Stumax.com

Just finished reading all 250 posts to the Haiti newsgroup since I joined at the beginning of the year. Whew!

My brain is on overload right now and I’m still sifting through my thoughts, but here are a few observations:

1. It is striking how different reports of the same event can vary so widely. Of course, this is rather obvious, but I think this is the first time I’ve read about the same event - the Haitian Independence celebration of jan 1, in this case - covered by so many sources. From AP wire stories to personal accounts to government propaganda, descriptions of particular events vary so widely that it’s impossible for me to know what the truth is. I can’t tell if Haitians love Aristide or hate him. Is the Group of 184 a spontaneous and legitimate dissenting voice, or was it manufactured here in the US? How many people really have been killed in protests during the last month.

I find this all especially interesting now that I’m reading Trouillot’s Silencing the Past. Given our unprecedented access to information in this age, if it’s impossible to know right now what truth is, how can historians hope to make any sense of it?

To that point, Louise turned me on to the New Yorker article Theatres of War by Daniel Mendelsohn. In it, the author describes Thucydides’ History of the fall of Athens, and current authors’ attempts to deconstruct it and use it for their own purposes. The significant discovery for me in the article, though, is that Thucydides wrote a sort of interpreted history. He wrote the dialog of the players involved, sometimes as if an entire people was speaking with one voice. He used the device of dialog to try to capture the sense of the debate, the flow of ideas that was taking place at the time. Perhaps this is what history can do: capture a flavor, an essence.

1. Haitians, most of them, are poor. Really, mind-bogglingly poor. When you read descriptions of people eating mud just to survive, it’s hard to fathom that kind of reality. Toussaint must be weeping to see what’s become of his country.

2. It seems that all Haitians agree that things need to improve - many of them are desperate for change, for a better life - yet none seem to have any hope that things will really ever be different. There is outrage and agitation aplenty, but few talk of an actual plan for how things are going to improve.

For my part, my armchair observer’s two cents says that Haiti needs stability. Aristede needs to serve out his term, even if he spends too much on cars and has goon squads running amok. The man that Haiti elected needs to finish a term, and elections for the next president need to be held and that person needs to finish HIS term. Democracy must be seen to be working, and without the further intervention of outside forces. When Haitians see that they have a voice in the voting booth, they may start to speak with more confidence and authority.

Of course, without money, even a stable governmental body may not make much difference. Desperate people are driven to desperate measures. (You see? You see how easy it is to lose hope for Haiti?) If the international community would simply release the money that has already been allocated for use in Haiti, and if it could somehow be distributed rationally - perhaps along the lines of the cash infusion that Ireland has seen in recent years - then it’s hard to see how there wouldn’t be some improvement. Of course there will be abuses, but the current practice of withholding funds is certainly contributing nothing positive.

Did a lot of reading today about the Louisiana Purchase. I have some notes that I'll post tomorrow. I finally felt like I was getting in to the flow of research today.

I've been using StickyBrain for note takikng for the past few days. It's really useful in that it lets me capture thoughts on the fly. I like that I can display one category of notes at a time and make new notes in that category. I love that I can grab text from the web - URL and all! - in one easy keystroke.

I wanted the freedom to capture whatever might come to my brain without worrying to much about organizing them at the time. However, I can already see things - like my daily log - that I'm going to want to actually organize every couple of days. I may end up getting CircusPonies to start making more structured notebooks. Using these programs in tandem might just be what the doctor ordered.

Speaking of doctors, I'm coming down with a cold. Sucks. Actually, blows. Ah well.

Monday, December 22, 2003 - O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL

Despite a threat level of Orange, a rush-hour commute, and a vacation travel crunch, I have sailed past the checkpoints and arrived at the closest Starbucks to gate E9 two hours and 30 minutes ahead of takeoff. I would like to have stayed longer with my family at Uncle Eric's house rather than leaving early to anticipate the delays, but until they invent crystal balls that actually work worth a damn, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

The plane touched down in Chicago just after 11 pm on Saturday. Carry-on only luggage and a swift crew at Avis allowed me to make it from the gate to the house in under an hour. I found Dad, Trish Stefan, Johanna, Claire, Busy, Heather, and Shannon assembling a Mary photo mural. Mary at her wedding, Mary with friends and family, Mary bravely kayaking in 6 inches of water, Mary in her famous pink bathrobe, Mary emaciated and bald from chemotherapy. Mary laughing, smiling, or smirking in all of them; an indomitable spirit.

There was lots of laughter and smiling among all of us as well, as there always seems to be when our families get together. We have always taken joy and comfort in each others' presence, and it was no different here. I don't know why I seem to forget this so often, how much I enjoy my family.

On Sunday morning, we cleaned, straightened, and prepared the house for guests. We lingered a bit past our departure time, not really wanting to go to the service. The threat of what we didn't know loomed, the haunting question of what emotions we would face at acknowledging her passing all together at the same time and place, and how we might respond. We talked on the way, mostly about Johanna's new job and house. As we approached the chapel, the bare tree limbs and steel gray sky seemed appropriately grim, and the gothic architecture of the University of Chicago added significance to the moment. The chapel was modest, yet elegant. Twenty or so rows of wooden pews supplicated themselves to impressive stained glass windows, and carved wooden angels hovered in the rafters. A harpist played softly as over a hundred mourners filed into the building.

The service was conducted by a Presbyterian pastor who managed to say all the right things and everything well. He read a letter from Carol Topping, one of the Lombards' longtime friends. He spoke of Mary's devotion to her family and her commitment to caring for others. (Her last words were to Eric: "Did you eat dinner?") Sounding almost Buddhist at times, the pastor urged us to recognize that life and death are two sides of the same coin and that the important parts of Mary live on in and around us. He managed a perfect tone of respect and celebration for Mary's life.

Johanna got up to tell us about a trip she took with her mother to New Orleans. Claire said a few words. I watched the sign language interpreter as the pastor read the closing Navajo prayer, one of Mary's favorites. It was comforting to be seated there with Trish and my father, in the presence of so many who came to honor my aunt. I'm so grateful to have attended.

Lots of people showed up at the house later for food and drinks. There was laughter and joy as we reminisced and got to know each other better. It was a full expression of love for the family. It was how I would want my wake to be.

It's Tuesday evening as I finish this. A stubborn bolt on a cargo door delayed our departure from O'Hare. I got home to Seattle three hours later than scheduled, but home safe and sound. I rejoiced in the presence of my roommate, my cat, and my girlfriend. On Thursday morning Louise and I will leave to see our East Coast families for a few days. I'm really looking forward to it.

Louise and I left Seattle at about 4:30 on December 16th, 2003, just in time to hit major traffic. We got to Vancouver at 8:30. Just before we got to the border crossing, my dad called and said that Aunt Mary is very sick and will likely die either Wednesday or Thursday. I’m terribly sad about this, but we’re determined not to let it ruin our trip. There’s nothing to be done. When I can I’ll try to get a flight back for the planned memorial service this weekend.

After we found the Barclay House last night – and we found it to be very charming and cozy – we walked westerly on >Barclay Street to Denman, then headed a bit south to Comax, where we found a funky little restaurant called the Brass Monkey. Louise had a delicious salmon and a tasty glass of red wine. I had the chef’s special pasta and a couple of traditional Canadian beers. A fine meal. Lost my debit card. We walked back to the restaurant. Couldn’t find the card. Left my number. The waitress called a few minutes later; found it! We walked BACK to the restaurant. Got the card. Yay. Avoided a suspicious man on a bicycle on the way back. Relaxed with the fire and soft music.

Had a lovely talk over breakfast with Bruce and Una, a couple of physicians from Edmonton. Went to Vancouver Art Gallery for most of the day to see the Chagall exhibit. Lunched at a wonderful little Italian restaurant right across from the Gallery (we were invited in by the charming proprietor). Back to the Gallery. Back to Barclay House. My aunt died. Dad called and gave me the news. She died at noon with the arms of her family around her. Called Stef. He sounds fine. Everyone seems to be holding up. I’m looking at going to Chicago.

I proposed to Louise tonight. Gave her the ring right before we went to eat. She said yes. My head was swimming. I could hardly get the words "Will you marry me?" out of my mouth. Thank God she said yes, otherwise dinner might have been a little awkward. As it was, we had champagne to celebrate and another meal served in a banana leaf at The Crime Lab, a hip little two-story bistro on Jervis & Pender. Back to the B&B to watch a movie on the PowerBook and fall asleep in each others' arms in front of the fire that you turn on with a switch.

It’s late. I'm really happy. Being engaged, and all. :-))

Thursday we got up and had breakfast just the two of us in the dining room. We left our stuff at the house and caught a bus to Granville Island. The market was full of delicious foods, including the Red Snapper Chowder we had for lunch at the Stock Exchange. Browsed for Christmas gifts, but nothing leapt out at us. Took the Aquabus across the water to the bottom of Burrard (?) and walked into downtown. After a quick stop at the Cyber Café in Chapters, we walked to Sophia Books for some foreign language books. Best find of the trip turned out to be there in the form of the Haitian Creole - English, English - Haitian Creole dictionary by Charmant Theodore. We continued to the convention center, then tried to go up in the Harbour Centre tower, but they don’t take debit cards!

It was dark, so we walked back to Barclay House, got our stuff, and drove home.

This is an intriguing idea - that the meta-meaning of the revolution was less about freedom than about land. According to Carolyn Fick, freedom to the slaves in Haiti was meaningless without land ownership. Ironic, then, that the Louisiana purchase opened up just that possibility for millions of American citizens.

Read more of Corbett's site today. The guy has done an amazing amount of research on Haiti. Came across some good books (including the Fick book). May purchase some from him.

First thing to do, though, is to evaluate Boswell, StickyBrain, and CircusPonies. I need something to help me organize as I go off on all these tangents. It may be that nothing will work any better than the blog, but we'll see.

Toussaint made a fatal error in not confiding his plans in his generals. His weaknesses seem to include love of white culture and breeding, disdain for uneducated blacks, and isolation. Had he taken Moyse and Dessalines, for instance, into his confidence, had he educated them about the reasons behind his policies, they might have been loyal allies instead of undermining his policies.

It seems that Toussaint fell victim to the same sort of inertia that ensnares the greatest of men: the belief that what got you here will get you there. Toussaint’s habits of plotting and scheming in virtual isolation stood him in good stead while he worked to gather his forces. However, there came a time when he needed to draw on the resources of others in the country. He needed to address the fact that attachment to the old system still existed. He needed to address the economic incentives that Moyse and Dessalines found in the plantation system. He needed generals that understood the long term vision, the greater good. Not reaching out, not letting go of control, believing that he could do everything alone – this was Toussaint’s fatal flaw.

Korngold p. 232 – “[Napoleon] was to say: ‘I have to reproach myself the attack upon this colony. I should have contented myself with ruling the island through the intermediary of Toussaint.’”

“ The invasions of St. Domingo, Spain and Russia were Napoleon’s three capital blunders. From the historical perspective the invasion of St. Domingo surpasses the two others in importance. The setback to the Grand Army in Spain, its virtual destruction on the steppes of Russia, had important repercussions on the history of that time and hastened Napoleon’s downfall. But had Spain and Russia not been invaded, Europoe would still have emerged from the Napoleonic adventure the Europe of the Congress of Vienna. The invasion of St. Domingo, however, was responsible for the loss by France of its richest colony, and, as a result of that loss, for the sale of the Louisiana Territory to the United States. The sale of the Territory affected the future of the American Continent and of the world to an extent that cannot be overestimated.

“ The Grand Army’s losses in St. Domingo were almost as serious as those it suffered in Spain – 70,000 were lost in Spain, 63,000 in St. Domingo. “

Compare the second paragraph here with what Professor Corbett says. Corbett makes the claim that Napoleon never had designs on the Louisiana territory, or rather that he only had such designs as would restore Haiti to its former economic importance (i.e., using New Orleans as a supply depot for St. Domingue). Either way, it seems that Haiti’s fate at the least hastened America’s acquisition of the Western territory

Would Napoleon eventually have sold or released the land to the US at some point if things in Haiti had gone otherwise? It's hard to see why he would have, though given the disastrous campaigns in Russian and Spain, I'm not sure what use Napoleon could have made of the land. If, though, he had managed to secure Haiti and restore its economic importance, he may not have needed to sell the Louisiana Territories when he did. The land might have eventually been settled by the French, or ceded to the US or back to Spain.

[In this chapter, Korngold also lays out his theory of Napoleon’s thirst for world domination.]

Also – p. 233 – “Before the French Revolution two thirds of the French import and export trade had been with St. Domingo.” Two thirds! The loss of that trade is significant for both sides. No wonder Napoleon wanted it back. And no wonder Toussaint turned to Spain, Britain and especially the United States to make up the gap. He was covering his butt, economically speaking.

Sometimes I can hardly believe that Toussaint accomplished what he did. His growth as a leader is nothing short of extraordinary. Once the Negroes had begun their revolt, once they had been armed and given hope, returning them to slavery would have been impossible. Toussaint must have seen that halting the revolution was impossible. He was like a surfer on a wave of change, clever and bold enough to stay just a few steps ahead and win important military and economic victories. Never mind that he was black, that he managed to establish himself as an almost universally loved leader of his country was miraculous. That he also maintained the highest moral and ethical standards throughout his campaign is a singular achievement.

I have seen references disparaging TL's shifting alliances from France to Spain to Britain and the US. I see, though, why he did what he did. Haiti was at the mercy of other countries for their economic prosperity. When France tried to squeeze the island, Toussaint looked elsewhere for trade opportunities. When the Code Noir was under attack in France, Toussaint took the necessary steps to preserve the progress blacks had made.

Stumbled across references to a couple of Toussaint-related productions. Danny Glover starred as TL in a production at Carnegie Hall on May 23rd of this year. Also, I had been aware of the play For Love of Freedom, produced in 2001 at the Robey theatre in LA, but not that it was a trilogy! Apparently, “FOR THE LOVE OF FREEDOM;TOUSSAINT THE SOUL part I in the year 2001. Part 2 if the Haitian trilogy, DESSALINE; THE HEART, was produced in 2002, and part three is slated for 2004.”

Finally, Paul Robeson’s one-act about Toussaint, Lion in Captivity, was the subject of a casting call on October 29th.

Korngold p 101 Speculates on Toussaint's reason for choosing the name Louverture. I would prefer to avoid speculation on such things. Who knows whether Toussaint himself consciously knew the reason? Sometimes our psyches assimilate circumstances for us. Perhaps, though, Toussaint did see himself as a savior. Perhaps he was aware of himself as uniquely positioned to deliver emancipation.

P 110 Toussaint claims to have spent 640,00 Francs of his own money. Korngold speculates this was given to Toussaint at the beginning of the revolution.

TL's success in battle is often credited to the speed with which his army moved. Compare this with the successes of other great generals   including Napoleon   and to the OODA loop and the theories proposed by John Boyd.

P 112 "The statesman Toussaint realized that surrounded as were the Negroes of St. Domingo by slaveowning powers, they could not hope to maintain liberty without building an economically powerful state able to supply them with modern weapons of warfare. To do this the cooperation of the whites was indispensable."

Toussaint's significant contributions to the liberation of Haiti included arming the Negroes and bending over backwards to treat whites humanely and without a trace of vindictiveness. By showing himself to be fair and just, he gained the cooperation of blacks AND whites.

I got my new PowerBook today, so I can hardly concentrate, but here goes...

Korngold makes the astonishing claim that Toussaint was in on the revolution from the beginning in 1791! I'm stunned. I never heard this part before. According to Citizen Toussaint, the then-Governor of St. Domingue was convinced that the best way to quell any talk of independence among the plantation owners was to stage a slave revolt. The governor visited the Breda plantation, where Toussaint either volunteered or was suggested as a suitable candidate to organize the mock rebellion. Toussaint then set the wheels in motion for the events of 1791.

As I originally heard the story, Toussaint joined the rebellion at the age of 47 as a doctor, then rose to the ranks of General. This did in fact happen, but TL was involved long before that point.

p 61 "[Toussaint} knew that the Negroes were oppressed not becase they were Negroes, but because they were weak. Epictetus and millions of other white men had been slaves. The chieftains who sold war prisoners and even their own subjects into slavery were of the same race as their victims. White planters were often cruel, but mulatto planters were said to be even worse."

This quote is exactly what I've been looking for. For too long we have confused slavery as being a cruelty that only white people do to only black people. Slavery is a human embarrassment. It has nothing to do with race.

I've been thinking about presenting the Toussaint story much in the manner of a Shakespearean play that has been updated. What if his story could be told in today's terms, placing him in today's context, so that readers could relate to how respected he was and how important he was to his time? Do I have Clue One about how to pull this off? No really, but I really like the idea. Dispensing with the race issue might jar people's understanding just enough to relate.

"Patience bat la force" = Patience overcomes strength. "Doucement alle' loin" = Gentleness goes far.

It's cold and rainy in Seattle today. The wind was whipping around this morning, rippling Puget Sound like a leaf blower on a puddle. I could see the snow-capped Olympics in the distance. Gosh, it's beautiful here.

I spent the day with a couple of my current hobbies - IMAP, Blogging, and avoiding work. Still, I managed to get a fair amount done with my grandfather's files. I have set aside everything related to his actual writing or to marketing of the book. That leaves his research-related files accessible to me. In the not-too-distant future, I'll take another pass at these, weeding out duplications, re-filing, and mining for research gems. At this point, though, I can focus on finishing Korngold and digging in to some other books so I can get my balance with this Toussaint character.

I've been thinking about this blog, too. In trying to explain the reasons behind it to my girlfriend, it became clear to me that I want it to do the following for me:

(1) I want a place to track my progress and let others follow along with the project as well. I'm hoping that this might then impose some outside accountability to keep me on task.
(2) I want a big searchable database of my research and thoughts related to this project.
(3) I want a place to capture other thoughts and musings, and, essentially, to practice writing.

It has occurred to me that anyone just stumbling across this blog might be a bit at sea as to what I'm talking about, so I should plan on writing up a background on the Toussaint project as well as who I am and what I'm all about.

I'm not sure what I want this site to be. I want it to track my progress with Toussaint research, yet I can see it's useful to capture other thoughts and ideas about my day as well. Question is, am I willing to share that with the world? I'm completely ignorant of what that might mean.

I spent a couple hours sorting through the rest of the cards that I found in one of the boxes my mom sent me from my grandfather's house. I sent a lot of stuff to my brother, ditched a bunch, and I still have a small boxful.

It was quite the nostalgic adventure to sift through the cards. Most of them were from between 1967 (my birth year) and 1973. Some of the highlights:

> A sheaf of note papers on which my Grandma had written a journal of my week-long visit in Washington DC.

A bedtime story my dad wrote for me on hotel notepaper. Birth announcements for my brother and me. Also congratulatory notes and cards. Lots of subtle humor from my Grandpa. I know he just laughed to himself when he wrote to me about the "tit-mouse" he saw in the backyard. Postcards from my mom and dad's trip around the US & Mexico.

For all my desire to lighten my load and throw stuff away, I sure loved having the chance to look through these again.

I've spent the last 3 hours sorting Grandfather's Toussaint-related files. Man there's a bunch of stuff!

My strategy is to separate all of Grandfather's writings, then organize the rest and use that as the supporting research to get me started. I'd love to get rid of a lot of this - looks like there's a lot of duplication - but I don't know what's important and what isn't just yet. I just know that there's a lot of it!

My girlfriend pointed out this newspaper article to me about the horrendous living conditions of modern Haitians, who are preparing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of independence as the world's first black republic. On the same page of that November 23rd, 2003, Seattle Times was this article about child slavery in Haiti.

The first article, entitled "Haitians too poor to celebrate 200 years of freedom" (Letta Tayler, Newsday) describes the abject poverty suffered by the 8 million residents of that island nation. I can't help noticing how much Haiti seems to be a land stuck in time. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is seen by some as just as corrupt as every other Haitian dictator. Blacks are still overwhelmingly oppressed (mostly by the "mulatto elite") and the government's ability to impose order on its subjects is spotty at best. A little money might help put Haiti on the path of economic recovery, yet a large aid package is on hold because of the tenuous political situation there. Haiti seems to have been at the mercy of other nations both economically and politically since its inception.

The second article, "To survive, young forced into servitude" by Carol J. Williams of the Los Angeles Times, describes child slavery in Haiti. Young children there are sold into slavery by the most desperately poor parents, often to people only slightly better off than the parents in the first place. While I suppose that at least slavery can confer some survival advantages to the slave (and better the position of the slave owner, thereby at least theoretically making life better still for the slave), I can only think that Toussaint Louverture is crying a river of tears that the country he loved and fought to liberate could still be suffering so 200 years after his death.