Blended Nation-Marcel Syle

Part one of a three part series on multi-racial North Americans on NPR this morning caught my attention. Well what little of it there is to be caught during the morning on the weekend.

Between screeches, requests, whines and kerplunks I caught the interview with the authors of the book Blended Nation (see link below). This is the blurb form NPR's blog:

"The husband-and-wife team of photographer Mike Tauber and co-producer Pamela Singh were intrigued by the post-Sept. 11 climate of anxiety and racism. Years later, the election of a bi-racial president would bring the topic of racial identity to the forefront of national conversation. Tune into the series to learn more. On Sunday's show, Hansen will also speak with Cheryl Quintana Leader, one of the subjects in the book, who is part Caucasian, Mexican, and Aztec Indian. See more photos on Mike Tauber's Web site."

* Over 70 million people identified themselves as multiracial in the 2000 census.
* That number is growing
* This number is growing with the growing number of multi-racial marriages and the offspring of these marriages/partnerships.

All of this inspired the above photo of Marcel.

I imagine the book would be a great one for our family to look through and see people who look like us.

And people who don't, but who do at the same time.

***
Update: Review of the book to come soon. Mr. Tauber has graciously agreed to send me the book, so that I may review it here. He replied that; "There are several people in the book that are adopted by parents of another race." And he said how cute Marcel is.

He sent these updated links:

Not sure if you saw the updated NPR page: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120209980

Also, we were on the Today Show in late September: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33056542#33056542

Family Day and then some

Four years ago today
surrounded by our nearest and dearest
we filled the improvised chambers
of the probate court
at the Children's Museum
to hear Sam's-first-middle and last name
decreed with judicious officiousness.


Finally.
Finalized.
Same name.
Delivered.

Same name.
Yours.
Mine.
Ours in the eyes of the state.*

Looking down at your name all balanced out as it is-
On the Adoption Decree
one place where we now look so exactly alike.
Good thing type ink mostly comes in black.

To honor and remember
we went to the park the three of us.
And baby Dexter.
Marcel's baby doll-
the one I gave Sam
to help him get used to the idea
of an imminent Marcel
is now Marcel's my-baby-doll-Dexter
a reminder that family every day is about who we bring
into the fold
when we need them.

Who is there for us to love.

For dinner Sam came up with the menu:
baked beans and cake.
Then we invited upstairs Sarah and Jay,
and downstairs Uncle too.
For a potluck and a toast.
Sam invited one more friend who he thought
would want to celebrate impromptu.

Happy Adoption Month
to those who have cause to celebrate,
and to those who are rocking
their delicate and huge dreams in the wait.


* In the back drop of last week's Marriage Equality loss in Maine we acknowledge the privilege and meaning of a shared name. Co-adoption without the legal rights of marriage is just not the same. Discrimination is discrimination. Love is love.

Nothing Unusual About Us

Whackadoozle Mom
Hand Me Down Lion
and Darth Maul Sammy
last night.

A holiday where skin color
blends in or is not immediately
obvious because of masks and the like
is strangely welcomed.

Even though we had to adjust Darth's coloring
in order to create the desired effect
it worked without much ado about why.

Even though the kids in the neighborhood
knew we were just visiting-
guests of Sam's adoring godmother and significant other
in surfer pink and wigged attire-
our combined freak show
blended right in.

Something we rarely
achieve the other three sixty four.

Something I never considered
as a young hobo-witch-or cat
knocking with anticipation at another
and another and another white
person's door.

Halloween Reccomendation

Sam and I are watching a DVD called "Golden Blaze" which takes place in an almost all African American community, and has an AA protagonist and antagonist. The messages contained within include literary terms and rich vocabulary and language; "do you notice the irony here?" and "nature abhors a void" and uses techniques like flashback to tell a complex story.

The son "educates" the father on how to be a superhero, and the importance of school is one of many positive messages. Minor characters include Asian American female newscasters and other minority supporting actors.

I asked the folks at our local video store for any positive AA videos in the family section. I am sure it is flawed in some way, but I haven't found them yet.

Happy Halloween!

Here is the Wikipedia piece on it:

The Golden Blaze is an animated film released in 2005^[1] written by Archie Gips and directed by Bryon E. Carson. The feature, starring the voices of Blair Underwood and Michael Clarke Duncan, had a limited theatrical run making it the first flash animation ever to be released on the big screen. It also took top honors at the prestigious 2005 Giffoni International Film Festival. It was produced by Urban Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Video.

Excercise

I scored a goal.
No, a real one.
It was pretty too.
Even the Welsh gym teacher
responsible for the assist said so;
Sharp I believe was the word.

Students vs. Staff.
And my sixteen years of soccer
were good for a little muscle memory,
keen anticipation,
and an undeniable score.
Not to mention victory.

In the post game line up
slapping hands
in good game syncopation
and I am back in high school,
brash and invincible
in this breathless moment.

I thought parenthood would feel that way
no really, I did.

***
The three little ghosts we made out of cloth diapers,
newspapers, and wire
are bobbing
defiant over our front door
landing.

From the street
they are creepy and odd.
We made them after Sam asked why our street wasn't as fun
as his friend Emily's.

So we remedied that.

I go to bed each night hoping no one rips the ghosts down
in a drugged frenzy.
I imagine that Emily's neighbors don't have the same
ghost buster potential.

(I hope that the decorative ducklings
stolen from my bird bath
last week
that survived the summer safely
land in a lawn like Emily's
in their afterlife.
Having an urban garden is a constant
exercise in non attachment.)

***

What will I do with that hour we get tomorrow?
When will I really savor it?

Knead it between my fingers-
like warm dough
and squeeze it into a poem,
a paragraph, or a slice of promised apple pie.

history in the texting

We have his school pictures-
and we were wondering
if you would like
8x10, 5x7, wallets or all
of the above

send

LOL I want them all!
I have new ones too of us
for you.

received

Pls send me your thoughts about
writing X (birth father's name here)*
should I try again
or wait?

send

I tried to contact him
and he never wrote back
don't waste your time...
well, I'd wait a while.

received

Sam will want to know him one day
pls let me know if your take on this
changes at any point?
Pictures in the mail soon

send

______________________________________

after almost five years
and we have reached this place
on the one inch screen of a cellphone
where our lives intersect
with ease
on occasion.

Sam being the larger intersection
the giant black point
on the graph
where birth mother
and adoptive mother
overlap

sometimes three times a year
sometimes more.

(I pick out the pictures that it is hardest to see
the giant tie
with the backwards tying.)
_____________________
* this is a reference to a prior discussion
between us, where she had asked for more time
to consider her response.
The larger back story here will be in the memoir
I am writing.

First Family First.

Radiant. Historic. Breathtaking. Joyous. A family first.