground equine bloodstock expert such as Dermot Forde, buyers should could invest anywhere from $250 to $5 million. That was estimated a price tag to acquire an Irish Horse to realize any dream, from a child’s pony to a contender at Churchill Downs.
The legendary McNutt’s weavers of Downings were and remain synonymous with the weaving of singular Donegal tweeds. An authentic and original tweed from a reserved collection created by McNutt could be selected. It would be tailored into a jacket with custom lining and horn buttons by a “bespoke” tailor, for an estimated $900.
An outdoorsman might choose to have an Aran pattern developed created to designate the wearer’s family. The new and unique Aran pattern would be knitted to size. All this would happen under the critical eye of Padraic O Siochain, author and expert on the “language” of the islands’ sweaters. Legend has it that the familial patterns were so distinctive as to qualify as certain identification should an Aran fisherman drown while pursuing his Curragh-borne pursuit of a catch. The execution of the proprietary pattern in luxurious cashmere was priced at $1500.
A “Fishing Trip fit for a King” based at Ballynahinch Castle, on the other hand, would begin and end in Aer Lingus First Class; be guided by an expert for $5600 per person for a seven-day holiday (or could be reduced to $4300 should fishing rights be excluded.)
The offer that ends Elegance of Ireland is headed “My Home is Your Castle.” It details a house party or holiday gathering at Glin for 10 persons for a minimum of one week. The 500 acres would be theirs to roam and the assistance of the FitzGerald’s personal staff could make it possible for the visitors to extend a dinner invitation, since the dining room accommodates 30. Should the hard tennis court, and croquet lawn leave the party seeking more, golf at nearby courses such as Ballybunion or a swim at adjacent beaches were mentioned as well. The library and museum quality art collections are almost taken for granted, by the Knight, if not by the potential guests. Its1980s budget put the cost of the holiday at $6000.
Poignantly they appear as an homage to the good taste and eye for quality that distinguished him who was for more than six decades designated ‘The Knight of Glin.” In the absence of a male heir (though with no less respect for his three amazing daughters and the talented Madam FitzGerald) one of Ireland’s most ancient titles died with its bearer in 2011. The entire Glin Castle estate is now being offered for sale. Commentators rightly note that the asking price of some $7 million could look like a “typo” to a jaded Manhattan real estate shopper who might associate that cost with a modest and mostly undistinguished “pre-war” co-op. But for those who have imbibed its atmosphere, no price would match the included treasure trove of history and gentility. One can only hope that its sale, like the collection of treasures to which he put his name in Elegance of Ireland will do honor to Ireland’s Last Knight of Glin.
Opening photo: Kitchen gardens of Glin Castle, Bigstock Images
Should you reach the point I did not long ago when you conclude that it would probably be more useful to carve your professional profile into Mount Rushmore than to post, or try to update it on Linked In, I hope you receive a message that is a happy surprise. For me, it was reconnection with a 26th Generation member of what is arguably Europe’s oldest family,
The name on the e-mail was Tish O’Conor-Nash. Now you need to know that the hyphenated name conjures up a story that, as the cliché says, “You couldn’t make up.” It’s a shorthand summary of a Kingship that started when the dark-haired brother bested his fair-haired sibling (sometime after the family began to be recorded around 76 AD) to become reigning High King of Connacht, one of ancient Ireland’s four provinces. That made him The O’Conor Don (anglicized version of the Irish word Duibh meaning dark.) and a force to be reckoned with.
Fast forward to the 20th Century and the line is about to end with the Jesuit priest who sees in his Sister Gertrude’s son Pyers a boy after his own heart, willing to take up (at no small cost to himself and his family) the weight of history and the noblesse oblige that is in his blood.
So, although the title could only pass through the male line, commitment had greater power than gender to keep the O’Conor dream alive. Perhaps it was a vision of that outcome that led his gentle Uncle Charles to predict to his sister’s son, “You will farm here one day.”
And so he was doing (metaphorically at least) when I met Pyers and Marguerite at the family home Clonalis in the 1980s. He had made the commitment to use the combination of a merchant banker’s skills, the O’Conor noblesse oblige and the gift of a wife who magically combined the talents of curator, executive chef, Mother and interior designer (to name just a few.)
What Tish’s email told me is good news for any traveler to Ireland. Because of what she and her family are doing, you have a very good chance to sleep, to dine, to imbibe history and set off to discover their “realm,” as I once did. As a guest at Clonalis, you will find 21st Century warmth and hospitality wrapped in centuries of intriguing history brought to life by a singular family.
When Tish (Laetitia) arrived in the late 20th century she was the first child to have been born at Clonalis in 117 years. Today, she describes her role in these words, “As a new generation of O’Conors prepares to take up the reins (or should that be “reigns” in the context of the family’s history?) the 26th generation descended from Ireland’s last High King seem to hear the echoes of my parents and those of centuries past reminding us of the French expression, Plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose.
That expression seems apt as her father transitions from merchant banker to Squire, and he and Marguerite’s youngest child takes time from her successful life of Dublin designer to keep the dream alive and thriving. Readers of history see the continuity with Donach, the Grey-Haired seen now in the Clonalis House portrait gallery. He walked from Clonalis to Dublin make the case to Parliament for restoring the O’Conor lands seized under spurious penal laws.Pyers, as a 20th Century barrister used his insight to work through Byzantine tax laws that saddled his young family with five sets of taxes that burdened them and their dream for Clonalis.
This is what Tish told me of the 21st Century Clonalis:
At the top of a long avenue, nestled in a crescent of cypress and redwood trees stands a grand Victorian residence, Clonalis House, regarded by many as one of Ireland’s most important historic properties. The O’Conor family are direct descendants of the last High Kings of Ireland who were also the traditional kings of Connacht. It is said that their 700-acre demesne at Clonalis situated in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon is the last remnant of the ancient Kingdom that stretched from the River Shannon to the Atlantic Ocean.
Clonalis House was built in 1878 by Charles Owen O’Conor Don. The ‘Don’ title which dates back to 1385 refers to the blood chieftain of the O’ Connor Clan. This imposing building has 45 rooms and was built in Victorian Italianate style. Clonalis has been sensitively restored over the last decade, welcoming guests and tourists from around the world, telling a unique and interesting story with a collection of family portraits hanging proudly throughout the house. This collection of portraits includes Hugo O’Conor the founder of Tucson, Arizona and the romantic portrait of Phelim O’Conor who sadly died in battle over 700 years ago.
Among the 45 rooms in Clonalis is the Library, lined with ancient tomes, some of which date to the 16th century. This is a wonderful room to spend time sitting by the peat fire and absorbing the history. The atmospheric Dining Room with its portraits spanning over seven generations of O’Conors and former Members of Parliament give visitors a sense of living history. The elegant Drawing Room and the peaceful Chapel all contribute to the ambience and rich traditions that makes Clonalis such a welcoming home.
The O’Conor family maintain a small museum within Clonalis and amongst these papers can be found an original facsimile of King Charles I death warrant complete with the signature of Oliver Cromwell as well as the harp of Turlough Carolan, a much celebrated 18th Century blind bard. And of course Clonalis is also the home of the Coronation Stone – some mistake it as a large chunk of limestone or indeed a contemporary work of art but this rock was once Ireland’s most important stone. It’s the Inauguration Stone, upon which some 30 O’Conor kings were crowned, As O’Conor kings go, they ruled over a realm that stretches from the River Shannon to the Atlantic coast, which is now represented by the province of Connacht.
Clonalis House is part of the Hidden Ireland group and during the summer months the family open their doors and welcome guests to come and stay – all rooms complete with spectacular views, four/half poster beds and equally big bathrooms. Pyers and Marguerite O’Conor Nash have lived here with their children, Barbara, Richard and Letitia since 1981.
Clonalis is very well situated for exploring the rich history in County Roscommon including the famine museum at Strokestown Park House, King House in Boyle and the beautiful Lough Key Forest Park for walks. It is also within an hour’s driver of Westport, Sligo’s “Yeats Country” and Athlone.
If your name is O’Conor, Clonalis is a must. The history of our ancient Gaelic family is recalled throughout in portraits, archives and artefacts. You can also plan a tour of O’Conor sites, all within a few miles of Clonalis House, including Ballintubber Castle, Roscommon Castle, Roscommon Abbey and Rathcroghan. A little further afield you can explore Ballintubber and Clonmacnoise.
Clonalis House is a member of Hidden Irelandwww.hiddenireland.com a distinctive collection of Irish Country Houses where visitors stay as guests. The privately owned properties are…. dare I say…. “elegant, authentic and original”: oases of gracious living where “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”
Photos courtesy of Clonalis House.
Annette Cunningham’s Street Seens appears each Sunday.
At the risk of sounding like a bad TV Advertorial (or a presumptive Presidential candidate/aka ‘Rich Dad’ riffing on a network marketing scheme to make America rich again) let me explain. If you ever studied History of Philosophy 101 you very likely own a resource presently stored like cash under a mattress, untouched and so unproductive. This conversation is about how you might take it out, invest it in your busy life and start building equity and generating dividends.
What you likely have there under the Posturepedic are some remembered insights of the great philosophers that most followed/studied/enjoyed/endured (take your pick) as undergraduates registered in History of Philosophy 101. As a one-time teacher of Philosophy, I concluded that the very best definition of the subject was this: “Philosophy is a system of ideas that helps make sense of experience.” With that as the starting point, I recently set off to explore the connection between the philosophers’ insights and the real life experiences from which they may have arisen and which they are still capable of illuminating.
But first a word of caution from the Journal of the great 19th Century Danish PhilosopherSøren Kierkegaard who observed, “Experience, it is said makes a man wise. That is very silly talk. If there were nothing beyond experience it would simply drive him mad.”
What makes Kierkegaard’s observation timely and relevant is that in a world of “24/7” accessibility and connectedness, experience is coming at people at an unprecedented pace and from an unprecedented number of sources. To avoid being inundated, it is time to find some organizing principle, to develop resources for processing these mountains of experience. It’s time for the experience-saturated to be at least as concerned about the dangers of unprocessed experience as they are about those of processed foods. Here are some of the reasons why.
Raw experience is completely singular. So it follows that it’s a pretty solitary, possibly isolating. To get beyond the isolation, it helps to focus on what articulate people have said about their own experiences and how their reflections have struck a chord with others. This is illustrated by the common sense insight. It may be expressed as an aphorism, it can go on to become a byword, slogan or iconic statement for the millions. A good example is FDR’s insight about the potentially paralyzing experience of fear, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”
The second path to “making sense of experience” is to recall the reactions philosophers had when they focused on experience in the light of their own special insight about the nature of reality. A good example would be to look at the experience of human institutions that lose their dynamism and become static or moribund. From the point of view of the French philosopher Henri Bergson who saw the central reality as a dynamic force he called “the élan vital.” It was a surging, dynamic forward/upward flow. So he made sense of the experience of institutions becoming static and lifeless by seeing that as a “crystallization” of the life force resulting from the “capping” of the élan vital. For him, fluidity equaled life and stagnation was understood as a failure to grasp the importance of a constant reinvention. If he were alive today, he would be quite likely to relate to the advice to “Go with the flow.”
So far the recipe for “making sense” calls for three ingredients:
Your own raw, “what can I say about it?” experience;
The common sense “sounds similar” interpretation of experience you heard from a friend, or in a song lyric or a rap or a prayer or a speech or an adage or an aphorism;
The “from under the mattress” remembrances of a byword or headline you used to identify a philosopher’s more systematic interpretation of reality as a whole or some specific lived experience of reality.
By creating your own recipe from these three basic ingredients I wouldn’t bet against you coming up with a satisfying (or at least intriguing) result that makes sense of one or other of your life’s experiences.
Here are some “for instances” of experiences you’d probably love to make sense of, or at least understand better and so appreciate more.
fear
falling in love: try blending you, Rogers and Hammerstein’s “People Will Say Were in Love” and the observation that laughter is what distinguishes humans from all other animals
procrastination: try blending you, Scarlett O’Hara and Leibniz’s contention that this is “the best or all possible worlds”
perfectionism,
the temptation to think that “It doesn’t matter.”
the honest question “what really does matter?”
the crucial distinction between could and should.
The effort to cope with “office politics”
What will make it worth your time to have read this far will be if you’ve begun to believe that you know more than you thought you did about how to make sense of your own experience. And a bonus, if it encouraged you to take a fresh look at the wisdom to be found in adages, insights, song lyrics, memorable speeches, favorite bits of poetry. And an even bigger bonus, if you’re considering reconnecting with the untapped information in the recesses of your memory since the days of Philosophy 101.
Think of it this way: instead of being left in the lurch of unprocessed experience you’re thinking of calling up the something “beyond experience” that Kierkegaard believed could help you avoid being driven “mad.” Now that, I submit, “makes sense.”
The Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute Education Center may be one of our urban village’s clearest examples of how a community of healing opens its doors and resources to become a “go to” place where free programs are aimed at securing freedom.
Sound too good to be true? So did the goal of turning heart diseases from some of the country’s most feared “killers” into traffic hazards on the road to healthier living. When recognized, unmasked and addressed they turn from roadblocks into guardrails. That’s the philosophy I’ve observed in action at the Institute. Under the direction of Education Specialist Jody Scopa Goldman whose tenure began in 2012, the focus has shifted from programming around special events to consistent and continuous offerings that cover the spectrum of presentations and events featuring resources. Issues, answers and options.
Patients, current or past, who have been treated at any of New York-Presbyterian Hospital or Weill Cornell-Medicine’s facilities, along with staff and members of the wider local communities who have called or emailed inquiries, will receive an alert describing the treasure trove of Institute presentations, programs and events for the coming month. For example, one of three Heart Healthy Talks offered in May “It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercising” will be presented by Golda Widawski, MPT, who is typical of the highly qualified staff members who volunteer for Institute programs. Successive Tuesday afternoon talks will look at “Herbs as the Spices for Life” and “Be Fast with Stroke.”
May begins with individual Blood Pressure Screenings, offered three times n the month; and includes the increasing popular “Hands Only CPR; “ twice per week Perelman Mile-plus” lunchtime walks around the Hospital and the East River Esplanade; the increasingly popular one-hour evening Zumba sessions. (An example of the volunteer staff’s commitment is that the Zumba instructor is so eager to “give back” after a day of therapy for young children, that a recent move that significantly lengthened her commute has not moved her to reconsider her 7PM classes.) Topics and opportunities in other months might range from the energizing effects of aromatherapy to tips on how to achieve healthy sleep.
Program Manager Goldman credits the success of the continuing monthly program to the skill, generosity and commitment of the team of volunteers who take on their offerings in addition to their full schedules as NYPH staff. She credits these committed professionals’ wide and deep experience of their individual subject matters for the consistent growth and increasing popularity of the programs.
Seeing all of them involved in two of the “fixed stars” of the annual programs: February’s National Heart Month and June’s CPR Awareness Week” those who benefit from these especially ambitious undertakings could be forgiven for wondering if Goldman would qualify as some sort of Pied Piper of heart health and preventive medicine. The June Program will feature an alliance aimed at training “civilians” as potential first responders. Each Wednesday Jody conducts an outreach program with the Black Car Safety Program that focuses on Hands Only CPR. It has expanded to involve both “black car” and Uber drivers preparing them to respond to emergency situations by employing the best techniques of chest compression. Families are also encouraged to avail of the training and to reward their efforts each leaves with a kit including a blow up dummy and a DVD demonstrating the techniques learned at the session.
Future goals of special importance include increasing and expanding programs of the sort currently in practice in collaboration with Dalio Institute of Cardiovascular Imaging, a Weill Cornell Medicine program. The Institute is collaborating on a Women Peer Mentor Program research study. It is hoped that such a mentoring program could put exchange of experiences to work in the effort to foil “The Lady Killer,” with tools of information and informed understanding.
The Hospital has a collaboration with Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA). The ongoing relationship includes expanding on the #getHeartChecked events. The initiative is championed by Ronald O. Perelman with NYPH and in the West by Barbra Streisand with Cedars Sinai. NYPH’s Holly Andersen, MD is the program’s medical advisor. The Woman’s Heart Alliance is putting Heart Disease as “The Lady Killer,” in its cross hairs by encouraging female program participants (though males are not excluded) to become committed to the consciousness raising preventive measures of the #getHeartChecked campaign. The program encourages commitment to conversation and screenings with one’s health care providers directed at medical history, lifestyle factors and screenings that will help women intelligently assess and practically address the risk factors that when ignored could strengthen the hand of “The Lady Killer.”
I left my conversation with Jody Scopa Goldman grateful to the high school mentor in Arlington Heights, Illinois who steered her away from the classroom teaching of science and math and sent her on her way to a career described in a booklet called “Healthy Heart Tips for Your Busy Life” and ascribed to The Heart Health Professionals of NYPH.
The modern nursery rhyme says:
The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing.
Your mind they’ll ease
Your will they’ll mend
And charge you not a shilling.
What does this unlikely cast of characters have in common?
The Three Little Pigs, The Little Red Hen, the rebirth of Metropolitan HomeMagazine, champions of Universal Design, plumbing companies that fine tuned zero threshold drains, friends like Linda and Joe and their temporary need to move a wheelchair down the corridor of their spacious condo on the water, Milena and Chris building hospitality and Taiwanese art into a new home in the US, and millenials who dare to discover the rewards of elegance.
They all deserve a shout out aka homage for exemplifying what I consider some of the most needed insights that define the gifted home designer/advisor. They also illustrate why I celebrated the announcement this week that the magazine Metropolitan Home is set to return after some seven years. The sophisticated home style publication listed a number of reasons that this move is both timely and needed. Their rebirth rationale confirms many of the observations I have had over more than a decade of relationship with the worlds of home deign and luxury marketing. With that as a starting point I had to answer my own question to myself, namely what does it take to qualify as a successful creator of or supplier for a home that deserves the name home. What are the ingredients needed to turn a basic shelter into a place that facilitates and enhances life. As I set out to answer the question, the cast of characters that follows began to look less like “strange bedfellows” and more a collection of players capable of adding vital ingredients to the mix that ends by being a life-enhancing home.
No accident that the trio of porcines led the way. And be assured it was the third pig that came to mind as the hero of the piece with the other two as “object lessons” in the realm of false bargains, lack of foresight and unwillingness to look to history and unexpected sources to find workable solutions. Knowing even a little bit about wolves, the third little pig, decided to up his budget and shop for building materials that stood the best chance of being there to testify to his savvy when the “big, bad wolf” did what his kind are known to do causing the romance, glamour or as yet untried trendiness of the other options to be unmasked as short term, and basically unworkable options. Score one for Pig Three. There’s something to be said for entertaining the idea of “just in case” planning.
Besides being a model of self-reliance, the Little Red Hen won my homage for being enlightened enough to recognize that not even the best architect, designer and landscape artist can succeed in creating your home, without your input. You need to bring a solid mix of self-knowledge and experiences sad or joyful to the table when planning your home. Outsourcing has its limitations unless it also includes the honest and thoughtful ideas of the persons whose home is being designed. There’s a great deal to be said for having your home reflect you, and not just the best techniques of the people you enlist to assist you.
The executive director of the Hearst Group administering the planning and launch of Met Home identified Gen X and millenials as potential target subscribers for the magazine’s relaunch, saying, “Last year, we recognized an opportunity to create a magazine for a new audience that is becoming more and more interested in home and design—Gen X and first wave millennials. We also saw an opening for a magazine with an exclusive focus on city living and contemporary style.”
How will the redesigned product be different from its predecessor?
Newell Turner: We went back to the brand’s DNA to fashion a new magazine for a new generation. For example, features in Met Home are more about design than Decorating (with that frivolous but intimidating capital D). Today there is so much more access to great design. We believe an informed consumer is the best consumer, whether they’re shopping for themselves or working with a professional.
Turner went on to promise that the reborn magazine would focus on quick, actionable profiles on thought leaders, movers and makers doing exciting things in everything from product design and fashion to architecture, real estate, the food scene and more.
So this homage is for seeing and acting on finding readers where they really live and addressing them there. There’s a great deal to be said for recognizing that today’s reader is pretty much by definition a multitasker who doesn’t separate home design from living productively in that home.
Linda and Joe’s House along the Intracoastal
Champions of Universal Design got my attention years ago when they recognized that however much people love the ease of spaces designed to accommodate physical challenges and limitations, no one wants to trade those values for the aesthetic appeal of their homes. The good news is that because gifted design “minds” found a way to translate their ideas for increased access and safety into things of beauty. These were the practical “artists” who knew that wider doorways that could accommodate wheel chairs, and floor coverings that facilitated walkers and canes need not be sterile or institutional looking. They were the geniuses who recognized that installing shelves that reached to the top of Victorian homes’ tallest ceilings might not be a good idea for people who would rather not spend their lives on ladders; that heavy pots and pans can be replaced with ones equally attractive and much more lifter-friendly; that oven shelves can still carry the Thanksgiving turkey without demanding the skills of professional weight lifters and/or contortionists. So bravo to those who insisted that aesthetic appeal is a “must have” for successful home deign solutions.
And what about the plumbing design pioneers of the technology that liberates the home shower from the minor inconvenience of shower curtains, shower curtain liners and all their related hardware? To say nothing of the need to step up and step over the “barrier reef” of the shower entrance? Try telling the person recovering from a skiing accident, just step up and over the tub side or the high step into the home shower. And that leaves out the person who would rather not have a personal assistant dedicated to hefting him or her into range of the soothing and renewing waters of the daily shower. Let’s revisit those two less foresighted ‘little pigs” for a moment with the reminder that the initial cost of the plumbing required to achieve a shower that needs no curtain and is a barrier free zone for the wheel chair pales in comparison to the wider freedom it buys. There’s a great deal to be said for the wisdom of the old adage, “Penny wise and pound foolish.” It didn’t get recognized as a truism by accident.
My friends Linda and Joe faced and productively addressed the issue of the cost of spaciousness. When they opted to trade the space limitations of Long Island living for a home on the Intracoastal Waterway with water views on every side, they didn’t let distance from the most convenient elevator deter them when it was temporarily necessary for Joe to use a wheel chair. There are any number of options out there and like smart consumers, they reviewed and “auditioned” them to find the best solution. With the same, “look ahead before making a decision” mindset they recognized that they wanted to be in this new home for a long while and with “aging in place” as a value while condo shopping, they made sure that the home they chose had the wide doorways throughout that would accommodate any walking device or mobility aid they might require down the road. There’s a great deal to be said for recognizing what values are most important to you (in their case spaciousness was high on the list) and then being clear-sighted about the trade offs you should or should not accept to get those top options.
Chinese Scholars Table
For global professionals like Chris and Milena who had built a family and careers in Japan and Taiwan, they knew that they would one day return to the US while their children were in their pre-college years. They had moved far more than the average US family ever does and each location had left its impression on their hearts and their good taste. So when the movers brought their possessions into a new home in the US Midwest, the boxes and cartons contained a number of the treasures they had learned to love in the Far East. With Milena’s gift for graphic design, married in those global years to experience in home design, she directed the movers to pieces of art and a smaller number of pieces of furniture having evaluated them not just for their beauty but also for the “story value.”
As a docent at Taipei’s National Palace Museum she had fallen in love with the art and artifacts of the Ming Dynasty. So the choice was made to bring the Scholars Table to Michigan and then Illinois. Originally designed to accommodate the scholar’s frequent review of long, narrow scrolls of calligraphy, the table, like its family, fits perfectly into the welcoming context of an entry hall or foyer. At present it draws in visitors with a revolving group of favorite lamps or bronzes. And because its intriguing, slightly exotic beauty combines blending in with making a statement, it is a perfect illustration of the “home design philosophy” of joining design excellence to the conversation-starting potential of objects selected for their story value. There’s a great deal to be said for aspiring to make a place in the family home for the stories that family has acquired in its years of global citizenship.
On April 21, I will start my day in Joliet, Illinois, with the distinct sound of bluebirds in my ears. And should one of my neighbors in our “urban village” see me that day in the 10065 zip code, please banish all doubts about my veracity. I must explain that it will only be in mind and heart that I will awake in my childhood home in the company of quite magical bluebirds.
Since I’m being so accurate, it won’t actually be bluebirds in the plural, it will be the sound of one magical bluebird evoked, across the decades, by the sensitivity and musical genius of one very special man.
Edwin Vincent Hoover in Monsignor’s Robes
April 21 is the anniversary of the death of Monsignor Edwin Vincent Hoover, a musician, a priest, a pastor, the first rector of the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet and from the time I was five years old, a treasured friend of our family.
The books of music history do not refer to his “Concerto on Here Comes a Bluebird,” and that may be my fault for not making whatever effort it took to capture the notes on tape or insist upon combing through his belongings after his death to find if he had committed them to a manuscript.
I will always know it as a masterpiece. And because of it, I can take my place with the women who have inspired great compositions.
It all began at 10:30 recess in the tennis court at St. Raymond’s when the first grade girls played a children’s game beneath Monsignor Hoover’s study window. Having managed to get my parents to let me take a permanent pass from kindergarten, and having now run out of any and all plausible excuses for avoiding formal schooling, I was among them.
We formed a line, snaked in and out beneath the “windows” formed by our joined hands and sang, “Here comes a bluebird through my window, hi, diddle, diddle, dey, dey, dey.” Supposedly unobserved.
When Monsignor came to our home to visit, I felt equal parts of fascination and fear. He might have been as awe-inspiring a figure as the great Oz to judge from the way I pressed into a place near the banister at the top of the second landing of the stairs and listened to the conversation of the grown-ups and occasionally dared a covert peek at our guest. Supposedly unobserved.
One evening he came in and sat down at the piano. He began to play something that sounded like Chopin…or Beethoven…except…except that in the middle of this serious music was a theme that sounded so familiar. “Here comes a bluebird….” With each repetition of the theme I came down one more stair, until I was sitting on the floor at this feet as he made our piano sing.
Monsignor Hoover with Music Director Joseph, “Joe” Lyons
There was music wherever he went. In the North American College in Rome, as a seminarian, he studied with the masters of contemporary church music. He directed the Cathedral Choristers at Holy Name in Chicago, he shook Joliet out of its limited expectations when he was assigned there and aided by Music Director Joseph Lyons, made musicians out of all but the confirmed “clinkers” as he humorously dubbed them. For them, he designed the dignified role transforming altar boys into “Knights of the Altar” and teaching them the roles and rubrics of service that came to St. Ray’s when it became the Cathedral and home parish to its first Bishop.t In our living room he accompanied my sister Peggy’s singing of operatic arias like Puccini’s Vissi d’Arte, musical comedy and Irish classics. In Eagle River, Wisconsin, the chill summer nights were warmed by his singing of Rodgers and Hart, and always the songs and airs of Ireland.
His mother, “Ellie” had come from Ireland and with his sensitive ear, he must, I think, have kept some of the cadences of her speech in his own. I can hear it even now in his singing of “The Low-Backed Car.” He was one of Aer Lingus’ earliest and most enthusiastic passengers and delighted in telling tales of the landings at Shannon. Ironically, his knowledge of Ireland was more current than my Northern Ireland-born Mother’s, for she was a “white knuckle flier” who never stopped thinking that the only conceivable access to Ireland from the United States would have been by sea.
Graduation Photo of Eighth Graders with Pastor Hoover
If you can know people by their heroes, I know something of him from his lifelong enthusiasm for Cardinal Merry del Val, who was in Rome when he was a student. When I read a biography of the urbane and aristocratic Cardinal, I was struck by a quote that focused on Merry del Val’s suggestion that a priest wear the red robes of the Cardinal if called to do so and never concern himself whether anyone knew he wore a hair shirt beneath.
Neither were the “hair shirts” of Monsignor Hoover’s life literal nor obvious. Except perhaps at the end of his life when his musical voice was stilled by cancer of the larynx. And he who had thrilled so many with the grace of his performances, never thrilled them more than when, with courage and humor, he taught himself to speak again, in unfamiliar tones, and preached as long as he was able.
Any creator who made the likes of him must surely be going to provide an afterlife in which I will once more hear him play “Concerto on Here Comes a Bluebird.”
Here’s what I learned this past week in our “urban village” at a piano concert on April 7, 2016. The President Emeritus and Professor of Music at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota returned to the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer to revisit the Dominican community where he lived three years ago while on sabbatical in New York City.
On both occasions his lavish thank you gift to the wider world of his adopted community (i.e. “urban village”) was a concert of piano music that filled the body of the historic landmark Church with resonances that left no doubt as to the genius of the composers and the musician interpreting them. The sidewalk easel on Lexington Avenue announced a concert by pianist-educator Father Robert “Bob” Koopmann, OSB. I can only hope that any passerby who had a moment of skepticism when seeing the title “The Transforming Power of Music” returned to have that doubt swept away by performances that challenged the intellect, engaged the heart and evoked the sense of wonder that are all vital ingredients of transformation.
The concert spoke for itself. But in a fortunate chance to speak with Father Bob I was given a gift that left me with a question. Should I tell first of what I heard on Thursday night along with the scores of people who listened with me; or of the insights into the person that occurred in a Friday morning conversation that spoke as eloquently as the masterful performance the night before.
Happily, “Transforming” comes in a variety of shades. I should have known. In the setting of that entirely remarkable church I have been privileged to see heights of art and architecture; know people who minister the Word and who share it in very human exchanges. There I have heard astounding preaching; shared conversations with those who like me, are gifted with the discoveries we can only hope never to take for granted. Why would I be surprised to have received another gift?
Father Koopmann told me the next day, “As I play I invoke Beethoven when I perform his music. I invoke my parents and offer my gratitude for all they did for me to bring me to this moment.”
Music with Power to Transform
The concert was performed in and as a tribute to the Church and community that have been home to Father Bob when his travels bring him back to New York. He did his post doctoral study at Julliard. His visits to the city have been a recurring part of his work as President Emeritus of St John’s University (SJU) in Collegeville, Minnesota, Professor of Music at SJU and St. Benedict’s College, development executive for SJU and of course, performer/ classical pianist.
Performing throughout the United States and around the world, his recent concert engagements have taken him from New York and Madison, Wisconsin to Tokyo and five other Japanese locations for a 2013 series of “wish concerts” benefiting victims of the 2011 tsunami and dedicated to providing comfort and inspiration to all whose lives were affected by the tragedy. He will leave in late April for another such Japanese tour. After a concert in Tokyo’s Sunny Hall, he will visit Hiroshima where he will lecture on Music and Religion and perform a concert at the University of Elizabeth Conservatory of Music, considered the “Julliard of Japan.”
Listening to the Music
The program Thursday began with a multifaceted Bach Partita that suggested how formal structure could, in the hands of a genius, open a window into the transcendent. Then Sonata Number 30 in e major, born in the later years of Beethoven’s challenges of deafness, broke the heart with its six powerful variations giving his audience a glimpse into the life of a genius that struggled against the brutality of life by creating beauty that is a gift to those who can hear it as he never did.
The next selection was two piano pieces by Debussy. The first was his impression of the spirit of the Minstrel shows that were popular at the time. The next was his classic Claire de Lune. It was introduced with a comment that reminded the audience that like impressionist paintings, the music was created to capture the composer’s very personal impression of moonlight. For me, it called to mind the idea of what Saint Augustine referred to as “Beauty ever ancient, ever new.” It was a sound portrait of moonlight that was personal and fleeting, a recollection of beauty that can be observed but never literally captured.
Next, a muscular, powerful Samuel Barber Sonata for Piano included the very challenging Fuga that led the listener to a new understanding of how this 20th Century composer invited his listeners to fresh hearing of music popular and classical.
At the hands of “Father Bob” America’s music is simultaneously reflected and elevated in a new idiom of the musical languages. Finally that night on Lexington Avenue concluded with an invitation to hear improvisations on traditional hymns and sacred music. That reminded us to expand our awareness to embrace the many accents in which praise can be expressed, from blues to jazz to traditional chant.
Listening to the performer
One lasting impression was of the raw power of the performance. At times I had to remind myself that the force that seemed almost to rock the formidable structure was the touch of a single pianist, performing on a single instrument
At the next day’s conversation I learned, in the performer’s words, “I take the composer’s notes very seriously, but as the years of relationship to the music continue I find that the notes also embrace the lived experience of the performer.” Since this performer’s lived experience includes the role of professor to 18 talented young student musicians, some reflections of the Professor enrich the picture. “I continually learn from my students, through their responses to whatever material we are studying. At the same time, I work at finding more and different pedagogies to help all of us bring our text to life. We all learn in slightly or sometimes vastly different ways: some learn better by writing; others by discussion; some by looking first at the big picture; others by beginning with the details. I wish to give my students every opportunity to connect with our material and to discover the ways they learn best. Some musicians first need to find ways to get the piano keys down and up in a relaxed and efficient way; others have more need to hear more attentively what they are playing; still others need to study the score more critically; and some need to work first at performing in front of a group. The pedagogies for teaching an effective First Year Symposium, Senior Seminar or Music Literature class are similar. Whatever the course, I hope to teach my students how to think, how to listen, how to understand the ideas of others, how to develop discipline in study and practice, and how to interact with others around particular musical or intellectual material. Above all, I want students to know that a life lived with the materials and skills I teach is a richer, fuller existence.”
For a vicarious experience of Father Bob as professor and performer his performance CDs are available at sjmarket.com and can be downloaded in MP3 format. These include “Lead Kindly Light,” improvisations on sacred melodies and “Live in Japan,” He is also in the process of enriching a Facebook Artist Page. This is the young boy from Iowa who found his way to SJU because it was the best music faculty in this Midwest, North Central area. On graduation he focused on one of the region’s finest symphony orchestras and within two years had become staff pianist of the Milwaukee Symphony. When his life was transformed by recognition of his vocation to become a Benedictine Monk, he was already well aware of the power of music to transform. All his varied constituencies and audiences are the better for that insight.
The Transforming Power of Music
Thursday, April 7, 2016, 7:00 PM
Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer
New York City
Robert Koopmann, O.S.B., Pianist
Partita Number 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825 J. S. Bach
Prelude (1685-1750)
Sarabande
Gigue
Sonata Number 30 in E Major, Opus 109 Ludwig van Beethoven
Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressive (1770-1827)
Prestissimo
Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung- Andante molto-cantabile ed espressivo
Theme
Variation I- Molto espressivo
Variation II- Leggiermente
Variation III- Allegro vivace
Variation IV- Etwas langasmer als das Thema
Variation V- Allegro, ma non-troppo
Variation IV- Tempo I del tema- Cantabile
Two Piano Pieces Claude Debussy
Minstrels (Preludes, Bk 1) (1862-1918)
Claire de Lune-Moonlight (Suite Bergamasque)
Sonata for Piano, Opus 26 Samuel Barber
Allegro vivace e leggero (1910-1984)
Fuga–Allegro conspirito
Lead, Kindly Light Robert Koopmann, O.S.B.
2 Improvisations on Sacred Melodies
This is not a restaurant review. More like an alert that a restaurant can be addictive; how to recognize the signs that it is becoming so; and why that can be a good thing.
I discovered Good Enough to Eat when on “safari” in the early 1990s when Michele Weber had joined the GETE team. I suspect that is a key reason that in all the intervening years I have never been disappointed as I moved from breakfast to brunch to dinner, at succeeding locations (most recently on the downtown route to Lincoln Center via Columbus Avenue and 85th Street).
The safari in question was not an upper west side wildlife adventure, but a tour of what one website named “The 10 Best Breakfasts in New York City.” Next came the effort to entice friends to join me in visiting all ten, located from one end of Manhattan Island to the other. In the course of this “safari” in pursuit of the Holy Grail of breakfasts I found, only one crosstown and one uptown transfer away, the one that holds a unique place in my imagination.
In all that time, I never actually met Michele. When I did, early this past February, I understood what accounts for the unique ambience of GETE. Beyond the mostly irresistible menu offerings and the creative imagination of today’s reigning mixologists, there is a spirit and a spark that defines this as the “go to” place for nourishment, on every level, that has kept me coming back for as many years as Michele Weber has been the genius at the heart of Good Enough to Eat.
The country homestead décor, the examples of bovine art, the handcrafted piggy bank, the patchwork quilt and children’s art sharing space on the brick walls nearly all came as gifts from delighted visitors. The peaceful spirit of the crowds waiting congenially to be seated on weekend mornings, the contents of the antique glass fronted cabinet as a showcase of “calories-be damned” homemade goodies define the space.
But as I review the years and the progression from breakfast through brunch and dinner I can recall the singular moments of various friendships that were spent over a GETE table. The Gramercy Park omelet as prelude to a son’s revelation about his relationship to a hyper-achieving Father who finally recognized that dyslexia need not be a limitation; the bacon waffles that fueled the young students’ concerns about the man she would leave behind as she pursued her choice to study medicine; the arrival at peace in the face of a husband’s early onset Alzheimer’s toasted with a Bourbon cocktail that perfectly set the stage for a dinner entrée that lent new sophistication to the term “homemade comfort food.” If all this sounds like what can happen at the table of a culinarily gifted hostess that may be no accident.
When I finally met Michele I learned that there is a seamless connection between the woman who abandoned the world of publishing to follow her heart into a role she likens to preparing a dinner party for dear friends every day of her life. You could say she went from Z to GETE when she secured passes to the Fancy Food Show, got a job as a business development specialist with a retail bakery where she visited Eli Zabar’s EAT, asked to speak with the person whose name was on the door and (to his credit) was recognized as one for whom a restaurant qualifies as “what one does for love.”
GETE came next and now the role of chef carries her into a new era preserving the old values. I think it’s safe to say smart people recognize that this is a singular love song to great food garnished with utter personalism and style. So the young man whose birthday cakes Michele has baked from his first to the 18th this Spring can hope for more. The wedding cake adorned with fresh flowers and the 20 sheet cake creations providing enough for every guest to consume and more to dream on will continue as long as Michel is inspiring a staff that shares her values. The diner who calls and says, “Please tell me you will do my favorite shepherd’s pie tonight will if at all possible get a hearing (and a favorite entrée.) The NYPD and FDNY regulars will know that they can count on finding a traditional Saint Patrick’s Day dinner at the end of a long March.
Eggs may come as “whites only” and tofu and vegetarian and vegan offerings appear on today’s menu choices in company with comfort food and its creative variations, but those who need gluten free will be encouraged to find other options on the menu of a chef who treats wheat as “sacred.” The mixologists behind the ample bar will create surprises based on the best of brands and instincts for combining that see the ceremony as equal in value to the quaff.
When I met Michele she was wearing a simple chef’s cap, not an iconic toque. But then she is known for a collection of hats for street wear that demonstrates her highly personal taste (at least one that fans of the Ramones will recognize) One of the “hats” she wears most proudly is that of mother of a 10-year old budding chef who said when she was first able to speak, “Mimi, I want to help you.” One day at GETE when she spied a table of diners who had finished their meal, she announced “that four top needs a check.” Get ready for the reign of Adriana! She is sure to prove that Manhattan is every bit as able as Michele’s native St. Cloud, Minnesota to produce a truly distinctive chef.
Annette Cunningham’s Street Seens appears every Sunday.
Patients, current or past, who have been treated at any of New York-Presbyterian Hospital or Weill Cornell-Medicine’s facilities, along with staff and members of the wider local communities who have called or emailed inquiries, will receive an alert describing the treasure trove of Institute presentations, programs and events for the coming month. For example, one of three Heart Healthy Talks offered in May “It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercising” will be presented by Golda Widawski, MPT, who is typical of the highly qualified staff members who volunteer for Institute programs. Successive Tuesday afternoon talks will look at “Herbs as the Spices for Life” and “Be Fast with Stroke.”
![FullSizeRender[1]](https://womanroundtown.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/FullSizeRender1.jpg)
On both occasions his lavish thank you gift to the wider world of his adopted community (i.e. “urban village”) was a concert of piano music that filled the body of the historic landmark Church with resonances that left no doubt as to the genius of the composers and the musician interpreting them. The sidewalk easel on Lexington Avenue announced a concert by pianist-educator Father Robert “Bob” Koopmann, OSB. I can only hope that any passerby who had a moment of skepticism when seeing the title “The Transforming Power of Music” returned to have that doubt swept away by performances that challenged the intellect, engaged the heart and evoked the sense of wonder that are all vital ingredients of transformation.
Music with Power to Transform 
The safari in question was not an upper west side wildlife adventure, but a tour of what one website named “The 10 Best Breakfasts in New York City.” Next came the effort to entice friends to join me in visiting all ten, located from one end of Manhattan Island to the other. In the course of this “safari” in pursuit of the Holy Grail of breakfasts I found, only one crosstown and one uptown transfer away, the one that holds a unique place in my imagination.
The country homestead décor, the examples of bovine art, the handcrafted piggy bank, the patchwork quilt and children’s art sharing space on the brick walls nearly all came as gifts from delighted visitors. The peaceful spirit of the crowds waiting congenially to be seated on weekend mornings, the contents of the antique glass fronted cabinet as a showcase of “calories-be damned” homemade goodies define the space.
When I finally met Michele I learned that there is a seamless connection between the woman who abandoned the world of publishing to follow her heart into a role she likens to preparing a dinner party for dear friends every day of her life. You could say she went from Z to GETE when she secured passes to the Fancy Food Show, got a job as a business development specialist with a retail bakery where she visited Eli Zabar’s EAT, asked to speak with the person whose name was on the door and (to his credit) was recognized as one for whom a restaurant qualifies as “what one does for love.”
Eggs may come as “whites only” and tofu and vegetarian and vegan offerings appear on today’s menu choices in company with comfort food and its creative variations, but those who need gluten free will be encouraged to find other options on the menu of a chef who treats wheat as “sacred.” The mixologists behind the ample bar will create surprises based on the best of brands and instincts for combining that see the ceremony as equal in value to the quaff.
When I met Michele she was wearing a simple chef’s cap, not an iconic toque. But then she is known for a collection of hats for street wear that demonstrates her highly personal taste (at least one that fans of the Ramones will recognize) One of the “hats” she wears most proudly is that of mother of a 10-year old budding chef who said when she was first able to speak, “Mimi, I want to help you.” One day at GETE when she spied a table of diners who had finished their meal, she announced “that four top needs a check.” Get ready for the reign of Adriana! She is sure to prove that Manhattan is every bit as able as Michele’s native St. Cloud, Minnesota to produce a truly distinctive chef.