I just finished listening to an archived broadcast of a special two hour edition of the NPR program 'The Infinite Mind'. This particular program titled 'State of Mind: America 2002' was concerned with mental health issues related to the events of 9/11. The program included panel discussions from both NYC and Washington DC with commentary from Rosalynn Carter, Tipper Gore & Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher. There were also two musical performances. One was Jessye Norman singing a beautiful sacred piece written by Duke Ellington. The other was Judy Collins who sang a gorgeous version of 'America the Beautiful'. The program was recorded last month and let me say right here & now that Judy's voice was clear, expressive and on pitch throughout. She brought tears to my eyes. She's still got it, people, and if she ever performs in Seattle, I want to see her.
Now for the coincidental part of this post. A while ago when the movie 'A Beautiful Mind' was being discussed on the list, Mary K. Powers brought up a book about a woman's personal battle with schizophrenia called 'Welcome Silence'. The author of this book is a Dr. Carol North. The last time I was in my home town, one of my parents' neighbors told me that someone who had been a childhood friend of mine and who had lived in the same house that this neighbor lives in now had become a doctor and had written a book about her battle with schizophrenia. Carol North was a schoolmate of mine when I was in elementary school and had moved away when we were around 10 years old. Well to make a long story short, Mary K. gave me some information that enabled me to get in touch with Dr. Carol North who is indeed the same Carol North I knew as a child and is now a psychiatrist and is considered an expert in the field of disaster research. She has conducted interviews & research in Oklahoma City after the bombing there and also Nairobi after the US Embassy bombing. She is currently very actively involved in research into the psychological ramifications of 9/11. She has even submitted testimony to the U S Senate advocating support for increased availability of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder & other mental illnesses related to the attacks. She was also on one of the panels for 'The Infinite Mind' broadcast I just listened to. I heard her voice today for the first time in nearly 40 years. Carol had told me about this program and had also mentioned Judy Collins as one of the celebrities who would be appearing. But the main reason I searched out the archive and listened to it was because of Carol's participation. Judy was an added & more than welcome bonus especially since I have just recently begun collecting her records. But it gets even better than that. It turns out that Carol's parents and one of her brothers now live in Washington state just outside of Seattle. She will be in the area in August (just before Jonifest) and we have been emailing one another about meeting at that time. I don't know what I will have to say to someone I haven't seen or (until very recently) communicated with in nearly 40 years but it looks like I will be finding out. I'm a bit in awe of this person in view of everything she's accomplished in her life & I wonder if I will seem terribly dull to her. But she is someone I have never forgotten and has stuck in my mind over the years as a kindred spirit. Apparently she also has some positive memories of me as well. In her first email to me she said she remembers me very well and has a picture of me in her childhood scrapbook. I'm anxious to find out if there really is some kind of meaningful connection between us after all this time. There's one more coincidence in connection with all of this. One of Carol's fields of research is ECT. Some of you may remember that my mother has had a course of this treatment to help her with severe depression. In fact she recently had another treatment after a period of time when we thought she was done with them & didn't need them anymore. And the world just seems to get smaller & smaller.... Mark E in Seattle
