Of Coltan & Carlo’s

Status: Quo Minus

by F. Theresa Gillard

BOSTON, MA—(Weekly Hubris)—2/7/11—On the way to work, I notice the time displayed: 8:07 a.m.; and the temperature: 0⁰. I do a double-take. Zero what? As in degrees? And, it’s this sort of denial that gets me through these frigid winter days. Let’s not even mention below-zero wind-chills.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s no denial experienced whilst walking along the streets of Boston. None. My winter time on Boston streets is relegated to the absolute necessity: get to work and get home.

And, I’m sorry. If I hear one more New Englander complaining about our recent snow deluge, I am going to literally scream. Seriously, did you just wake up this morning and find yourself in this winter hell? Or, have you not lived here most of your life?

I really want to know. Did these snow-whiners go to bed last night in the Tropics and, somehow, “The Twilight Zone” kicked in and they awoke here?

Seriously, March just peeked through. You might as well warm up to it. I’ll admit that we’ve had a whole bunch of snow pounding us weekly, as in every Tuesday/Wednesday, resulting in the 93 roof collapses as of the first week in February. Flat roofs + lots of snow = major damage.

Recently, we’ve had a bit of a break. Some of the huge piles of snow have dwindled away to small piles of snow, really just-but-huge blocks of rock-solid ice. And, not too soon, seeing as I could sense a stir-crazed outbreak coming amongst the populace.

To avoid my being one of the stir-crazed, my aunt invited me to a play that her book club planned to see. The play, Ruined, had its area run at The Huntington Theatre in Boston near Northeastern University (practically everything is near a college or university around here).

In 2009, Lynn Nottage’s Ruined opened in New York City. This Pulitzer- Prize-winning play tells the story of two women’s plight in The Democratic Republic of Congo, where militia-controlled villages are ravaged, its women brutally raped (over 200,000), and its men forced to work in labor camps. Per Wikipedia, the war in the Congo has claimed an estimated 6.9 million lives.

Of course, our consumption as a nation plays a role in this conflict, as it does in most natural resource driven conflicts that never reach our shores. And, yet, we benefit from the Congo’s natural resources.

According to Ruined’s playbill, the Congo has 80 percent of the world’s known reserves in columbite-tantalite (coltan), which is essential to the production of digital technology. The Congo has other natural resources, such as gold, diamonds, tin, copper, cobalt ore, petroleum, zinc.

Congo’s bloody coltan keeps cell phones, digital cameras, lap tops and video games readily available for our consumption.

This column comes to you via a laptop. Cell phones are considered a never-leave-home-without-it item in the US. How many times have you returned home to get your cell phone?

Our habit of blind consumption needs to change. We won’t like what we find if we ever open our eyes. Our initial reaction will be to turn away, to return to the blindness that has comforted us and protected us from the truth.

The Congo is but one region that supplies natural resources to fuel our unseeing intake. Take a moment right now to look around you. Most of what you see consists of so-called creature comforts.

How many people are suffering or have died so that you may simply be comfortable, have fun, or be entertained?

So, what can we do? We need to ask questions that will cause the end- product companies to seek answers that will lead to more questions.

Open your eyes. Many of these heart-wrenching situations are today being told via the arts. Go see plays, check out art exhibitions, read articles and books, and see documentaries.

Seek answers by asking questions. Do some research. Let me know what you find out . . . or let us all know by leaving a comment.

And hold on. We’re not quite done here.

If you’ve ever gone to a play, you surely agree that either you have dinner pre- or post-theater. In our case, it’s post.

Ruined offered a post-play question and answer session. We opt to skip this and get some post-theater dinner.

After some in-car hemming and hawing, Aunt Corine, Monique and I decide to go Italian for an enjoyable dinner at Carlo’s Cucina Italiana on Brighton Avenue in Allston.

Carlo’s offers authentic Italian cuisine. It’s a local word-of-mouth find, and it is worth finding, although you get the feeling that this cozy eatery is meant to be kept in secrecy.

My first visit to Carlo’s was back in September after another Aunt-Corine-by-invitation event: Terry McMillan’s book tour stop for Getting Happy, held at Brookline Booksmith on Harvard Street.

Post-book tour, Aunt Corine’s friend suggested we go to Carlo’s for an early dinner. We’d never heard of Carlo’s, which is commonplace. Boston and its surrounding areas have a plethora of word-of-mouth eateries and bakeries that are to die for.

Just like the first time, Carlo’s leaves us with nothing further to wish for—culinarywise. Even I, Ms. Picky-Per-Snickety, am quite pleased with my chosen entrée, Toscana (Pollo). Yummy and seriously delicious. This family-owned business is tops.

We are further elated to see that we’ve come early enough to witness the owner and her family sitting down to enjoy their dinner. Priceless.

If you’re ever in Boston, head over to Allston. Take Commonwealth Ave., keep right onto Brighton Avenue at the split and you will find on your right, near the Hess gas station, this culinary Italian delight.

But, remember this place is a well-kept secret. And, you didn’t hear about it from me (131 Brighton Avenue).