February 18, 2010
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Thursday Thoughts
We had a junk food dinner last night – fish sticks and frozen macaroni and cheese and cheese and crackers and fruit. The prepared stuff was the worst but in a household that does not consume much dairy at all, this morning is a little wonky that’s for sure. Sometimes though you just have to remind yourself why you don’t eat like that anymore.
I watched Julie and Julia last night and loved it. Streep is brilliant of course. I don’t know why I heard a truckload of complaints about Amy Adams’ performance. I thought she was wonderful and not at all whiny. Maybe I am the one who is whiny and that character can’t hold a candle to my abilities in that area. The film did make me want to work my way through Ms. Child’s cookbook. It could be a project for next winter except I don’t eat beef or organ meats or lamb or …. But boning a duck sounds like fun. And I love that she smelled everything before she purchased it. Mmmmm.
The oxymoron of eating junk food and watching Julie and Julia is not lost on me.
The New England Town Meeting is a wonderful tradition that it was my privilege to witness annually during my high school years. It was and remains a lesson of democracy in action. As students we tended to pick one Town Meeting and attend the same for our tenure in high school. I cannot remember the name of the village meeting I attended every February and indeed I am not sure it was in February. What I do remember is that no matter what the issue there was one woman, always the same woman, who stood up and shouted quite loudly, “I’m against it!” It didn’t sound like that though. It can out as “Imma agin it!” In fact her shouts were such a certainty that the phrase became a mantra through our small high school whether faculty and students attended that particular meeting or not. That’s what the Republican Party reminds me of these days – that woman, large and unruly, dressed in a rather scruffy house dress shouting “Imma agin it!” It could be a proposition to give everyone healthcare or $200 or a better education and she would shout, “Imma agin it!” She wouldn’t have a reason, just didn’t like it because it wasn’t her idea or it was someone’s idea and her life might change a little bit. She might actually be able to buy a new house dress or learn that the good of the whole trumps her own self-interest. Or it could be that she just liked to be against things. The other thing I remember from that experience was that the potluck dinner was incredible.
For some reason this Village, the one I live in has a celebration on the beach in July and they call it Mardi Gras. Yup. Mardi Gras in July. Go figure. On Tuesday several folks celebrated the last day of indulgence before the meditation of Lent by wearing beads. When told it was to celebrate Mardi Gras one student asked, “Why are you celebrating Mardi Gras NOW? It’s in July.” Head. Bang. Desk.
And so it goes.
Comments (6)
I always smell food when I buy it – I get some of the strangest looks in the grocery store. (but I also tend to sing and dance up and down the aisles) Haven’t seen that movie yet, but my sisters favorite line was something like, “You can never have too much butter.” I may have to look for that cookbook (isn’t it two volumes?) but I just hit half-price-books not long ago and picked up several Asian type cookbooks. Darn, going to the big grocer today and HPB is on-ish the way…
I do that for dinner now and then. I call it the “Week in Review”, it’s all the little bits and pieces from meals that week, plus strange other things that creep in…
A definite plus is how easy dinner is to get together that night. My kids loved it (and carry on the tradition, I am proud to say).
Having lived in a number of places, I ended up awhile in Houston, TX, and I definitely heard their version of “Imma agin it!”
I’m in Austin now and thankfully hear that much, much less.
They have Christmas in July on the islands, but that’s more about getting wasted.
That woman, I think, moved to Elyria and spawned several children. We have a levy up and oooh buddy. You know, I would love just once to see a bucking of the trend.
have not seen the movie but I did visit the blog when it was in progress and after it was sold as a book. I thought it was a cool idea to blog about and I do want to see the movie. People always complain about the actress that is not Streep. Or they usually do. It must take some balls to be in a movie with her!
I heard Ensler interviewed on NPR last week, and wow. It was intense. Great interview, interesting woman. The book goes on my thousand books to buy list.
Republican Party? – Imma agin it!
So many snow days – 12 this month and counting – that I didn’t get a chance to do the unit on Valentine’s Day, Black History Month, President’s Day, Mardi Gras, and so on. I hate to think that one day my student will be just as ignorant because of four feet of snow.
@pumpernickel_rye - The book is stunning, difficult, heart wrenching, glorious, and absolutely necessary. I am trying to figure out how to get it worked into the curriculum. i am going to have to read it a couple more times with different eyes but I honestly think it should be in an 8th grade ‘sex ed” class. it is so illuminating and empowering and honest.