Rosenwald Movie

     I went to see a documentary movie tonight, Rosenwald, at the Edina theater. I liked reading the article about it in the Friday Minneapolis paper. Since I was a history major I do like continuing to learn through independent study. So of course documentaries help. I knew very little about Julius Rosenwald, who was chairman of Sears Roebuck and became a philanthropist. I knew nothing about all of the schools he helped create in the American South. It sounded like the Carnegie library system. My family did shop at Sears for school clothes, but also at Montgomery Ward and JC Penney. What was notable to me was seeing one image of Rosenwald next to other famous businessmen- Firestone, Edison, Lipton. Of course Edison representing General Electric. The thing I said before about my studies was that it did include learning about 19th century robber barons. We've really just traded one set for another set. The Marian Anderson scene, singing 'My country tis of tee', reminded me of visiting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, my first visit to the city in 2000. I liked mention of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, he helped create it and I have been there.
   I saw School Bouncer when I went to the grocery store this afternoon. He was on his way to the comedy club. Heard a knock on the glass when rounding up carts to return to the corral. I went to the Prairie Home Companion season opening block party but the caterer ran out of meatloaf and the performance slots were full by the time I got around to ask about signing up. I left after an hour and ate at a Super-America, where the clerk liked the looks of the chili dog. He said his employee discount consists of 2 drinks a day.
     When Garrison Keillor came out of the Fitzgerald after the show, he did a medley of patriotic songs. It included the national anthem, the second I think was O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, then My country tis of thee and God Bless America. I think it was near a Brit as when they got to 'My country' he wanted to sing 'God save the queen', it is the same tune. Others were Battle Hymn of the Republic, Grand Old Flag, Oklahoma OK, a Minnesota song, and he did allude to the meatloaf issue. He said sorry. Somebody near me, not the Brit, freaked out about a Sam Waterston look-alike.