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Of Mule and Man

Page 16

by Mike Farrell


  Mule has no comment.

  “Oh, come on, it’s sweet.”

  Silent, he’s intent on eating up the miles.

  Up ahead, maybe it’s all the white, maybe it’s the heat, but something plays tricks with the eyes. In the distance, the road looks like it’s covered with water. I’ve seen it before on long drives when it’s hot and the road is laid out straight ahead. Alternately, it looks like the highway sinks away and a car or truck way up there appears to be floating.

  Nearing the end of this phenomenon, a sign identifies it as the Bonneville Salt Flats. Of course, of course, the place where they do all the car commercials or sometimes compete to break the land speed record.

  Crossing into the Nevada desert, a dry, mountainous expanse so different from what we’ve just been through that it’s visually interesting … for a while. Then I turn on the radio and am lucky enough to find the BBC again.

  I catch the end of something indicating that an Israeli official threatened an attack on Iran’s nuclear project. I hope they can keep a leash on the hawks over there, because that would be a catastrophe—for Israel, for the entire Middle East, for the world. And, though I only get part of it, this statement seems somehow to be tied to a huge bump in the price of oil today. Ugh.

  Things seem to be worsening in Zimbabwe, as well. It sounds as though Mugabe’s forces are so intent on maintaining power and so fearful that the election will spell the end of their dominion that they’ve given up any pretense of honorable behavior. What they’re doing describes the collapse of any semblance of justice in that poor country.

  Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights activist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, is interviewed. We met when Human Rights Watch honored her in Los Angeles a year or two before she was awarded the Nobel. Some people are so damned brave it’s amazing. Asked about the human rights situation in Iran today, she says it’s worse now than eight years ago, but better than twenty-eight years back.

  When asked by the BBC interviewer how she keeps from losing hope, she says, “I don’t have the right to lose my hope. If I lost hope I could not do my work.”

  Representative Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, hosted a community forum on Iran toward the end of May. Iran scholars spoke and answered questions. All three said the Bush administration’s approach to Iran is counterproductive, only further entrenching the hardliners at the same time as it makes them more popular among the Iranian people. These men cited the Iranian overture to the U.S., made through the Swiss Embassy in 2003, offering to discuss all the issues of contention between the two countries—including the question of nuclear power—that was brushed off by Bush and Cheney.

  Those two are nuts.

  And their friends in the U.S. Senate today kept the Global Warming bill from coming to the floor. Nuts, I tell ya.

  There was a .5 percent rise in the unemployment rate announced today. Rush will have to alter his rant. And Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under Clinton, says there is no question but that we are in a recession. (In that regard, a guy I met in Park City last night after the presentation is visiting from Germany. He laughs when he hears Americans scream about paying $4 per gallon for gas. In Germany they’re now paying $9.)

  The skies are clear out here, but the wind is scary. Every once in a while a huge gust surprises us and threatens to push Mule off the road. It seems to want to happen just when I’m paying attention to some of the interesting rock formations out here. The way the wind—and probably the water—has sculpted some of these rock faces and pillars is glorious. But okay, Mule, I’ll keep at least one eye on the road.

  Heading into Winnemucca, Nevada makes me laugh. An old pal of mine always wanted to visit, saying it was the only place in America where prostitution is legal. I’m not sure if that’s true, but if so it makes me wonder if there will be billboards on the highway advertising the trade. I see none as we come into town, but a sign for a motel offers free movies. Some enterprising pimp should put up one right behind it, saying, Come to the Chicken Ranch; Make Your Own Movies.

  And then, lo and behold, on the road as we’re leaving town there’s a sign for the World Famous Mustang Ranch, with a sketch of a woman’s face and a phone number. So maybe it is true.

  Jesus.

  There are lots of cone-shaped hills in the valley here, making me think this must have been a very active volcano site in some long-ago era. The ground is strewn with rocks that might very well have once been lava.

  As we approach the Truckee River, the green belt it creates is so vivid it’s almost a shock after all the brown we’ve been through for so many hours. Following the Truckee down through a canyon it has cut through some mountains that look as though they’ve been wrestled out of the earth, we find ourselves in Reno, Nevada.

  I had assumed we’d stop for the night here because Sacramento, where tomorrow’s event will be held, looked to be too far for one day’s drive—700 miles. But it’s still early, the sun is up and we’ve gained an hour by crossing into the Pacific time zone, so California beckons.

  Once past Reno, we’re back with the Truckee, following it through another canyon. This one covered with pine trees, a lovely sight after all that dry sand and scrub brush. Climbing through the Sierras is a delight, then we’re onto another slalom run down thousands of feet to the valley on the other side. Before my body clock can make any sense of it, we’re heading into Sacramento for the night.

  A little oops here. We hunt up the bookstore for tomorrow, a Barnes & Noble, and then look for a convenient, nearby motel. Doubletree Inn, full. Red Lion, full. Marriott, full. Best Western, full. What the hell is going on in Sacramento this weekend? We finally find a spot, not so nearby and not so convenient, but Mule is happy, so I am too.

  DAY TWENTY-NINE

  Saturday, June 7, 2008

  CITY: SACRAMENTO, CA

  VENUE: BARNES & NOBLE—ARDEN FAIR

  EVENT COSPONSOR

  Death Penalty Focus

  I wake up before the alarm this morning with something troubling me. I realize it has been tugging at my subconscious and needs to be dealt with. The Barnes & Noble gig is at noon—they want me to be there by 11:30—so I have time to think about it. And I do.

  I get ready, check out and go down to fire up Mule. As always, he starts so quietly the only way I can tell he’s running is that the dash lights come on. So I just sit there for a while, waiting. That’s unusual, so after a bit I figure he is aware something’s up.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  More silence, but I sense a slight up-tick in attention. If he had ears, they’d be pricked up.

  “Yesterday, when we were racing through the Great Salt Lake Desert …”

  There’s a slight, almost imperceptible shiver.

  “… and I got excited about that James Loves Britt sign?”

  There it is again.

  “It’s just that I thought it was sweet and you didn’t, uh … well, it seemed like you didn’t kind of ‘get it,’ you know?”

  Now it’s clearly a shiver, maybe a quiver.

  “Anyway, I’ve been thinking, and I realize I sort of teased you about it …”

  Snort. Cough.

  “And, I just … well, I wasn’t thinking. That was out of line. So I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

  Cough. Quiver. Snort!

  “Look, pal … just take it easy. I don’t mean for this to be uncomfortable. All I’m trying to say is that in thinking about it, I realized that you … you don’t … Foofff … Look, what I’m trying to say is, you, uh, you’re a … you’re a … a hybrid. Right?”

  Sssssiggggghhhhh.

  “Right. So … you don’t … I mean … you’re not … there’s no, uh … It kinda doesn’t happen for you, huh?”

  “Uh-uh.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I get that. I mean, it just came to me, but … I guess I hadn’t thought about it, because … well, you know. We’ve been together … and you seem perfectly … you know.”
/>   Quiver.

  “And, uh … so, uh … emotional … stuff. There’s none of that with your kind, right?”

  “Uh-uh.”

  “Yeah. No, I get that. I get that. I mean, we are what we are, right?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Right.”

  We sit there for a while.

  “Okay. Well, I just wanted to be sure you understood that I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “And that I’m sorry if I did.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Okay. So, we’re all right?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Good. So, I guess it’s time to go.”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” I reach for the little funky plastic knob on a short stick to put it in reverse, but I stop. “But you kind of like me, huh?”

  BIG quiver. Shake, snort!

  “Okay, okay, whoa. Whoa! Don’t have a breakdown. Easy now! Easy, pal, easy! It’s okay. No problem. Not another word. We’re going.” I put the little funky plastic knob on a short stick into reverse, back out, put it into drive and we head down the street.

  “But you do. I know you do.”

  Mule bucks, the tires squeal and we’re off. But unless I’m imagining it, the dash lights shine just a bit brighter.

  Barnes & Noble is in a big shopping mall called the Arden Fair and I find a spot for Mule under a tree—it’s getting hot—and go in. I’m a bit early, so there’s time to nose around while things get set up. Suddenly, Ellen Eggers comes up and gives me a hug. A public defender here in Sacramento, Ellen is also on the board of Death Penalty Focus. One of the most positive, energetic, kind and thoughtful people I’ve ever met, she’s always smiling, always working, offering, volunteering, finding ways to be helpful. Given the milieu in which she works, protecting the rights of people charged with—often convicted of, guilty or not—quite grievous crimes, her deep well of sweetness is astonishing. Today, typically, she made up flyers about my appearance here and has been handing them out along with literature about our organization (I work with her at DPF). And right behind Ellen is Greg Wilhoit—simply stated, a hero. Greg was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in Oklahoma for murdering his wife. He served six years on Oklahoma’s death row before a courageous attorney exposed the shoddy work of the prosecutor, proved Greg innocent of the crime and got him set free. Rather than turning into an angry, bitter man raging at what a crooked prosecutor, junk science and the state of Oklahoma did to him, Greg volunteers his time working with organizations like ours. He talks to schools, churches and any group that will hear him about fixing the chaos and corruption in the criminal justice system and the need to eliminate this awful, dehumanizing process of state killing that almost cost him and 128 other wrongly convicted people their lives.

  DEATH PENALTY FOCUS

  Mike Farrell has been the president of Death Penalty Focus (DPF) for more than fifteen years. Founded in 1988, DPF is one of the largest nonprofit advocacy organizations in the nation dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment through public education, grassroots and political organizing, research, media outreach, local, national, and international coalition building, and the education of religious, legislative, and civic leaders about the death penalty and its alternatives. DPF has eleven active volunteer chapters in California and more than 25,000 members and supporters worldwide.

  We believe that the death penalty is an ineffective, cruel, and simplistic response to the serious and complex problem of violent crime. It institutionalizes discrimination against the poor and people of color, diverts attention and financial resources away from preventative measures that would actually increase public safety, risks the execution of innocent people, and does not deter crime.

  DPF sponsors research projects and opinion polls, organizes year-round public education and professional media campaigns, and conducts major conferences, seminars, and workshops. We produce and distribute a variety of publications and manage a top-ranked interactive website. DPF has also developed an educational curriculum for high school teachers interested in discussing the death penalty with their students. We also mobilize death penalty opposition by organizing educational events, rallies, vigils, and other public demonstrations.

  Current DPF projects include the following: California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty seeks to identify, organize, and empower the families, friends, and loved ones of murder victims who oppose the death penalty; Law Enforcement Outreach Project recruits and mobilizes law enforcement and seeks to increase their visibility as opponents of the death penalty; Clergy Mobilization Project seeks to organize the faith community against the death penalty; Faces of Wrongful Conviction Project brings the voices of men and women who were wrongfully convicted, including former prosecutors, judges, and legal experts who oppose the death penalty, to the public’s awareness; Unrepresented Death Row Prisoner Project provides unrepresented, indigent prisoners on California’s death row with access to basic living supplies; Californians for a Moratorium on Executions is an ongoing campaign to initiate a moratorium on executions; the International Outreach and Communications Project (IOCP) is dedicated to facilitating the development of collaborative strategies and supportive relationships between U.S. and European Union advocates for alternatives to the death penalty.

  Soon a nice group is gathered and again we have a good time. These talks—particularly the Q&A sessions—are a lot of fun. I don’t know if I ever do it quite the same way twice, except for one story I love to tell, but the people who come are always thoughtful, interested, considerate, and appreciative. Periodically I’m challenged about something, the death penalty, for example, but that only provides more opportunity to explain why it’s so wrong.

  One more under my belt, I unhitch Mule and we head to San Francisco, which will be our base for the next few days. This will give Mule some time to catch his breath and me the chance to do another load of laundry.

  From the news, I learn that Hillary has endorsed Obama, beginning the healing process necessary for the Democrats to put together a winning strategy for November. Though I don’t like the fact that she continues to use the word “suspend” in reference to her own campaign, I’m glad for the endorsement.

  I’m not happy to learn that Senator Obama, in speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has apparently voiced his support for making Jerusalem the “undivided” capital of Israel. That’s just a sop to the Israeli right-wing. Resolving the status of Jerusalem should be left to the negotiations that need to be held between Israelis and Palestinians to establish two sovereign and independent states, living side by side, with guarantees of peace and security for both. Within those negotiations a satisfactory solution can, I believe, be found to deal with the desire of both of these peoples to have their capital in Jerusalem. One way to achieve that, of course, is to establish Jerusalem as an international city and provide an area for the capital of each country within its boundaries. But it serves no productive purpose at this juncture for a U.S. leader to make a declaration on Jerusalem’s future in favor of one state as opposed to the other. All that does is underscore the U.S. bias in favor of Israel that so angers the Arab world.

  Once set up at the Rex Hotel in San Francisco, I get to have dinner with Robyn Hernandez, an old friend and another Death Penalty Focus board member. I’ve known Robyn since she was in school. To see her now as a mom and a high school teacher is a trip.

  It’ll be nice to have a bit of time in the city since I’m usually here only for board meetings and then on the first plane home. But I sure wish Shelley was here with me. Me and Mule, I mean …

  DAY THIRTY

  Sunday, June 8, 2008

  CITY OF ORIGIN: SAN FRANCISCO, CA

  CITY OF DESTINATION: CORTE MADERA, CA

  MILES TRAVELED: 15

  VENUE: BOOK PASSAGE

  EVENT COSPONSOR

  Death Penalty Focus

  Up early a
gain, but not so far to drive this day. Henry Tennenbaum’s show is live on KRONTV bright and early on Sunday morning here in San Francisco, so I’m happy to stop in. And it’s an extra pleasure this morning, as the guest preceding me is Will Durst, a very bright and extraordinarily funny guy who satirizes political figures on both sides of the aisle. Will and I first met when he appeared at a benefit for Artists United to Win Without War, the group Robert Greenwald and I started in the hope of raising the level of debate in the country and awakening the American people before Cheney/Bush invaded Iraq. (We failed.) Will really makes me laugh. To my delight, he has helped us by appearing at DPF’s “Stand Up for Justice” comedy night a number of times since.

  Henry is fun and very energetic, so he fits a lot of information into a short interview and then I’m out of there in time for Mule and me to make our way to the North Beach area and another interview, this with Brian Copeland on KGO radio’s Newstalk. Brian is another stand-up comic who has appeared for us on DPF’s comedy night. He’s also a very astute commentator and a talented writer. His book, Not a Genuine Black Man, is at once a funny and tragic tale of his young life and a searing indictment of the racial bias in San Leandro, California, not too many years ago.

  Interviews out of the way, our next stop is at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, about ten minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Elaine Petrocelli, the proprietor, is a passionate champion of books, a respected community leader, and a fierce defender of the endangered independent bookstore. She, her husband, and their events manager, Kate Ferguson, provide their devoted customers the opportunity to meet many of the significant authors who pass through the Bay Area and they were even able to slip me into the mix.

 

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