Fruitvale Station

I did not want to see this movie.  But I went with Dave because he wanted to see it.

I knew that it was an excellent film about Oscar Grant, a 22 year old black man who was killed on New Year's eve, 2008, by a BART cop at the Fruitvale Station. I didn't want to see it because it's sad and depressing from start to finish.

Oscar's a complicated guy.  He sells pot, loves his family deeply, can't control his temper but makes his bed before leaving the apartment.

In other words, he is a three dimensional human being.

When I see a movie like "Fruitvale Station" I get very sad thinking about how far we have to go in helping each other be the best we can be.  But Fruitvale Station, the 2008 event, has been the catalyst for positive change.  I hope that "Fruitvale Station" the movie, helps move it along.


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Bread Cake

I'm slowly going through my big summer pile of Saveur Magazines.  Last night I read the March, 2005 issue from cover to cover in between watching the TV.  Why?  Because I like reading about different cultures and foods from all over the world.  I think it tells us a lot about people.  And the photos are great.

There's an article in this issue on how mean the British food reviewers can be.  Here are a couple of quotes from reviews of very fine British restaurants:

...was the most disgusting thing I've put in my mouth since I ate earthworms at school.

...I didn't put a single thing in my mouth twice, it all went back. 

...stupid, ill thought-out, just plain nasty.  I may not be able to to call it the worst cooking in Britain, but that's only because I haven't eaten in every restaurant. 

I hope the British reviewers have lightened up a bit since 2005.   

Aside from the stew Dave and I made last week (which was delicious,) I can't imagine preparing any of the recipes. At this point in my life they're just too complicated to prepare and to eat.  But so much fun to read about.

For instance, on page 38, there's a recipe for Zhong Shui Jiao (Zhong Crescent Dumplings.)  There are 13 ingredients.  But the second ingredient is fu zhi you (sweet aromatic soy sauce).  So we have to go to page 83 to figure out how to make this ingredient.  The 10th ingredient is shaoxing jiu (Chinese rice wine.)  We must travel to page 87 to discover where to purchase this wine.

On page 67 we find a recipe for Torta di Pane (Bread Cake.)  The first of about 16 ingredients for this 9" cake is....18 cups of cubed crusty Italian country bread.

Let's just think a minute about what that would do to my wheat belly!

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Being Gaslighted

Gas Lighting - a form of mental abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his or her own memory perception and sanity. - Wikipedia

Last night Dave and I watched the excellent film "Gas Light" on Turner Classic Movies.  Ingrid Bergman won her first Academy Award for this scary film, made in 1944.  At that time Charles Boyer was the great Hollywood lover so his part as a creepy psychopath was different from his usual leading roles.

In "Gas Light" Boyer plays Ingrid's husband who attempts to drive her insane by doing the things listed above.  One example is that he regularly turns the gas lights lower and higher in order to make her feel unstable - hence the title.

It's a very good psychological thriller.

The movie also stars Joseph Cotton and Angela Landsbury.  Boyer, Bergman and Cotten are long gone but Landsbury is still a star on Broadway.  Who would have thought that this not very attractive 17 year old playing a sassy maid would have a 70 year long career in show business?

After the movie TCM host Robert Osborne, discussed it with Drew Barrymore.  Drew said that, when she was in her twenties, her therapist made her watch this movie - because Drew was in a toxic relationship where she was being "gaslighted."  This is a term I'd never heard before last night.

Who would have thought I'd learn something new and worthwhile from Drew Barrymore?"


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Retired - but Extremely Dangerous 2

The action comedy for oldies, "RED2" opened yesterday.  Dave and I saw it last night. I loved the original  "RED" in 2010.  I loved, loved this sequel.  But what's not to love?  This movie is full of dead bodies, car crashes, explosions and so much more.

Yes, I usually hate these things.  But this movie is funny.  Very funny.  The body counts are funny.  The destruction of property (which really gets to me) is funny.

The elderly stars of the original "RED" are still at it.  Bruce Willis, age 58, and his love interest Mary Louise Parker, 48 still like each other.  By the way, Parker is the funniest of all and steals the movie.

John Malkovich, 59 is a sweet relationship counselor/lunatic and also makes quite a fashion statement.  I've admired him as an actor for decades and I don't think he's ever been better.  And I love his craggy face.

Great wardrobe

Helen Mirren, age 68 is, again, priceless.  You'll love seeing her chit chat on the phone while she fills the bathtub with acid in order to disintegrate the corpse of the man she's just killed.  And the scene where she shoots simultaneously out both sides of a moving car is way beyond cool.

The only true oldster is Anthony Hopkins, age 75.  We expect certain things from Mr. Hopkins and he doesn't disappoint.

"RED" is produced by DC Comics.  Think of it as a comic and you'll enjoy every minute.


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Summer at the Pool

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings I go swimming.  Some of the time I don't really want to go.  I want to sit on the couch in my P.S.'s, reading and  listening to my Bose playing smooth jazz.  But there's a group of folks at the pool waiting for me.

The minute I step outside my front door I'm happy.  I walk to the pool under a canape of Live Oak trees.   It's glorious.

I love my swimming pool.  It's not mine exclusively - and that's a good thing.  Swimming is best with a group.

Every summer I meet a few new neighbors.  It's not easy to recognize them since we mostly see each other from the neck up and then we're all masked with baseball caps and sun glasses.  Sometimes when we see each other out and about or at a social gathering a person will say "I didn't recognize you with your clothes on!"

We don't really swim.  We do an hour or so of water exercises.  It's in three parts.  First a few minutes of stretching and aerobics. The second part, which is relatively new is designed to strengthen our fingers, hands, arms and upper body.  We sing while we do this set.

Take me out to the ball game!

The final third is done at the side of the pool, with more stretching and strengthening exercise.  All together, it's a fantastic workout.

And the time walking back and forth to the pool, not to mention in the pool is a treat for eyes.  I never cease to marvel at the stark contrast between the sky, trees and water.  And you know I'm not a nature girl.  By the time I get home I'm full of ideas and ready to hit the ground running.

It's fun.  And it's free.

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Saveur Magazine

As you know, I get my magazines from the library for 25 cents each.  Except for extra specials like "Architectural Digest" or a current "People."  They're 50 cents.

A few weeks ago I found a big stack of "Saveur" magazines.  I'd never heard of it.  It's presented as... an award-winning food and travel publication that covers the world of authentic cuisine.  All of the copies were 50 cents.

I was duly impressed.

I bought about half of them.  I love looking at the photos and reading the recipes.  But I told Dave there's no way I would ever make any of them.  While there's no calorie count at the end of the recipes, they're all complicated, full of fat, and call for multiple ingredients, many of which I never heard of.

Then Dave read the copy pictured above and announced that we should make the hearty stew pictured.  He actually said we should make two recipes but one called for lard and I had to veto that.  

We made the stew today.  This recipe was very simple compared to most of the others.  Other than cutting it in half we did just what the recipe called for.

We both enjoyed eating it and plan to have it sometime for guests.  It's beautiful and very tasty.  But it's been three hours and I'm still a little too full and too thirsty. I'm drinking water like crazy and picturing those prunes and apricots swelling up in my belly.

Try it yourself and let me know what you think.   (We passed on the buttered potatoes.)

Svinina v Kislo-Sladkom Souse

(Pork Stew with Dried Apricots and Prunes)

Serves 6 - 8

As the apricots and prunes cook, some of them will fall apart and thicken the sauce.  Serve this stew accompanied by boiled potatoes, butter and garnished with chopped parsley, if you like. 

3lbs. boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 carrots, peeled, trimmed and sliced crosswise
4 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup dried apricots
l lb. white boiling onions, peeled, each cut into 6 wedges
1 cup pitted prunes

1.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  Heat 3 tbsp. of the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat.  Add pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat releases its juices and is no longer pink all over, about 5 minutes.  Add carrots and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in tomato paste and 5 cups of water, then add apricots.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Set onions aside.

Add onions and prunes to stew and continue to simmer over medium low heat until pork  is tender and sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes more.  Adjust seasonings.

My serving of the stew Dave and I made today.


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Love and Kindness

When my grandchildren are teasing and occasionally getting ready to pound each other,  my daughter looks them in the eye and, in a calm but firm voice, says "Love and kindness.  Love and kindness."

I've been thinking about this phrase since last night when the George Zimmerman verdict was read.  So far the vast majority of folks, on both sides of the issue, have reacted with love and kindness.

Part of the reason for this is that the religious community, from the get go,  in and around Sanford, Florida worked hard to move forward with this concept.  The first night after the shooting of Travon Martin my friend (and Power Ranger,) a sweet but strong woman close to my age, drove, by herself, to Sanford to be part of a prayer vigil.

Well, yes, she did wear her husband's hoodie - but her heart was pure and she was praying for love and kindness.

This morning my minister, Bob, talked about how we can help all involved move forward - with sensitivity, love and kindness.

But Bob didn't preach.  In the pulpit was our young (19 year old) summer intern.  She's a student at Florida Southern College and feels a call to ministry.  What a thrill and a privilege it must have been for her to stand in the pulpit of this great church and tell us the story of the Lost Sheep.  This was after we'd seen a hilarious skit with two guys masquerading as the good kind of sheep who were really p.o.ed at the shepherd because he snubbed them and went out looking for the lost one.

After the sermon I learned that our preacher for the day (the 19 year old female collage student) had been accosted between services by a gentleman who tried to set her straight that she was probably bound for hell because women are not called to ministry!!

How did she react to this?  With love and kindness.  With many of the things that come our way, it takes tremendous strength and courage to react - with love and kindness.


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Annie

I'm not crazy about Annie the musical.  I think that if I have to listen to the "Tomorrow" song one more time I might lose it.

But I still love the origin of Annie which is James Whitcomb Riley's poem, "Little Orphan Annie." When I was a little girl in Indianapolis I had it memorized.  James Whitcomb Riley was called "The Hoosier Poet" or "The Children's Poet."  Everybody in Indiana knew his name.  My maiden name was Riley and, occasionally, a person would be in awe thinking we were related.  To my knowledge, we weren't.

But I loved his poems like "Little Orphan Annie" and "The Raggedy Man."

"Little Orphan Annie" morphed into a comic strip and became the most popular strip in the country in the 1930s.  Then it was a radio show.  Then came the musical that has been popular for decades.

Somewhere along the line Annie morphed into the crazy little redhead we know today. And she acquired eyeballs.

The poem was four stanzas.  The first explains who Annie was.  She was based on an orphan who actually came to live in the Riley household.  Can you imagine a child doing this kind of work today?  I think we'd call it human trafficking.

Little Orphan Annie's come to my house to stay. 

To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away,

To shoo the chickens from the porch and dust the hearth and sweep, 

and make the fire and bake the bread to earn her board and keep. 

While all us other children, when the supper things is done,

we sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun, 

a listening to the witch tales that Annie tells about

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!

The next two stanzas are cautionary tales, first for a little boy, then a little girl.   If Annie were a nanny today she would be the one in trouble for terrorizing little kids.

Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers,

and when he went to bed at night away up stairs,

his mammy heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl,

and when they turned the covers down,

he wasn't there at all!

They searched him in the attic room

and cubby hole and press

and even up the chimney flue and every wheres, I guess,

but all they ever found of him was just his pants and round-abouts

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

Once there was a little girl who always laughed and grinned

and made fun of everyone, of all her blood and kin, 

and once when there was company and old folks was there,

she mocked them and she shocked them and said she didn't care.

And just as she turned on her heels and to go and run and hide,

there was two great big black things a standing by her side.

They snatched her through the ceiling fore she knew what shes about,

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

And now, in this summation of Annie's cautionary tale, she gets a little plug in for orphans:

When the night is dark and scary,

and the moon is full and creatures are a flying and the wind goes Whoooooooooo,

you better mind your parents and your teachers fond and dear,

and cherish them that loves ya, and dry the orphans tears

and help the poor and needy ones that cluster all about,

or the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out.!

Who needs "Criminal Minds" when we have this poem?  I love it.  I think I'll memorize it again. 

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Which Side Are You On?

I don't like taking sides.  I like to bring folks together.  But I'm very much aware that, sometimes, we have to take a stand.  This morning's final hymn in the worship service reminded me of when my husband, Ken, preached one of his favorite sermons over and over again to various groups and congregations.

It embarrassed our children to no end.

In the 1930s, Florence Reece, the wife of a union organizer for the mines in Harlan County, Kentucky wrote a folk song called "Which Side Are Yon On, Boys?"  It's been recorded by all the great folk singers, most notably, Pete Seeger.

The song has been used over the years, not just for union organizing, but for places in our country and all over the world when people need to stand up for what they believe in.  Many time the lyrics were changed accordingly.

When Ken used the song he was referring to the Civil Rights movement.  But that's not what embarrassed the kids.  What embarrassed them was that he sang it.  From the pulpit!

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

He would then go on to encourage folks to figure out where they were on this issue - and some other issues.  Then he finished up by singing again.  And this time it was the hymn we sang this morning.

I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus, 
I have decided to follow Jesus, 
No turning back
No turning back. 


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The House Girl

We would not be the world's superpower today if we had not had 250 years of free, limitless labor on which to build our economy...From "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin

I just finished reading this first novel by another attorney turned writer.  This book interweaves the stories of two women, one a young house slave in Virginia in the 1800s, the other a young lawyer living in New York in 2004.

I always take special note of the opening line in novels.  "The House Girl" starts this way:  Mister hit Josephine with the palm of his hand across her left cheek and it was then she knew she would run.

The house girl, Josephine Bell, endures all of the torture, rape, destruction of family and general suffering we've always known about but need to be reminded of from time to time.  By the way, her last name is that of her owners.  Slaves didn't have last names of their own.

Josephine's story deals with the bizarre relationships slaves, especially house slaves, had with their owners.  She had a love/hate relationship with her mistress who mistreated her in ways she didn't even know about.

The other story has to do with the attorney, Lina Sparrow.  Their lives become intertwined when Lina is directed to take part in a reparation case.

One of the main themes running through the book is "art."  You may remember that my definition of an artistic gift, be it drawing, writing, music or whatever, is that - you have to do it.  Josephine had this gift.

I found "The House Girl" to be slow going.  It's another one of those books that I probably wouldn't have read if it wasn't required reading by my book club.  But, once again,  I'm a better person for having read it.

When Josephine's linage is recorded and we learn that, at some point, half of the family self identified themselves as Negro and half self identified themselves as Caucasian - I was reminded once more that we're all related.  First as children of God, and, most likely, way more of us than we think are related by blood as well.


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How I Learned to Relax and Stop Worrying About My Wheat Belly

1960

We had drinks last night with four very good friends.  The two women are beautiful and very health conscious.  As am I.  After reading the best seller "Wheat Belly" by cardiologist, Dr. William Davis, they're both on gluten free diets.

Dr. Davis gives a dire look at wheat, saying it's addictive, "ruins your life" and causes "desperate behavior."  Not to mention the Wheat Belly!

Opposite is a photo of me on my wedding day in 1960.  I weighed about 104 lbs.  I well remember being concerned about how my belly looked in this dress.  (Of course I should have been more concerned about the bow.)

But for the last few decades I've learned to love my belly.  It reminds me I've had four healthy children.  It reminds me of the long, interesting life I've led.

As I said, I'm very health conscious.  But if you've read this blog for a while you know I don't believe in diets.  I believe in a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating habits.

2013

In a related story, we learned a while back that Monsanto (the largest producer of wheat in the country) invented an unapproved, genetically modified (zombie) wheat which they claim they later destroyed.  But now an Oregon farmer has discovered some of the wheat that somehow escaped from the lab.  Monsanto's in trouble, along with our other wheat farmers because countries, including Japan and South Korea, have postponed their wheat purchases.

However, Pulitzer Prize winning science journalist Laurie Garrett tells us that Monsanto's wheat (or, as Stephen Colbert calls it "Franenwheat") is harmless.

How do I feel about all this?  I had my annual 4th of July hot dog in the park today and loved it.  Can't wait for my weekly Saturday morning blueberry muffin and I continue to look forward to my one or two per week crunchy peanut butter fold overs.

My motto, along with the Apostle Paul, is "Moderation in all things."  Well not all things.  Let's just say most things.


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Transitions

When Dave sold his home in Minnesota and came to Florida to live with me in the condo, he made a huge transition.  Not only did he give up his home, friends and way of life, he essentially gave up golf.  Dave had been playing golf - and playing it well - regularly - for most of his life.  He played, weekly, with the same group of friends for 40 years.

As an architect, David's also been doing art his whole adult life.  The art has flourished since he's been a permanent Florida resident. Through his art he's made friends and influenced people.  And I think he's done some of his best work.  Below are two recent drawings that I particularly love.

By doing something that he loves only because he loves doing it, Dave is blessing those around him. 

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