The People’s Bank?

Amadeo Peter Giannini (1870-1949) declared, “If our institution has become great, it is by the consent of the people we serve.”

Giannini was speaking as founder of the Bank of America, now grown the nation's largest. Recently, it  received 45 billion dollars from the federal government and us all.  

My friend, Jack Trumpbour, at a demonstration on March 5, opposite the Copley Square branch of the Bank of America, changed Giannini's sentiment:

“Bank of America today has adopted a new motto:  ‘If our institution has become great (at seizing your estate), it is by no consent of the people we screw.'”

 

Musical Prodigy

“At age eleven, I became infatuated with music,” says Gunther Schuller. Three weeks ago, at age 83, he took a bow on the Symphony Hall stage, after the Boston Symphony première of his latest composition “Where The Word Ends.”

Between eleven and 83, this prodigious musician has lived seven different careers in one: horn player, composer, conductor, jazz historian, music publisher, record producer, and educator and achieved high distinction in each one.

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Making a Marriage Work

Taking part in a 50th wedding celebration can sometimes rival the pleasure of being there at the wedding itself. That’s the way it was for me two days after Christmas when Kathy and Charles marked their golden anniversary.

I found it heartwarming to see these two friends still happy being together. And to witness their pleasure in their children and grandchildren added immeasurably to the mix. Toward the end of the evening, each member of these younger generations spoke with warm affection, and not a little humor, about their parents or grandparents.

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Celebrated Composer Speaks

Distinguished composer Gunther Schuller at age 83 triumphed, in early February, at the Boston Symphony's world premiere performance of his latest work “Where The Word Ends.”

In an interview the following week, he shared with this writer his experience of later life. “I'm much wiser, much more tolerant, more gently critical,” he said. “I find that the activity of my brain, my mind is greater and deeper. I have a   mental fertility.”

“Now there is a kind of depth of my thinking and my exploring things, and every day I come up with so many new ideas, new thoughts and feelings that I've never had before.”

“I'm attributing that to living long enough; you also learn a lot and you gain from that. You accumulate so many experiences that they enrich your inner self.”