Blog – Top of JC’s Mind

SoCS: living room couch

Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is to write about a memory of the room you are in. I’m in my living room, looking at our empty couch and remembering a holiday photo when out-of-town relatives arrived to visit after Christmas. We had gathered in front of, on, and behind the couch.

There were my parents, my sisters and one brother-in-law, daughters and son-in-law, niece and nephew. My other brother-in-law isn’t in the photo because he was the photographer.

The person who was there but declined to join the photo was my mother-in-law. We wanted her to join in but she didn’t want to because it was “my side of the family” and she didn’t feel that she belonged. To me, it was just family and she belonged in the photo but, of course, we accepted her decision.

We didn’t know that she would suffer a heart attack that next March and pass away. We just passed the anniversary of her death.

We’ve since lost both my parents. Daughter E and her family are living “across the pond” in London. With my parents gone, I don’t have as many opportunities to see my sisters who came to our area to see them.

So, this morning, empty couch. Lots of memories.

the empty couch

COVID into the fifth year

Four years ago, here in the US, things were pretty much shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. B was working from home. I was the household’s designated shopper and would go, masked, to the grocery store every other week to stock up, although I’d sometimes have to visit more than one store because supply was a problem. We managed to keep ourselves safe, although we were horrified at the death toll in the US and around the world and at the people who became very ill. Over time, we also saw that some people had lasting damage to their lungs or other organs and others had symptoms that debilitated them for months.

Now, things are much better, due to vaccines and other precautions that have cut down on serious illnesses, although the US has slipped on vaccination, even as the virus has mutated in ways that make SARS-CoV-2 more infectious and immune-evasive. There are still way too many people getting sick and suffering long-term damage or death. While there are studies and some treatments on-going, there are still a lot of people suffering from long COVID.

We finally had our first case of COVID in our house last November, when B contracted it at a rare, in-person event for work. He isolated in part of our house and daughter T and I remained infection-free.

I don’t know how much longer we will be able to manage that status.

I was disappointed when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed their guidance about isolating when infected with COVID. The new recommendations are for respiratory viruses in general and say that people can resume normal activities when their symptoms are improving and they have been without fever for 24 hours without being on fever-reducing medication. People are supposed to use masking, distancing, and other strategies to protect others from infection for five days afterward.

While I appreciate CDC’s reasoning, which is based on statistics, I don’t find it personally useful. It is typical that a person with COVID is infectious for ten days. It’s entirely possible to be fever-free and have improving symptoms and still be infectious. I’m afraid that most people won’t hear or won’t follow through on the part of the recommendation for masking and taking precautions to avoid exposing others after they leave isolation. This is especially troubling to me because so many people are not current on their vaccinations and/or are vulnerable due to age or health conditions. It’s great that the immunity level in the population halved the rate of serious illness and death, but that’s cold comfort if you expose a loved one, neighbor, co-worker, etc. and they become seriously I’ll or die.

If/when I contract COVID, I will isolate and mask until I test negative and am reasonably sure I can’t transmit the virus to anyone else. I want to protect my family and my community, especially our elders and those with medical issues, from contracting a virus that could cause them severe symptoms.

Please remember, when you see someone wearing a mask in public, to be kind and understanding. It’s entirely possible that they are trying to protect your health, not just their own.

(COVID Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash)

No to CO2 drilling in New York!

One of the things that has been occupying me over these last weeks is the unwelcome and unexpected need to return to the battle against unconventional gas drilling in my home region, New York’s Southern Tier (central NY along the border with Pennsylvania).

I was active with the coalition that successfully advocated for a ban on high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York, which was first regulatory/executive in Dec. 2014 and made legislative in 2021.

In late summer/fall of 2023, a newly-formed, Texas-based company called Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions, Southern Tier Solutions or STS for short, began approaching landowners in Broome, Tioga, and Chemung counties with lease offers to use supercritical carbon dioxide to extract methane from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations thousands of feet under their land, claiming that it would also sequester the carbon. The scheme would involve thousands of miles of new CO2 and methane pipelines, plus ten or so new methane-burning power plants, which would burn the methane to produce carbon dioxide to use to extract more methane.

Mind you, this has never been done at scale anywhere in the world and does not have any solid scientific backing. The very real negative impacts of high-volume hydrofracking would be compounded by the dangers of carbon dioxide pipelines and injection, all at a time when New York State is implementing its landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to move us away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy powering our lives efficiently.

When news of STS’s plans came to light, my New York State legislators, Assemblymember Donna Lupardo and Senator Lea Webb, began asking the Department of Environmental Conservation questions. I admit that I was alternating between fear and disbelief that the hard-won ban might be in jeopardy because it was predicated on the volume of water used and STS’s proposal plans to use supercritical carbon dioxide instead of water.

Fortunately, the coalition that had fought for years to win the hydrofracking ban quickly reconstituted and got to work. A coalition letter from over 90 organizations went out in December. Legislators got to work on legislation to add carbon dioxide to the existing ban with Dr. Anna Kelles as sponsor in the Assembly with Donna Lupardo as a prime co-sponsor and Lea Webb as sponsor in the Senate.

On March 5th, the coalition held a rally/lobby day in Albany. We had great speakers at the rally, including legislators, scientists, and leaders of organizations. I went local with my sign, emphasizing that the Broome County (Binghamton) area is part of the clean energy future as the center of a national technology hub for battery storage through the New Energy New York coalition and neither needs nor wants to be tied to dying fossil fuels. This was my first experience with in-person rallying and lobbying at the New York State Capitol. I was overwhelmed by the noise and busy-ness of it all but grateful to have been able to do my small part in the effort.

I’m thrilled to report that, on March 12th, the Assembly passed the bill with a vote of 97-50 and. on March 20th, the Senate followed with a vote of 45-17. Now, we are moving into the final phase, asking Governor Hochul to sign the bill quickly.

I’m shocked that the coalition was able to get this to move so quickly in Albany. As a Southern Tier resident, I’m immensely grateful to have support from around the state. In the original fight against hydrofracking, there were some very loud voices that were willing to use the Southern Tier as a sacrifice zone to get cheaper methane for their own use; this time, with the CLCPA in place, we didn’t encounter that sentiment as much. I’m also especially grateful to the Third Act Upstate NY working group, who jumped in as soon as I raised the alarm. Third Act is too new an organization to have been around for the original fracking battles but many members have extensive experience with climate activism and organizing and know how to get the word out.

While it seems that this is a local issue of a few counties in New York, the carbon dioxide drilling/sequestration scheme has global implications. Like plastics, it is an attempt by the fossil fuel industry to keep the world dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come, in defiance of the science that demonstrates the need to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases as quickly as possible to keep the planet livable.

Part of the price to get fossil-fuel bro Joe Manchin’s vote in the US Senate on climate legislation was to include massive subsidies for carbon sequestration. It’s those subsidies that are behind STS’s proposed scheme to profit from the methane in the Marcellus and Utica shales, which is not economically viable to produce on its own. Using carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels to extract even more fossil fuels is also inherently deleterious to environmental health and the climate. While there may be some instances where industrial carbon emissions can be collected and sequestered, the geology of the Southern Tier would not seem to support long-term sequestration. Sequestration would also be near-impossible in areas with a history of oil and gas wells because there would be too many pathways for injected carbon dioxide to escape.

My hope is that the example of New York banning this extraction/sequestration scheme will help other jurisdictions around the world see through the fossil fuels industry’s increasingly desperate attempts to keep the world burning their dirty products, even with the effects of climate change already causing damage and misery on a global scale.

Watch for news of these kinds of proposals near you. Don’t fall for the lies of the fossil fuel industry. Follow the science. Advocate for clean, renewable energy. Let elected officials know that we need and want protection from pollution and climate change. With so much damage already having been done, we need to act decisively now.

Together, we can move in a positive direction, as we are here in New York.

One-Liner Wednesday: Senate debate

This afternoon in Albany, Senator Lea Webb will lead the effort to add carbon dioxide to New York State’s existing high-volume hydraulic fracturing ban, all of which I will explain in a post at some point…

This (somewhat informative) post is part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/03/20/one-liner-wednesday-technology/

Vestal Barnes & Noble event

Gearing up for a Saturday, March 16, 2024 event from noon to 4 PM at our local Vestal, NY Barnes & Noble Bookstore, featuring five Grapevine Poets, including me. The Grapevine Poets take their name from The Grapevine Cafe in Johnson City where we meet regularly to workshop poems, talk, and eat, of course!

Merrill Douglas, Jessica Dubey, Carol Mikoda, Burt Myers, and I, Joanne Corey, will be at individual tables scattered about the store for book signing and conversation from noon to three. We will each have a stamp to mark your entry to a drawing for a Barnes and Noble gift card if you visit all five of us.

At 3:00 or so, we will have a reading in the music department. We are hoping that some of our Grapevine colleagues will appear, as well.

Please join us at whatever point you are able. You can say that you “heard it through the grapevine!”

Many thanks to Burt Myers for the flyer. Burt is a talented graphic artist besides being a talented poet.

Vote for Democracy #3

Russia. Russia. Russia.

While Donald Trump often complains about the investigations and press coverage, there is ample evidence of Russian interference in the United States presidential elections of 2016, 2020, and 2024.

To find more information about 2016, read the Mueller Report (Volume I and II) and the speaking indictments against Russian operatives. There is also this extensive report from the Senate Intelligence Select Committee.

This unclassified report from the US National Intelligence Council gives a synopsis of Russia’s effort to boost Trump and undermine Biden before the 2020 election. Of course, one can also look at testimony from Trump’s first impeachment inquiry, when Russian operatives were contributing to efforts to accuse Joe Biden of improper actions in Ukraine.

As for this year’s election, Alexander Smirnov, who was a primary source for the Republican House impeachment attempt against Joe Biden, has now been charged with making false statements and records; he has been in recent contact with Russian intelligence. Russia has been continuing to sow distrust of the election system and tries to undermine all democratic principles, both in public statements and covertly, including via social media.

Russia’s behavior has been especially egregious recently with the murder of Alexei Navalny in prison and the arrests of people paying their respects to him. Putin’s autocratic power is the antithesis of democracy. The upcoming Russian election doesn’t even serve as a credible fig leaf.

The shocking and appalling thing is that, here in the US, Trump and many Republicans extol Putin’s “strength” and refuse to condemn his butchery and unconscionable invasion of Ukraine. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and some Republican members of Congress are refusing to authorize much needed continued aid to Ukraine, thereby aiding Russia.

Some Republicans have even been saying that “democracy is over” and want Trump to be elected and establish an autocracy like that of Viktor Orban in Hungary, who is coming to US this week and meeting with Trump but not with anyone in the Biden administration.

I will not support Trump or any other candidate who promotes Russia’s lies or condones their lawless behavior. I also will not support any candidate who does not believe in democracy or who seeks to weaken it.

The United States needs to stand strongly for democratic principles against Russia and all autocrats and oligarchs.

Photo credit: Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash

One-Liner Wednesday: I haven’t quite fallen off the face of the earth

Just a reassurance that I will get back to substantive posting soon (I hope), after a period of travel, catching up after travel, family health issues, not nearly enough sleep, manuscript work, jet lag/time change, trying to solve problems that never should have happened in the first place, rallying and lobbying against CO2 fracking/carbon sequestration and working on tax returns…

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/03/06/one-liner-wednesday-detriment/

One-Liner Wednesday: courage

Courage, after all, is not being unafraid, but doing what needs to be done in spite of fear.

James L. Farmer

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/02/28/one-liner-wednesday-be-a-friend/

First Royalties

Last week, I received my first ever royalties payment on the copies of my poetry chapbook Hearts, which was published by Kelsay Books in May, 2023.

The payment covered the copies sold through the Kelsay Books website and on Amazon in 2023. (If you are lucky enough to still have an independent bookstore near you, they can also order Hearts for you through Ingram.)

It turns out that I had sold more copies myself, in person and through mail order, than I had online.

Yay, me?

At any rate, I’m now working on 2024 sales, so feel free to order at either of the links above, through your favorite local independent bookstore, or directly from me. I can arrange to meet up or deliver locally or send by mail in the US. You may email me at jcorey.poet@gmail.com to make arrangements or for more information.

I’m also available to give readings at bookstores, book club meetings, libraries, or anywhere else that might want to invite me. I could discuss Hearts, which revolves around my mother in her final years, or, more likely, read a more wide-ranging selection of my work and take questions. I could even throw in some blogging discussion, if that is of interest. I’m open to travelling to your venue or appearing virtually, so feel free to make a proposal that would suit you and your group!

I’m still near the beginning of the learning curve on the whole promotion aspect of authorship, so, please, also feel free to send along any advice or tips you may have.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased or read Hearts, written a review, and/or communicated with me about their own reflections and reactions. It has been a special experience for me knowing that my poems reach people and remind them of aspects of their own lives.

I also appreciate the support of the readers at Top of JC’s Mind. I’ll continue to keep you posted about my poet-life, plus a whole lot more, here.

In gratitude,
Joanne Corey

Ronald Perera memorial concert

Earlier this month, I was privileged to attend a memorial concert for Ron Perera, composer and professor emeritus of music at Smith College. The concert took place in Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall, the long-time center of musical life on campus. I had taken five semesters of theory and composition with Mr. Perera and he had been my major advisor. We had been in touch variously over the decades and we had enjoyed a wonderful lunch together last spring when I was back on campus to sing with the Smith College Alumnae Chorus.

All the pieces at the concert were Ron Perera’s compositions, some of which were performed by the musicians for whom they were written. I especially appreciated seeing pianist Professor Emerita Monica Jakuc Leverett perform Out of Shadow almost 36 years after its premiere. Another piano piece that I loved was Three Waltzes for Four Hands, written for Ron’s three daughters, and performed by Professor Emeritus Kenneth Fearn and his daughter, Kaeza. I’m looking forward to ordering a copy for daughter E and son-in-law L to play for our granddaughters ABC and JG.

As a writer and choral singer, I was especially drawn to the choral pieces that opened and closed the concert. The opening was “Hold Out Your Hands Over the Earth” from The Outermost House, text by Henry Beston. The work was commissioned by the Chatham Chorale, on Cape Cod. The Perera family lived on the Cape during the summers and Ron loved to sail there. Some of the text in this movement is:

To all who love her, who open to her the doors of their veins, she gives strength, sustaining them with her own measureless tremor of dark life. Touch the earth, love the earth, honor the earth, her plains, her valleys, her hills, and her seas; rest your spirit in her solitary places.

It was a perfect reflection to begin.

Besides the music, there were four remembrances in the program. The first was from one of Ron’s daughters, Rosalind, which also served as a welcome. Two were from pastors of St. John’s Episcopal Church, located in the midst of Smith’s campus, where Ron was a long-time member and volunteer. The other was from Professor Emeritus Donald Wheelock, who was Ron’s composer-colleague for many years and who helped to organize the concert. It was beautiful to hear them speak about his kind, caring nature and the depth and breadth of his thoughts, talents, interests, and beliefs. Even as a college student, I could sense what a wonderful man he was and it was inspiring to hear how he sustained those qualities throughout his life and shared them with so many, most especially his family.

The concert closed with the Smith College Chamber Singers offering Ron’s setting of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Music, When Soft Voices Die” conducted by Jonathan Hirsh, who is a current faculty member, friend of Ron, and another concert organizer. He had graciously kept me apprised of the plans as the memorial came together so that I could arrange to attend. It was such a perfect, quiet, love-filled ending to the memorial. “And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,/ Love itself shall slumber on.”

At the reception after the concert, I was able to speak briefly with Don Wheelock and Jonathan Hirsh and at greater length with the third organizer, Professor Emerita Karen Smith Emerson. I am grateful for their work in putting the program together to celebrate a remarkable, generous, talented man who leaves a legacy of music and writings but, more importantly, of human connection and spiritual strength.

I’m also grateful to CK, Smith ’81, and her spouse who opened their lovely home near campus to B and me for the weekend. I appreciated their hospitality and their companionship at the concert and reception. I’m hoping CK will be able to sing with us the next time I’m back on campus for an event with the Smith College Alumnae Chorus.

It will be bittersweet, though, knowing that Ron will not be there to hear us. Maybe, we will perform a piece of his music in remembrance…

recording of the concert