Tag: LEAP Ambassadors

Old Time Help at the Old Town Theatre

Fresh off volunteering at the Wynne Home Arts and Visitor Center, we also wanted to help out in the downtown area. So, with rivet-gun in hand, we headed to the Old Town Theatre to do some light cleaning and affix numerals to the Theatre’s chairs.

The theatre is the only vintage venue in Huntsville, and it is the community’s finest example of Art Deco architecture–while also featuring the art work of world-renowned muralist Richard Haas.

And while it may be an local architectural treasure and a work of art in itself, it also had a disordered numbering system on the seats, which makes ushering pretty difficult.

So, we set about correcting that. With only one rivet gun, we set up a system of three people helping: one advance man putting in the number plates and rivets, one riveter, and one person taking left-over parts….

Yvette the Riveter

While three were riveting, others were cleaning, and we took turns doing all the tasks, so that we’d all be cross-trained. Stephanie did her best Carol Burnett impression….

…Quinn tried to get a break from Yvette and Morgan, and Morgan even tried her hand at vacuum repair.

About three hours later, we had a mostly-clean theatre, seats with a correct numbering system, and more skilled volunteer force….

…and some ideas for some fall activities–all of this in time for our sold-out Gene Watson show!

Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s Speechwriter, Talks Politics

LEAP is always eager to hear from World Affairs Council speakers, and that is especially true when Ben Rhodes presents to the Council. Rhodes, a former speechwriter and advisor to President Obama, discussed his latest book, After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made, with the New Yorker’s Evan Osnos as the moderator.

Following eight years of working long hours for the Obama administration, Rhodes found himself with a lot of time on his hands, a need for decompression, and wrestling with the Presidency of Donald Trump. So, he decided to write a book and, as he says, announce himself as a writer to the world.

What struck Rhodes, as he reflected and traveled and reflected some more, is how parts of the world were “turning to nationalism and authoritarianism,” particularly Hungary, Russia, China, and the United States. Key to this period, according to Rhodes, was the great recession of 2008, which is “when the narrative of liberalism and democracy collapsed.” With this narrative, Osnos readily and frequently agreed.

Rhodes is, at times, a bit morose, identifying this period as “the fall” to which the title alludes. This fall emboldened China and Russia, freeing them to mock capitalism and democracy, and emboldening nationalistic elements in Europe (particularly Hungary). He characterizes presidents from GHW Bush to Obama as “collectively wrong” and “hubristic,” while also criticizing the NBA, the media, and “the entire mass entertainment industry.” (see here for other views he’s expressed about the media).

Rhodes responded best during the Q&A period, during which Ronan O’Malley stepped in.

Rhodes argues that the China-Russia relationship is “shallow,” united by their “interest in the discrediting of democracy.”

When asked about the “personalization” of politics and regimes, Rhodes suggests that the rise of social media contributes to this movement, while also noting that the election of Biden was a countermovement to this trend.

Rhodes struggled to find silver linings. “There is one megatrend in the world,” he lamented, “and it’s not good.” But he argues, not entirely convincingly, that the “mass mobilization” in the world is happening and good; that people “are much more aware” (polls indicate otherwise); and there are civil rights in certain world regions than there were 30 years ago. It’s not a lot to hang on to, but it’s what we can look to, he says, “after the fall.”

Volunteer Service is a Wynne-Win!

On Saturday, June 27, the LEAP Ambassadors drove in from most parts of Texas to help out our adopted community of Huntsville. One of us drove from San Antonio, one drove from Tyler, one drove from Houston. Our destination was the Wynne Home, for an afternoon of painting and cleaning.

To build some energy, we stopped by the friendly and local confines of Mr. Hamburger, where some of had our first taste of this local favorite. We enjoyed the burgers and shakes!

Apart from exploring local culinary options, our mission today was to help out at the Wynne Home. The Wynne Home has a staff of 2.5 employees, and is, therefore, heavily reliant on volunteers. And in this regard, the Wynne Home is a hub of sorts in the community. The Texas Thyme Unit of the Herb Society of America assists the Wynne Home with its Ella Ruth Herb and Children’s Sensory gardens, the Friends of the Wynne support the arts at the Wynne Home (and in the community), and numerous citizens volunteer their time to serve on the Wynne Homes committees. So, it was an honor to help out by doing some touch-up painting in the children’s garden and some basic cleaning.

The Children’s Sensory Garden has a number of plants, and students are invited to touch, smell, taste, and even hear the plants and each of those sensory sections.

Among those plants are stones for hopscotch, and these were a little worse for the wear.

Hopscotch stones for the Wynne Home's Sensory Children's Garden.

Concrete mushrooms also grow throughout the garden, and these, too, had seen better days.

With improvement in mind, we tackled the easy ones first: the stones.

Intern Sebastian Morales paints at the Wynne Home.

The colors chosen by the Wynne Home staff were vivid, and even with just the first coat of paint, the colors were popping.

Although the temperature was only 93, it seemed much warmer. We estimated the humidity to be approximately 4,000,000, and so an unexpected challenge was having our sweat drip into the paint and dilute the colors. Fortunately, the Ms. Sarah Faulkner kept us hydrated, and we continued to plug away.

We quickly learned who was in the best shape, and to protect reputations, we will not discuss this matter further. Although we would note that we had to help Professor Yawn up the Wynne Home stairs after about an hour…

One of the nice things about painting is that it provide some immediate gratification, as you see the designs take shape and the colors become more vivid.

Following the painting, we turned our attention to the Wynne Home sign up front, which had weathered snow, ice, heat, humidity, and high winds, just in the last six months!

After much scrubbing, we were happy with the new-ish look, and we at times felt we were in the clouds!

It was a wonderful day. The Wynne Home was beautiful prior to the touchups, and we felt we had a little role in beautifying it further!