‘Essential workers’ deserve more

Bill Knight column for 5-28, 29 or 30, 2020

This month had International Workers Day and also the Feast Day for St. Joseph (the worker), both on May 1, a day when Pope Francis said, “Let us pray for all workers … that all would be paid justly and may enjoy the dignity of work and the beauty of rest.

“Work is what makes the person similar to God because with work one is a creator, is capable of creating, of creating many things, including creating a family to keep going,” the Pope continued. “This gives dignity to the human person, the dignity that makes one resemble God – the dignity of labor.”

That dignity sometimes requires workers to assert their rights, and on May 1 a mostly symbolic strike added to actions over the previous month, when “essential workers” started to take their recognition not just seriously, but literally.

Last month, Amazon warehouse workers in New York, autoworkers in Michigan, UPS drivers in Pennsylvania, bus drivers in Alabama, workers at General Electric, the food-delivery service Instacart, and Trader Joe’s, Shipt, Walmart and Whole Foods (owned by Amazon). They all blasted bosses for a lack of masks and gloves and for wages that don’t reflect how indispensable the workers are.

Literally.

Also, between Earth Day and May Day, more than 100 labor and environmental groups together made the connection between medical employees and “essential workers” in an appeal to the White House, according to the Labor Network for Sustainability (LNS).

“The desperate need for [personal protective equipment] goes far beyond health-care workers,” the groups wrote. “Janitors are deep-cleaning buildings, teachers’ aides are delivering meals to children at home, warehouse and manufacturing workers are making and distributing essential goods, home-care providers are caring for the most vulnerable, public-service workers are maintaining essential services, bus operators are taking essential workers to their jobs.”

Signers included the Amalgamated Transit Union, American Federation of Teachers, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Service Employees, and UNITE HERE, plus the Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club and the Sunrise Movement.

The backbone of society is revealed in grocery stores, where workers wear masks and gloves, often behind plexiglass shields, with direction arrows on the floor guiding consumers to avoid getting too close.

Next to health-care providers, they’re not just vital but numerous. There are about 3 million grocery workers alone.

Essential workers are in many sectors: retail, warehousing, delivery, some manufacturing, and food processing. In Illinois, the state also lists as essential people in construction, transportation, utilities, social services, media, gas stations, financial institutions, hardware stores, distance-learning, laundry services, restaurants for eating off-site, critical labor union functions, limited hotels/motels and funeral services.

“The pandemic exposes the reality of ‘essential work’,” said Stephanie Luce, a professor at the City University of New York. “What we really need to do in society to take care of ourselves. We need food and shelter, health care, education and social work. We need recreation, music and arts. We need purpose and we need space and time to pursue our passions.

“Many of the workers who serve our basic needs, such as farmworkers, grocery-store workers, nurses’ aides, home-care workers, delivery workers and EMTs, are not rewarded … leaving them to rely on charity or public services to make ends meet,” she continued. “In a differently organized society we could start first with making sure these kinds of jobs are adequately staffed and those who do them are treated justly.”

Worldwide, millions marked May Day by demonstrating about public health and private hardship, between pestilence and want. In France, Parisians sang from balconies to appeal for masks, insurance and aid; in Greece, protestors in Athens stood six feet apart in a mass protest; in Spain dozens of health-care workers at a field hospital shouted, “We want tests!”, and in Turkey, workers took part in “unauthorized” demonstrations.

“Hopefully the coronavirus recedes soon, but we may be in an economic crisis that lasts for years,” said New York labor organizer and writer Eric Dimbach. “It will be essential to have a full accounting of all the labor-movement strikes, protests and negotiations that made things safer for workers. It’s unlikely that these actions will make it into the official government work-stoppage data. Just as with the Great Depression, we may be at the beginning of a new era. As states move to ‘reopen’ the economy, we may see a new wave of labor unrest.”

As for the modest May Day actions in the USA, some politicians backed workers. U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said, “Front-line workers at large corporations like Amazon and Instacart deserve PPE," she said. “They deserve paid sick leave. They deserve a safe working environment. But many don't have these protections. I stand with those on strike today for safe working conditions.”

Escape ‘Spring to Forget’ with Grandpa’s summer treat

Bill Knight column for 5-25, 26 or 27, 2020

Just for a moment, let’s ditch our woes and consider ice cream, particularly HOMEMADE ice cream. And – now being a first-time grandfather – I’ve dusted off my own grandpa’s version for the arrival of June, summer and (hopefully) outdoor get-togethers when it’s safe to share meals and memories in backyards.

Ice-cream makers were invented in the 1800s, but the treat’s been traced to ancient China, Greece, Persia and Rome. Some places flavored ice or snow with fruit or honey; some mixed milk and rice with syrup. 

As for the heritage of this recipe – the result of trials-and-errors and (defective, if delicious) experiments – I’m escaping this Spring to Forget by remembering Albert Avery Knight. Born in 1907, my grandpa was a long-time Standard Oil sales rep whose business card said “A.A. Knight” but everyone called him “Shorty” because he was 6-foot, 4 inches tall and the world had a sense of humor.

Among favorite memories of Grandpa was at his house in Carthage, Ill., where he hosted kin to make ice cream in the shade of an old elm tree (where a neighbor’s dog used to run up its side and sit in the crotch of its trunk, honest to God). His lawn furniture included a red metal glider and we’d swing on it as he worked his wood-bucket, hand-cranked ice-cream freezer, occasionally taking a break to let us sample the salty ice.

One time, during an ice-cream-making session when I was a toddler, I was chewing on a melting ice cube when it got stuck in my throat. Dad swept in, picked me up and did a pre-Heimlich maneuver on me to dislodge the ice, and I vaguely recall being annoyed at the rough remedy until I saw Grandpa laughing.

He laughed a lot, and he seemed to smile all the time. Maybe it was the salesman in him, but despite an occasional ulcer, he was happy-go-lucky. He chewed gum all the time, kept marshmallow peanuts in his company car, and walked with a breezy gait, jingling coins in his pocket that often ended up in my hands.

I was a preschooler when I got separated from Mom at church and was wandering around among what seemed like endless waves of adult legs, weeping, until I saw him coming down some stairs.

“What’s happening, Billy?” he asked, kneeling face-to-face.

“Mom’s lost!” I cried, and he took my hand and said, “Well, let’s just go find her …”

Grandpa was a hard-working guy, too, driving a “route” that covered western Illinois from Quincy to Peoria when almost every small town had a Standard Oil filling station selling gas and the tires and other supplies he’d sell. But he relaxed, too. One evening, with my brother and me spending some vacation time with him, Grandpa took a swig of Pepsi (with peanuts he’d dropped in the bottle), sighed, smiled and said, “Billy, I can do a year’s work in 11 months, but not in 12.” I didn’t understand that until I worked my first full-time job.

It won’t be work when (soon, I pray) I’ll smile like Shorty and once more make his ice cream and relax – and hopefully introduce my grandkid to the distinctive delight. Try it:

SHORTY KNIGHT’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

Ingredients: 1 Quart whole milk, 6 eggs, 2 Cups white sugar, 1 Pint whipping cream, 1 13-ounce can Evaporated milk, and 1½ Teaspoons vanilla extract.

Directions: In a large bowl, whip cream until it stiffens. In a second bowl, whip the eggs, then add the sugar to the eggs mixture and mix again. Pour the second bowl into the first, and add the vanilla and milk. Stir slightly. If you can stand it, refrigerate the blend a few hours (overnight is even better). Before using the ice-cream maker/freezer, stir again very slightly, and then fill the freezer compartment halfway.

Surround with ice cubes (not crushed, creating air spaces), and occasionally sprinkle rock salt on the ice to increase melting and accelerate freezing. Crank or motorize the concoction until the blades slow or stop. Scoop into a separate container and continue with prepared mix, again filling (cleaned-out) freezer halfway; repeat.

Make it! And make some memories.

For REAL isolation, watch a submarine flick

Bill Knight column for 5-21, 22 or 23, 2020

This Memorial Day (May 25), we shouldn’t forget U.S. Navy submarines that sacrificed comfort and sometimes lives. (In World War II more than 3,500 men perished on 52 sunken American subs.) We can remember them as we shelter at home without being confined to such claustrophobic spaces.

We can watch Hollywood’s nods to submarines, films that break through the surface like the dolphins on the insignia of the Navy's “silent service”: they crash through, unexpected and lively. In filmmakers’ subs, people are isolated and endangered, with characters and conflicts trapped together in smelly, hot, metal eggshells: refuges and prisons. Subs are ruthless and helpless, the ultimate in maneuverability and vulnerability.

Recent decades’ sub flicks have ranged from “Phantom” with Ed Harris to “Crimson Tide,” featuring a struggle between Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington (plus a sub confrontation). Other ambitious efforts include “K-19: The Widowmaker” (starring Harrison Ford, based on a true story) and this year’s “Underwater” (a sci-fi/horror pic with Kristen Stewart).

Whether action films or thrillers, movies that use subs as settings or plot devices number in the dozens, from exploration and rescue to combat and comedy. They include “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea,” “Operation Petticoat” and “Torpedo Alley.” The offbeat “Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” with Bill Murray and “U-571,” the actioner starring Matthew McConaughey, are OK. Other decent, if more obscure, sub films are “The Deep Six” with Alan Ladd, “Corvette K-225” with Randolph Scott, and “Submarine Command” with William Holden. Directors who “got their feet wet” in sub films include Frank Capra (“Submarine” was his first A picture), John Ford (“Submarine Patrol”) and Samuel Fuller (“Hell and High Water”).

Some are barely adequate, such as “Gray Lady Down” with Stacy Keach and Christopher Reeve, and “Hellcats of the Navy” with Ronald Reagan. Others simply sink, like the comedy “Down Periscope,” and the dull “Sub Down.”

So, if you like the sea, you’re dealing with close quarters and are entertained by ocean-going cat-and-mouse games, check out this “Diving Dozen”:

“Das Boot” (“The Boat,” 1981). Jurgen Prochnow stars as the stoic, heroic captain in director Wolfgang Petersen's Oscar-winner. A World War II German U-Boat and its crew of cynical vets and scared recruits, loyal Nazi's and “good Germans” all endure a mission of predictable danger.

“Crash Dive” (1943). Tyrone Power and Dana Andrews star as an ambitious officer and a selfless commander, respectively. Together on board, ashore they compete for the affections of Anne Baxter.

“Destination Tokyo” (1943). Cary Grant commands a typical melting-pot crew, who idolize him. “I'd follow him to the Mikado's bathtub,” one says. They almost do, invading Tokyo harbor. John Garfield co-stars.

“The Enemy Below” (1957). Actor-turned-director Dick Powell made this superior outing starring Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens as commanders of opposing ships facing off – and developing a relationship.

“The Hunt for Red October” (1990). Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin star in an adaptation of Tom Clancy's best-selling thriller about a Soviet captain who defects to the United States in his sub. Praised for accuracy, it didn't sacrifice drama for authenticity. James Earl Jones and Courtney B. Vance are featured.

“On the Beach” (1959). Filmmaker Stanley Kramer directed Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire in this excellent adaptation of Nevil Shute's novel about the universality of doomsday – even one caused by nuclear war.

“Operation Pacific” (1951). John Wayne is Duke Gifford, a zealous submariner in this war yarn. Ward Bond is superb as “Pops,” and Patricia Neal is sweet as Duke's ex-wife.

“Run Silent, Run Deep” (1958). Robert Wise’s drama focuses on growing resentment between two leaders (Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster) over management style on their sub.

“The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” (1966). The premier submarine comedy, this Norman Jewison picture stars Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner and Jonathan Winters. The romp follows a hapless crew from a disabled Soviet sub off U.S. shores, appealing to equally hapless Americans for help.

“Torpedo Run” (1958). Glenn Ford is a commander chasing the ship that led the Pearl Harbor attack. After missing (and sinking a ship carrying his imprisoned family), he's obsessed. Ernest Borgnine co-stars.

“Up Periscope” (1959). This exciting war movie has demolition man James Garner joining Edmund O'Brien's sub for a reconnaissance mission to a remote enemy island. Alan Hale Jr. co-stars.

“Yellow Submarine” (1968). Thematically different, this animated hit follows the Beatles' battle with the Blue Meanies – using their remarkable smiling sub!