Bill's Blog

Last night I finished reading Christopher Hitchen’s biography of Thomas Jefferson: Author of America. I discovered publisher Harper Collins’s Eminent Lives Series. They chose interesting authors to write opinionated, concise biographies of historical figures. Hitchens was one of my favorite thinkers and authors and Thomas Jefferson is one of my heroes, so it was a perfect combination. I admire Thomas Jefferson for his authorship of the Declaration of Independence and his well-rounded life. He was a scientist, farmer, diplomat, and educator. I was inspired to keep a notebook journal and in part, this blog, based on his CommonPlace Book, Jefferson’s journal of his literary and philosophical reading. My big takeaway from Hitchen’s work is that being a politician or leader is a messy business and it was good for me as a mature adult to read about Jefferson’s life and challenges. He really did design America and the ideals of individual rights, secular humanist government, and the ultimate goal of “the pursuit of happiness” were absolutely brilliant and set America apart from other nations. He was a man of his time, and the fact that he was a slave owner does diminish his legacy. The controversy of his relationship with Sally Hemings is covered in the book. She was actually the half-sister of his wife, who tragically passed away.

Below are my highlights from the book.

• Thomas Jefferson designed America or authored it through using ideas of the Enlightenment in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution and his numerous private letters and essays.
• Jefferson was swept away by the French Revolution and the ideas behind it. He was the Secretary of State and Ambassador to France during that historical time. He was joined by John Adams and Ben Franklin in the summer of 1784 in France. What a diplomatic trio!
• Jefferson was proud of founding the University of Virginia, a secular university that promoted independent thinking. It was student-centered long before this came into fashion in schools. He didn’t like the impact of organized religion on the lives of young people and was a proponent of a secular government, free of the establishment of any state religion (First Amendment).
• He was the first President to use sanctions and other non-violent measures as an alternative to going to war. In his “Report on American Commerce” he put forward the idea of an America committed to international free trade.
• One of his greatest accomplishments was the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the USA. I loved that he went on a “botanizing” trip on the frontier of America when it was expanding westward.
• He designed a new kind of plow based on his observations in Europe. He sent horticultural clippings to the brilliant French Consul, Crèvecoeur in New York, comparing notes on everything from potatoes to cedars. He also designed water-cooled vials to transport vaccines.
• He remained young and hale for his years and regularly took strenuous exercise on horseback.
• In the Marine Corps song, the line “…to the shores of Tripoli” refers to the first time American forces raised the US flag in a foreign port. Jefferson ordered a raid in Libya to stop pirates from attacking American ships and taking sailors as slaves.
• Jefferson struggled with the question of states’ rights versus the federal government, as did young America. I think it is a strength of the USA today that we have a good balance between the two and the Union stayed together. It is better to be together with conflicts rather than independent nations like South American (Grand Colombia) or the European Union.
• The Logan Act prevents private American citizens from practicing diplomacy without accreditation.
• He suffered from migraine attacks intermittently throughout his life.
• “The pursuit of happiness” is one of the great phrases that made America distinct.
• It was interesting that Jefferson and others always thought Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba would eventually become part of America.
• It was not until after Gettysburg that Americans began to say ‘the United States is” rather than “the United States are”.

New words

• vaunted – widely praised or boasted about
• quadroon – a person 25% African descent
• phlegmatic – calm, sluggish, apathetic manner
• uxoriousness – excessively submissive to one’s wife
• vulpine – cunning, clever, fox like

I am taking a bit of time this week to relax and think about things other than work, hence this blog post on one of my hobbies, following Detroit and Michigan sports. I don’t have time or patience to watch all of the games, but I do follow the Tigers and Lions.

The Detroit Tigers baseball team was a big part of my childhood and adolescence. My mother was a baseball fanatic and she watched or listened on the radio, to all 162 Tigers baseball games annually. I played Little League Baseball and all the way into high school, when West Iron County Wykons had a team and participated in the Western Upper Peninsula Baseball League. I was an average player, a pretty good fielder at second base and a below average hitter. My speciality was bunting and our coach loved the suicide squeeze play. The “suicide squeeze” was the runner at third base starts sprinting home as soon as the pitcher throws the ball to the batter. With the runner rapidly coming down the baseline, the batter, often me, had to bunt or tap the ball into play. I would commit “suicide” by getting out and this play would “squeeze” the runner home. Often I got on base as well as I could place the ball adeptly down the third base line, far enough away from the catcher, pitcher, and third baseman so all had to run to it.

The Tigers won the World Series my senior year of high school in 1984 against the San Diego Padres. I remember going to a float-making party for our homecoming in October of 1984, and that night, the Tigers won Game 5 to be crowned champions. They have not won another one 40 years later and instead of being 17 years old, I am 57 years old. They did come close, losing the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and the San Francisco Giants in 2012. In their 124 years of being a franchise, they have 4 World Series titles and made the playoffs 17 times.

It was a huge surprise that they made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years this year, in 2024. The Tigers owner, Mike Ilitch, the owner of Little Caesar’s Pizza chain was pumping a lot of money into the team and was desperate for the World Series title before he died. The Tigers made 2 of the six World Series during that era and had a lot of success. He died and his children stopped putting so much money into the team and they had 10 years of losing teams. This season, it looked to be the same, as they struggled to reach .500 all season long. They traded their second-best pitcher at the trade deadline to the LA Dodgers and it looked like a mediocre but finally, respectable season. However, starting in mid August, they went on an incredible winning streak and earned a playoff spot in the new format. They swept the Houston Astros in the first round and took the Cleveland Guardians to a final Game 5 before dropping out. It was like a lightning strike, a bolt out of nowhere, and gave me happiness and entertainment as the season ended in September and October.

The 2024 Tigers have the youngest roster in baseball and have loads of young talent because they drafted in the early rounds for so many years. The Tigers have the best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal, and a bunch of relievers that manager A.J. Hinch rotates for the other games. It would be good for them to find or develop another key starter or two to give them consistency over a long season and help in post season 7-game series. They also need a couple of power hitters, maybe some veteran slugger that could play designated hitter. One issue is a big contract they gave to Javier Baez, an aging star who is not aging well. He was injured during the Tiger’s miraculous run, so they really don’t need him. He still has 3 years of a $140 million dollar deal that they might as well burn the money. I hope he can turn it around, but having so much money going to a 31-year-old hitter with an average of .187 and 6 home runs, it such a waste. He was an amazing player for the Chicago Cubs in his early 20s and I hope he can find that touch again. The Tigers have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, #24 of 30 teams, at $104 million. That compares to the two teams in the World Series this year, the NY Yankees ($303 million) and LA Dodgers ($250 million).

On the football side, the Detroit Lions are in first place in the NFC North with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss. They have probably the best team in the NFC and are one of the favorites to make it to the Super Bowl. They lost last season in the NFC championship game to the San Francisco 49ers after having a big lead. They kept their team together and have the most explosive offenses in the league with superstar athletes and arguably the best players at their position. Wide receiver Am-ran St. Brown, running back Jahmir Gibbs, Tight End Sam LaPorta, are considered one of the best at their respective positions. Combine that with the best offensive line in football, a genius offense coordinator (Ben Johnson) and a smart quarterback who finds the open player, Jared Goff, the Lions are unstoppable. They will always be able to stay in games because they can score points. They are so exciting to watch. Their weak point is their defense and they recently lost Aiden Hutchinson, one of the best rushers in the game. However, they have one of the best defensive backs in football, Brian Branch. The question is can they get enough stops to win football games.

Their coach Dan Campbell really changed the culture of the franchise. The Lions since 1934 have only won 4 championships, the last being 10 years before I was born in 1957. They are one of the few teams that has never made it to a Super Bowl (started in 1967). Could this be the year? One criticism of coach Campbell is late game decisions and there is always a bit of luck involved. The hope is they can have the number one seed and play two home games to get to the Super Bowl. It is just so refreshing to have a good football team to follow!

On Sunday we hike the canyon in the Su’kok Natural Reserve. It was a gorgeous autumn afternoon and “peak” color season. There were a lot of people visiting the reserve, but once you got away from the gate, it was actually quite nice. The reserve is great because they do not allow livestock grazing so trees and bushes can actually grow. Overgrazing is a big issue in Uzbekistan and I hope authorities carve out more of these areas to protect. It was fun walking with friends. We took the lower trail to a small waterfall and then hiked out. Of course I wanted to keep going, but with a mixed group and Nadia and Ocean wanting to get back to Tashkent, it was better to cut short the hike rather than overdoing it. The smell of pine trees and red leaves brought back memories of the Upper Peninsula.

In the afternoon, Nadia and I went swimming at her club, BeFit. She swims a few times a week and challenged me to swim 2 kilometers with her. I made it 32 lengths of the pool to her 40 lengths. My form is horrible and I couldn’t keep up with her. I am not a big fan of long distance swimming but see it as a way to prolong my exercise and fitness as I get older. I am really impressed with Nadia’s swimming!

I am taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, including walking my dog at sunset and noticing the morning sun going through the chandelier in our house. My son Owen went for a hike to Hogback Mountain in Marquette, Michigan and sent these photos below. It is a week past peak autumn color in the UP but still beautiful.

Last night we watched the classic opera, Pagliacci at the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre named after Alisher Navoi. It is amazing to have access to such a beautiful theatre and professional performance in Tashkent. I bought 3 tickets for Nadia, Ocean, and me in the fourth row for $8.70 each. We took advantage of the free parking about 20 meters from the front door. It was an entertaining and exhilarating performance and we should do this more often! Professional theatre was established here in the 1920s and the construction of the theatre took place from 1942-1947, opening in time for the 500th anniversary of Alisher Nava’i, a 15th century writer, statesman, linguist, painter, mystic, etc. He was the greatest representative of the extinct Turkic language, Chagtai, that used to be widely spoken in Central Asia. It is regarded as the precursor to Uzbek.

The Italian opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo wrote Pagliacci in 1892 and it is the most famous of all his works that made it into today’s opera cannon. The story is a simple one, a jealous husband murders his wife and her lover. The couple is part of a traveling theatre troupe and what the audience thinks is part of the play, is actually the husband (Canio) in a jealous rage who stabs and kills his wife (Nedda) on stage. The lover (Silvio) intervenes and is also stabbed by Canio. Comic relief is offered by a hunchback character named Tonio. The audience hears the famous final line, “La commedia è finita!!” – “The comedy is finished!” The opera is referred to often in pop culture, with references in the Batman/Joker series and Smoky Robinson’s “The Tears of a Clown”. I recognized the song, Vesti La Guibba (Put on the Costume) which is a famous, sad opera song. I also learned of the stock character from Italian opera, the Harlequin, which is a comic, servant that is up to mischief in a plot. The Harlequin or Arlecchino in Italian is identified by a brightly checkered costume.

After the show, we went to Shevchenko Street, the new walking street in Tashkent, and ate at Tom Yum Bar, one of Nadia’s favorite restaurants.

Our oldest son Owen is a student at Northern Michigan University, a public institution of approximately 7,000 students. It is located in the largest town in the Upper Peninsula, Marquette. It is 46.5 degrees latitude north and located on the south shore of Lake Superior. Owen rarely sends us photos and videos so I was delighted when he sent photos of the “northern lights” (Aurora Borealis). An aurora is a disturbance caused by solar winds in the magnetosphere resulting in brilliant lights in the night sky. The word aurora is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, “Aurora” who traveled from east to west announcing the coming of the Sun. They are usually seen closer to the poles, at 67 degrees north and south. However, during solar storms, they spread out and can be seen at lower altitudes. Last week they put on a spectacular show and Owen went out to Presque Isle Park, just outside of town and snapped these photos overlooking Lake Superior.

Owen also attended the Michigan State versus Northern Michigan University (NMU) basketball game in Nothern’s Superior Dome. Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo had his jersey retired by NMU. He played for NMU in the late 1970s. The exhibition game attracted 11,000 people and was kind of a celebration of the Upper Peninsula. The Division 1 Spartans defeated the Wildcats 70-53. Above is a photo of the scene.

Finally, we had a rare few days of cool rain this week. Tashkent has a climate similar to northern Arizona so it is refreshing to have a grey, miserable, rainy stretch of weather. It was nice to take a nap on the top chan in our back garden and watch the rain come down.

Our school has a robust Model United Nations program for the students. It is quite appropriate because a big portion of our students come from diplomatic families. The Model United Nations or Model UN or MUN is a simulation of proceedings of the actual United Nations. The students are assigned nations to represent After researching the country, they act in their perceived interests of that country. Student-Delegates put forth motions to debate and vote on and serve on various smaller groups like the Security Council or International Court of Justice, etc. Every MUN has a theme so teachers propose topics and issues for the MUN to solve. There is also always an “emergency” on Day 2 of the activity, which may be a major natural disaster, pandemic, breakout of war, etc. that the students have to react to. I love watching the students engage with each other on global issues and it breaks up the routine of teacher-led classes. Students serve as chairs and run all sessions.

Ocean won a “Best Delegate” award for her level. She is a good student, organized, curious, caring, and it showed during this MUN. I watched a few of the sessions but missed her getting the award due to afternoon meetings. I asked her to get to a microphone and make a motion while I was there, but she just laughed.

I read a bit about the history of MUN. I didn’t know that it started in the 1920s at Oxford University and shortly thereafter, moved to Harvard University as well. Back then it was the League of Nations, and through the years has morphed into the United Nations. Our school annually attends one or two conferences and hosts one conference. We usually attend the MUN in The Hague, Netherlands. I don’t think Ocean will be attending that conference.

Congratulations Ocean, we love you!

I always love people-watching when I visit Chorsu Market, the largest, most traditional market in the city. The sprawling complex contains just about anything one needs with different sections for fruits/vegetables and other groceries, carpets, gold, live animals, textiles, etc. Some people have the misperception that Uzbekistan is a religiously conservative country. There is no pressure on women to cover and one sees a range of dress styles. Generally, I notice younger and richer women dress more “Western” and in secular styles. We arrived at the market around 8:30 AM on Saturday which is early for Uzbeks so the market was blissfully empty. On our way home, we noticed traffic picking up around 10:00 AM. Nadia was shopping for winter plants for our garden. Uzbek women like colorful and comfortable jumpsuits. Autumn has reached Tashkent and Uzbeks have a tendency to bundle up with heavy clothing.

On Sunday we host the school’s annual United Nations Day. Our school has people from over 60 different countries and it is always awesome to see the full spectrum of humanity’s colors and customs. From India and the Marshall Islands, from China to Nepal, we have nations large and small. Some delegations are large like the USA and Uzbekistan but most are single families. I think have a wide variety of nations represented at our school softens conflict and disagreement between nations. Everyone in attendance was respectful and supportive of all cultures. It is one of my favorite days of the school calendar.

We had a fun week of school with the Terry Fox Run taking place last Friday and the Book Character Parade happening this past Wednesday. Nadia helped me with my costume, which was inspired from the children’s book, Harold and the Purple Crayon. I don’t know what is says about me that I have a purple velvet jacket and bright pink shorts in my wardrobe? I love events like these as it breaks up the routine of school days and brings smiles to community members. These events also give me a chance to connect with people.

We are also preparing for United Nations Day, the big international celebration at our school. We have over 60 nationalities represented at our school and it is always breathtaking to see the diversity of humanity on display. With so many different ethnic groups, religions, cultures, etc. it allows us to focus on what humans have in common rather than comparing self versus the other. With so many different “others” I feel it is a useless exercise to rank or compare one’s own”tribe” or cultural group to others. Nadia and Ocean are marching as Bolivia this year.

It was a nice quiet weekend in Tashkent, the highlight being Ocean’s soccer games on Saturday afternoon. Our school hosts a local tournament to help prepare the student-athletes for the culminating Central Asian Federation of Athletics and Activities (CAFAA) tournaments.

Ocean was sick this week with flu-like symptoms. She stayed home from school on Friday, but after some encouragement, she participated in the tournament. They played four 40-minute games in the afternoon, and her team finished in third place. Our school had difficulty finding schools with female soccer teams. Female sports in general and soccer specifically are not popular in Uzbekistan due to cultural mores. The athletic director said out of the 20 schools we interact within the city and region, only one, the British School of Tashkent, had a girls soccer team ready to play. We did invite two club teams, one from our section of the city and another from Bekabad, a city 140 kilometers from Tashkent on the border with Tajikistan. The club teams pull from a wider population than schools and have much more training that we do. The two club teams were above the two school teams. However, it was good for TIS to play them to lift their game in preparation of next month’s CAFA championship that we are hosting for the first time since I’ve been here in Tashkent. Her coach wants to play them again.

Ocean played midfield and centerback in defense and got action in every game. She is a really good athlete and as she plays more soccer, will feel more comfortable. It was a rare rainy day in Tashkent. It didn’t feel like we were in Uzbekistan as this is the first steady rain we’ve had in months. TIS played BST in the consolation game and it was a highly entertaining match. We fell behind 0-1 and eventually rallied to win 3-2 and take home a bronze medal.

Nadia and I went out with friends on Saturday night for drinks at the Hyatt. We had a lot of good laughs! I played 3 sets of tennis with our friend Noah this morning at the Olympic Tennis School. Nadia sat out because she fell during the Terry Fox Run on Friday afternoon. Our school held two runs around the campus for elementary and secondary students to raise funds for our Cancer Curesaders. The student-led group collaborates with the children’s cancer hospice in Tashkent. Nadia scraped her knee, arm and lip as she fell on a small rise in the path on the asphalt.

Tuesday, October 1 was Teachers’ Day, a national holiday in Uzbekistan. It was nice to have a day off in the week. I took advantage of the perfect weather and went for a long bicycle ride followed by a walk with Obi. I walked along the Seoul MUN development along the canal. It is almost complete and an example of the incredible business growth in the city. When I was here five years ago, it was a deep ravine with grassy clay soils on both sides and kind of an abandoned part of the city. There was a trail about halfway down the cliff and remember running on it as it was too soft to ride a bike. It is a massive project with three floors of retail shops on both sides of the ravine, a hotel, several apartment complexes and bridges with walking trails. It is in a nice part of the city and would be a good place to have an apartment, although they have to work out the traffic flow with the access roads on both sides of the canal.

In the evening I attended the grand opening of the American University of Technology – Arizona State University campus. The Uzbek government is courting international investment and supporting this venture. Many universities are opening in Uzbekistan due to the demographic bubble here of many young people coming of age. Arizona State is the largest public university in the USA and they have partnered with 12 universities globally similar to what they are doing here. Students can attend AUT for 3 years and 1 year at ASU and earn a ASU degree. They also have dual programs with Masters degrees. They are starting this year with 50 students on scholarship and two programs (computer engineering, international business). They are adding a bunch of programs next year as the program grows.