Loyalty Through the Lens of the Congress Hotel

Although it is not the first word that I would use to describe myself, “loyal” would be in the top 5 options. What does loyalty look like for me? Well, I still choose to listen to music from the 90’s every time I get in my car, not because I don’t like new music, but because I don’t want to just toss out what I grew to love; my parents still buy me oreo cookies every time I visit them in St.Louis because they were my childhood favorite; and even if my candidate/team/performer sucks on a certain day, I never move to the opposite side of the bleachers.

Basically, in my opinion being loyal is about weathering the storm and remaining engaged with a choice you once made.

While on twitter, one of my followers mentioned the Congress hotel strike and how long it has been active.

Sparking my interest, I did some brief research on The Congress Hotel strike. It is the longest strike in the United States, and has been going on for 8 years. The strike surrounds the low working wages offered by the hotel, a little more than $8 an hour compared to other hotels pay of $15 on average, for their non-management positions.

Image from http://www.congresshotelstrike.info/

Although the hotel is unlikely to shift its wages, The Congress Hotel strike is one of the most clear examples of contemporary loyalty to not only a cause, but to (almost) a decade of individuals and families that have remained committed to each other.

The level of planning, mental, emotional, and financial support needed to keep the strike going lands an award for loyalty in my book. I now ask myself, why have I not shown the Congress Hotel Strike loyalty to things that I claim truly affect me, my family, friends, and unborn children. Where did that “strike” spirit go?

I must admit, that my up close and personal dealings with politics has proven that many people down talk and belittle the “strikers loyalty”. The individuals/groups that are loyal to their cause are often disregarded as losers or encouraged to take the more common route; sadly, I wonder when did it become so unrespectable to stand 8 times after you fall 7.

Loyalty does not fade with the trends, it continues when the trend comes full circle; loyalty breeds perfection, eventually you figure out how to right what you were doing wrong.

What does loyalty look like for you?

Below is a link that details more about the Congress Hotel strike and the strikers.

http://www.congresshotelstrike.info/

 

Pushing Through the Rough Patch: I Tried Fasting

Composed the night of 7/26/2011

I just completed my first fast in hopes of gaining clarity on some opportunities that have been presented to me.
Not eating was not as challenging as I thought it would be because I was very busy the entire day; what was challenging during this busy day, was finding the time to pray and remain focused on why I was fasting.

Throughout the day I was in a long meetings that involved my direct participation. I would sneak in
a few moments of focused prayer by excusing myself to the bathroom, or when the other party would do the same. One other activity that helped me stay focused on my fasting wishes during the meetings was writing keywords of the 3 items that led me to fast on my notes.

After my meetings were complete, I headed home. On the way home, I became aware of all the emails, text messages, and phone calls that I missed. Of course I was tempted to return the calls on the commute home, but after the third failed attempt, I accepted that this time was another opportunity to engage in my fasting prayers.

Once I arrived at home, I called a friend and asked a general question regarding fasting (I was advised to not announce or share with others that I am fasting, especially because it was for a specific purpose). My question went something like this:

Me: Suppose I was fasting in the summertime from sun up to sun down and realized that…..the sun doesn’t go down for an extremely long time? Can I just change the time that I end my fast?

Friend: No. But, if you do need to eat, you can-lol. Sometimes when I am hungry at the end of my fast, I take a nap to push through.

Me: Thanks.

Needless to say, I took a nap….the sun is almost in my rearview…..Later my friend informed me that I could have been upfont with my question; I was just not tp publicize my fasting throughout the day.

How do you get the most of your fast and/or spiritual activities?

Below is a link that explains more about fasting.

http://www.howtofast.net/

 

Community Asset: The Café

One of the ongoing challenges I have faced as a poet involve landing performance opportunities. Although I have performed at a number of open mics and several variety shows, I am always searching for a platform to display my talent for more than 3-5 minutes at a time. Unfortunately, I have attended a few disappointing open mics in Chicago, that more times than not, turned out to be a rap fest, where the singers and poets performed last. This is never a fun experience!

Recently I came across the website of The Café, a uniquely styled bar that hosts a weekly open-mic on Tuesdays, located at 5115 N. Lincoln in Chicago. While looking on the website I noticed that The Café had open slots for featured readings/ poets. Feature poets can read/ perform 20 minutes of their poetry on one of the open Tuesdays. This was great news for me because I desperately desire to build my performance stamina, introduce a crowd to my poetic story, and capture some great recordings of my talent.

That very day I contacted Janet Kuypers, the coordinator of the poetry readings at The Café. Janet was extremely responsive, and after viewing a few of my recordings on Facebook, she told me to a pick an open slot of my choice. After solidifying my date of August 9, 2011, I knew I needed to check out the venue and crowd. After rescheduling 3 times, I was finally able to attend one of the open mic sessions.

It was the day after Chicago’s horrible rain storms when I visited The Café. I walked into the bar and was surprised to spot 3 distinct sections, separated by furniture, each space with its personal touches. Walking to the back room, I finally met the spirited, Janet Kuypers. Happy to meet me, she explained that this day would not include a feature, but instead a series of 10 minute mini-features. SCORE!  The Café presented a win-win situation for every poet in attendance.

As an added bonus Janet video records first time performers and posts to YouTube; she also sends each performer a copy of the link! I am so glad that I stumbled upon this local platform. I believe it is important to create the platforms you seek, but I also like to support those that are already in progress. The Café and it’s loyal following, are truly a Community Asset for local poets and creative artists to display their talent in front of a welcoming audience.

For more information, visit http://www.chaoticarts.org/thecafe/