☀️A Positively Cheeky Sun
The Friday of the tenth week of the year lands on the tenth of the month?! Seems like you should probably brace yourself for the glory.
☀️Keeping Things Positive
I want to say something positive about masks.
Now, I'll admit that my desire to be positive on such a subject is severely testing my imaginative and creative capabilities. But maybe there is a way. We will find a way!
A couple things have me thinking about masks again. By masks I mean the face-coverings requested/required in public places for normal people doing normal things. I have never had any negative thoughts about snorkel masks for better underwater views or gas masks for soldiers facing chemical warfare. But yesterday I had the...opportunity (?)...necessity (?)...to enter a local place of business with a sign on the front door announcing that masks were still REQUIRED. Upon entering I was given a chance to reply with my “good morning” before being asked to cover up my “good morning” speaking hole. It brought back bad memories, and it wasn't just because I was in a dentist office.
The other reason I've been thinking about masks again is due to some news coverage about some updated studies saying masks helped in no ways whatsoever with the Wuhan-virus. The New York Times printed an opinion piece about it that included a link to the “most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of scientific studies conducted on the efficacy of masks for reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses.” The research report is long, but the main results are near the top:
“Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks”
The NYT is sharing this? The same NYT that printed a 100,00 names on a Sunday front page of those that died from (or with, or probably with) COVID, and later a front page with 500,000 dots in memory? I generally default to believing the opposite of whatever their opinion is, so what worse thing(s) are they trying to cover up by questioning masks?
It has been bad. How long was the pseudo-emergency-legislation in the name of public health pushed on us? What depths of criticism and canceling were non-maskers or even just the mask-questioners subjected to? Take one example. This was posted by the Philadelphia Public Health Twitter account. It's kind of funny, but it's not Science™️, and it was meme propaganda.
Mask-skeptics were called names, cursed at. Un-wearers were threatened, kicked out of business, or prohibited entry.
But as I said at the beginning, I really want to say something positive about this. I'm asking myself, “How can we not just whine about how ridiculous our government was—federal, state, and local—to do this to their citizens? How can we move forward with our lesson learned?”
So, thinking positively, rather than demand that our representatives grovel in sackcloth and ashes about their errors and failures, let's add to their list of commemorating those who were oppressed. Every group gets some kind of tribute now, right? It's probably too late to get steam for the month of March, but if we wanted something alliterative and catchy, I propose “No More Moronic Masks May” or merely “Marvelous Maskless May.” Let’s organize ourselves a public festival to remember the silliness. Let us burn some big leftover boxes of masks in a bonfire and let the glow of said fire bring a glow to our faces.
Imagine a Friday night at Comeford Park, near the new Marysville civic offices. Let there be a pronouncement made for “Free Faces Fridays.” Not that Fridays are the only day we won’t wear masks, but as a reminder of how suffocating the “mandates” were to all our days. When our children come to ask about why we act like not wearing masks is so special, let us tell them the deliverance we've received. Let the Council declare a covenant, “We hereby declare, as for us and our city, we will not let it happen again, not on our watch.”
Maybe my positivity is still tongue-in-cheek, but at least you can see it because I'm not masking it.
☀️Marysville Senior Wins Jazz Scholarship
by Maggie Rothenberger
Since 1977, jazz enthusiasts from around the country have been gathering annually at the DeMeiro Jazz Fest to celebrate the genre. As the only non-competitive jazz festival when it was started, the event provides unique opportunities for jazz choirs of all levels, allowing them to perform and be adjudicated by professionals.
There is only one aspect of the festival that is competitive: its scholarships. Three different ones are awarded each year, with qualifying groups applying from throughout the US and Canada. This year, Marysville’s own Elizabeth (Ellie) Sarr, was the sole recipient of the Dee Daniel’s Vocal Scholarship, allowing her to participate in different clinics and workshops, sing alongside the jazz quartet, Resolve, and most of all, perform in front of the festival. She was kind enough to speak to me about it.
Ellie is a lifelong Marysville resident, who has been singing for as long as she can remember. Her mother, Sonja Sarr, (also a long-time Marysville resident), is still involved with choral directing and local music, and has participated in or observed the DeMiero Fest for at least fifteen years. Ellie says, “I do not remember a time where I have not been singing. Apparently as a three year old I was in a choir at church for 5+ year olds. My parents have always seen something musical in me and pushed me to share it with others through singing and soloing,” though she doesn’t always feel comfortable in the spotlight. She applied for the scholarship this year at Sonja’s suggestion, to help grow a love of performing, saying, “It greatly hurts my pride to admit that it was a good idea for me to audition and I did not want to at first. But I am very glad I did.”
Ellie enjoyed the privilege of singing alongside Resolve and meeting an inspiration for the group itself: “We performed the ballad, ‘Waltz for Debby.’ That was quite an amazing experience. Their harmonies are so tight and they have incredible group dynamics and welcomed me right in. I also met Kim Nazarian, the soprano of the musical quartet “The New York Voices” (and heavy inspiration for Resolve). She, along with Resolve, greatly helped coach me on my performance, stage presence and delivery.”
Ellie’s love for jazz is rooted in her upbringing, and she delights in the complexity of the genre’s chords and such. She says, “Jazz also is something I have just grown up with. It has a certain nostalgia and I get a different sense of happiness and comfort when I hear the shout of Harry James’ trumpet, the driving beat of Gene Krupa’s tom drums, or the serenade of Benny Goodman’s clarinet. There’s also something about the tightness of the chords allowed in jazz that are not available in any other genre of music.” Her style is influenced by singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Buble, and she recommends Glen Miller and Buble’s works for those interested in getting into the genre.
Other than a senior recital in June, Ellie does not see pursuing many performance opportunities. “I am perfectly content just studying and teaching until, Lord willing, I become a wife and mom. I would like jazz to be something that I get to do, not something that I have to do. But I do love performing and am trying to be ready for whatever God throws into my life.”
Ellie loves Marysville, and gave this answer when I asked what she particularly loved about it: “I love the weather here, the cultural atmosphere, the people. Especially at work at 5 Rights Brewery on Third Street here in Marysville, there is never a time I am there and I do not see someone I recognize, whether it be a friend from church or school, family, or other regulars. There are so many little things that people are doing to make Marysville a destination, and I am excited to see where God takes us.”
☀️Events, Events
Shamrock Walk - Family Scavenger Hunt - any day, starting March 4 through March 27. Just $5 per family. See the city’s Facebook event page for more info and a link to buy tickets online.
Raggant Fiction Festival - Saturday, March 25, 8:30am at Evangel Classical School. Read more about the Festival in the Sun. Registration closes TODAY so get over to the EventBrite page for details and tickets.
☀️Extra, Extra
On Tuesday the city posted a great shot of the sun and the Sound (really worth your while to click through to watch the full fifteen seconds):
Loyal readers of the Sun will remember the name, Joan Dabrowski. She allowed us to share her “Ode to Marysville” last June and then we interviewed her about Marysville as a place to love last July. Joan recently announced on her Facebook page that she’s written and illustrated a new children’s book: I Can Count. She’s selling it direct, so read her post and message her to buy a few copies.
Marysville Councilmember Peter Condyles announced this week that he intends to run again for his seat in November.
Turf work has started at the Strawberry Fields Athletic Complex. The Sun previously promoted this for local youth sports. The following photo was posted by Tara Mizell on her Facebook announcement.
☀️Friday Fun
The cream always rises to the top:
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