Getcher Wood Grill Pizza Here!!!

To the best of our recollection the last time we had a wood-grilled pizza was at a small neighborhood restaurant in the town of Cajamarca, Peru, nestled high in the Andes Mountains. That would have been in March of 2016. Even though I've forgotten what a wood-grilled pizza tastes like I told Maribel I'd like to try one again and she agreed. A brief internet search found Bob's Wood Grill on highway 27 just 15 minutes from our house in the town of Rock Spring.

It's not your usual restaurant. It's kinda like a car port covered with mosquito netting. If you didn't know it was there; if you weren't looking for it you would drive right by it. You can see the wood grill behind the motorcycle. There's about 6 or 7 pizzas on the menu. We chose the supreme because it had the most stuff on it. I like stuff on a pizza...cheese, sausage, mushrooms, onions, olives, pimento, anchovies and just about anything else except peperoni. It's not so much that I don't like peperoni, it's that crust, cheese and peperoni have become the standard for pizza and that's not the way it was in the old days. Sixty years ago if someone had served you a pizza like that you would have called them back and asked, "Hey!...where's the rest of it?"  This supreme was lacking pimento and anchovies, and the cook apologized for running out of mushrooms but everything else was there. I don't know if $20 for a 14" pizza is good or not but we enjoyed it. 

To eat your pizza you have the options of taking it home, eating in your car, or sitting at a picnic table a little way behind the cook tent. A picnic table under a tree was our choice. The mid-70s temperature and mild breeze added to the experience.

Steve is the man on duty the day we were there. He makes the pizzas from scratch and makes sure that the grill maintains the proper temperature. He's an affable guy and enjoys explaining what he's doing. He also has a unique way of informing customers that their pizza is ready. He shouts out, "Getcher wet teddy bear here!" We enjoyed the taste of our pizza but agreed that it was too soft and floppy and could have used more time in the oven, so next time we go there, and we will, I'm going to tell him to make our 'wet teddy bear' a little more crispy.

Beware the Eastern King Snake

It was around three weeks ago that we saw a pair of robins beginning to construct a nest on top of our neighbor's rain gutter downspout. It seemed like a good location, sheltered from rain, wind and the hot sun. It took the pair a little more than a week to finish the nest and for the next few days we didn't see much of them. Then one morning the female took up residence. 

The normal clutch size is 3 to 5 eggs, with an incubation period of 12 to 14 days. It was about that many days when we saw both parents coming and going with food for the newly hatched chicks. As the chicks grew in size we could see 3 heads raise up when the parents returned with food. The usual nesting period is 13 days so these last few days we've been watching closely hoping to see the moment when the chicks would leave the nest. We were not at all prepared for what we witnessed this afternoon.

Eastern  King snakes grow from 3 to 4 feet long, are not venomous and primarily eat rodents and birds. Supposedly common throughout the south and east, we have never seen any kind of snake on our property, in parks or on forest paths we hike. Though I probably should have known better, If I had thought of it I never would have believed that a snake could or would climb a 7 foot downspout. 

The adult robins made repeated attempts to chase off the snake but I noticed they did not make contact with the snake and the snake ignored them. We do not know how long the snake had been in the nest, but it was only a few minutes after we noticed it that it exited the nest and deliberately fell to the ground rather than climb down. We could see at least one fairly large chick in the snake's mouth as it crawled away. 

We had hoped that the other 2 chicks were okay but we have seen no activity and though the parents remain in the area they have not returned to the nest. We have to assume that the snake got all three. 

When we first realized what was happening Maribel's maternal instincts kicked in and she rushed outside, cursing at the snake with some choice Spanish words. She also asked if there wasn't something I could do. I actually considered intervening, though at the time didn't know what kind of snake I would be dealing with, but then thought to myself, this is nature. This is a snake doing what snakes do. This is a scenario that plays out hundreds of times every day. It is not my role to interfere. What I will do is walk a little more carefully in some areas of our backyard.

CDC Mask Changes Changed Nothing.

Seeming overnight the Covid situation has altered dramatically. The new CDC guideline states that people who are vaccinated no longer need to wear masks. The CDC announcement has been proclaimed as "an historic day."  Walmart, Costco, Publix and others have dropped their mask policies for those who are vaccinated. Target and Home Depot have not. But in actuality nothing has changed. Most businesses that I have visited had mask policies posted but never enforced them. Several times I made a point of asking a store employee stationed at the entrance near a table with hand sanitizer if the mask policy was being enforced and the answer was always, "No, but we encourage it." In the last 14 months I have encountered just two businesses; one an  antique shop and the other a flea market that actually prevented customers without masks from entering.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if, in March of 2020 all establishments open to the public, from grocery stores to beauty salons to gas stations had positioned security personal at the door and actually prohibited entry of anyone not wearing a mask, and physically escorted from the premises anyone who removed the mask after entry. This action would have forced the "personal freedom" people to wear masks, and in my opinion would have greatly reduced the resultant hospitalizations and deaths that have and still are occurring. 

Many posts ago somewhere on this blog I wrote that when a vaccine became available many people would be reluctant or outright refuse to take it, just as happened in the 50s with the polio vaccine. And sure enough, about a third of the population is not rushing to get vaccinated. 

How will Walmart, Costco, Publix etc. determine that someone entering the store has been vaccinated? Will they request to see a document? Will they ask everyone entering if they've been vaccinated? The answer is no. Nothing has changed. The CDC announcement is nothing more than one big yawn.  

Aaron Rodgers is NOT the Green Bay Packers

There was a time when it was the team that mattered, not the individual. Old timers like me have memories of the Boston Celtics, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Braves as teams. Sure, there were the stars but they played within the context of the team and that's how we remember them, as members of a team. Not so anymore. Now there are the multi-millionaire prima donnas who want to define the political, philosophical, financial and managerial status of the organizations that made them. 

It is being reported that Aaron Rodgers is demanding that the Packers general manager be fired as a condition of his playing for the team this season. It is also being said that he has a particular team in mind that he wants to be traded to, and that he is actively recruiting fellow players to follow him. If true that is a sad commentary about Rodgers in particular and sports in general. Brett Favre, a former Green Bay quarterback tarnished his image forever by taking a somewhat similar tact. 

The Green Bay Packers is a professional football team that was founded in 1919. It has been consistently supported by a loyal fan base through some great and horrible years. And no matter who is on the field wearing the green and gold uniforms this season, the fans will be there for them. 

A Mother's Day to Remember

It's been four years since Maribel has been able to celebrate Mother's Day with her family and friends in Peru. Mother's Day means a lot to many women including Maribel so this year I was determined to do something special; something that she would remember for a long time. I'm not the most imaginative guy on the block so am pretty much limited to dinner at a nice restaurant and a memento that will be at least remembered if not cherished.

We've got a lot of local options for a nice dinner. You've got your Outback, Texas Roadhouse, Red Lobster, Smokey Bones, Ruth Chris Steak House and a host of others, but for today I wanted something above and beyond...something that spoke of opulence with quiet elegance. After an extensive internet search I found it - about an hour and a half drive in Summerville, Georgia. 

Jim's Family Restaurant may not look opulent from the outside, but on the inside it looks like...your basic family restaurant. Our fear of being underdressed quickly disappeared.

You can do the buffet or order off the menu, which had a surprising amount of choices. We both had fried chicken. For the sides I opted for coleslaw and a baked potato while Maribel selected the salad bar. We were told that the chicken would take 30 minutes because each order was cooked fresh. The time passed quickly as we discussed and drank in the ambience. The food came on time as promised, was delicious, and the service was outstanding. The check was a whopping $21.25 including tax but was worth every penny of it.

Maribel expressed her satisfaction with the dinner and thanked me for the day but I said we weren't done yet. I told her that I was taking her to a store, and that she could pick out anything she wanted for her Mother's Day gift - no restrictions. 

I was somewhat surprised that she didn't purchase anything. Goodwill always has a good selection of women's clothing, jewelry and other items of interest. When I asked if she'd like to go to another store she indicated that she wanted to go home...that it had been a full day and she'd had enough surprises for today. 

I am glad that I was able to give her a day to remember. Happy Mother's Day, amor! 

Villagers getting vaccinated

The Covid vaccine supply is increasing in Peru and those eligible in the outlying areas are showing up for their shots. Most of them don't have cars so they will rely on on their normal means of transportation to get to the vaccine sites.

What a Shame!

Liz Cheney will be removed as the  chair of the Republican Conference next week. It's not official yet but as one anonymous GOP member said, "The fix is in." And all because she refuses to genuflect to Trump or support his lies. Liz is a moderate conservative who is in a position and will do her part to push back at the left and help to get conservatives elected in 2022. But instead the GOP leadership, whoever they are, is doing everything they can to help the Democrats by keeping the Republican party derailed. 

One of the accusations against Liz is that she is not "supporting the message." What the hell is the message!? To continue to support unfounded lies? To continue to showcase the lunacy coming out of the mouths of some of the far-right supposed conservatives? I ask again, what is the message? There was a time when I thought I knew...when I thought I knew what conservative principals and values were and stood for. Not anymore. The obvious lack of a united direction evidenced by the absurd utterings from the likes of Trump, Cruz, Green, etc. is feeding right into the hands of Pelosi, AOC, Stacy Abrams and their ilk. 

There are outposts inside the GOP that are trying to restore unity and sanity. There is Adam Kinzinger's Country First, the Lincoln Project and several other organizations trying to get the party back on track but they won't succeed because they're splintered, not at all reflecting the 'unity' they claim to want to establish, which means that their voices are too soft and their numbers inconsequential. What little direction there is is following the path of Trumpism, which is no path at all. 

We may win back some seats in 2022 but no way will the GOP prevail in 2024...not as long as the party continues to act like one big Three Stooges comedy.

Buena Palta!!

His name was Camilo. He was my favorite fruit/vegetable peddler during my time in Chiclayo, Peru. Camilo died in April, 2020. To my knowledge he was one of the first in Chiclayo to succumb to Covid. 

Camilo was our alarm clock. Bright and early every morning except Sunday while on his route he would push his cart beneath our bedroom window while calling out, "Buena palta!" and "Veinticinco limones uno sol!" among other chants advertising his wares. Maribel's sister Magali was one of his regular customers.

I made up a little ditty based on one of Camilo's chants that we still sing whenever we're reminded of him.

Veinticinco limones uno sol
Veinticinco limones uno sol
Y tengo buen Milo
Cuarenta soles kilo
Veinticinco limones, Veinticinco limones

Veinticinco limones uno sol!

Camilo was one of those people who you just felt good being around. The local skuttlebutt is that he lived alone, had no family and that his body wasn't discovered until a fellow vendor noticed that Camilo's cart hadn't moved in two days. Everyone who knew him including me felt sad thinking about him living and dying alone. And yet he always seemed genuinely happy. Many people and cultures have an image of what death should be like...someone surrounded by friends and family while dying peacefully at home. When I think about it, that's probably my image also but I wonder what Camilo would say? Is there a distinction between living alone and living in loneliness? Is there a distinction between dying alone and dying in loneliness? 

Years ago in northern Wisconsin two old timers, Charley and Andy; former lumberjacks from the glory days of lumbering in the early 1900s lived by themselves in separate cabins some miles apart. The only time they saw each other or anyone else for that matter was when they showed up at Larry's tavern. Larry would cash their social security checks (and unregretfully watch Andy drink up a good portion of his check...Charley limited himself to one beer). Both had family in Milwaukee but rarely saw them. I had the impression that both preferred it that way. 

Andy was found dead one day laying outside of his cabin. He apparently died while splitting logs. Charley was found in his cabin laying on his couch, his head on a pillow and his hands behind his head. The television was on. Based on little more than observation and my interpretation I would bet that all three; Camilo, Charley and Andy lived their lives and died exactly as they wanted and expected to. I hope so.

To Charley and Andy, "sharp saws and axes", my friends. To Camilo, "Buena palta", amigo.