About Best Friends

One can have a lot of friends but only one best friend. Over the years one accumulates a number of best friends. Musing about best friends, I realized that someone I once considered a best friend was at best a good friend. After all a best friend is someone with whom one shares the strongest possible kind of friendship. The keyword is “ strongest”! That’s a tall order. Achieving the strongest kind of friendship involves a forgiving relationship as well as a lot of dedication. The only person that I share the strongest possible kind of friendship with is my high primal thinking spouse. Upon typing this out, my computer crashed. It was sure it was my best friend. After restarting it had to admit that the reasoning that led to my conclusion was correct. Both are fountains of knowledge. Both provide hours of relaxation. Both respond to my every wish. But only one is willing to share the strongest possible kind of love as well as friendship, and it is not inanimate.

Free Chief Wahoo!

The Cleveland Indians have new home uniforms to be worn on weekends and special occasions. Very stylish until one gets to the patch on the sleeve. Lo and behold Chief Wahoo rests there . Yet another opportunity missed by the wimpy front office to free Chief Wahoo! As an aside why have a special uniform for weekends? Is this another Midwest tradition - save your best outfit for Sunday? Has anyone told Barack Obama? As another aside it is rumored that the Chief has resorted to drugs and booze in order to get through the season. Does this mean that under Baseball's new drug policy he should be suspended for life? Lets hope so!

Sophia Maria Vindicated

Once upon a time in Sinopoli, Calabria there was a feisty young peasant named Sophia Maria Versace. Sophia married Antonio Rugari and bore him six children. Antonio and one son, Franciscantonio ,immigrated to America. After a short stay, Antonio returned to Calabria where misfortune struck him in the form of fatal pneumonia. It was now up to Franciscantonio to work his butt off in America and bring two brothers, a sister and Sophia Maria to America (for unknown reasons a brother and sister remained behind). Franciscantonio, Luigi and Giuseppe in time married. As offspring evolved from these marriages the honor of naming them fell to the husband. Over the not so quiet acquiescence of the wife, the first born female child was named after feisty Sophia Maria. Lo and behold there were three cousins within three years of each others age growing up with the same first, middle and last name. How to distinguish each during a family conversation? Simple, the eldest was Big Sophie, the youngest was Little Sophie. And the middle Sophie? Easy, Uncle Louie’s Sophie. Each of these Sophie’s grew up questioning the Italian custom that saddled them with such an unglamorous name. Nona Sophia Maria endured the slurs of her daughter-in laws and the disparaging remarks of three granddaughters named Sophia Maria. But Nona Sophia had a secret! Her name on her birth certificate was Maria Sophia. End of story , not quite. Sophia Loren made the name Sophia glamorous. So glamorous in fact that Sophia is one of the top ten names of choice for newborn females. Guess what? Sophia Maria Versace’s first great - great - great - granddaughter was named Sophia Marie. Somewhere in the “choir silent”, Maria Sophia ( a. k. a. Sophia Maria) is laughing her head off while her daughter - in laws take credit for having named their daughters Sophia. As for me, I couldn’t be more pleased to have a great granddaughter named Sophia Marie and for many other reasons a great grandson named Marcus.

If Managers attribute the poor performance of some baseball players in April to their history of being slow starters why start them?

Gun Control Enters The Campaign

Finally the issue of gun control has emerged in Campaign 2008. Just as quickly as it emerged it has been swept under the rug . When it comes to any meaningful discussion of gun control all the candidates are milquetoasts. Even with Charlton Heston giving them the opportunity to wrest the gun " from my cold dead hands" candidates do not want to tackle the NRA. It seems all the candidates are hunters, once hunted or merely have respect for hunters. As such the issue of gun control is reduced to protecting a "sport" . As it turns out protecting innocent citizens from the hunters of humans must take a lower priority.

A Very Religious Group?

A recent article in The Plain Dealer made much of the observation that poll after poll shows Americans want national candidates to talk about faith generally or their own faith. John Green, a religion and politics expert at the University of Akron was quoted as saying “ Americans --- are a very religious group. “They tend to like having religious people in office.” Voters “ want to know the values that motivate politicians and help them make decisions.” ( We found out in a bloody way that George - our born again Christian President- Bush’s values embraced preemptive warfare). The article points out that both political parties take these polls seriously and as a result candidates vie with another to convince us who is the true defender of the faith.
I could not avoid musing about Americans as a “very religious group”. Does this group, if indeed it exists, condone murder on the streets and in the halls of education? Does this religious group condone sexual crimes? Does it condone corporate greed? Does it condone violation of human rights in all corners of the world? Does it condone unjust wars? Of course Americans as a “ very religious group” would answer , no. Well then, we know that all of the foregoing evils exist. We also know that no self respecting religion condones these evils. Add to this the reluctance of Americans as a “ very religious group” to effectively address possible solutions for the proliferation of guns, hate crimes, sexual abuse, human rights abuse , ----- corporate welfare and one must conclude that Americans are not a very religious group. They are a very materialistic group. What they really want to hear from their candidates is how will the candidate’s agenda translate into more material wealth for the individual.

Let Them Eat Beans

Economists nitpick whether we are in a recession or close to one. Some even dare to hint at a depression. Presidential candidates see the whole mess as merely an opportunity for more campaign rhetoric. The average citizen visits the supermarket and the gas station and goes away wondering why our government has resorted to hot air rather than constructive programs to ease the hurt. Watching a superpower slowly meltdown is nightmarish. Which brings me to a nightmare I had recently . As I tossed in bed I could hear the President of The United States being interviewed . He kept the interview short since he had head of state business that evening at the opening game of the Washington Nationals . When the interviewer pointed out that the sick economy was causing problems for the average citizen he responded Ala his mentor Cheney, “ So, let them eat beans.” End of interview , end of nightmare. As I wiped the sweat off my forehead I went into shock when I realized that finally I could agree on something with Mr. Bush.. This Howdy Doody President may actually have found a solution for our ailing economy. Yes let them eat beans! Beans fit right in with the “hot air” coming out of Washington but they can also result in a constructive way to ease the hurt of rising prices. I speak from experience.

As a youngster during the Great Depression beans were an important part of our diet . So was pasta. Combine the two and you have Pasta e Fagioli ( a.k.a. Pasta e Fazooli)! For about sixteen dollars one can prepare an excellent vegetarian meal for eight - about two dollars a serving! I’m sure this is not what George had in mind but it is one way to keep the food budget in check. Of course all bets are off if someone finds a way to make ethanol from beans. As with corn, our patriotic farmers will divert beans from our kitchen table and Pasta e Fagioli will command premium prices. Until that day here is my recipe for a tasty, healthful, inexpensive meal. No frills , just darn good food.

Pasta e Fagioli
2 SLICES BACON
1 TBLSPN TOMATO PASTE
2 14.5oz CANS ITALIAN SEASONED DICED TOMATOES
1 SMALL ONION
4 GARLIC CLOVES
1 CELERY STALK
2 15 1/2 oz CANS GREAT NORTHERN OR CANOLLINI BEANS
3 TBLSPN OLIVE OIL
1 ½ qt HOT WATER
2 CUPS D’ITALINI

• IN A SMALL FOOD PROCESSOR MINCE BACON, ONION, GARLIC , CELERY TO A PASTE (BATTUTO)
• ADD BATTUTO TO STOCK POT WITH OLIVE OIL
• SAUTE AT MEDIUM HEAT UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN
• ADD TOMATO PASTE, DICED TOMATOES AND A SOME RED PEPPER - COOK APPROX. 3 MIN
• ADD HOT WATER, A LITTLE SALT, BEANS AND BRING TO A BOIL
• REDUCE HEAT - MAKE SURE BEANS ARE WARM
• CRUSH A FEW BEANS
• ADD PASTA - REMOVE FROM HEAT WHEN AL DENTE
• ADD WATER AS NECESSARY
• ADD PARMESAN CHEESE AND RED PEPPER WHEN SERVING
  
  BON APPETITO