Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Past Floats in the Old Laundry Brook

My kids and their friends have been trying to dam the brook out back. Nature helped last week with a crack of lightning that sent part of an old tree crashing across what the pouring rain would soon create a river of mud. Those logs came in handy.


The Strong Stuff


I think the reason behind the damming was to create a pool of water you could sit in, something more than 6" high. You could also catch some interesting things like an old pitchfork missing one tine and it's handle. Or, an empty bottle of Clorox. I can picture a woman from the 1930's washing clothes in the Laundry Brook, using America's favorite bleach. Tell me, can you picture a man?

Maybe you'll find a bottle in your ancestors' musty basement. If it has a stopper, it's worth a few bucks more. If you wanted to, you could purchase your own old brown bottle on ebay for $15. The bottle might have a story, but it won't tell you what it is. My bottle was used a long time ago in Laundry Brook, who knows where upstream.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Summer Reading

Benediction, a novel by Kent Haruf, is the kind of quiet unassuming novel that lulls you into an extended meditation on dying, living and making mistakes. It's a good book to read this summer because it doesn't demand you know Latin or literary references that span the centuries.

It's the simple story of a good man, "Dad," who has a month to live and will spend his last days in his house in a small Colorado town with his wife, Mary. and daughter, Lorraine. Haruf has a wonderful way of illuminating everyday moments and mining them for meaning. Everyone except Mary, Dad's wife, who seems a saint, has done something they regret. In the case of Dad, it's that he fired an employee for stealing, and the man moved away with his family and eventually hanged himself. Worse though, is that he never fully accepted that his son Jack is gay. This wedge between father and son is lifelong, although there is a resolution at the story's end.

Books I'm Reading But Aren't Suitable for Summer

Ada by Vladimir Nabokov--you have to be a genius to read this book
Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby, Jr.--makes you want to kill yourself or someone
The Kindly Ones, by Jonathan Littell--Man's capacity for murder chills you to the bone
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace--I've been reading this tome on and off since 2009. I wish they'd just make a movie of it already.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Screwed

Screwed  happens to be the title of a book I just read by Eoin Colfer. You don't think I'd use bad language, do you? Colfer wrote the young adult series, Artemis Fowl. My kids enjoyed his books and we still have them. Screwed is his second novel for adults.

Colfer writes in the Walter Mosley tradition of detectives whom it seems everyone wants to kill. The language is coarse; most of the characters are beastly; the literary allusions rich. Colfer's characters are mostly former IRA types--that's Irish Republican Army, including the good guy, Dan McEvoy, whereas Mosely writes about crime in the Los Angeles Black community.

I love my public library. They always have the latest books, including the ones I want to read. 

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Kids Are Alright

Not only is this a great movie, with great actors, including neighbor Mark Ruffalo (okay, he lives one town away), it describes the current situation here in the Woods. Mariel's not here, but Mark and Harry are, as is Mark's girlfriend Mia. The house is full, something's always cooking and the washing machine is getting a workout. I like it this way, even though I don't have a free minute.

This morning I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a huge bird diving into the brook. I looked downstream, and there was a beautiful duck with a red head. From what my research tells me, it's male a common pochard.

You might be thinking what kids and ducks have in common? Baby baths?


Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Book Against God

Jame's Wood's first novel (he's an essayist and writer of non-fiction), The Book Against God. had been lazing around the house asking to be read. My son, who was also lazing around the house said he'd read most of it and it was pretty good.

Thomas Bunting, the main character, is a bit of a loser, and an epic liar who manages to screw up every relationship he has. He can't hold down a job, can't finish his Ph.D. and secretly writes a treatise of sorts, The Book About God, BAG for short.

Most of Wood's book is very amusing. Bunting is clever and tells the most twisted, hurtful lies you've ever heard. His attempt to prove there is no God because the world is so crappy made me lose interest. I think atheists will wish he were more authoritative about disbelief. Others may understand how challenging it can be to believe in God, given Man's barbaric history, its present pathos. Ultimately, this gives the book it's strength.

If you want a thoughtful read, The Book Against God is a good choice.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Good Cooker

My grandmother pulled a folded piece of paper from her wallet and handed it to me. I opened it up and found these words: Nana, you are a good cooker. There was also an illustration of her holding a pot. I'd given this to her perhaps 20 years earlier. The truth is, my grandmother was a terrible cook. As a working woman, she didn't have time to search for new recipes or grow her own spices.

My mother wasn't a great cook either. She had enough to do taking care of 5 kids and keeping the house clean. My stepfather was a very good baker, and made wonderful Italian dishes. To this day, I can't knowingly eat tomato sauce from a jar.

I consider myself a fairly good cook. I love food, so I'm strongly motivated to make tasty, interesting dishes. I made eggplant rollatini the other night that was nonpareil. I have an herb garden outside where I'm growing basil, dill, coriander, rosemary and chives.

Last night it was my friend Doug's birthday. We went to his house in PA and I cooked him a birthday dinner. On the menu was: mussels steamed in white wine, garlic and butter, lemon on the side; shrimp scampi over linguine (a simple version, with garlic, olive oil, butter and brandy sprinkled with parsley); asparagus ribbons with dried cherries; and carrot cake.

I know Doug loves asparagus, but I get tired of steaming, roasting, grilling and saucing. I have a bag of dried cherries in the pantry so I googled "asparagus with dried cherries," and came up with a great recipe. Here's the link if you want to try it: asparagus ribbon salad with dried cherries | brooklyn supper
Making the asparagus ribbons is onerous, so I turned it over to my husband. My son suggested he try a cheese slicer, holding the spears flat on a cutting board. This worked much better.

I baked a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Although it was delicious, it wasn't a beauty. I used a time-consuming recipe that involves a lot of sugar. I baked it in the wrong-sized pans and in addition to spilling all over the oven, it was difficult to remove from the pans. Here's the recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/blue-ribbon-carrot-cake-with-buttermilk-glaze-176207

Tonight I'm making Le Cirque's Pasta Primavera, which is fairly easy to make. Too much pasta? Never.  

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Impressions of Eugene, Tattoo City

Nothing against tattoos. I have one or two. But here in Eugene, OR, it seems that if you don't have a sleeve, you're invisible. Many of the athletes running in the NCAA Championship have tats, including my son, though his is very small and discretely positioned on his chest.

A wonderful thing about Eugene is that it is walker and biker friendly. Except for traffic lights, pedestrians always have the right-of-way. If you do drive, there's plenty of parking everywhere. It's very green, not just due to the rainfall. This must be the dry season because every day has been sunny and warm.

People who live in the neighboring suburbs rarely venture into the city. They have every big box store and chain restaurant they need, so why bother? The city itself is a chain of small neighborhoods. There's no downtown per se with tall buildings. Well, there is a downtown but I heard it described as a place to see homeless people. This isn't true, because I went there on Friday and noodled around a bit. It has nice restaurants, bookshops, art galleries and small stores. I had wood-grilled pizza at a trattoria, dining al fresco.

I switched hotels for the last night because the other one was booked. I'm now in the "city" at an inn. It's perched on a mountain, and I write this looking out my window at a 200-year old tree and the Cascade Mountains beyond. A freight train rolls by a few blocks from here. I notice it because it's not a noise I hear often. One woke me in the middle of the night. I turned over and went back to sleep.

My son's foot injury kept him from running in Nationals. He was very disappointed and apologized for me traveling all this way to see him race. No apologies necessary. It was my pleasure to be here and spend time with him. He took me out for dinner last night. We had consolation beers and a good meal. He left early this morning with his team. I leave later today. In the meantime, I'm going to have breakfast downstairs and then head downtown for a little exploring. I have a map of the high points, including a bronze of Ken Kesey reading One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest to a group of children. Then it's the red-eye to New York where I'll head to Brooklyn, leave my luggage and go to Manhattan for a doctor's appointment. I will be tired.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Go West

Tuesday morning the alarm went off at 3 am. I was at the Newark Airport by 6:15 where I proceeded to miss my flight because it was at a different gate. When they announced this, I ran, with luggage about .5 miles only to be told the flight was leaving in 8 minutes. Why can't I board then? Boarding is closed.

I went to customer service and was booked for the next flight to Seattle. This turned out to be a lucky break since the flight was full and they'd check luggage for free. I mostly slept on the flight, but woke up periodically to see the Rockie Mountains and Mt. Ranier. I had to wait 4 hours in Seattle to connect with my flight to Eugene. I heard a comedy skit last week on the radio where the guy describes flying on a propeller plane. He was spot on with the sound and the retro feel of the experience. It turned out that my next flight was on a small jet-prop plane, and it was really fun. You fly fairly low so you can see the sights. They offered free wine and beer. I accepted a plastic cup of pinot grigio.

The man sitting next to me was reading a book about the historical existence of Jesus. I happen to be reading The Book Against God. He didn't want to chat so I drank my wine, which I had to down because we were landing soon. Eugene has to be the smallest airport I've ever been in. It has one airline (Alaskan) and one baggage claim. I retrieved my bag and waited for the airport shuttle to my hotel. I entered my room at 7:30 pm PDT. I'd been traveling for 12 hours.

Eugene is called Tracktown because the U of Oregon is a serious running school. There are running trails everywhere. I'm here to see my son Mark run the 5000m race on Saturday. Yesterday, with the help of girlfriend Mia, I surprised him at a restaurant. He was really surprised and happily so. We had a nice lunch, walked around and hung out before going to the stadium.

It was a long day at the races. Field events, hurdles, 1500m, 4X4 relays, and finally, the 10,000m which has 25 long and grueling laps. Mark's roommate Mike was in the race and we cheered him on. He made a good effort, finishing 19th out of 24.

I must note that I sat next to the same man at the stadium as I did on the plane the evening before. If I see him again, I'll think he's stalking me.

After the races, Mark and I met for dinner which was an abundance of Chinese food. In another twist of fate, he and his teammates are staying at a hotel right across the street from mine.

Today, I'll be cheering on Mark's girlfriend Mia who runs the 5000m, just like Mark.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Another Joyce Carol Oates Novel

If you want to be sick to your stomach, read Daddy Love, Oates' latest or perhaps penultimate novel. I think she dashed this one off while researching The Accursed.

Daddy Love is about a serial child kidnapper/murderer and his newest victim, snatched from his mother's hand in a mall parking lot. Daddy Love hits her with a brick and then runs her over with his van. The 5-year old suffers every abuse you could ever imagine and then some. Oates doesn't mention the Stockholm Syndrome, but that's what happens to these children. They end up loving their captor.

Eventually, Daddy Love tires of his victims because they enter puberty. He likes them young. When they reach a certain age, he kills and buries them.

For a change of pace, I'm reading James Wood's The Book Against God. It's very funny and quasi-intellectual, just like me.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Book Note and Road Trip

If you enjoy Latin American literature, read Isabel Allende's Maya's Notebook. I haven't read her in years. One morning, she was being interviewed on NPR about her new book. When I walked into the library that afternoon, there was the book, perched on a wall with five other new "staff-pick" books. Fate? You decide, but you should read it.

My week-long road trip was tame compared to Allende's book, but it was packed with wonderful, exciting events. We drove to NYC early Tuesday morning to attend my son's graduation from Columbia. Usually I recognize Mark from afar, but not when every tall male is wearing a mortarboard. I did see him though during the walk and again, receiving a graduation pin from various dignitaries.

Proud Parents


We drove through NYC nightmare traffic to Bethesda, MD where we stayed overnight with Renee and Sam, friends from RI. Then we headed for Asheboro, NC to see our daughter's new house, which she shares with her boyfriend, Levi. It's very cute, but too tiny to allow us to stay over, so we went to his mom's house which is so beautiful, it was like staying in a 4-star country inn.

Southern Hospitality




The next day, we watched Mark in the NCAA East regionals in Greensboro, NC. He lost the bid for the Finals in the 1500 meter run by two hundredths of a second, upsetting to say the least.

We toured the area and tried various southern dishes. I've decided I don't really like the cuisine much, though I didn't have any fried chicken. Everything has bacon in it, although I had the best bacon cheeseburger one night at a restaurant in downtown Greensboro. We drove down to Sea Grove, NC to see Levi's dad's pottery workshop, which is amazing and much bigger than Pottery Barn. North Carolinans are truly gracious and patient with Yankees. If you go into a restaurant and the entire staff doesn't make at least 3 sweet welcoming statements, turn around and go.

Mariel and Mark Watching Mike Murphy Race in the Rain

The highlight of the trip though was watching Mark run the 5000 meter race. It was priceless. Mark shifted back and forth between 4th and 7th place. He needed to get 5th to go on to Nationals in Oregon. With 100 meters to go, he made his move, edging into 5th by a nose, or the chest as they measure it in running. We were all reeling with happiness. I felt I'd personally run the race, feeling breathless and wobbly when it was over.

But there's more. We left Asheboro for Great Falls, VA where we stayed with friends we met in Costa Rica, Tina and Mike and one of their daughters, Kimberly. The next day we drove to visit our nephew, Mark and his wife, Brie in Gaithersburg, MD. They served us a delicious lunch of felafel, salad and a yummy homemade garlic-yogurt dressing.

Then, it was off to NYC to pick up our youngest child, Harry at the airport. He'd spent the last 4 months on a semester abroad in Copenhagen, traveling all over Europe as well. We were naturally trapped in traffic, it being Memorial Day. After snailing our way to JFK, and going to the wrong terminal, we finally found him. Imagine, he didn't have a cell phone to call us when he arrived; he used a pay phone. Old school

After a late dinner at a diner, we drove home, arriving at 1:30 am.

What a trip!