?`s and ANNEswers

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Michigan Primary Today

Posted on February 27, 2024

Today are the Republican and Democratic primaries in my state. To vote, in advance you had to declare one party or the other and then get the ballot for which party you declared. It isn’t at all like the national election in November.

Biden and Trump will most likely win their parties’ nominations. There isn’t anyone formidable on either ballot. Still, there are issues.

The Republicans in Michigan are in disarray. So are the Democrats for different reasons. If you want to study this, there is ample opportunity online. My bottom line is that this primary could be a proxy for what happens this November.

In my lifetime, I’ve seen nominations for presidential candidates evolve from the various conventions to every state having a primary to determine the nominee. I’m not sure which I prefer, because each has pros and cons. What I do not prefer is lobbying, advertising, false testimony, vicious accusations, cruel acronyms, and lack of polite discourse.

And between now and the general election in November, I shall be subjected to all the above.

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Our Missing Hearts

Posted on February 26, 2024

I rarely post book reviews, but the selection for last night’s Great Book Club (aka The Buddy Book Club) deserves comment. Written by Celeste Ng (pronounced Eng), Our Missing Hearts is her third novel. It was reviewed by Stephen King (yes, that King) for the New York Times, so I’m reviewing it for you.

Set in the future where things are dire, the story revolves around eleven-year-old Bird, whose mother disappeared three years before. Much of the novel is about Bird’s search for his mother to learn why she left.

These bones have been fleshed out in many other YA and adult fiction, but Ng’s take is unique in my opinion. Besides being a good writer, she has meticulously created a plot that is intricate but believable (provided you accept the dystopian society Bird and his contemporaries live in.) You almost have to read it twice to get how tightly the story is woven. The three questions Duchess asks Bird to verify that he really is Bird are not out of the blue. That the Duchess inherits a technology company seems irrelevant, until it isn’t. And even the mother’s name is symbolic.

I read Ng’s first book, Everything I Never Told You, and liked it a lot. Her second, Little Fires Everywhere, did nothing for me. But with Our Missing Hearts, she is back on my list.

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Chopin’s Waltz

Posted on February 25, 2024

I’ve been working on playing the original score of Chopin’s Waltz for a couple months. I don’t particularly like it, just as I didn’t like “Moonlight Sonata,” but there is so much to be learned from these pieces that I persist. In Chopin’s case, it’s the fingering in various measures.

I have a small hand, which makes things beyond octaves difficult. Chopin doesn’t care. I researched the internet and learned Chopin didn’t have a very large hand either, but he made the most of what he had. Which is why he cavorts all over the piano. I’m not good at cavorting.

Tomorrow I go for my monthly piano lesson, and I’ll play the Chopin piece and ask for more time to make it better. And I believe I can. Will never cavort, but can at least trill.

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Drive-by Goodbye

Posted on February 24, 2024

I was talking with C. yesterday; his week included what I call a drive-by goodbye from a client he’d had for over four years. This client sent him a text that her firm had hired someone else for their online marketing and could C. send her all the appropriate passwords and delete his contact information from their website and any other materials.

I suppose that’s proper protocol, the passing on of IDs and passwords, but the protocol for letting a vendor go certainly wasn’t proper in my book. It was, however, an example of a growing trend.

People no longer take time to say “Goodbye” in person. In this case, I don’t necessarily think a formal face-to-face meeting was necessary, but I do think the client owed C. the courtesy of a phone call. And a thank you for the years of good work. If I had been C. the manner in which this transition was handled equals a burning bridge.

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Scary

Posted on February 23, 2024

Years ago, before the infamous Wall came down, I was invited to visit Berlin. It didn’t take long to decline the invitation, as I was concerned about my safety. I had a vision of being in a café with a friend, opining about politics, being overheard by some government agent, and escorted away for questioning.

I feel the same way about Alabama.

On February 16, that state’s supreme court ruled that frozen embryos created and stored for in vitro fertilization (IVF) were children. One result of this ruling is that parents can sue for punitive damages when their child, in or out of a uterus, dies. Another result is that some of the eight clinics in Alabama that provided IVF services are pausing their programs for fear of prosecution if something goes wrong.

Personally I am not convinced that IVF is a good thing. There are moral implications, medical repercussions, and economic considerations. At the same time, I don’t believe a state government should make such a ruling, just as I don’t believe the Supreme Court of the United States should have rescinded Roe v. Wade.

A good law or a bad law, it was the law of the country that accepted various religions and peoples who had differing views about conception. It was inclusive in that regard. And if your religion forbids abortion or IVF, then why can’t you follow that without insisting others with differing opinions do the same thing? It’s scary.

One other question: If frozen embryos are children, who gets the tax deduction?

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Three Restaurants

Posted on February 22, 2024

I’ve been to three local restaurants in two days, and the upshot is that my own cooking will be on the menu for the foreseeable future. Eating out just isn’t what it used to be before the pandemic.

Case in point: The first restaurant, Clementine’s, boasted a lobster roll for its luncheon special. The server said it was made in-house with celery and mayo and served on a hoagie bun. The traditional New England style lobster roll is served on a bun that is slit on top and has sides that are flat for toasting. Hoagie has nothing to do with it.

Still, one doesn’t get a lot of opportunity in the Midwest for a lobster roll, so I ordered it. The traditional New England style lobster roll is filled with fresh chunks of recognizable lobster meat along with the aforementioned celery and mayo.

It’s true the server didn’t describe the lobster itself as chunks. But since New England style lobster rolls are the only kind I’ve ever had, my imagination took over as I waited eagerly for my meal.

The hoagie was very large and split in half. Nothing was toasted, but I hadn’t expected it would be. The lettuce and tomato were superfluous, but they could be picked off. The lobster “chunks’ were the size of cooked rice, giving the entire sandwich the consistency of ham salad with essence of lobster. Most of it stayed at the restaurant when we left.

My second foray was at Plank’s, a restaurant in a high end hotel in town. For my taste the food has always been hit or miss. And I’m sure you already know from the tone of this blog where this going. The grouper sandwich was a definite miss. It’s only saving grace was that I shared it with my friend, which reduced the pain of the $20 price by half.

Finally, Earl and I went to Cracker Barrel this evening with a gift certificate. We’d always gone for breakfast in the past, so I was prepared to order eggs if nothing else looked appealing. The local CB now offers a small assortment of beers and wines which is how we started our meal. It did help set the mood.

And to our surprise both our entrees were good; not gourmet cuisine but solid comfort food. To our second surprise, the gift card was generous enough that we can return, have another before-dinner drink, and another meal. You just never know.

I realize I’ve fixated on food these past few blogs. Maybe it’s because there’s not much  palatable in the daily news. Even in small bites.

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Fish Fry Finale

Posted on February 21, 2024

You could call it beginner’s luck, since I’d never cooked perch before. But our dinner last night was a culinary success. I managed to have all three methods of cooking the fish get done at the same time and arranged them on a platter alphabetically; that is, the baked on the left, the broiled in the center, and the fried on the right. (I’m quirky that way. I even alphabetize my soup cans.)

They all looked moist yet crispy. Not the stiff deep-fried kind of crispy; rather the kind that Clementine’s, a local restaurant, serves and is the gold standard around here. However, they all tasted the same regardless of which side of the platter they came from.  Which means the next time I cook perch, I’ll do one recipe only.

Long story short: we ate them all. Same for the bread. The salad went untouched.

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Fish Fry

Posted on February 20, 2024

The local supermarket had a sale on perch, those little fish fillets that fry up crispy and tender. I’ve never cooked perch, but the price convinced me to buy a package and try it.

At home, I discovered three different types of breading for fish lurking in my cupboard. How they got there, since I don’t fry much, is beyond me; but perhaps Earl, the resident grocery shopper, was lured (Pun intended) to purchase Andy’s Red Batter, Drake’s, and one other whose name was ripped off the packaging.

It’s questionable how long these breadings have been in the cupboard, but tonight they are front and center as I try three different recipes: fried, baked, and broiled. Timing seems crucial, since the fillets are small and thin and cook quickly. Each recipe says they are done in about seven minutes.

Which means organization is key. The table is already set; the French bread is wrapped in foil to warm, the lemons are cut, and the salad is almost dressed. All that’s left is to tend the fish. I’ve breaded all three recipes, have the oven at the proper temp, and am heating the oil in the fry pan.

Will let you know tomorrow what happened next.

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Two Restaurants

Posted on February 19, 2024

One upon a time there were two restaurants on opposite corners of a busy intersection. On the surface, they had a lot in common.

They were both part of chains. They had been established locally at least twenty years. They had weathered the pandemic by offering curbside service and delivery. When restaurants reopened for dining in, the tables were appropriately situated and the servers wore masks. Each offered a full bar, and there was ample parking at both. It seemed like the perfect culinary fairy tale, especially as people were eager to eat out.

But last month, one of the restaurants closed with little notice and even less fanfare.

As a diner at each establishment over the years, I wondered how two places with very similar conditions could have different outcomes. I did some research on the two parent companies and learned that the one chain had tried to revamp its menus to be all things to all diners. But this approach confused the regulars who began going elsewhere.

There is a ton of information about restaurants – their menus, their marketing, their profitability, etc. – on the internet; and there’s probably much truth in this research. However, from my perspective the reason the restaurant closed has more to do with personal service than any corporate plan.

It always seemed to be short staffed. The last time I dined there, a person finally came from the kitchen to tell us to seat ourselves, since there was no host. It turned out she was the only server who’d shown up that day as well. Then there were the computers that graced every table and were supposed to be substitutes for the missing servers.

You could order on them, play on them, and finally pay on them. But I am old school and didn’t want to interact with a machine as part of my dining experience.

I’m going to the surviving restaurant this evening with a friend. We’ll sit in the bar and be greeted by the same server we’ve had for years. She knows exactly what we want for cocktails down to the number of limes we’ll squeeze. She’ll remember our order without writing it down or punching a tablet. She’ll be attentive without being overbearing too.

And when she brings our bill, we’ll gladly pay the old fashioned way before walking happily ever after to the car.

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Life on the Pond

Posted on February 18, 2024

The ice is in various stages of melt on our pond, and each day that the temperature climbs and the sun shines brings more water to the surface. With it come the ducks; there are three of them, and I assume they are the ones who were here last year. I love ducks.

The advance guard for the geese has already made an appearance, just like last year. There are always two of them and they swim around the perimeter of the pond looking for a hole in the wire fence that is a barrier between the water and our lawns. They are very squawky and splashy, as if they own the pond. I hate geese.

Still I’m always glad to see these two, because if they find a hole I report it to the management company who comes and repairs it. Unlike ducks who spend most of their time in the water, geese need free access to land from the water; and they spend  an inordinate amount of time eating your grass and pooping on your patio if you aren’t prepared.

I haven’t seen any goldfish yet, but I’m sure they survived the winter at the bottom of the pond, just as they’ve done since a neighbor put them there several years ago. They’re an invasive species, but they don’t eat lawns. And they attract herons. So I’m neutral about the goldfish.

It’s too early for the frogs to show up, but by May we’ll hear them croaking at each other. About the same time the two fountains will be turned on, and we’ll enjoy the sound of bubbling, burbling water all day. All of which is to say that Spring’s emergence is right on schedule in the natural world.

As for our human community, there are twelve homes that circle the pond. Currently the demographics include three couples and nine widows. But when we first moved here, it was the reverse. Time hasn’t been as kind to the people on the pond. Some moved away to be closer to their children. Others went to assisted living facilities. And more than one neighbor passed away.

I am struck with how life on the pond is – at the same time – always constant and always changing.

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