After the dance, the drums are heavy: carnival, politics, and musical engagement in Haiti

423 Pages·2019·60.581 MB·English

by  Rebecca Dirksen

A�er the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy: Carnival, Politics, and Musical Engagement in Haiti
Rebecca Dirksen
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190928056.001.0001
Published: 2020 Online ISBN: 9780190928094 Print ISBN: 9780190928056
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https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190928056.002.0004 Page iv ttp
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Published: April 2020 ://a
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Subject: Ethnomusicology ic.o
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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers a
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dirksen, Rebecca, author.
Title: After the dance, the drums are heavy :
carnival, politics, and musical engagement in Haiti / Rebecca Dirksen.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2019. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Identi�ers: LCCN 2019035260 (print) | LCCN 2019035261 (ebook) | lo
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ISBN 9780190928056 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190928063 (paperback) | fro
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ISBN 9780190928087 (epub) | ISBN 9780190928070 | ISBN 9780190928094 http
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Subjects: LCSH: Music—Political aspects—Haiti. | Carnival—Haiti. ://ac
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Classi�cation: LCC ML3917.H3 D57 2019 (print) | LCC ML3917.H3 (ebook) | ic
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DDC 306.4/8424097294—dc23 .c
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LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035260 o
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LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035261 0
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Paperback printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America r/34
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Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America 3
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This volume is published with the generous support of the AMS 75 PAYS Endowment U
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of the American Musicological Society, funded in part by the National Endowment rs
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for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. f N
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For Boulo Valcourt and Manno Charlemagne, who, through all d fro
of their complexities, both modeled a spirit of angaje when the m
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world gives us cause to become anraje. ttp
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For Jean- Max, the ultimate trickster, and those like him who have a
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been consumed by the raging course of contemporary Haiti. m
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For my parents and for Kendy. .c
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With gratitude and affection: u
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Boulo Valcourt (February 12, 1946– November 17, 2017) r o
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Manno Charlemagne (April 14, 1948– December 10, 2017) 0
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Jean- Max Mercier (disappeared c. December 5, 2017) S
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List of Illustrations e
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1.1 Men Anviwè rara band, Marchand Dessalines, April 20, 2013 19 a
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1.2 Lemò (the dead) at carnival, Jacmel, February 27, 2011 23
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1.3 Papier- mâché model of the Palais National for carnival, Jacmel, u
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February 27, 2011 25 .co
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1.4 A graphic response to the post-e arthquake carnival theme /b
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“Let’s Celebrate Life,” Jacmel, February 27, 2011 26 ok
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1.5 Miami- based konpa band T-V ice’s float for Carnaval des Fleurs, 0
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Port- au- Prince, July 28, 2013 32 9/c
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2.1 Road barricaded during political protests, Delmas, December 9, 2010 52 p
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2.2 Debris from political protests, Pétion-V ille, December 8, 2010 53 r/3
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2.3 Billboard: Vocalist Mikaben says, “Let’s go vote,” Pétion-V ille, 31
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December 8, 2010 54 3
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2.4 A young supporter of Michel Martelly during protests, Pétion-V ille, b
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December 8, 2010 55 U
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2.5 Protestors supporting presidential candidate Martelly, Pétion-V ille, ers
December 8, 2010 61 ity
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2.6 Carnival revelers, Jacmel, February 27, 2011 61 f N
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3.1 Political cartoon showing the parade of candidates lined up for rth
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the “Electionaval 2010” 78 a
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3.2 Political cartoon depicting the Provisional Electoral Council’s efforts lin
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to dismiss Wyclef Jean from the presidential race 81 - C
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3.3 Poster advertising the April 1997 Fugees concert “Ayiti, yon chans” ap
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(Haiti, a chance) at the Place d’Italie in Port-a u- Prince 87 l H
3.4 Screenshot of Jason Derulo with Wyclef Jean in Derulo’s “Colors” ill L
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music video for the 2018 FIFA World Cup 90 ra
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4.1 A scene from the national cemetery during Fèt Gede, Port-a u- Prince, s u
November 2, 2012 113 se
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4.2 A bann a pye (foot band) sings about cholera in the national n
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cemetery during Fèt Gede, Port-a u- Prince, November 1, 2010 119 2 S
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4.3 An explicit cholera reference shows up at the cross for Gran Brijit in pte
the national cemetery, Port-a u- Prince, November 2, 2010 120 m
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x List of Illustrations
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4.4 Following a year of compounded disasters, a cholera “patient” is part w
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of the 2011 carnival parade, Jacmel, February 27, 2011 121 loa
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4.5 Carnival revelers carry an “Anti Kolera” cross in commemoration of those d
who perished, Jacmel, February 27, 2011 122 fro
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5.1 Portrait of Michel Martelly at home, Peguy-V ille, January 6, 2018 144 ttp
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5.2 Michel Martelly’s presidential campaign poster, Pétion-V ille, ://a
December 8, 2010 150 ca
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5.3 Political cartoon depicting rap kreyòl group Barikad Crew’s endorsement of m
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Mirlande Manigat for president 177 .o
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5.4 Street scene from Carnaval des Fleurs, Port-a u- Prince, July 28, 2013 178 .c
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6.1 Cartoon that accompanied the release of Sweet Micky’s Kanaval 2016 /b
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song “Bal bannann nan” (Give her the banana) 209 o
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6.2 Cartoon that accompanied the release of Sweet Micky’s Kanaval 2017 10
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song “2 ke” (Two tails) 230 9
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7.1 Screenshot from Vwadèzil’s Kanaval 2015 music video ap
“Kite ti pati’m kanpe” (Let my party stand) 246 ter/3
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7.2 Screenshot from Matyas’s Kanaval 2016 music video 9
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“Prezidan pou bèl” (President to be beautiful / President to look good) 263 6
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7.3 Screenshot of Matyas and Jòj studying bananas in their Kanaval 2017 4 b
music video “2 monte” (Two terms) 268 y U
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7.4 Portrait of Matyas (Jean Toussaint Frantz) at Goose Bar, Route Frère, iv
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March 11, 2017 269 rsity
7.5 Screenshot from Brothers Posse’s Kanaval 2013 music video “Aloral” of N
(Orally / All talk) 280 o
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7.6 Screenshot from Brothers Posse’s Kanaval 2015 music video C
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“Bon bò- a” (The good side / The right side) 286 ro
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7.7 Screenshot from Brothers Posse’s Kanaval 2018 music video a - C
“Danse Petro” (Petwo Dance) 291 h
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8.1 Screenshot from Boukman Eksperyans’s Kanaval 2016 music video e
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“Zonbi san manman” (Motherless zombies) 307 ill L
8.2 Screenshot from Boukman Eksperyans’s Kanaval 2015 music video ib
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“Pèpè yè” (Yesterday’s castoffs) 310 rie
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8.3 Portrait of Lòlò (Théodore Beaubrun Jr.) at home, Puits Blain, June 28, 2018 317 us
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8.4 Portrait of Manzè (Mimerose Beaubrun) at home, Puits Blain, June 28, 2018 326 r o
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8.5 Portrait of Richard A. Morse at Hotel Oloffson, Carrefour Feuilles, 2
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July 27, 2018 337 e
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8.6 Screenshot from RAM’s Kanaval 2013 music video “Men bwa w” w
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(Here’s your downfall) 349 loa
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8.7 Screenshot from RAM’s Kanaval 2014 music video “Se pa sa w te di” d
(That’s not what you said) 352 fro
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8.8 Screenshot from RAM’s Kanaval 2015 music video “Symphony du Ghetto” 353 ttp
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9.1 Portrait of Manno Charlemagne at Press Café, Pétion-V ille, August 2008 367 ://a
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9.2 Portrait of Roosevelt Saillant (BIC) at his music studio in Delmas, ad
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September 24, 2016 371 m
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E.1 Screenshot from Martelly’s 2016 music video “Kite yo pale” (Let them talk) 387 .ou
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A�er the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy: Carnival, Politics, and Musical Engagement in Haiti
Rebecca Dirksen
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190928056.001.0001
Published: 2020 Online ISBN: 9780190928094 Print ISBN: 9780190928056
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Acknowledgments  fro
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I readily admit that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I �rst decided that I wanted to learn /bo
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more about Haiti. It has been a long journey, sometimes joyous and sometimes painful and always pushing /4
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me to grow, which would not have been possible without a whole legion of people. It is now a daunting task 2
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to write these acknowledgments, because after sixteen years, I have accumulated a great deal of debt. There /ch
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are many individuals whose names deserve to be recognized here and yet I can’t quantify all of the kind te
gestures, passing remarks, and shared experiences that have pushed me further along the way to this r/34
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�nished book. Moreover, it strikes me that there are always many people behind the scenes who we don’t 1
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necessarily realize are laying down the foundation for us to build on. Even if it were possible to acknowledge 9
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them all, I could never su�ciently express my profound appreciation for everyone who has played a role, y
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large or small, in shaping my path. niv
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I start with institutions �rst, as they are easier to tally. Several grants and fellowships have supported this ity
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work in some form or another. This is not the book that I intended to write �rst, nor is it related to my f N
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doctoral dissertation, and yet all of that research for what’s yet to come has been foundational to the rth
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making of this book. I am grateful, therefore, for the funding that got me through those earlier steps in aro
addition to that which supported the actual research and writing for this project. I have bene�ted from a lin
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USA Post-Graduate Scholarship at the University of Roehampton; grants and fellowships from UCLA’s - C
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Graduate Division, Alumni Association, International Institute, Latin American Studies Institute (in the p
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form of a FLAS grant), and Herb Alpert School of Music; from the Elaine Krown Klein Fine Arts Scholarship l H
Fund; and from a Louisa Schreiber Dissertation Year Fellowship. I had the tremendous fortune to receive a ill Lib
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Grassroots Development PhD Dissertation Fellowship from the Inter-American Foundation, which was rie
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essential to setting me on my way and opening up new considerations for how matters of development can u
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be approached in the most ethical and integrative means possible. I was again blessed with a two-year r o
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Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which I 0
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p. xiv happily carried out in the Music and Theater Arts Section. Several years later, I was back in Cambridge for S
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an opportunity of a lifetime as a 2016–17 Fellow at the Radcli�e Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard te
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University, which granted me a time for leave, space, and an exceptionally warm community for writing and e
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re�ecting. The IU Platform Arts & Humanities Laboratory/Global Popular Music Platform, the IU College 0
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Arts and Humanities Institute (CAHI), the O�ce of the Vice President for International A�airs, and the IU
Arts and Humanities Council made the extraordinary possible in helping to bring the band Boukman
Eksperyans (featured in these pages) to Indiana University campus during Fall Semester 2019. Finally, an
AMS 75 Pays subvention from the American Musicological Society greatly assisted with the publication of
this book.
It is much harder to single out all the people who have helped me along, as I am certainly missing many in
my e�orts to keep these notes to an “appropriate” length. Thank you to those who shaped my formative
years. Those for whom I hold great a�ection and appreciation include piano professor Hyung Ja Kim at
Western Illinois University for setting me up brilliantly for a career in music (even if it hasn’t turned out to
be straight-up performance); my piano studio advisor Michael Kim and the rest of the music professors and
wider faculty at Lawrence University and Music Conservatory for giving me an excellent undergraduate
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education; the music faculty at the University of Roehampton; and the ethnomusicology faculty at UCLA. My w
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profound thanks especially to Anthony Seeger and Helen Rees, who became important mentors and who a
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have both challenged and guided me, and also to Christopher Waterman and Robin Derby, who worked with d
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me on developing my sense of research and scholarship. Thanks as well to my graduate school cohort: m
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Shannon Aridgides, Jennie Gubner, Michael Iyanaga, Andy Pettit, Michael Silvers, Katie Stu�elbeam, and ttp
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Kathleen Wiens. At the Inter-American Foundation, I thank Kevin Healy, John Browder, Paula Durbin, ://a
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Elizabeth Cartwright, Christiana Kasner, and everyone else who o�ered support along the way and made the a
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fellowship year and mid-year retreat in Antigua, Guatemala, enlightening and energizing. m
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Circling back to pick up more details on how I got started with work in Haiti, I can’t imagine what direction p.c
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my life would have taken without Janet Anthony, who took me along with several other Lawrence students m
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to Léogâne for the �rst time for the Ecole de Musique Saint Trinité summer camp in 2003. Once there I o
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found that my understanding of the world began rapidly expanding, under the guidance of or in partnership /41
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with Père David César, Tom Clowes, Marie Rose Eugène, John Jost, Pierre Leroy, Hector Lominy, Jean 9
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p. xv Montès, Jeoboham Pierre, Mary Procopio, Bob Stacke, Nicole St. Victor, Ann Weaver, and many other ha
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wonderful colleagues and students. Thank you as well to Marc Prou, Jean Lesly René, and the rest of the ter/3
faculty of the Haitian Creole Language and Culture Summer Institute at the University of Massachusetts 49
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Boston, for giving me a strong start to learning Kreyòl and to Carmelina Lesperance, for hosting me at her 6
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home. Thank you to Carline Desire and Carmelle Bonhomètre at the Asosyasyon Fanm Ayisyen nan Boston 2
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(AFAB-KAFANM): I hope one day I can contribute more to this critical mission. U
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While at MIT, I gained a wonderful mentor in Patty Tang, and also in Michel DeGra� and—o� campus— rs
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Jean Appolon, who kept me dancing. At Indiana University, Ruth Stone has become yet another source of o
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wisdom for whom I am immensely grateful, and I thank my colleagues, graduate and undergraduate o
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students, and the superb sta� in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, along with Steve and C
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Denise Stuemp�e. Laura Plummer, Arlene Diaz, and the Women’s Writing Groups at IU; Javier Léon and the ro
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Latin American Music Center; and Anke Birkenmaier and Bryan Pitts and Center for Latin American and a
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Caribbean Studies have each o�ered valuable support during my time in Bloomington. I have now taught h
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two versions of a course on Caribbean Carnival at IU, and appreciate my undergraduate students who have e
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so willingly engaged in conversation. ill L
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At the Radcli�e Institute, my thanks are heartfelt and many: to my fellow fellows, Dean Liz Cohen, Director rarie
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Judy Vichniac, Associate Director Sharon Bromberg-Lim, Rebecca Haley, Mervi Karttunen, and the entire u
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Radcli�e team. Together they run a stellar program, and have recently brought together outstanding new r o
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leadership. Then-Harvard junior Margot Mai was a phenomenal research assistant, who gamely dove into 0
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all three of the projects I set before her and who tracked down all sorts of seemingly random information for S
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me. Her enthusiasm and excellent questions inspired me to carry on. Many of the musicology and te
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ethnomusicology faculty down the road in the Harvard Music Department—Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Ingrid be
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Monson, Carol Oja, and Kate van Orden—were exceptional in their welcome and encouragement. And Lisa 0
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Wong, M.D., left a memorable mark with her work as a physician who sees the healing arts of music and
medicine as deeply intertwined.
Treading further, I thank my fellow Haitianists, including but certainly not limited to Paul Austerlitz, Gage
Averill, Melvin Butler, Suzy Castor, Manoucheka Celeste, Donald Cosentino, Claude Dauphin, Guerdès
p. xvi Fleurant, Chelsey Kivland, Michael Largey, Elizabeth McAlister, Mary Procopio, Rebecca Sager, Mark
Schuller, Kathy Smith, and Thomas Spear, and Lois Wilcken. The Haitian Studies Association has been
especially kind in their encouragement, and I thank especially Josiane Hudicourt Barnes, Patrick
Bellegarde-Smith, LeGrace Benson, Carolle Charles, Charlene Désir, Marie-Lourdes Elgirus, Claudine
Michel, Marc Prou, Féquière Vilsaint, and other HSA colleagues for their continued interest. Many scholars
with interests beyond Haiti’s borders have been encouraging and helpful; were I to list them all, it would
amount to a sizeable portion of the SEM and ICTM memberships. Please know that you are all appreciated.
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The academic support has all been essential to getting me to this point, but the heavy lifting and the lo
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constant work of reshaping of my worldview has mostly been accomplished in Haiti. Many scores of e
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interviews with generous Haitian colleagues have gone into the shaping of my intellectual trajectory; fro
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everyone whose name appears on the List of Interviews at the back of this book certainly has a place in this h
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space as well. That list is limited only to the interviews that I have done that relate in some direct way to this s
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project on music, carnival, and politics, and everyone else has been or will be recognized individually and c
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thanked again in turn with other publications more relevant to those discussions. Still, even if they haven’t e
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been named here, their help has been essential. In this set of acknowledgments, though, I �nd it especially .o
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important to highlight those who feature prominently in these pages, and recognize the graciousness of p.c
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Théodore (Lòlò) Beaubrun Jr. and Mimerose (Manzè) Beaubrun of Boukman Eksperyans, Michael Brun, m
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Joseph Emmanuel (Manno) Charlemagne, Antonio Cheramy (Don Kato) of Brothers Posse, Jean Toussaint o
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Frantz (Matyas) of Matyas and Jòj, Donald Joseph (Fresh La) of Vwadèzil, Michel Joseph Martelly (Sweet /41
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Micky) and Sophia Martelly, Richard and Lunise Morse of RAM, Liliane Pierre-Paul, Beethova Obas, 9
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Roosevelt Saillant (BIC), and Henriot (Boulo) Valcourt. a
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Over the years, many other people have become friends and family, who have often also humored me with r/34
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my research activities. Among those who have put in outsized e�orts in helping me out (and who are not 1
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already listed above) include Fred and Fredonly Adolphe; Marie-Thérèse Bien-Aimée; Patrick Audant; 9
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Daniel Baptiste; Dominique Batraville; Monette Cadeaux; Valentin, Nathalie, Naïma, and Olivier Calixte; y
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Rosa Parés Canela; Charles Castel; Syto Cavé and Emmelyn Cantave; Garry Chanel; Charles Charlesine and n
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family; Narcisse Claude and family; Fabienne Denis; Micheline Laudun Denis and the entire Denis family; rs
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p. xvii Leslie Dorcin; Jean Baden Dubois; Marcel Duret; Fritz Duroseau; Margareth Duroseau; Georges Henri Fils; o
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Ronald Gabriel; Viviane Gauthier; Jean Daniel Guillaume and family; Éric Héreaux; Mitzy Lynn o
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Hyacinthe; Georgette Jean-Louis; Romel Joseph; Erol Josué; Rodrigue Julien; Adèle Lacombe and Jessica C
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Argant; Yanick Lahens; Dieuseul Liberis (Zaka); Jean-Max Mercier; Danex Merilien and family; Yves and ro
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Douglas Michaud; Esmérelda Milcé; Jean-Euphèle Milcé; Dolores Dominique Neptune and Jean-Claude a
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Neptune; Viviane Nicholas; Anthony Pascale (Konpè Filo); Enick Pierre and family; Kindly Pierre; Phène h
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Pierre Saint; Emmelie Prophète; Carlos Regulus; Elizabeth Saint-Hilaire; Nicole St. Victor; Carlo Thélasco; e
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Johnny Tingue; Marie Josseline Fi�e Valcourt and the entire Valcourt family; Patrick Vilaire; Jean-Michel ill L
Yamba; and Sony (Bèl Anfòm) Zulerion. ib
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In more technical matters about the production of this text, I reserve a special mention for Jennifer Post: u
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without her, this book wouldn’t exist. By inviting me to participate in her second volume of the r o
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Ethnomusicology: A Contemporary Reader, she inadvertently helped me to solve a problem that I was 0
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struggling mightily with while writing my (someday forthcoming) book on disaster and development. This S
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deep foray into carnival was an unintended diversion, but, I hope, may ultimately prove meaningful to the te
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larger picture. Two anonymous readers, Michael Bakan, and Lois Wilcken provided helpful feedback on an be
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early submission to the press; Reader #3 in particular, I can’t ever thank you enough for shepherding this 0
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forward! Jesse Weaver Shipley and Karl Haas o�ered speci�c theoretical suggestions on one chapter as
presented at the 2017 African Studies Association conference that have been helpful to my overall thinking.
Moreover, Yanick Lahens o�ered invaluable feedback as I was working through some of the theoretical
ideas in this text. I’m grateful to CedarBough Saeji, Brandon Barker, and Elizabeth Clendinning for each
reading multiple chapters, and especially to Grete Viddal, who made it through the entire—admittedly very
long—manuscript. Extra support and understanding came from Mark Pedelty at a critical juncture. Suzanne
Ryan at Oxford University Press has made all sorts of things possible, and has been beyond patient and
supportive. I could not have gotten through this process without her or her assistants Sean Decker, Dorian
Mueller, and Catherine Rice, nor without the entire Oxford production team, including Shanmuga Priya K.,
Carole Berglie, Newgen KnowledgeWorks typesetters, and Enid Zafran. And it is one of my greatest honors
to be part of series curated by Alejandro Madrid and Walter Aaron Clark.
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Most of the transcriptions and nearly all the Kreyòl-to-English translations are mine. Esther Laguerre lo
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p. xviii stepped in to assist with a few of the transcriptions during a period when time was short. Kendy Vérilus e
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graciously helped whenever I got stuck with the more challenging linguistic tangles, metaphorical fro
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meanings, historical cross-references, and subtexts to which I would not otherwise have access. Haitian h
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Kreyòl linguist David Tézil also assisted with several language questions that I had early in this project and s
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later copyedited the Kreyòl text once I had the �nal document �les from the press in hand. c
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Thank you to all the artists and music groups whose work is discussed in these pages for granting ic
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permission to liberally reprint their lyrics in the interest of building documentation of Haiti’s music history up
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—these include all of the artists thanked earlier plus Yves Gérald Chéry of K-Zino, Jean Adler Gaston of Top o
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Alderman and Original Rap Sta�, Jean Jean Roosevelt, Fabrice Rouzier of Mizik Mizik, and Boujean David /bo
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Tchean of Youv-Keyz/King T.I.G; to Kindly Pierre and Kendy Vérilus for taking literally thousands of photos /4
1
and videos on my behalf over the years and for allowing me to share their talents here; to CedarBough Saeji 02
9
for ensuring that all of the image �les were prepared to speci�cation; to Teddy Keser Mombrun for agreeing /ch
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to the reproduction of several of his brilliant political cartoons in this book; to the Ministère de la Culture et te
de la Communication d’Haïti and PDG Communications for the authorization include an image of their r/34
9
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poster made for a 1997 Fugees concert in Haiti, which Joseph Guerdy Lissade kindly lent to me to scan; to 1
6
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Woy Magazine for permission to use an excerpt of the article “Istwa Kache: Mwen Boule Kawotchou e 9
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Patisipe nan Manifestasyon Pou Lajan” that appeared in their digital pages in 2015; and to Routledge for y
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granting me the rights to reprint my essay in the Ethnomusicology Reader as the lightly edited chapter 2 in n
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this book. That chapter originally appeared as © 2017 from “Mixed Modes and Performance Codes of rs
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Political Demonstrations and Carnival in Haiti” by Rebecca Dirksen, in Ethnomusicology: A Contemporary o
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Reader, Vol. 2, pages 211–29, edited by Jennifer Post (New York: Routledge). Reproduced by permission of o
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Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc. Matt Vandini of Infamous PR and a team from C
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Wright’s Media made possible the inclusion of text from Michael Brun’s January 17, 2018 statement to ro
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Billboard magazine in the article by Kat Bein titled “Haiti’s Michael Brun Responds to Trump’s ‘Shithole’ a
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Comments: Exclusive” (Copyrighted 2018. Prometheus Global Media. 2117521: 0719DD). h
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Even as this book has bene�ted tremendously from all of this assistance, I take full responsibility for any l H
errors, misinterpretations, and omissions. ill Lib
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p. xix Finally, I can’t overstate the importance of the friends and close family who have sustained me over the long ries
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haul. Among the generous friends I am grateful to count on who endured hearing way too much about this se
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book are Angie Napier, Wendy Gray, Damascus Kafumbe, and Sandra Kuebler and company. Shab Fasa, n
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Elizabeth Clendinning, Jennie Gubner, Grete Viddal, and CedarBough Saeji in particular have been constant 2 S
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cheerleaders whose noble e�orts at keeping my spirits up along the way and repeatedly reassuring me that p
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this is worthwhile work have been so indispensable to me actually �nishing this project. In terms of family, b
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I’ve certainly lucked out: the entire Guillaume family, especially Rosette Bien-Aimée, Wilson, Hans and r 2
0
2
Nadine, Bond’s, Bickerson, Martine, Wilsonia and Ru�ord Jean-Philippe, Nicolas Louis and Violette 2
Guillaume, Newton and Doris Louis, have all been engaged with this project from the beginning. My thanks
and love to my parents Ralph and Diane Dirksen, who have graced me with their endless patience and
interest, to my sister Suzanne McCormick and her lovely family, and to my grandparents Johnny and
Barbara Nelson, who both passed away as I was working on this project but who I know would have been
proud. But really, without the tremendous help of Kendy Vérilus, who has been instrumental in making