Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The views and opinions expressed in the following programmer those
of the speaker and don't necessarily represent those of the station.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's staff management or ownership.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Good morning, you'll find out Pete and the Poet Cold.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm Peter and I'm the poet Gold.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
And we're on the air with each other today and
that's going to be it's only adventure. And at the
end of the year, it's Christmas Holidays. It's all good stuff. Absolutely,
And before we get two our conversation about the past
year and what happened, let's go write the poet Cold
for a weekly poem, prayer incantation for the big holiday show.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Okay, Christmas show, This Christmas show, Peter, Christmas Show, Quanta show.
You know, it's a show show.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We'll talk about that.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
So but I'm going to do be the poem because
it's always the wish for all of us to become
what I call the greatest version of ourselves. So and
that's to be the poem. No doubt I have a bias.
I'm going to ask of you to be poetry, to
be the poem in your life, to be that which
moves you, stirs you like a lover's first kiss, compelling
(01:08):
you to believe that you are now superhuman, pumping with adrenaline,
capable of conquering anything.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Be the poem. Imagine sunsets with orange hues across the sky,
when the stars ascend to blanket the night, when things
go dark. Be the light in your life. Be the poem.
Be the poem that teaches, reaches, circles the universe through quatrain, sonnets, prose,
and free verse. Let it be mozart to a hip
(01:35):
hop beat, ballet performed on blacktop and concrete. Let it
be imaginative, soul full, eloquently stated, and unique. Be the poem.
Be the poem that chooses to be fearless, never imprisons
the heart, beckons the soul to rain tears when you're
falling apart. Be the poem that heals and learns to
forgive release in thunderous anger and hate, so you may
(01:58):
truly live. And if there comes a day you should
fall ill, know that cure may not come in the
form of a pill, but in the lines of poetry
that will be more than a prayer. It will shout Hallelujah,
your salvation will be there. Be the poem. Be the
poem that breathes the breath to dream out loud, discover
(02:18):
the wonders residing above the clouds. For Helius's chariot brings
hope with each day. The time is now to make
life your way. Board your ships, set sail to sea.
Be bave, be brave, my friends, be the poem in
your life. May your life be poetry.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Amen to that. And gold I say this to you often,
and it's always true, and it must be sometimes annoying.
And that is I'm always surprised at how good you
are at stuff. You think, whatever you is, your poem.
I mean virtually every week I'm like, oh, I forgot
you can do that. And I am sure, Golden a
(03:00):
play recently with you, uh play for the artsized in
New York, the Episcopal outside and she and she used
to play with a poem and ended the play with
the poem and you know, just absolutely spell bonding. The
audience was, you know, river rivert and enlightened. And I
(03:24):
forget you can do that, because then when you go
back to just being like a regular person, because lots
of friends who are perfectly nice to be with her,
you know, but.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
The kids do that right, right, right, right, Uh, that's a.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Way of saying thank you and merry Christmas and holiday,
happy holiday, see.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
You, thank you, Peter, the same to you. It's always
a joy in doing the show with you.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, we that works. And if I ever learned how
to do poems like that, right, write and perform poems
like that, I'll let you know.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
But but but you're writing is very good.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I always take notes from your journalism background.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yeah, I know. I for a while I could, really,
I feel, write pretty good. But for while I could
write better than I expect it to be able to
write when I was doing the journalism. But it's sort
of like everything else when you're not doing it, not
doing it right?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well, right, absolutely, absolutely, But.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Let's go to the you know, the first thing before
we examine, you know, what's going on in the community,
in our lives, even the at least my stumbling through
Mary Christmas, Happy holidays, happy, you know, what's your feelings
on you know how to.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Address that, how to address what, yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
The happy holidays, as some people think that you know,
there's a war on Christmas. That you say happy holidays
is sort of denying your Christian background or having Christians
pushed around or do you have a feeling on.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
That now, you know, I grew up in our household
on both Christmas and Quanta, and so you know, as
a kid it was like great.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So I have a tendency to say happy holidays to
people to encompass whatever you know, someone practices for the
holiday season, and so this way, you know you're not
offending anybody. And then if I know someone specifically practices Christmas,
I may say to the merry Christmas, and without any
skin off my back. And as someone who practices quads,
I'll say happy Quanza. And if I'm not sure, you know,
(05:25):
I'll just say happy holiday to people because it's it's
in the spirit, you know, it's in the spirit of giving.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
The spirit of giving or including.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Right and including.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Because I mean, I think I'm you know, I grew
up like you know, I grew up in the most
Catholic neighborhood in the history of Western civilization. I mean
Irish Catholic nineteen fifties Queens was more Catholic and more
conservative than fourteenth century France. Right, Like, it was really bad.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And you don't want to forget Honkah either, yeah, yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Know, and well we sertly want to get to that.
So Merry Christmas was always uh, you know, the standard thing,
and happy Holidays. I still have to.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Stress that really to say happy Holidays.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, I mean I do it because I think it's
more polite, because and if inclusion and bringing people into
the spirit is the point, it's good that happy Holidays works.
But uh, some people can be offended, like if you
say happy Holidays and if you're disregarding their Christianity.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah, no, no, I disagree with that. I'm not on
disagree that some people can be offended. I know that
some people can be offended. But you know, when you
think about uh, love, right, I mean think about love.
Love is inclusive. Okay, it's it's not love is just
not yours, you know, you know it's it's it's it
(06:54):
is inclusive when you when you sit around your your
Christmas dinner and you've invited people. And my belief, just
my personal belief, if that if if you're in inviting
with exclusions, then you're not inviting at all. It's almost
giving with agendas, you know, and so you know, if
you give a gift based upon your needs, you never
(07:15):
gave a gift at all.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Okay, Now I didn't expect you to be so clear
and joyfully right about that. But reminding people that they
don't own love. The point of love is inclusion is
a lot. Okay, So let's mark that one down for inclusion.
But we might want to remind people.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
If you're just tuning in, you're listening to finding Out
with Pete and the Poet Gold. I'm Peter and I'm
the poet Gold, and we're having a holiday conversation today and.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
One of the holiday issues, and you've brought it up
full you know, you celebrating Kwanza, which is even among
black people, I think that's not as widely celebrated, right, right, people,
Although we had a great quansa tradition in Poughkeepsie when
Latifasan was alive and he would have a big quans
(08:09):
of thing at the kids, mostly at the Family Partnership.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Didn't they have one recently? Was it was it that
the Family partner not quite sure where it was was
last week?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I believe, yeah, I miss whatever. I'm not aware of that.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, yeah, I forgot what organization was doing it at
the Family Partnership.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I know the partnership censor. A Center of Health has
a thing for the Three Kings Day, which is January
sixth or so. You have the library in the's generous,
that's right to say peace in the Laney African Rooms Library.
That's a partnership Sensor partners with the Center of the
Health and they have the Three Kings Day. And three
(08:48):
Kings is sort of the big the big gift giving
time in Hispanic cultures like Spain and all throughout that
in the America.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
And that's in January Genuary or six correct.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
And that celebrates the data three wise men, three King
arrived in Bethlehem and said, oh, this kid is special.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
And so but that said when the gift forgiving happened.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
And Kwanda Kwanda was started by professor by the name
of doctor k Kurenga a k r E n g
A back in nineteen sixty six, and it was to
celebrate based on the Swahili tradition of celebrating the harvest.
It was built off of that, you know, the the
the first harvest that you know that was predicted to
(09:36):
happen and so that tradition, so to celebrate that and
and also to connect with African culture. He put together
this seven day celebration and seven principles.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
And you know, Honanka is another thing that you know,
obviously Jewish people celebrate, and Honaker I think has been
elevated in its importance in the Jewish calendar because he
gives Jewish people are some reason or context for celebrating
(10:12):
in the holiday season. But Hanukah is a big deal.
And of course in the New York area, that's more
pronounced than let's say, in you know, Montana. I don't
know how many Jews. There are many blacks and Montana either,
(10:34):
But and I know my friend Andy Bush, who is
a teacher faster he teaches Hispanic studies and Jewish studies,
is a Jewish guy who excelled at the literature, and
you know he in languages. But he's a Jewish guy
(10:55):
who is sort of sick of Christmas music before it starts.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Okay, gotcha, and.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
In Christmas is in on his favorite And you can
see the way, you know, Christian culture can be hard
to take because there's so many versions of all the
materialism you merry Christmas, and the materialism of Christmas, oddly
enough has a claim on Christianity.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Right and it's you know, it's dominant. It's I mean
not only excuse me, in America, but you know, around
the world you can see the influences of you know,
of Christianity. So it may make it challenging for other
cultures to be acknowledged, recognized and to celebrate what their
traditions are, you know, and so that that that could
(11:45):
be difficult. But I always say, if you don't want
to listen to Christmas music, then just turn it off,
you know, just just turn it off. Kwanta has seven
seven principles similar if I'm correct to Hanukkah is that
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
I think there are seven.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And and we're and we're talking really just about it's
things that are transferable to to anyone, that could benefit
anyone's culture and belief I think they're just things that
people should walk in, walk in unity, walk in self determination,
walk in collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity,
(12:22):
and faith.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
And those are the principles.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And those are the principles. And and so I mean
even within the contruct of Christianity, you have these type
of belief systems that that are promoted in the Kwansa.
We highlight that in Neguza Saba.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
And one of the most brilliant things that are seen
in terms of celebrating holidays is Trey Iarrington who died
a few years back and was founder of Real Skills Network.
When he had his main fundraiser of the year and
main friend raiser, you know, celebration of his program, he
(13:02):
gave out lots of awards and what he did is
he had the seven principles of Kwanza as the category
for giving you out awards, and he named those principles
after somebody who was orady deceeized, somebody who exemplified.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
That, who modeled that principle, and then.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Gave it to somebody who's modeling it now. So he
took the principles of Kwanza attached to the ancestors and
then the current practitioners of those virtues and it was really.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Moving absolutely and it also you know, once again educates,
you know, an individual understanding how they are currently living
their life, how their life runs parallel to the principles
and what the principles represented. If someone did not know
about Kwanta, which were quite a few people, you know,
you know, at the awards, but now they do know you.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
And like I say, the tree was one of the
things that motivated him to do that is he knew
that his great friend and mentor, Fism was very He's
quantity of very seriously in Germany of creating a tradition
and pitepsie where that would happen. But you know, going
(14:22):
to the exclusion, I mean, frousty, the Snowman is not
a Christian figure. He is not a Christian figure. Yeah,
culturally Christian expansiveness around the materialism for us, snowman can
irk you a few Jewish well you feel like this
(14:45):
is not for us. He might not be a Christian,
but he's also not.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Jewish, right right, right, right? I was trying to recall
the lyrics in my head when you when you're talking
about Frusty. You know, because everyone sings the song maybe
except for your friend.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
The Frostie is a spiritual thing. You know, you must
have been something in that half they found that brought
the kids believe you could dance and play like everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Else, right, right, right.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
So it's a it's a spiritual song, right, Well, believe me,
it's not a Christian spiritual song. It's not a Catholic.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Well it's it's I mean more like a what do
you call them fables? You know, it's it's it's sort
of like when I was to watch Davy and Goliath
and they always had, you know, the point to the
story at the end for something positive, something that you
know you should learn or to aspire to. You know,
that always boiled down to like, don't be selfish, you know,
don't treat people with indifference because they're different from you.
(15:40):
And so Frosty the Snowman is if I recall something
like that, right.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Yeah, well froust he is a good spirit. And but
you know, but the celebration of the holidays is a
big deal. I think Piughkeepsie does a great job with
the celebration of life early in December where they light
up Main Street down to the.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
River holiday Tree and yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Yeah, and even celebration of License another word for Hanukah.
So it's it's buried in a more sexual way there
or clearly the grammar of the celebration of License Poteposie
is large Christian influence.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And you know, and once again it's about it's celebrating
I believe, you know, my perspective is is one's life,
you know, and one's ability to to give without you know,
even though what's the song I would say without judgment?
But the song that is it Rulf the Red Nose Reindeer. Right,
(16:39):
and he be nice or you know, behem whatever it
is is he being judged there? But you know, just
just the spirit of giving a family time, you know,
of connectedness of community and and and just coming together
for that accepting.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
I'm like, you go down right, you go down Main
Street the summer year, and you feel like the lights
are for you. I mean, no matter who you are,
the lights are there, sort of combating the darkness and
the cold. So people wanted to accept it.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
And once again, if you're just tuning in, you're finding
out with Pete the Poe of Gold, I'm Peter and
I'm the Poe of Gold, and we're having a wonderful conversation. Least,
I think it's wonderful about the holiday season.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Both of us fall into feeling wonderful, wonderful, but you
know what the holidays are about, feeling wonderful and giving.
But an awful lot of people are excluded from that absolutely,
and and everybody into holiday time is the time of complexity.
(17:46):
You know, you put in a very very hard year
in terms of people in your family dying. Yes, yes,
the holidays, that becomes resurrected, right, that becomes more present
at the holidays, and of the time.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Absolutely, I think you know, there there are people who
are out here dealing with loss.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
There are people who are who are depressed, you know,
depression heightened sometimes you know, during during the holiday, especially
if sometimes if you're experiencing loss, and uh, you know,
and so it's what I've what I've said to my family.
You know, this year was particularly hard because it was
the anniversary of my sister's death, who passed away from
(18:31):
cancer are rare cancer and that the insurance companies don't
test for because it's so rare in America, but other
countries test for it. And then obviously the the loss
of my uh, my niece, actually my cousin, but I
call it my niece, and my younger she's she was young,
twenty four years old, and my mom who passed away
(18:54):
two weeks you know, right after my niece passed away,
and they're both sad, and it was death, you know,
they weren't they weren't deaths that were you know that
we knew were coming. You know, it was okay, I'll
talk to you tomorrow, and tomorrow never came. And so
you know, as we go as my family, as we
go into this holiday season, you know, we're close to
each other. We have a close family. Spoke my mom
(19:15):
three times a day, you know. You know, so I'm
just trying to do things that that celebrate who she
was and who Caitlyn was because they both lived full lives.
You know, Caitlyn's twenty four years old, but she lived
a full life. Graduated from NYU, you know, was out
on her own, great job, great company. I mean she
(19:37):
really you know, did really well for herself. And uh
and my mom same thing. My mom lived a good
life on her own terms. You know, she lived on
her own terms and and uh and I have a
lot of respect for that she had. She worked in
nonprofit as well. I have a lot of my mom
in me. You know, she was an educator and so,
uh so she just kind of spat me out so
(20:00):
to speak. You know. But you know, even though each
day it's it's different, it's tough. I still talk to her.
I play videos and I just put the video up
when I'm cooking my mother, Yeah, I play the video
that we had we had on social media. And because
we always cooked together every day, Yeah yeah, I'd call
her and do face time and we go through what
(20:20):
are you cooking? You know, and so to I still
celebrate that, you know, with her. So I share that
with people simply to say that, you know, it's not
always easy, but if you can take the the precious
moments of life, you know, the moments that you know
you experience something good and hold on to that in
(20:41):
order to rebuild that, that gives you some hope. Sorrow
in sorrow fits in everywhere. I mean, grief is going
to be with you. It just doesn't go away. And
a good friend of mine, you know, Rock, we speak
the other night and he said, you know, death is cruel.
(21:01):
He's like, it's cruel. We had a good cuss fest,
you know, in our phone conversation, you know, but he
was right, you know, it's it's a cruel process of life.
But it is a part of life. Unfortunately, it's a
part of life. We don't we don't live forever. And
uh and somehow we may push we wait, we have
to find a way to push to go on, even
(21:22):
though we want to scream at the world and go
don't you know my family member died. You know, everybody
should stop. But everybody doesn't stop. Life doesn't stop. So
how do you go on?
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And one of the surprising things about death is, especially
in a sudden death, if somebody you love dies suddenly,
there's the drama, the shock, the experience of death. But
then every day there's still dead, right, and and that
sort of comes us a surprise sometimes.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, today, right right, right, yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
And you know Rocks And by the way, uh, you know,
Rock is probably the most the most talented person I know.
But he you know, his notion that death is cruel
is we all know what that means. So also there's
another way in which, uh, death is eventually gentle. It's
(22:23):
the most human venom. And one of the things about
being human is you have a limit, right and uh
to recognize and embrace and snuggle up to your limits,
it can be he's a way of experiencing your humanity.
Of course, when you have the sudden death, all best
of row if it's horrible.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Right right, right, And but the thing about just going
back to the holiday, it's it's a time, you know,
where we reach out and build community. It's a time
where you can reach out beyond where you are, you know,
beyond your family, and and give to others you know,
and and just even emotional and build community around someone
that that you may know doesn't have that you know,
(23:07):
and and and to be able to do that, and.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Uh, you know another thing about the holidays specifically, it
is Christmas the well the lights around anybody who decorates
their house, thank you, yeah, thank you in the dark.
I love that and it is that and this curs
is virtually all cultures, the yearning for light uh amid
(23:35):
the darkness. Yes, and everybody who puts up a Christmas
light does that absolutely, and doing it outside, to me,
it's public art. And your neighborhood is particularly a.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Vibrant oh yes, and they're they're vibrant for for Halloween, Thanksgiving,
for for July, you name it. I'm a little bit
of a humbug, you know when when it comes to
putting up lights outside, because I'm just I want to
take them down, you know, and I need you know,
I put them up. Okay, who's going to help take
them down? You know? So that's not the fun part
(24:07):
for me.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
I put my life up and I take them down.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Okay. You know when I was younger, we used to
have the tree up and June would come and the
tree would still be up, and folks go, do you
know your your tree is still up? And it's like, yeah,
we just water it, you know.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
But it is the holidays certainly religious events for many people,
they're cultural events and their public events, you know. And
I think the spirit making spirits bright in whatever way
you do that is an important thing. And to do
(24:42):
it in conjunction with other tradition, traditions outside your own,
I think is a specifically American thing. We don't want
to celebrate that. We want to say, hey man, Christmas
is for me.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
It's mine, you know, like love, it's mine, right, Yeah,
And this is one of the reason why I started out,
would be the poem. I know we're about to wrap up, right,
But one of the things is that it's about aspiring
to be our better selves. And and the holiday season,
the holiday season is that it's a season to aspire
to live out your your your better self. Well, I
see Lea's in the house.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
We want a happy Holidays from William.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
F Absolutely absolutely happy holidays everyone from everyone at Family Services.
What a what a time to be a family and
at Family Services, that's that's truly what we are. We're
a family together and we're a family with the community.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
So those are the words of one of our leaders
at this summer, a prophet right. It was joining back,
coming together as a community through different traditions and ending
with Leah Felman's wishers for happy holiday is a big deal.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
So thanks for lea, thank you, and thank you once
again for listening to finding out with Pete and the
Poe would go. We appreciate you and wish everyone a
happy holiday.
The views and opinions expressed in the following programmer those
of the speaker and don't necessarily represent those of the station.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's staff management or ownership.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Good morning, you'll find out Pete and the Poet Cold.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm Peter and I'm the poet Gold.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
And we're on the air with each other today and
that's going to be it's only adventure. And at the
end of the year, it's Christmas Holidays. It's all good stuff. Absolutely,
And before we get two our conversation about the past
year and what happened, let's go write the poet Cold
for a weekly poem, prayer incantation for the big holiday show.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Okay, Christmas show, This Christmas show, Peter, Christmas Show, Quanta show.
You know, it's a show show.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
We'll talk about that.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
So but I'm going to do be the poem because
it's always the wish for all of us to become
what I call the greatest version of ourselves. So and
that's to be the poem. No doubt I have a bias.
I'm going to ask of you to be poetry, to
be the poem in your life, to be that which
moves you, stirs you like a lover's first kiss, compelling
(01:08):
you to believe that you are now superhuman, pumping with adrenaline,
capable of conquering anything.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Be the poem. Imagine sunsets with orange hues across the sky,
when the stars ascend to blanket the night, when things
go dark. Be the light in your life. Be the poem.
Be the poem that teaches, reaches, circles the universe through quatrain, sonnets, prose,
and free verse. Let it be mozart to a hip
(01:35):
hop beat, ballet performed on blacktop and concrete. Let it
be imaginative, soul full, eloquently stated, and unique. Be the poem.
Be the poem that chooses to be fearless, never imprisons
the heart, beckons the soul to rain tears when you're
falling apart. Be the poem that heals and learns to
forgive release in thunderous anger and hate, so you may
(01:58):
truly live. And if there comes a day you should
fall ill, know that cure may not come in the
form of a pill, but in the lines of poetry
that will be more than a prayer. It will shout Hallelujah,
your salvation will be there. Be the poem. Be the
poem that breathes the breath to dream out loud, discover
(02:18):
the wonders residing above the clouds. For Helius's chariot brings
hope with each day. The time is now to make
life your way. Board your ships, set sail to sea.
Be bave, be brave, my friends, be the poem in
your life. May your life be poetry.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Amen to that. And gold I say this to you often,
and it's always true, and it must be sometimes annoying.
And that is I'm always surprised at how good you
are at stuff. You think, whatever you is, your poem.
I mean virtually every week I'm like, oh, I forgot
you can do that. And I am sure, Golden a
(03:00):
play recently with you, uh play for the artsized in
New York, the Episcopal outside and she and she used
to play with a poem and ended the play with
the poem and you know, just absolutely spell bonding. The
audience was, you know, river rivert and enlightened. And I
(03:24):
forget you can do that, because then when you go
back to just being like a regular person, because lots
of friends who are perfectly nice to be with her,
you know, but.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
The kids do that right, right, right, right, Uh, that's a.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Way of saying thank you and merry Christmas and holiday,
happy holiday, see.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
You, thank you, Peter, the same to you. It's always
a joy in doing the show with you.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, we that works. And if I ever learned how
to do poems like that, right, write and perform poems
like that, I'll let you know.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
But but but you're writing is very good.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
I always take notes from your journalism background.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yeah, I know. I for a while I could, really,
I feel, write pretty good. But for while I could
write better than I expect it to be able to
write when I was doing the journalism. But it's sort
of like everything else when you're not doing it, not
doing it right?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Well, right, absolutely, absolutely, But.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Let's go to the you know, the first thing before
we examine, you know, what's going on in the community,
in our lives, even the at least my stumbling through
Mary Christmas, Happy holidays, happy, you know, what's your feelings
on you know how to.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Address that, how to address what, yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
The happy holidays, as some people think that you know,
there's a war on Christmas. That you say happy holidays
is sort of denying your Christian background or having Christians
pushed around or do you have a feeling on.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
That now, you know, I grew up in our household
on both Christmas and Quanta, and so you know, as
a kid it was like great.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
So I have a tendency to say happy holidays to
people to encompass whatever you know, someone practices for the
holiday season, and so this way, you know you're not
offending anybody. And then if I know someone specifically practices Christmas,
I may say to the merry Christmas, and without any
skin off my back. And as someone who practices quads,
I'll say happy Quanza. And if I'm not sure, you know,
(05:25):
I'll just say happy holiday to people because it's it's
in the spirit, you know, it's in the spirit of giving.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
The spirit of giving or including.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Right and including.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Because I mean, I think I'm you know, I grew
up like you know, I grew up in the most
Catholic neighborhood in the history of Western civilization. I mean
Irish Catholic nineteen fifties Queens was more Catholic and more
conservative than fourteenth century France. Right, Like, it was really bad.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And you don't want to forget Honkah either, yeah, yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Know, and well we sertly want to get to that.
So Merry Christmas was always uh, you know, the standard thing,
and happy Holidays. I still have to.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Stress that really to say happy Holidays.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, I mean I do it because I think it's
more polite, because and if inclusion and bringing people into
the spirit is the point, it's good that happy Holidays works.
But uh, some people can be offended, like if you
say happy Holidays and if you're disregarding their Christianity.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah, no, no, I disagree with that. I'm not on
disagree that some people can be offended. I know that
some people can be offended. But you know, when you
think about uh, love, right, I mean think about love.
Love is inclusive. Okay, it's it's not love is just
not yours, you know, you know it's it's it's it
(06:54):
is inclusive when you when you sit around your your
Christmas dinner and you've invited people. And my belief, just
my personal belief, if that if if you're in inviting
with exclusions, then you're not inviting at all. It's almost
giving with agendas, you know, and so you know, if
you give a gift based upon your needs, you never
(07:15):
gave a gift at all.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Okay, Now I didn't expect you to be so clear
and joyfully right about that. But reminding people that they
don't own love. The point of love is inclusion is
a lot. Okay, So let's mark that one down for inclusion.
But we might want to remind people.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
If you're just tuning in, you're listening to finding Out
with Pete and the Poet Gold. I'm Peter and I'm
the poet Gold, and we're having a holiday conversation today and.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
One of the holiday issues, and you've brought it up
full you know, you celebrating Kwanza, which is even among
black people, I think that's not as widely celebrated, right, right, people,
Although we had a great quansa tradition in Poughkeepsie when
Latifasan was alive and he would have a big quans
(08:09):
of thing at the kids, mostly at the Family Partnership.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Didn't they have one recently? Was it was it that
the Family partner not quite sure where it was was
last week?
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I believe, yeah, I miss whatever. I'm not aware of that.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, yeah, I forgot what organization was doing it at
the Family Partnership.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I know the partnership censor. A Center of Health has
a thing for the Three Kings Day, which is January
sixth or so. You have the library in the's generous,
that's right to say peace in the Laney African Rooms Library.
That's a partnership Sensor partners with the Center of the
Health and they have the Three Kings Day. And three
(08:48):
Kings is sort of the big the big gift giving
time in Hispanic cultures like Spain and all throughout that
in the America.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
And that's in January Genuary or six correct.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
And that celebrates the data three wise men, three King
arrived in Bethlehem and said, oh, this kid is special.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
And so but that said when the gift forgiving happened.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
And Kwanda Kwanda was started by professor by the name
of doctor k Kurenga a k r E n g
A back in nineteen sixty six, and it was to
celebrate based on the Swahili tradition of celebrating the harvest.
It was built off of that, you know, the the
the first harvest that you know that was predicted to
(09:36):
happen and so that tradition, so to celebrate that and
and also to connect with African culture. He put together
this seven day celebration and seven principles.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
And you know, Honanka is another thing that you know,
obviously Jewish people celebrate, and Honaker I think has been
elevated in its importance in the Jewish calendar because he
gives Jewish people are some reason or context for celebrating
(10:12):
in the holiday season. But Hanukah is a big deal.
And of course in the New York area, that's more
pronounced than let's say, in you know, Montana. I don't
know how many Jews. There are many blacks and Montana either,
(10:34):
But and I know my friend Andy Bush, who is
a teacher faster he teaches Hispanic studies and Jewish studies,
is a Jewish guy who excelled at the literature, and
you know he in languages. But he's a Jewish guy
(10:55):
who is sort of sick of Christmas music before it starts.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Okay, gotcha, and.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
In Christmas is in on his favorite And you can
see the way, you know, Christian culture can be hard
to take because there's so many versions of all the
materialism you merry Christmas, and the materialism of Christmas, oddly
enough has a claim on Christianity.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Right and it's you know, it's dominant. It's I mean
not only excuse me, in America, but you know, around
the world you can see the influences of you know,
of Christianity. So it may make it challenging for other
cultures to be acknowledged, recognized and to celebrate what their
traditions are, you know, and so that that that could
(11:45):
be difficult. But I always say, if you don't want
to listen to Christmas music, then just turn it off,
you know, just just turn it off. Kwanta has seven
seven principles similar if I'm correct to Hanukkah is that
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
I think there are seven.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And and we're and we're talking really just about it's
things that are transferable to to anyone, that could benefit
anyone's culture and belief I think they're just things that
people should walk in, walk in unity, walk in self determination,
walk in collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity,
(12:22):
and faith.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
And those are the principles.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And those are the principles. And and so I mean
even within the contruct of Christianity, you have these type
of belief systems that that are promoted in the Kwansa.
We highlight that in Neguza Saba.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
And one of the most brilliant things that are seen
in terms of celebrating holidays is Trey Iarrington who died
a few years back and was founder of Real Skills Network.
When he had his main fundraiser of the year and
main friend raiser, you know, celebration of his program, he
(13:02):
gave out lots of awards and what he did is
he had the seven principles of Kwanza as the category
for giving you out awards, and he named those principles
after somebody who was orady deceeized, somebody who exemplified.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
That, who modeled that principle, and then.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Gave it to somebody who's modeling it now. So he
took the principles of Kwanza attached to the ancestors and
then the current practitioners of those virtues and it was really.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Moving absolutely and it also you know, once again educates,
you know, an individual understanding how they are currently living
their life, how their life runs parallel to the principles
and what the principles represented. If someone did not know
about Kwanta, which were quite a few people, you know,
you know, at the awards, but now they do know you.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
And like I say, the tree was one of the
things that motivated him to do that is he knew
that his great friend and mentor, Fism was very He's
quantity of very seriously in Germany of creating a tradition
and pitepsie where that would happen. But you know, going
(14:22):
to the exclusion, I mean, frousty, the Snowman is not
a Christian figure. He is not a Christian figure. Yeah,
culturally Christian expansiveness around the materialism for us, snowman can
irk you a few Jewish well you feel like this
(14:45):
is not for us. He might not be a Christian,
but he's also not.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Jewish, right right, right, right? I was trying to recall
the lyrics in my head when you when you're talking
about Frusty. You know, because everyone sings the song maybe
except for your friend.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
The Frostie is a spiritual thing. You know, you must
have been something in that half they found that brought
the kids believe you could dance and play like everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Else, right, right, right.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
So it's a it's a spiritual song, right, Well, believe me,
it's not a Christian spiritual song. It's not a Catholic.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Well it's it's I mean more like a what do
you call them fables? You know, it's it's it's sort
of like when I was to watch Davy and Goliath
and they always had, you know, the point to the
story at the end for something positive, something that you
know you should learn or to aspire to. You know,
that always boiled down to like, don't be selfish, you know,
don't treat people with indifference because they're different from you.
(15:40):
And so Frosty the Snowman is if I recall something
like that, right.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Yeah, well froust he is a good spirit. And but
you know, but the celebration of the holidays is a
big deal. I think Piughkeepsie does a great job with
the celebration of life early in December where they light
up Main Street down to the.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
River holiday Tree and yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Yeah, and even celebration of License another word for Hanukah.
So it's it's buried in a more sexual way there
or clearly the grammar of the celebration of License Poteposie
is large Christian influence.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And you know, and once again it's about it's celebrating
I believe, you know, my perspective is is one's life,
you know, and one's ability to to give without you know,
even though what's the song I would say without judgment?
But the song that is it Rulf the Red Nose Reindeer. Right,
(16:39):
and he be nice or you know, behem whatever it
is is he being judged there? But you know, just
just the spirit of giving a family time, you know,
of connectedness of community and and and just coming together
for that accepting.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
I'm like, you go down right, you go down Main
Street the summer year, and you feel like the lights
are for you. I mean, no matter who you are,
the lights are there, sort of combating the darkness and
the cold. So people wanted to accept it.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
And once again, if you're just tuning in, you're finding
out with Pete the Poe of Gold, I'm Peter and
I'm the Poe of Gold, and we're having a wonderful conversation. Least,
I think it's wonderful about the holiday season.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Both of us fall into feeling wonderful, wonderful, but you
know what the holidays are about, feeling wonderful and giving.
But an awful lot of people are excluded from that absolutely,
and and everybody into holiday time is the time of complexity.
(17:46):
You know, you put in a very very hard year
in terms of people in your family dying. Yes, yes,
the holidays, that becomes resurrected, right, that becomes more present
at the holidays, and of the time.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Absolutely, I think you know, there there are people who
are out here dealing with loss.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
There are people who are who are depressed, you know,
depression heightened sometimes you know, during during the holiday, especially
if sometimes if you're experiencing loss, and uh, you know,
and so it's what I've what I've said to my family.
You know, this year was particularly hard because it was
the anniversary of my sister's death, who passed away from
(18:31):
cancer are rare cancer and that the insurance companies don't
test for because it's so rare in America, but other
countries test for it. And then obviously the the loss
of my uh, my niece, actually my cousin, but I
call it my niece, and my younger she's she was young,
twenty four years old, and my mom who passed away
(18:54):
two weeks you know, right after my niece passed away,
and they're both sad, and it was death, you know,
they weren't they weren't deaths that were you know that
we knew were coming. You know, it was okay, I'll
talk to you tomorrow, and tomorrow never came. And so
you know, as we go as my family, as we
go into this holiday season, you know, we're close to
each other. We have a close family. Spoke my mom
(19:15):
three times a day, you know. You know, so I'm
just trying to do things that that celebrate who she
was and who Caitlyn was because they both lived full lives.
You know, Caitlyn's twenty four years old, but she lived
a full life. Graduated from NYU, you know, was out
on her own, great job, great company. I mean she
(19:37):
really you know, did really well for herself. And uh
and my mom same thing. My mom lived a good
life on her own terms. You know, she lived on
her own terms and and uh and I have a
lot of respect for that she had. She worked in
nonprofit as well. I have a lot of my mom
in me. You know, she was an educator and so,
uh so she just kind of spat me out so
(20:00):
to speak. You know. But you know, even though each
day it's it's different, it's tough. I still talk to her.
I play videos and I just put the video up
when I'm cooking my mother, Yeah, I play the video
that we had we had on social media. And because
we always cooked together every day, Yeah yeah, I'd call
her and do face time and we go through what
(20:20):
are you cooking? You know, and so to I still
celebrate that, you know, with her. So I share that
with people simply to say that, you know, it's not
always easy, but if you can take the the precious
moments of life, you know, the moments that you know
you experience something good and hold on to that in
(20:41):
order to rebuild that, that gives you some hope. Sorrow
in sorrow fits in everywhere. I mean, grief is going
to be with you. It just doesn't go away. And
a good friend of mine, you know, Rock, we speak
the other night and he said, you know, death is cruel.
(21:01):
He's like, it's cruel. We had a good cuss fest,
you know, in our phone conversation, you know, but he
was right, you know, it's it's a cruel process of life.
But it is a part of life. Unfortunately, it's a
part of life. We don't we don't live forever. And
uh and somehow we may push we wait, we have
to find a way to push to go on, even
(21:22):
though we want to scream at the world and go
don't you know my family member died. You know, everybody
should stop. But everybody doesn't stop. Life doesn't stop. So
how do you go on?
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And one of the surprising things about death is, especially
in a sudden death, if somebody you love dies suddenly,
there's the drama, the shock, the experience of death. But
then every day there's still dead, right, and and that
sort of comes us a surprise sometimes.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, today, right right, right, yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
And you know Rocks And by the way, uh, you know,
Rock is probably the most the most talented person I know.
But he you know, his notion that death is cruel
is we all know what that means. So also there's
another way in which, uh, death is eventually gentle. It's
(22:23):
the most human venom. And one of the things about
being human is you have a limit, right and uh
to recognize and embrace and snuggle up to your limits,
it can be he's a way of experiencing your humanity.
Of course, when you have the sudden death, all best
of row if it's horrible.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Right right, right, And but the thing about just going
back to the holiday, it's it's a time, you know,
where we reach out and build community. It's a time
where you can reach out beyond where you are, you know,
beyond your family, and and give to others you know,
and and just even emotional and build community around someone
that that you may know doesn't have that you know,
(23:07):
and and and to be able to do that, and.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Uh, you know another thing about the holidays specifically, it
is Christmas the well the lights around anybody who decorates
their house, thank you, yeah, thank you in the dark.
I love that and it is that and this curs
is virtually all cultures, the yearning for light uh amid
(23:35):
the darkness. Yes, and everybody who puts up a Christmas
light does that absolutely, and doing it outside, to me,
it's public art. And your neighborhood is particularly a.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Vibrant oh yes, and they're they're vibrant for for Halloween, Thanksgiving,
for for July, you name it. I'm a little bit
of a humbug, you know when when it comes to
putting up lights outside, because I'm just I want to
take them down, you know, and I need you know,
I put them up. Okay, who's going to help take
them down? You know? So that's not the fun part
(24:07):
for me.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
I put my life up and I take them down.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Okay. You know when I was younger, we used to
have the tree up and June would come and the
tree would still be up, and folks go, do you
know your your tree is still up? And it's like, yeah,
we just water it, you know.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
But it is the holidays certainly religious events for many people,
they're cultural events and their public events, you know. And
I think the spirit making spirits bright in whatever way
you do that is an important thing. And to do
(24:42):
it in conjunction with other tradition, traditions outside your own,
I think is a specifically American thing. We don't want
to celebrate that. We want to say, hey man, Christmas
is for me.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
It's mine, you know, like love, it's mine, right, Yeah,
And this is one of the reason why I started out,
would be the poem. I know we're about to wrap up, right,
But one of the things is that it's about aspiring
to be our better selves. And and the holiday season,
the holiday season is that it's a season to aspire
to live out your your your better self. Well, I
see Lea's in the house.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
We want a happy Holidays from William.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
F Absolutely absolutely happy holidays everyone from everyone at Family Services.
What a what a time to be a family and
at Family Services, that's that's truly what we are. We're
a family together and we're a family with the community.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
So those are the words of one of our leaders
at this summer, a prophet right. It was joining back,
coming together as a community through different traditions and ending
with Leah Felman's wishers for happy holiday is a big deal.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
So thanks for lea, thank you, and thank you once
again for listening to finding out with Pete and the
Poe would go. We appreciate you and wish everyone a
happy holiday.
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