From the woods to Orwell and Dickens

Call this a musing or a ramble, whatever.  I went for a long walk in the woods with my dog, Todd, which ought to mean, since it was in the woods in Maine, that I then read Thoreau; but after our walk I was initially interrupted by a partial journey through Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" (with an interlude to eat my very first cara cara orange, which I highly recommend) and a full viewing of "Interstellar Overdrive."  


Then on to read Christopher Hitchens' last essay, which was on G.K. Chesterton, which I confess to not really understand since I'm not very aware of Chesterton and only marginally more so of T.S. Eliot, who is also quoted often in that piece.  But then on to an article in The Atlantic regarding the writing of Hitch's final essay, which then lead me on to something that would not be surprising if you knew Hitch and again not surprising if you know me.  What is it?  Orwell's essay on Dickens, of course.  But before you read the link to the essay, I want to share this gem of a quote from Orwell:

“One is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one’s love upon other human individuals.”

 Since Hitchens is what truly sparked me to write this personal piece, I will likely end my day with a little of Mr. Walker's amber restorative.

Now back to the Orwell essay to put in a teaser quote:

In OLIVER TWIST, HARD TIMES, BLEAK HOUSE, LITTLE DORRIT, Dickens
attacked English institutions with a ferocity that has never since been
approached. Yet he managed to do it without making himself hated, and,
more than this, the very people he attacked have swallowed him so
completely that he has become a national institution himself. In its
attitude towards Dickens the English public has always been a little like
the elephant which feels a blow with a walking-stick as a delightful tickling.

And then one more, which I hope will help to tie some of these themes together, at least what it was about Orwell that Hitchens admired.  In this quote you see Orwell's pragmatic outlook on society as he explains Dickens' similar view:

Whatever else Dickens may have been, he was not a hole-and-corner
soul-saver, the kind of well-meaning idiot who thinks that the world will
be perfect if you amend a few bylaws and abolish a few anomalies. It is
worth comparing him with Charles Reade, for instance. Reade was a much
better-informed man than Dickens, and in some ways more public-spirited.
He really hated the abuses he could understand, he showed them up in a
series of novels which for all their absurdity are extremely readable,
and he probably helped to alter public opinion on a few minor but
important points. But it was quite beyond him to grasp that, given the
existing form of society, certain evils CANNOT be remedied. Fasten upon
this or that minor abuse, expose it, drag it into the open, bring it
before a British jury, and all will be well that is how he sees it.
Dickens at any rate never imagined that you can cure pimples by cutting
them off. In every page of his work one can see a consciousness that
society is wrong somewhere at the root. It is when one asks 'Which root?'
that one begins to grasp his position.

Are you lost yet?

Cheers to the new bride and groom

As a father, it does your heart good to see your child so happy, even though you're scared half to death at the same time.   It's kind of bittersweet because it's like you're officially sending them off to the world.  I guess that's why the pastor asks "who's giving this woman away." 

My daughter got married yesterday and it was a lovely service.  During the father/daughter dance she told me her cheeks hurt.  No wonder, since she was beaming from ear to ear all evening.  What a lovely bride!
Everything went wonderfully, though there was a minor wedding dress malfunction; and I want to thank everyone who came and added to the special occasion.  Most importantly though, I want to thank those who put in many, many hours to make this happen:  Her mother, her stepmother, her stepfather, her sister, her Uncle Rick, her best friend's mother, the bridemaids and bridegrooms, as well as the Pastor and the parents of the groom.  Her dad helped some too.
Three daughters married and all grown to be wonderful women.  I couldn't be prouder, despite how bittersweet the process.
Congratulations, Emily and Peter.

PS  I will be posting an update, either here or on All Things Zebster, when more pics become available.

Zebster's Maine Baked Beans

Since I'm going to be making my beans for my daughter's wedding next weekend and we're calculating how much of each ingredient we need to make essentially 8 batches, I thought I'd share my recipe again.  This was posted on All Things Zebster in July of 2006.

This recipe is for traditional Maine or New England baked beans, none of that crap with the soggy little beans in a tomato or bbq sauce. You can use a crock pot, do it in the oven inside a bean pot; you can even dig a hole in the ground and cook it in there for several days (hardcore and best, but I'm too lazy and impatient). So I use a crock pot. You'll only need about a half hour or so of prep time but you'll need to cook them all day.

Ingredients: One pound Jacobs Cattle beans, onion, 1/2 pound salt pork, 1/2 cup of BROWN sugar, 2/3 cup molasses, 1/4 cup of real maple syrup (honey works good too), 3 teaspoons dry mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

I think using the right beans is one of the keys. I prefer Jacobs Cattle or Yellow Eye or the like. You can use pinto beans, I suppose, but see above and don't tell me if you did...it saddens me deeply. Let me amend that. If you want real baked beans, then find the good dry beans I've mentioned. Don't cheat and use canned beans or whatever. If you want it to taste right, like it's supposed to, then you need to start with the right ingredients. There's no point in doing it, otherwise.
You should check the bag of beans because occasionally there's a pebble or a bad bean. Then put them in a large bowl of water and soak them overnight.
In the morning parboil the beans until you can blow the skin off one, about a half hour, which gives you time to get your ingredients together. You'll need some salt pork (no bacon...this isn't breakfast), which you'll need to cut through the rind side about a half inch in a waffle design so it'll fall apart nicely when everything's cooked. Quarter at least one onion and place it in the bottom of the pot. Then drain and add your parboiled beans. Place the salt pork on top. In one pint of boiling water add your molasses, syrup, dry mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. I like mine peppery. I've been known to use Montreal steak pepper. But at least 3 teaspoons of pepper. Pour this over the beans, adding more boiling water, if necessary, to cover the beans...usually an extra half pint to pint. Then cook on low in the crock pot or 300 degrees in the oven for at least 6 hours.
When at all possible serve with red casing hotdogs and brown bread, also often served in Maine with coleslaw. Since you're going to fart like crazy after eating them, plus the cabbage in the cole slaw, you might as well go all out and wash it down with a hearty ale. You won't have any trouble being left alone after that.
And by the way, if I find out that you put ketchup on my beans, I'll hunt you down and shoot you! Ketchup is for hamburgers, meatloaf and bad french fries.
UPDATE 7/25/10:  Made a large batch (8X above) for my daughter's wedding and have a couple of important notes.  As Shelly has said, it's my best batch yet and I attribute that to using Grandma's Molasses, which was used because it's gluten free.  It's stronger in my opinion and worth using.  But if you're making this recipe for the first time and using Grandma's, I'd use 1/2 cup of molasses and perhaps a little more water.  It's always to taste anyway.  For this batch we ended up using yellow eye and great northern beans, which are smaller but I felt they needed extra soaking and parboiling compared to the soldier beans.
UPDATE 3/8/11:  Made a batch at my mother's this past weekend, this time cooking them in a gas oven using a cast iron dutch oven...another significant improvement, which is hard to believe as good as they already were.

Memorial Day

First off, let me ask all who read this to join in the National Moment of Remembrance today at 3PM, to honor in particular those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect this country and our freedom. Go to http://www.remember.gov/ to learn more.  Secondly, for those on Facebook, the White House has a great application where you can honor a random fallen soldier. I've been updating mine about every hour to honor another. Go to my profile to find the app.
You all know me to be not much of a "flag waver." I prefer to show my patriotism and respect in my own way, which tends to be with 100 percent sincerity and in my own words, as opposed to doing what others have made and decided is the right way to show patriotism. On this Memorial Day though please take some time to think about what sacrifices have been made, what it's meant to the families of those who made that sacrifice and what it's meant to our country. Also, try to take time to personally thank anyone you know who has served because without them as well this country would not be as free as it is and the ultimate sacrifice could have easily been theirs to bare.
Memorial Day is also a day to remember loved ones who are no longer with us. I tend to do this myself by remembering all the good times shared with them, what wonderful people they were and how much they meant to my life. I won't list all those I miss but will say a special remembrance to my daughter Jennifer Lee, who I never had the opportunity to get to know. Miss you, sweetheart. So while we remember and honor those who've served and those we've lost, let's cherish the time spent with them but also take advantage of the time we still have with those who are still with us. So how about just letting them know in some personal way that you're glad they're in your life.

(cross posted at All Things Zebster)

Candlepin Bowling and Bill Chinnock

I came across two things recently that made me remember fondly my youth and teenage years. The first was this feature on "207" about Bill Chinnock, and the second was this article on Boston.com regarding candlepin bowling. I thought I'd share a personal story or anecdote about each and invite others to comment with their stories and or elaborate on mine.
Perhaps the best story, but the one I need help with the most, involves a certain Bill Chinnock concert at the Pittsfield Community Theater, probably sometime in 1979 (one of the very few ticket stubs I can't claim to still have). A handful of us decided that not only did we need to be at this concert but we needed to have flasks or pint bottles of alcohol as well, lest we got thirsty inside. Unlike the famous Dresden ice fishing legend (sorry Chink), getting the alcohol for the Chinnock concert did not involve someone's uncle delivering it to the MCI campus in a black pulp truck. I don't recall where we got it but there's little chance the story is as colorful.
What is most memorable about this concert, aside from getting to see our local music hero, was the fact that not all of us managed to get into the concert with our alcohol intact. Isn't that right, SF? Luckily for us, some of us did! Were we cool or what? If you were there that night, please chime in with any information you have to fill in the story, as my pitiful memory has left me nothing more than what's above.
Regarding candlepin bowling, I'll offer up a couple of quick things. Many of us were on youth bowling leagues or high school intramural leagues at the Pittsfield Bowling Center. Most of my fondest candlepin bowling memories are there, and I'm sure there are plenty of fond memories by others to share. One not so fondly remembered, or better stated as bittersweet, relates to the reward we received in roughly 1972 for winning the Eastern Maine tournament. For whatever reason, that year it was decided that giving jackets was better than trophies. So while my trophies from my glorious youth survived in my mother's attic for many years, that jacket was lost, nay stolen, in less than a year, some idiot 11 or 12 year old having left it on a bench at Manson Park.
Also, any of my MCI classmates who still have the 1980 edition of The Trumpet, go to pages 112 and 113, and in particular look at the names of the teams. Does that bring back some memories? Long live The Zebulons!
I would be very appreciative if you would leave any anecdotes that you'd like to share, elaborate on anything I have said but also if you would please pass this along to anyone who might appreciate it.

A Quick Thought

Sorry I haven't written in a long time...the new job is taking my time and thoughts right now, as well as holiday running around. I have updates about work and family at All Things Zebster.
The Nascar blog I've been threatening to do is now up, written by some of us old timers from Under Da Porch message board. You can read that blog here, if you're inclined to participate in Nascar discussions.

I hope to get back into a routine soon where I can update and then stay updated on the political and social issues so that I can blog here regularly again. Until then I want to wish everyone a joyous and safe holiday season, as well as encourage everyone to take a moment out of their busy schedules and do something for those less fortunate...a kind word, giving blood, shoveling a walkway, spending time with the lonely, volunteering your time to prepare Christmas dinner at a shelter, anything from the heart in the spirit of the season. Even something as little as putting change in a Salvation Army kettle can make a profound difference.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Personal news

Good news for Zebster, sort of, and bad news for the blog. Given that I've been unemployed for far too long looking for a job that would pay well enough to take, time was running out, so I' ve accepted an offer to go back to my old job driving a bread truck for IBC. The good news for me in that? Obviously first and foremost, a job and, secondly, a very good paying job. The bad part of it is that it's a physically demanding job that I was working on average 60-70 hours a week, and I don't ever have 2 days in a row off. Oh well, I need the work.
Obviously it's going to put a huge crimp on the blogging. I'll try to stay informed with my XM while driving around between stops, and hopefully I'll be able to put something up two or three times a week. If anyone's interested, I'm planning on putting some work-related updates on All Things Zebster.
I do plan on continuing the work search as much as possible to find a new career that I really want, but until then THE BREADMAN IS BACK! Thanks everyone. Peace!

Father's Day Weekend Review

Despite some very trying times lately in the fatherhood category, it's still great to be a dad, and stepdad. I received some very nice Father's Day cards and phone calls and messages, as well as a Happy Father's Day web cam chat with my stepson in the Army in Korea. (Don't spend all your money on the great deals in The Ville!) My youngest is having her wisdom teeth out this week...don't wanna take a chance on messing up those perfect teeth that just got the braces off. My eldest daughter called me from a boat in the middle of a lake somewhere. That was very nice. And thanks, Little Poot, I'm glad we're family too. Love ya all. The Mrs somehow contracted a very bad cold, and so I spent the weekend home watching sports. (meet the family, http://www.myspace.com/zebster43)

I spent a good part of Sunday watching the US Open. Man, was that painful, especially if you're a Lefty fan like me. I really thought after that moronic decision to try to hit a fairway wood out of six inches of rough that luck was on his side -- well, luck was on his side, over and over and over again. But only Phil could take all that love from the New York crowd and all that karma and turn it into a Jean Van Der Velle moment. I was sitting there thinking that if Phil didn't win, it'd be nice to see Colin Montgomerie win; and when he hit that long putt on 17, it looked like things might go his way. Phil had just bogeyed 16 and Monty gets that birdie for a tie. All Montie has to do is par 18 and he puts all kind of pressure on Phil. Nope, double bogey city, after hitting his tee shot in the fairway, no less. Oh well, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie at the Open. Congratualations to Geoff Ogilvy. Happy Father's Day to a dad to be, soon. We were a hare's breadth from a four-way tie in this thing and an 18-hole playoff today. It would've been great theater, as the fourth round was; but I don't think my heart could take any more.

Although I didn't get to watch much of the three-game series between Boston and Atlanta (spent the evenings watching movies with the Poot), it was great to see the BoSox right the ship and sweep the Braves. As is always the case with the Red Sox, this will be a rollercoaster ride to the end.

Even though I was taping the Nascar race at Michigan, I was still surfing over to it during the US Open commercials. So although I haven't seen it all, I saw enough to see my boy Kasey Kahne win again. I'll never tire of seeing that red Dodge Ram logo in victory lane. I'm a Mopar man! That's four wins this season, all from the poll and all in the same car. Here's hoping that car lasts the season. It's too bad another strong run by the 43 didn't show up as a strong finish, but the way that car has run with Bobby Labonte behind the wheel makes me more optimistic than I've been in years. Now we just need to get Kyle Petty going.

Happy Father's Day!

Mickelson Lefty Ogilvy golf US Open Winged Foot Red Sox Braves

Montgomerie Father's Day Kahne Korea Michigan Labonte Petty Nascar

Listening to Patsy Cline

A metaphor for the current status of my life, you ask? Perhaps. Her voice is soothing regardless of my mood though. Shel was more concerned this weekend when I was sitting at the computer cranking on some Alice In Chains!

Just feeling so stuck and roadblocked when it comes to the job search -- trying to find one I can afford to take and that won't be another step sideways -- and where to start with my more personal blog.
Patsy Cline Alice In Chains