Archive for family
Eulogy
My sister Jenny Basil read these words at our mother’s funeral yesterday.
“Thank you, Jenny, for reading this for me.
“Our mother, Maureen, was a charismatic person. Everybody here felt her energy. When she was looking at you, she was REALLY looking at you. Her assessments were honest. Scrupulous. Her example has always been in my head in my career as an editor and as a teacher.
“Last year I dedicated a communications textbook to my parents and to my son. Mom said that when she opened it, she found herself at the grammar chapter. She told me that she was delighted; she enjoyed discussions of grammar. My Mom wrote beautifully. I’ve kept the typewriter she used to write her university essays. The last time I saw my Mom, I told her I was so very proud of her for returning to university as a mature student. She said she was proud, too.
“My mom loved art and was an artist. My siblings and I were always encouraged to explore the arts. She drove me to piano lessons and sent me to music summer camp, which was a totally wonderful experience; memories still make my eyes well with tears of gratitude. Thank you, Mom.
“I know that too often I was a hard case as a son, but my Mom was always generous with me. She was surpassingly gracious and kind to me at her end, calling me ‘sweetie.’ In her honour and in my Dad’s I am endowing in perpetuity the Maureen and George Basil Award at Kwantlen Polytechnic University; the annual award is about ten years old now. My Mom once told me that she found it odd to appear on the resumes of so many strangers.
“In a profound way Mom – Maureen Basil – appears on all of our spiritual resumes.”
Sisters
In our old basement – 1970 or so? – in a house soon to be sold to a new family.
(Those old Polaroids can never be replaced.)
Mom
Maureen Basil passed away yesterday. She was a brilliant and charismatic and artistic person and a surpassingly generous Mom. People who befriended her knew how lucky they were. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer the day before my Dad’s memorial service a few weeks ago. In her last days she was content and radiant and witty. The above photo was taken in Montreal about 40 years ago. The one below, a good deal earlier, I think! My parents truly adored one another.
Saving the nautilus
My sister Jenny Basil, a renowned professor of biology at City University of New York’s Brooklyn College, is over the moon because of this news: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is recommending that the chambered nautilus, pictured below, be placed on the international endangered species list.
The chambered nautilus, with its beautifully intricate shell and exquisite coloring is traded in large quantities, mostly as jewelry and shell products. The United States has long been concerned about the impact that this trade may have on the seven species in the nautilus family , as have some ambitious young conservationists (learn more here and here). Nautiluses are slow to reproduce, leaving them particularly vulnerable to overfishing. The United States, Fiji, India and Palau have put forward a proposal to include the nautilus family in Appendix II to ensure its survival in the wild.
Truly happy news.
Photo from the Flickr stream of Klaus Steifel shared under Creative Commons licensing.
Another gift
A great friend of my brother passed away recently. He was not my type of fellow – we could never have been friends – but he loved my brother, and my brother loved him, so he was in.
When I met Michael in 1996 after I moved to Vancouver, he was shocked – to the point of utter disbelief – that I had not remembered him from an earlier visit to Vancouver. “What did we discuss?” I asked. “What were our conversations about? If you tell me that, I should be able to remember you.” He had no memory of what we might have talked about. It was evident that he was certain that anybody who met him – even just looked at him! – could never forget the experience. I suppose that my need for keywords to navigate to my library-brain makes me as weird as he was, trusting in his physical charisma.
Early on in my Vancouver days an instance of his careless joviality incensed me, and in front of one of his girlfriends I told him off, in vulgar fashion. This is what Michael said to me in response: “Bob, I think we have different senses of humour. That shouldn’t create divisions between us.”
That effort at de-escalation successfully muted and well as calmed down that angry part of me, and *hugely* impressed the teacher in me – I tell this story to my students – and I never had a cross word with him again. Indeed, after that I was always kind of happy to see him.
One thing more. He made sure that when he entered any room, he made it brighter, for awhile at least. And that is really something – & not easy.
The Queen City
Katie Couric, now Global Anchor at Yahoo! News, posted a beautiful story and video called “Buffalo’s big comeback” last Friday. The video I found especially moving. Every scene stirred me: Here was my first soul-home.
I adore this city. I met best friends here. My son was born here. I learned my craft here. I had one or two beers here, and some tequila shots. I fell in love here. I worked at Mighty Taco here. I wrote here. My soul will always be in Buffalo.
It is the only place I could possibly go if I ever left the Terminal City.
Happy birthday, Dad!
My father, George Basil, turns 83 today. He’s the handsome guy in the photo above, next to my Mom, a few years ago in Montreal.
CUNY Universities Deliver
My sister Jen teaches Biology at Brooklyn College, ranked tops in “best bang for your buck” among American universities. I am very proud of her and her colleagues.
The magazine’s 2014 survey ranked Brooklyn College number one in the nation. Queens College and Baruch College placed second and third place nationally, matching their performance in the 2013 survey.
“The CUNY schools are legendary for having educated wave after wave of first-generation students, many from immigrant backgrounds, from Jonas Salk to Jennifer Lopez. “These three colleges continue that tradition,” Washington Monthly reported wrote in its September issue. “They are a great value for students who can gain admission.”
CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken said, “ It comes as no surprise that CUNY colleges are nationally recognized as offering tremendous value. With a world-class faculty, low tuition, new facilities, and a well-earned reputation with employers, graduate and professional schools, CUNY students and their families are well-aware of the extraordinary opportunity they enjoy.”
Nearly six out of 10 full-time undergraduate students attend tuition-free, thanks to federal and state aid that fully cover CUNY’s exceptionally low tuition. And, while students and their families nationally are struggling with more than $1 trillion in student loans, 80 percent of CUNY’s graduates who move into the workforce leave debt-free.
A crack-down on party buses
The party bus industry received a stern reminder from police and the province last week to keep alcohol off their rolling discos as graduation season approaches.
After six years of tirelessly lobbying the province to regulate the burgeoning industry, Julie Raymond and her daughter Danielle believe they are finally being heard. They are set to meet with Transportation Minister Todd Stone on June 11.
“Danielle and I no longer feel that we are alone and that people are finally realizing that what we have been saying over the past six years is in fact the truth on how the majority of the industry operates,” said Raymond, whose daughter Shannon died on July 26, 2008 after taking two ecstasy pills and drinking alcohol during a birthday party for a friend on a party bus. She was 16.
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Shannon death’s resulted in the trial of Victoria Turley (at whose home Shannon perished) on the novel charge “Failure to provide the necessities of life.” Turley was acquitted.
Danielle Raymond, a former student of mine, has become a great friend. I met Julie Raymond and other members of their family during the trial. I feel lucky to know them: Such a strong family.
Shots from Europe
Amsterdam biker
London Lady: “Luckiest shot ever!”
The joys and opportunities of youth are not lost on my son, Miles. He made the most of his post-Med School / pre-Residency break by
– Visiting Vancouver and BC’s Sunshine Coast
– Driving from Buffalo to Los Angeles
– Attending his Med School’s Commencement and Awards ceremonies
– Finding an apartment in Boston
– Travelling through Europe for ten days
– Oh, and attending several dozen parties (it seemed).
Here are some photos from his Europe trip.
“There was a really neat church in the Czech Republic that needed to exhume thousands of bodies that had died during The Plague to make room in its cemetery. So they decorated a church with thousands and thousands of human bones!”
“An example of the bright, colorful artwork on the Berlin wall. One of my favorite parts of the trip.”
“This is the site of Hitler’s former underground bunker in which he killed himself. Today, it’s a parking lot for an apartment building with absolutely no plaque, commemoration, etc. There’s a small sign on the street indicating the site, but besides that, there is nothing. Very fitting.”
The Octopus Riddle
My genius brother-in-law, Brooklyn College professor Frank Grasso (shown above), knows himself some octopus! Listen to his interview on National Public Radio to find out why octopus arms don’t stick to each other.
Miles Basil, M.D.
My son accepted the Merck Academic Achievement Award at the SUNY/Buffalo Medical School’s Awards presentation this morning. A few hours later, he graduated at a wonderful ceremony.
That would be love.
My son, Miles Basil, writes: “Sent you some photos I took today from the old industrial waterfront/ first ward region of Buffalo. J. bought a new camera so we wanted to do some exploring. Buffalo is such an awesome city to photograph … just one more reason I’ll miss it so much.”
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