By Nadine Goodman
We all lived in the same neighborhood – more or less mid-to-end of Recreo or Sollano by Parque Juarez, although the Aronins lived on one side of the park on Aldama and the Blooms moved around from Recreo to the other side of the Park; others were within x blocks…
I do not remember when I met the respective members of the “gang” or how the “gang” coalesced or if we even thought of ourselves as a “gang”. But we were a posse. In some cases I first met people in the early and mid-1980s and others came into my life and became CASA supporters in the early 1990s. Honestly, I don’t remember how I met Bill & Barbara Porter or Rose and Elliot Aronin or Phil and Edith Hammerslough or Chuck and Susan Bloom or Ilva Invernizzi or Janice McDonald (our trainer/the trainer…) Milo Montferrier and Margarita Failoni were two other “mild” personalities that were there unconditionally; Marge is still giving me advice and orders…
Albeit, I may be remembering the “old times” with rose-colored glasses…nonetheless there is no doubt in my mind that we were all obnoxiously happy in San Miguel and with each other. CASA was a fledging, “new” organization that was naughty and talking about sex and gender and pleasure and worse… No one flinched. We did not have two nickels to rub together, nor did we really think about it although I do remember doing a slide show about sex education in the countryside at the Aldea Hotel and Phil Hammerslough passed the hat; he collected $5 U.S. dollars and change and told me,
“This is for the birds!”
Susan Bloom and Ilva Invernizzi started the San Miguel Walk Against Violence that was a masterful blending of the new and old as we walked together over days with the millions who were paying their respects to the Virgin of San Juan de Lagos. It was a pilgrimage of unforgettable moments like when the priests spoke about the folks from CASA who were part of the pilgrimage and were doing “good” and also giving out free condoms…
Most of the people I have mentioned to date here have died although Elliot Aronin is about to celebrate his 100th birthday and Marge Failoni claims to be 65 and Barbara Porter is 92 young or something like that…. I think I have the whitest hair of everyone, even more so than Ilva.
Most recently, on November 29 Susan Bloom died unexpectedly and it smarts to write this. While stunning Susan was a lot older than she looked, it never occurred to me that she would die. I know that sounds ridiculous but it is the truth. Susan was a force and always checked in with me even when she moved away from San Miguel.
I write this as an acknowledgement and celebration of Susan and of so many vibrant individuals that seamlessly joined together and even after their deaths continue to keep CASA going. It seems important at this moment to recognize and celebrate individuals and collectives/ our “roots” that includes so many locals in San Miguel – Mexican and foreigners.
CASA is still unapologetic and I suspect it will always maintain this quality. Thank you Susan and so many others for contributing to CASA – an alive and forever moving forward vehicle where everyone is accepted and embraced for who they are and encouraged to be themselves even more….
