Postcard II.
There’s a church here. You probably have a church. If you’re like most Americans, somewhere in your church you hear the phrase “Father, son and Holy Spirit.” In church here, they say, “Organic, humane and sustainable.”
It’s sort of annoying; I think food should nourish, not polish your ego. But it makes for some tasty lunches. Yesterday: Cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, bread from the Acme Bread Company, sausage from some place next door, wine ditto, chocolate ditto. We ate it on the observation deck overlooking the bay, outside the Ferry Building:
(There was supposed to be a photo here, but like I said: Our internet connection is spotty and imperfect. Couldn’t upload to Flickr.)
I don’t mean to clog up your time with these updates, which aren’t that interesting. But I needed an entry to hang this bit of bloggage on, which is worth clicking through just to see the picture: Internet sting nets ‘World’s Greatest Dad’.
Off to Monterey today.
(Order your Amazon through me and I earn 4 percent. Click the “powered by Amazon” logo.)
leslie said on July 16th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Go to Sweet Elena’s Bakery in Sand City!
coozledad said on July 16th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
He probably also has an “I support law Enforcement” bumpersticker on his car.
LAMary said on July 16th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I know the food thing in SF is pretty obnoxious. It’s like they invented seasonal produce or something. Come to LA. There’s plenty of pretentiousness, but it can be driven around. There’s a lot of precious little food items, but luckily the short attention span show biz types make the whole thing less serious.
A Riley said on July 16th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Glad you’re enjoying the ferry terminal terraces, Nancy! And the boat ride!
Catherine said on July 16th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
For all the pretentiousness, it’s interesting that organic, humane & sustainable frequently = yummy.
Moe, what’s up with the jaw? Those of us who didn’t have to go to Urgent Care (today, that is) need to know.
MichaelG said on July 16th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
You’re right, LAMary that there’s a lot of stuff in the Bay Area to make your eyes roll. I guess you just kind of grow some thick skin against all the self absorbed nitwits after a while. Nancy mentioned Acme bread for a reason. It’s heavenly stuff and I’m lucky to be able to get it here.
moe99 said on July 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Catherine – thanks for asking. We went back across the water Tues (in my case, Lake Washington) to Bellevue Group Health because the Urgent Care doc had ordered a fancy mandible xray on equipment that our Group Health facility in Seattle did not have. We arrive, check in, and then are told 5 minutes later that THIS Group Health also does not have the fancy xray machine for the xray that has been ordered, and they are going to have to make a special request to the Univ. of WA Dental School for an xray there and it should take a few days. I am thoroughly irritated by now and my son is cringing telling me not to go postal on this, let’s just leave the facility, but of course, how could I fulfill my god given duty of embarassing him if I did not pursue this further?
So I get on the cell phone and call his attending physician’s office and talk to his nurse, saying something like, “I’m sure you have some machine that can take and xray and give you a competent result, I mean what did you do in the days before super xray machine anyway?” So the nurse talks to the attending and he goes online and changes the order to a regular xray, so we can get it done right now, not 3 days from now. Which we do and by the time we get back on the road, 2 – 3 hours has elapsed and we’re into rush hour traffic and it’s an hour to get home.
But they just called 15 minutes ago and youngest son is ok, no fracture. Hooray. He can finish the last year of his summer swim team on a high note – swimming in the final two meets.
Thanks again for the interest.
Dexter said on July 16th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Marina, Seaside, Monterey, and New Monterey really are lame for a tourist, and the way they gentrified Cannery Row left me cold, but at least they have the aquarium. Del Monte beach is boring unless you happen to love sea lions.
Of course the thing to do in Monterey is to get to Carmel-by –the-Sea…it’s only 2 and a half miles from New Monterey, and it’s about the best place on the planet. Just walk the length of Carmel Beach, all the way to the end where directly above you hangs Pebble Beach golf course. It’s spiritual.
Pacific Grove is a nice peaceful area, too, near the aquarium.
Most tourists fork over big wampum to drive on 17 Mile Drive, and a lot of bicyclists experience the flora unencumbered by steel and glass cages. When I was there I didn’t see any bike-rent-stables, however. Have fun!
brian stouder said on July 16th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
how could I fulfill my god given duty of embarassing him if I did not pursue this further
A GREAT story! Fine young son learns that persistence pays off, the uncertainty disappears, the gray clouds lift and good news shines through — even as you get stuck in traffic.
Truly, this sounds like a shining parenting moment that will be fondly remembered in future crunches
Catherine said on July 16th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Moe, glad to hear about the jaw. There’s nothing more mopey than a kid banned from his sport.
What Dexter said about Carmel.
And, Nancy, if you get that far south, how’s the smoke? I’m getting panicky emails about the upcoming family camping trip to Big Sur.
Dexter said on July 16th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I am going to be bold and sacrilegious here…SEVENTEEN MILE DRIVE IS A RIP-OFF!
There, now I feel better.
LAMary said on July 16th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I know what you mean, MichaelG. The food is really good and I’m glad that pizza no longer means nasty canned tomato sauce and rubbery mozzarella. I had a pizza with arugula the last time I was in SF that could bring tears to your eyes it was so good.
LAMary said on July 16th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
This is a photo of a sixty three year old woman.
http://defamer.com/398647/helen-mirren-continues-to-do-things-to-our-pants
Dexter said on July 16th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
LAMary…check out this story about Andy Dick..OMG!!
LAMary said on July 16th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I saw that, yes. Swell guy.
Sue said on July 16th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Re Helen Mirren: now we know what Queen Elizabeth looks like in a bikini.
Dexter said on July 16th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
It keeps popping back in my head…the ephemeral joy of being on Carmel Beach and watching the lights of the houses slowly come on after the sun sets…those beautiful Carmel sunsets…I know it’s hard to do everything worthwhile on a vacation, but here’s hoping out host sees this.
beb said on July 16th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Nancy wrote “I think food should nourish, not polish your ego,” a view I heartily agree with. I sometimes watch cooking shows on the Food Network and it always drives me crazy when the host starts talking about “plating” a dish. Come on, just glop it on the plate. It’s going to be pre-digested mush in ten minutes anyway! Now I love food that tastes good and fresh vegetables do taste better than canned (Sweet corn should be cooked and eaten within minutes of being picked, for example), But why parsly on a plate when no one eats it?
I’m glad that moe99’s son is OK. The trouble moe99 had getting an X-ray reminds me of the trouble my wife had getting a follow-up mammogram. It’s was bad enough that her doctor tells her “we’ve got a problem, we need to look at this again…” but the first x-ray turned into a Consult, the second was cancelled because they said they couldn’t handle a women her size, then she was sent out to another Consult before finally getting the X-ray. This was a big health care system. You’d think they’d have the facilities they need — in depth!
We should be thankful that we have insurance, at least.
My wife has been talking about a mother-daughter pilgrimage to Graceland this year. Yesterday I asked her when they were going on the trip. “Tomorrow,” she says. So here it is, 24 hours later I’m holding Bachelor Hall. I’m totally disoriented.
MichaelG said on July 16th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
In Monterey go out to Point Pinos and pluck mussels off the rocks. Yum. Used to do that years ago when my brother in law lived there.
LAMary, I saw those pix of Helen M. earlier. She looks even better than I do at 63.
Hattie said on July 16th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
SF was not always that way. I blame the Summer of Love. And Alice Walker, who had the gall to open her restaurant right down the street from my family home in Berkeley. The whole neighborhood is now very fancy.
People warned you away from the Wharf, but that’s where a lot of the good restaurants are, like Scomas. Seafood, big steaks, sourdough French bread with lots of butter, all that kind of stuff.
The Yuppie austerity diet has its points, but when I go out to eat, I want lots of meat, cream, and other calorific goodies. And an elderly waiter, like the one we had last time we ate as Scoma’s, with a good line of patter, always makes me feel at home.
Oh, and don’t believe anyone who says to stay away from the tourist traps. In Northern California, that’s where all the fun and non-snobby stuff is.
In your place, I’d go to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz.
Hattie said on July 16th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
del said on July 16th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
You can pick on food snobs all you want because nobody likes them anyway. But good food is a simple pleasure that we should all enjoy.
Many years ago I was acting as a wingman for one of my younger brothers at a bar — he’s 10 years my junior. He was busy talking to a cute 40-something divorcee who was about my age. I was kind of immune to their flirtatious chatter until she started trying really hard and said, you know what … I’m a gourmet chef too.
And the souffle began to rise. Rimshot. Goodnight y’all!
MichaelG said on July 17th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Hattie, I used to live on Bonita between Rose and Vine. Lenny’s Meats, the Co-op, the Cheese Board, the very first Peets complete with Alfred, Cocolat, Chez, Pig by the Tail, Lucky’s, Safeway, Saul’s Deli, the places I’ve forgotten– all that stuff that made the neighborhood such a great place for food.
brian stouder said on July 17th, 2008 at 9:02 am
here’s an Old Fort Wayne tidbit -
Archie McArdle died (81 yrs old) way out west.
There was a time when that name was reviled, around here
MichaelG said on July 17th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Yesterday my daughter, son in law and the two kids went to DC to meet the Pres. It was the occasion of that annual tee ball thing although Dominic didn’t play. They got pix taken with the Pres and got fed and generally had a good time. I didn’t get to talk with her much as it was late there and they were on the road from DC back to Yorktown. I should have pix in a day or so. My son in law (who is a career soldier) announced that he would be happy to go again next year unless there was a Democratic president in the pale palace in which case he would decline. He’s a great guy but in some ways he’s a real numb nuts.
Brian, I worked for IHC in their SF/Oakland branch when AA was in charge. From my perspective the whole operation was poorly managed. I visited Ft Wayne once for a factory tour back in ought whenever. Probably around ’77.
LAMary said on July 17th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Alice Waters. Don’t blame Alice Walker for the whole twee foodie thing. I have to give props to Alice Waters even if she has to bear some of the blame. She has school kids growing vegetables in schoolyards. I did this with my sons’ elementary school for a couple of years and it was really good. We cooked up soups and made salads with what we grew.
Howie said on July 17th, 2008 at 11:31 am
James Moehrke — Be sure to post on how the golf tournament goes today — that is quite an accomplishment on the part of your son. Also, what course is he playing? (Coming from a guy who has never broken 90, but might be getting close)
coozledad said on July 17th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Speaking of food, we’re out of onions and I wanted to make pizza Majorca tonight. I guess I’ll just have to make do with onion powder.
Anyone know of a vegetarian substitute for anchovies?
Dorothy said on July 17th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Sue — if only the Queen were so lucky to look like Helen Mirren in a bikini!
beb said on July 17th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
coozledad asks: “Anyone know of a vegetarian substitute for anchovies?”
uh…salt mixed in olive oil until it forms a paste?
coozledad said on July 17th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
beb: That’s just about what I was thinking. Cook some eggplant in too much olive oil, whirl with a sheet of nori and a half cup of salt, apply to pizza with cake nozzle.
LAMary said on July 17th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I don’t like thinking about the Queen in a bikini. I’ve protected the in house Brit from this thread as I think it might disturb him.
Dexter said on July 17th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
MichaelG:
I had a lot of fun at Point Pinos, too, wading the tidepools observing anemone , starfish, crabs…best marine wildlife lessons I ever had. Thanks for the memory.
caliban said on July 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Just back from the market. The unintended consequence of turning things over to ADM is that any sort of American-pr0edued cheese is so expensibe it makes me gogIle. I mean goggle, you know, with disnebelef.
Anybody with a brain knows that corn is a net loser if you haven’t pegged your future on corn futures. Less than 1:1. Misadministration and and oil field services companies know for a fact that off-shore might mean six months 15 years down the line, Isn’t that worth embarrassing Democrats with bullshit with a sadly stupid electorate.
Oil companies have no reasonable expectation of pipeline oil. In fact, oil companies have no expectation of any oil beofre 2028. If you’re confribted with people offering pie in the sky, Could you act intelligently?
We always get oil from offshore drilling. It floats up. If people are this goddam dumn,
If you believe the solitary executive can can the Constitution, What country do you you live in. Executive privilege for Karl Rove? Are you joking. He’s a disgusting personal and political piese of shit. He never had anyything to to do with anything that wasn’t purely political
..
His claim is so rediculous.
What we’be bot isKarl Rove is the most outrageous liar.
ge’s an amazing lirs/.
MichaelG said on July 17th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Jeez, C’dad, that sounds like a real gamble. Is the store really that far away? Don’t forget you need onion too.
coozledad said on July 17th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Yeah: Town’s 45 minutes away. We’ve got plenty of fresh tomatoes and eggplant in the garden. There’s chard, too, but I’ve never had pizza with chard. We done ate all the onions, dammit.
joodyb said on July 17th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
hat’s off to any folks who eat all the onions first.
Catherine said on July 17th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Would it work to think of the chard as spinach? Maybe a nice calzone…
I’m making farmer’s market beet salad with dill-mustard dressing and goat cheese. Too bad it’s not even 4:00 here yet.
MichaelG said on July 17th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Chop the chard, saute briefly (very) in garlic and oil. I’ve got lots of tomatoes and chilis of several varieties but some critter beat me to the eggplant before it calved.
basset said on July 17th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
here in Tennessee, at least in my part of it, the cherry tomatoes are just coming in and the Bradleys are still green.
Mirren… lookin’ good but she smokes, that cancels everything else.
took the boy off to overnight college orientation this morning, right now I’m mainly trying real hard not to call his cel phone.
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 17th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
LAMary — “She has school kids growing vegetables in schoolyards. I did this with my sons’ elementary school for a couple of years and it was really good. We cooked up soups and made salads with what we grew.”
For that reason alone, Alice is forgiven all, even if i hope to never hear a server use the word “artisanal” again. (At the diners i frequent, it is at least a minimal hazard.)
moe99 said on July 18th, 2008 at 1:05 am
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/a_j_jacobs_year_of_living_biblically.html
the Year of Living Biblically, for your enjoyment.
brian stouder said on July 18th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I’ll have to watch it this evening at home, but the comments are pretty funny.
I suppose the companion bit of absurdity would be a talk about The Year of Living Greenly (or — Living as if the Earth is in the Balance)
Sue said on July 18th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Sigh. Nice to hear about all the lovely produce everyone is growing/buying. It’s mid/almost late July, and I haven’t seen a single local corn stand yet. I’ve got very little in my garden, because so much had to be replanted after the late frosts and the floods that followed. Forecast this weekend? Potential flooding rains. Pardon me…here it comes…GODDAMMIT.
caliban said on July 18th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
With regard to war crimes, DU is the new cluster. And anybody thinks they’re smart is a moron. These are weapons of mass destruction. Using this shit kills American soldiers, and it will be killing the newly-Democratized for years.
Everything Dan Rather said is true. Everything the Swift Boat Liars said was a fabrication. These are facts. Murricans still believe the latter and discount the former. So goddam stupid it’s painful.
And these idiots vote. How does dropping bombs from 20,000 feet and killing people indiscrimantly, and getting shot down make you a hero? Wesley Clarke had this right. Being the guiding hand in Keting Five, that’s priceless. But really, if he’d met the cunt first, he wouldn’t have had to nail all of those creepy financiers. The heiress should fear for her life.
brian stouder said on July 18th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
“Off to Monterey today”
And speaking of Monterrey -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25736798/
Mexican archaeologists have found the remains of what appear to be four U.S. soldiers who died in 1846 during the Mexican-American war, the government announced on Thursday. Experts said skull and bone measurements, as well as two half-dollar coins and other artifacts found at the site of the Battle of Monterrey in northern Mexico, indicate the bodies belong to U.S. war casualties.
If a person finds history to be dry and boring, consider this passage from the article:
Mexico’s national archaeological agency said the skeletal remains were uncovered in digs between 1996 and April 2008 but were apparently not announced previously. The U.S. Embassy said it had no immediate information.
A strange world we live in, yes?
Sue said on July 18th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
How would skull and bone measurements indicate U.S. war casualties?
moe99 said on July 18th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Driving up to Seattle from Olympia after a hearing this am, an SUV passed me sporting a McCain sticker. Also on its back side was a sticker w/ a picture of a very dark Obama that read: “Be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID”
ready for the deluge?
brian stouder said on July 18th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I was wondering that, too, Sue.
Even if the “average” American man and the “average” Mexican man differed in size by some percentage, still that sounds like a slim reed upon which to hang a theory.
Or maybe there is some other identifiable genetic difference between a person of with euro-roots, compared to central American?
coozledad said on July 18th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Sue: I don’t know much about skeletal remains, or how measurements alone might distinguish ethnicity (unless they were factoring against more Native American skeletal characteristics in the Mexican soldiers) but they can tell a lot about diet and disease from even ancient remains.
brian stouder said on July 18th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
moe — it is known, where I work, that I’m an Obama guy…and it is not unusual for me to find copies of this or that op-ed piece, attacking Obama’s position on (you name it)
But, what the hell — I’m enjoying it! Bring ‘em on!
moe99 said on July 18th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Brian – it’s the veiled racism that is getting to me.
caliban said on July 18th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Serios question. Should some guy that said (then) 16 year old Chelsea Clinton was ugly because Janet Reno was her father be in the running for President? Aside from the facts extant, which would be that Chelsea’s fairly attractive, earns a living and knows more about economics, the internets and just about anything than John McCain does.
I take Obama with a large grain of salt. I doubt he’d make high-profile fun of an insecure teenager in an untenable position to raise funds from similarly sexist sympathists. Sexism? Obviously on par with Rush. Creepy? You be the judge. Demographics suggest he skews younger and richer. Homophobia? Holy crap.
If not for his legacy status, W wouldn’t have been flying surveillance for the OClub. If not for his legacy, McCain would have washed out for crashing so many planes. Incompetent pilot.
As for W. Pick his ass up on January 21, 2009, and make the little snot serve out his National Guard term. There have been mediocre, maybe bad, presidents before, but none of them has been pusillanimous, false, intentionally stupid and obtuse. Nor so anti-democratic. Nor such a willing tool of people that don’t believe in anything in the Constitution.
McCain’s Bush again alright. With Oldtimers. Some bastard shot Bobby, this is as close as we’re going to get. Not close enough, but consider the options. Four more years? Your internet service will either be shut down or delayed while the Pretzeldent reads your email.
caliban said on July 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Profiling is vile. In the first place, it reinforces the idea that cops are seriously stupid white guys.
Would a caucasion star of the Dallas Cowboys ever have been arrested? (I know Michael Irvin, but he let them share the blow and the hos.) I really meant Dee Brown:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1D71138F936A25756C0A96795826
What a heinous criminal. That’s the USA, to this day. Apartheid is a thing of the past, if Israe says so. But it’s condoned, and it’s practiced.
Joe Kobiela said on July 19th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Brian and Sue,
Perhaps the coins and other artifacts helped make the I.D. on the soldiers.
Joe
caliban said on July 19th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Is the rejuvenation attributable to Chrissie? They let me go they were very paranoid. Hey Mr. Tambourine man. If this guy could win this, Tiger would be happy. That’s got to be one of his heroes. Yes to dance between the diamond sky with one hand waving free. Of war and truth, the tryth just twists. These bastards are liars.
caliban said on July 19th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
What we think. It’s all right ma. You don’t get that you’re a moron. Though the masters make the rules for the wise men and the fools, I’ve got nothing to to live up to. It’s alright ma.
MichaelG said on July 19th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
So Nance, are you attending that Blogher conference?
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 19th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
(Chiming in from a lovely Hampton Inn wifi) — hey, family can actually be a pretty wonderful thing. We just helped my parents celebrate their wedding on this date 50 years ago, after a first date eight months earlier to a Bears-Rams game at Wrigley Field (yes, Wrigley, which is where the Bears played until ’64 when they moved to Soldier Field, and how they got their name from the pre-existing Cubbies). My mom said to her best friend after that “I’m never going out with that man again,” but she gave him a second chance, and he gave her a ring.
My family can be peculiar and turbulent and infuriating, all of which i’m sure they say about me, but to get 100 folks together from the fur reaches of Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, and here to Indiana, and eat some ham salad and sing around some cake is a startlingly uplifting thing. Hurrah to any couple who sticks it out longer than their honeymoon, and hooray for my parents who had four very different but very similar kids, and to all our cousins and shirttail, coattail, and nearly forgotten relations who came together along with some nice elderly ladies from the church where we did it.
And pray for me as i preach there tomorrow and try not to revert back to the eight year old they doubtless still think of me as — it will be deeply weird in a totally wonderful way.
Anyhow, whoever your family is, smile at them and marvel that we all can communicate at all, let alone love each other, which it turns out we really do.
del said on July 19th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I think you’ve got it Jeff.
Gasman said on July 20th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Jeff,
Mazel Tov to your parents! 50 years is a great achievement. It also gives my wife and I something to aspire to.
caliban said on July 20th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Food should nourish. Food should enhance. Cooking well is a pleasure. If somebody can tell me how organic makes food better, I’d like to hear it. Any idiot knows Archer Daniel has created a black hole in the Gulf, with chemical runoff. And now, they’re hitting the jackpot with corn ethanol. That sits at a 7:1 on the energy expended, energy produced scorecard. Meanwhile, cheese, a WIC staple, goes through the roof. Why feed those cows when you can run those seven or eight SUVs that take Cheney to lie to the House of Representatives. If we’re going along like lemmings on offshore drilling, his profits on oil field services ought to be paying the bill.
These people are dreeps and concessionires. They’ve raped the government for eight years. Four more with Mr. Keating Five would seem a little excessive, even for these pirates.
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 20th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Organic makes food better by reducing the amount of pre-ripeness, overall “hardiness” and thickness of coat/skin/rind you breed for to have plants suitable for long shipment after heavy treatment for pesticides and fungicides. A more natural outer layer and more naturally ripe interior flesh, not to mention the organic preference for native or heirloom strains, versus the monoculture, pre-programmed “Round-Up Ready” trademarked genetic brands, gets you better taste. I’m not afraid of most commerical GMO, i just know it doesn’t get you better tasting food, and i’m conservative about how much of the nation’s produce i want to see trademarked by species to a corporation with a focus on quarterly profit reports.
Hey, i just figured out how to get the Three Sisters (Native Americans’ corn, beans, and squash) into my sermon this morning. Thanks, Caliban … see y’all back in Ohio tomorrow, or just virtually here.
Julie Robinson said on July 20th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Congrats to your folks, Jeff. It’s hard to believe, but next month will be our 29th, and that makes me feel really old. Nice that you could get together for a happy occasion – too often we only see extended family at funerals. It’s been really good to have three months with my sister, so in a way her medical problems were a blessing. I couldn’t have justified giving up my job and leaving the hubby holding the bag for anything else. Of course, next time I’m hoping to come to south Florida in the winter rather than July!
Jolene said on July 20th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Thanks for your story about your parents’ anniversary, Jeff. It brought to mind good memories of the party we had for my parents on their fiftieth – now twelve years ago. There was an open house in the town hall that attracted a couple hundred people, a dinner for 150 or so of their closest friends and, the next day, a family picnic attended by 75 of our relatives. So much was the product of not only a long life together, but a long life in one small town – the kind of place where everyone knew everyone – and the reproductive habits of rural people during the baby boom years. It really was a great occasion. To anyone thinking about whether to have such a party, my advice is, “Have the party.”
caliban said on July 20th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Maliki is no great shakes, but he’s not a murderer like Allawi, nor an outright fraud like Chalabi, the bsaefaced liar only W could love.
But, you know, he’s the priminster (that’s a Riddley Walker reference, and if you haven’t read it, hasten to, it fits Iraq so well, what with mining DU and all.) So if he thinks Obama is making sense about getting the hell out of Dodge, he’s apparently got no problems with the Demo nominee’s national security bona fides. He may not want it to sound like an endorsement, but he didn’t say anything good about 100 years and permanent bases.
Maybe Iraq blows up into three countries, one at permanent war with Turkey and the other two permanent Irani puppet states. If McCain knew the difference between Shia and Sunni, he might realize that wouldn’t be so terrible. Brits and the US created Iraq from disparate and antagonistic groups for the sake of Big Oil, and these things don’t ever work out well.
In 2004 I thought American voters weren’t a class of morons. It seemed incomprehensible that enfranchised citizens could be gulled by unmitigated crap like W as not a draft dodger and Kerry as some sort of poseur elitist dilletante.This is so nuts, so patently phony, I figured The Bard of Baltimore would be proved wrong. But no, got it good and hard.
Contemplating McCain‘s four more wars, um, years, the first thing that comes to mind is the truly revolting slagging he got in our home state of SC from Rove and his vile henchmen. These days, I have to wonder what sort of manly man brownnoses a pure bastard that had push-robo-calls about your totally imaginary bastard black child. Grovelling isn’t presidential. Nutless.
Wesley Clark got shot four times and directed his men to a temporary victory. McCain rained down death and got shot down, probably disobeying orders. Which one’s a more credible war hero. Kerry pulled a wounded comrade out of the MeKong, W made sure the Oclub was well-stocked. Where do these jerks get off?
McCain’s whining (thank you Rove clone Phil Gramm) about Obama and international stature is pitiful. Obam’s bot the endorsement of the Prime Minister of our great ally in the battle to spread democracy. If W could get Saudis to buy in, it might be more convincingg. But there is no underestimating the stupidity of American voters. Getting what you deserve can be brutal.
Dorothy said on July 21st, 2008 at 7:02 am
Congrats to your folks, Jeff! I’m glad you got to celebrate with them. In 1994 we had a big party for my folks, and it was great for their grandchildren to witness. Then ten years later we had a smaller scale party for their 60th. They had one more anniversary together before my dad passed away.
Family get togethers for such events are so much nicer than funerals. We all got to enjoy each other on July 12th when my nephew got married in Pittsburgh. Now the great-grandchildren are getting to see the fun family they were born into!