December 28 Run/Walk: Meet at Yinz Coffee in Bloomfield, 4525 Liberty Ave., and TOMORROW HOLIDAY RUN/WALK, 61C cafe, 7:30

This week there is a holiday run/walk TOMORROW, Christmas Day at 7:30 at the 61C.  And on Sunday, meet at Yinz Coffee in Bloomfield, 4525 Liberty Ave.

Last week we wandered among the ghostly elegant statues of Allegheny Cemetery and thereabouts, dodging the goose droppings and saluting several young bucks along the way (the deer kind.) At the Ineffable, the atmosphere/coffee was fine but the cookies could break your teeth.  If we return, maybe BYOBaked goods.  We were still able to voluminously chat, endorsing:

• The good Felician Sisters, who have two surprise RG connections.
• The special Holiday Tour at the Frick, especially one given by Linda.
• Driftwood Oven Pizza in Lawrenceville - sad they don't open until 11 - this pizza could make a great breakfast.
• Casa del Tequila restaurant in Squirrel Hill - evidently the name says it all because the food is meh but still 2 thumbs up.
• Istanbloom Mediterranean looks adorable - promises a New Year's Eve party.
• Read or watch Hamnet (book, movie).
• Massage guns, available at the JCC - look in the recovery room
• Avoid a bloody horror scene: Aimee shares the right way to peel a pomegranate.

Resistance action of the week:  Tell Rep. Summer Lee (here) and Sen. Fetterman (here) to make publicized oversight visits to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in central PA, the largest ICE detention center in the Northeast, with about 1600 inmates.  Conditions there are known to be abusive and dangerous, with 2 deaths reported. Rep. Lee tried and failed to enter in August but efforts should be repeated - unannounced prison oversight is a Congressional legal right, and our legislators should be drawing attention to this.

December 21 Run/Walk: Meet at the Ineffable Ca Phe, 3920 Penn Ave.

We'll meet at the original Ineffable Ca Phe (map) for coffee with a Vietnamese flavor, and have a romp through Allegheny Cemetery.  We will also head past the legendary haunted house that is part of the Allegheny County Health Department.  Questions? Ask Beth.

If this sounds familiar, it's because it is.  We are repeating last week's plan, since in almost unprecedented fashion, nobody showed up.  This may have been attributable to snowy streets, memories of the Treacherous Ice Storm of long ago, or advancing age - probably all three.  Hoping for a warmer rerun!

Resistance action of the week:  Attend the weekly interfaith anti-ICE vigil any Friday, from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. at ICE's Pittsburgh facility, 3000 Sidney Street on the South Side.  Organized by Casa San Jose, Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi, and the Sisters of St. Joseph to stand up against immigrant persecution.  

December 14 Run/Walk: Meet at the Ineffable Ca Phe, 3920 Penn Ave.

We'll meet at the original Ineffable Ca Phe (map), for coffee with a Vietnamese flavor, and have a romp through Allegheny Cemetery.  We will also be heading past the legendary haunted house that is part of the Allegheny County Health Department.  Questions? Ask Beth.

Last week was our decades-old annual Downtown Holiday Run: see photos below.  Ensconced in the old world glory of the Wm. Penn lobby, we endorsed some seasonal delights.

• Alicia Keyes Hell's Kitchen was amazing!  Too bad most of us missed it last month at the Benedum.  But lots of dates available in NYC.
• Dwayne Dolphin, internationally known, super funky jazz bassist and beloved Schenley graduate. Hopefully will appear in a jazz club near you.
• More jazz:  City of Asylum has free concerts on Thursday nights. And keep an ear out for RG fave Small Hours Trio appearances.
• Fleece overalls.  We saw someone wearing them and they looked, well, warm anyway.  Apparently if you try to buy them, only Amazon has them from its weirdly named stores. But we're boycotting Amazon so we're out of luck.
• Wendy's hair stylist - Feng at In Style.  It helps if you speak Chinese but you don't have to.
• Deer may be shifting from Regent Square to Squirrel Hill.  Maybe they like dumplings.
• Watch:  The Staircase.  (Also: worth re-connecting your DVD player - movies free from Carnegie Library).  
• Listen to:  Rachel Maddow's Burn Order

Resistance action of the week: Too many! It's time to bring back 5 Calls, which now has 32 vital issues and will make your contacts to legislators easy.  Or, scroll through the suggestions in Alison Huettner's Upcoming Protests and Events.  Even if you can't settle on anything now, it helps to see what's out there.

December 7 Run/Walk: Meet at the Omni William Penn, 530 Mellon Square, for the Annual Holiday Run!

Meet at the Omni William Penn, 530 Mellon Square (map), for the Annual Holiday Run! Supposedly there are life-size Mr. Rogers characters outside of Heinz Hall, and of course, the magnificent creche at US Steel.  Parking onstreet may be iffy so give yourself a little time - there's also Mellon Square Garage on 6th around the corner.) 

Last week we met on Frew Street outside Baker Hall, one of the original buildings, designed by Henry Hornbostel, that became Carnegie Tech.  It’s fact, not merely legend, that the halls slope to aid the movement of heavy equipment.  Andrew Carnegie, always practical, asked Hornbostel to implement this design, thinking that the building could be used as a factory if the school failed. 

 

Carnegie Tech welcomed its first class in 1900 and became Carnegie Mellon in 1967.  Two years later, the Creative Writing Program was launched by Gladys Schmitt.  In 1991 Jane B joined the program, followed a short time later by Jane M.  Now Jane M has taught her last class and is setting off on the next phase, and Jane B will join her in May.

To celebrate their departures, they arranged for the Big Book Giveaway, and RG members were invited to take whatever books they wanted. Fun! And since Jane B is staying on, she will again do a Big Book Giveaway, if invited to do so.

Resistance activity of the week: Call or write Senators McCormick and Fetterman to sign on to the bipartisan War Powers Resolution to“direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.” Trump has recently said that he is planning land strikes on that country “very soon.”

Sen. McCormick – Pgh office (412) 803-7370; DC 202-224-6324; Email

Sen. Fetterman – Pgh office (412) 803-3501; DC 202-224-4254; Email