A Pleasant Summer 2020 Evening

As a follow on to that afternoon veggie Aperitif, I used the leftovers with some my garden fresh baby carrots and potatoes on a bed of asparagus in my wok, topped off with sea scallops

I’m drinking with those, a 2005 Sonoma Valley, McCoy Vineyards Syrah.  I drink my wine 50-50% with water [after 75].  The evening has almost chilled down: thoughts of a fire, except we’re still a spare-the-air day. 

The tourists have mostly disappeared now, midweek.  I’ll get a haircut and a shave as soon as Doctor Mase opens the barber shop. 

Pleasant Summer 2020 Afternoons to come

An Aperitif with the daily crossword on my back deck.

A plate of organic radishes and snap peas, both fresh-washed from the ground, eaten raw; an alternate is celery or carrots with humus.

A lemon from my front yard, ice from my osmosis water filter, a base of Pellegrino, and a splash of local La Crema Chardonnay.

I’m getting ready.  Today’s radishes and snap peas are courtesy of Whole Foods in Sebastopol.  I have starts coming along in my garden, as well as full beds from seeds.

Cool northern ocean breezes have cooled things off this afternoon and made sitting on the deck pleasant.

WOW – tonight it was Khatia B. and Rachmaninoff.

She is the person I would love to be involved with in a tragic love affair.

She has heart,

  emotion,

 feeling for the music,

an understanding of despair,

a shaggy dog look in performance,

a great big smile,

and an abundant showy bosom.

Friday Night Memorial Day Weekend 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9RT2nHD6CQ

I’m listening to Anton Dvorak’s 9^th Symphony, the New World, a recording from 1991, the Munich Philharmonic, on utube.

I’m thinking of the two 32-year periods: the last spanning back to my return from England, late 1980’s, about when this was recorded, which defines my current life; and before that, back to the late fifties, when I went off to college at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, 1956.  

Way back when, this was one of those seminal pieces, that I listened to scores of times, in the UofA Student Union “listening room”. I would say that modern classical music was one my major classes at college.  Full props to my Mom, she raised me on the three B’s: Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven.  I could conduct the Fifth by age 11.  I recognized the styles of all the piano and violin virtuosos by the time I went away to college.

But college did what it was supposed to do, it opened my eyes to worlds beyond my worlds.  College altered my views in politics and history, literature and science, but also in music: Copland, Prokovief, Richard Strauss; and Leonard Bernstein taught the course, who I listened to every Saturday with his explanatory Children’s Performance by the New York Symphony.

I roamed the world for the 60’s-70’s, and 80’s, but always with seasons tickets to the local Symphony.

Listening tonight to the 1991 performance takes me back to those youthful days of my 20’s, the cocky young kid, with a mind-expanded view of the world, and his sure place within it, empowered by all these wonderful new composers and virtuosi.

Our Place in the Universe

Tiny misting raindrops this evening, falling all around us; nurturing our newly planted seedlings and seeds.  A momentary peace in our happy world: my cat naps, totally relaxed.

Whatever stress and tension there may have been, during the day, let it go and think of the wonder that we are but one insignificant planet within a single star’s orbit, within a giant galaxy containing billions of such stars, in every direction.

As the supposedly “smart” entity on this planet, we only figured this out a few years ago, in galactic time.

And if and when, you can ever get your mind around the immensity  and distances within our Milky Way Galaxy,

I think you may agree that you might need drugs to fully comprehend that our Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies, again in every direction – galaxies are being born, living for billions of years, and dying, in our universe.

This picture is so far out, that only a galaxy, and many are revolving spirals like ours, only the cumulative effect of billions of stars will show up on the photograph.  But as you can imagine, a telescope can only look at  very small picture of the universe at a time.  Multiply this by millions as you change the focus of the camera all around our globe.

Drive Ins - The New Economic Model

May 20, 2028

I turned 90 today.  I didn’t think I’d make it.  Who would have thought I’d open a business in my 80’s?  But Drive-ins were an acceptable short-term solution until Italy’s Dr. Corleone’s quinine-based shot in late 2024, which killed the virus in its tracks.

There weren’t many people left that remembered “drive-in’s”.  But after the restaurant business took a hold, I just ran the space allocations, any restaurant could join and many did..

I bought up large parking lots to start with and then created more.  I rented a 4 -8 spot section for a franchise, like KFC.  We’re talking 1000+plus parking slots.  I kept it to three franchises.  Everything was computer controlled.

I handled the minor problems: I called on County services for more serious problems.

This created a boom.  Soon others than food purveyors wanted to join in.  Initially manicures across the car window.  Then an avalanche of herbalists, pill-pushers, organic vegetables, entrepreneurial performance groups, and people wanting to show movies.

You went to Peter’s drive in to get something,

Eventually to get everything and anything.

 *  *  *

Back in 2020, I thought

I’ll be starting, when the State lifts the ban on under ten gatherings, showing movies in my back yard, where there’s room for 4-8 people, with distance. 

My plan is to, on the occasion, quickly put up three 4’ X 8’ plywood panels [painted movie screen white] against my back fence, up to the height of the clocks.  Pot luck food in the center.  Since it will start late – I think it should be coffee and desserts.

Tonight's Favorite is

khatiabuniatishvili

Verified

Debussy. Clair

Twilight Aromas

It’s twilight now, 6pm, the wind is still, my 49er flag droops unhappily (no games).  But it’s a wonderful time to walk the garden(s).  Walk down the curving front steps from my raised house, and you are immediately enveloped in the heavy romantic aroma of lemon blossoms, half mine, half my neighbors.  This scent always reminds me of Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, unexpected, but enchanting.

Down the border between neighbors, I have found that Clematis vine survives floods, little sun, and poor care.  But this year, the enriching flood waters of the past flood, have spurred all my Clematis all over the yard and deck to come early and strong.  Their aroma is mild and fleeting, but if the Clematis immerses one in a thicket, it is exotic.

Mostly far back on my property are dense groves of Jasmine.  There is no missing these from far away, it is an erotic perfume.  Jasmine flourishes on my property, and so one runs into patches of Jasmine everywhere, front to back, and it reminds one of its’ captivating scent.

Class Story 098 Susan Kutner cooks a Formal Christmas Feast – 1978

 

Picture 1 The Guest List and Menu from Christmas 1978

I seem to have been very wise, lo those many years ago, and made sure I wrote down who came and what we had to eat.  There are three people who were invited but didn't come to this party.  Marjorie was another ex-girlfriend, but our thing was kinky so she didn't like to mingle with others.  Dick Andrews my father had other things going on in Carmel.  And Paul Whitehead had started living with Jeadra Bratko and was avoiding me.

As the guests arrived, there were platters of half a dozen different kinds of canapes including wonderful mushrooms and Susan's own home-made Pate.  We were serving the Pierrier-Jouet champagne while people mingled and met each other.

Picture 2 Amy Farris and GeorgAnne Taylor (Cindy's sister) left of Donna and Jay, Lois Grushka (Bill's girlfriend) on the right

Susan and Michelle 

My room mate at this time was Susan Kutner, who was attending the San Francisco Culinary Arts Institute to become a chef.  She simply jumped at the chance to do any and all cooking.  I love to tell the story of how she cooked up oysters twenty different ways for me and my friends after I'd brought back five pounds of shucked oysters in dry ice from a New Orleans business trip.  We ate oysters every way imaginable for two weeks.  Bill used to come over on Saturday mornings because she would be trying croissants, 3 or 4 batches, each better than the last.

When everyone was seated at the table, out came courses of oysters with caviar, escargots, and frog legs.  Enough so everyone could sample to their hearts content.  There were two soups, a clam broth, and a lobster bisque.  This was about the time we brought out a lovely Montrachet.  We finished up the Montrachet with small game hens served with some tomato aspic.

 

Picture 3 Donna Roberts and Jay Notter.  When Donna went through her mid-life crisis (younger men) she dumped Jay and he sued for palimony, and won.  Donna was a party girl.  She  once threw a party at her house and when she first entered the room, she exclaimed, "I've slept with every man here!" Then she exited in grand style.

This had been a year for parties, my fortieth birthday being a biggie.  We decided to do it up right and have 16 people and as much food as she could prepare.  She came up with a tentative menu and Bill and I scoured the wine stores for appropriate wine selections to go with the food.  I redecorated the house with Christmas wreaths, paper, and rugs on the walls, which you will see in the pictures.  You'll note that the guest list with Bill and I added in totals 19 people, but as I say, there were three who didn't make it so it was 16 eating and two people serving.

 

Picture 4 Bonnie Jones (who I had adored for the past decade), Steve Huggins and Jim Boileau from work at Standard Oil in San Francisco

This was on a Saturday night, December 16^th, 1978.  We planned it to be a three hour dinner and Susan had the whole meal on a time schedule.  People started arriving promptly at 7:00 PM and we mingled over canapés.  I had arranged for the rental of two serving tables, put into an "L" shape, and also all the dishes, glasses and cutlery.  I put tremendous care into selecting the guests for their ability to mix and match in this sort of setting.  I insisted that the men dress up as much as possible and many went along with me and wore tuxedos.  This was a turn out of beautiful people and the women shone in pretty dresses and hair done up.

  

Picture 5 Rita and I had been divorced for at least five years but were now again running a lingerie shop together.

Picture 6 Will and Amy Farris.  Will was Viet Nam vet and a little crazy, but he had a beautiful wife.

I had made up two sets of place cards because Susan and I agreed that we would take a break between the game hens and the beef.  People need to get up and stretch, smoke, pee, etc.  I also wanted a different seating arrangement for the Meal, Part II.  People tend to withdraw into smaller groups and we already were beyond the maximum group size of 7 at each table, so there would be two conversations at each table.  I was trying to force the intermingling of my several sets of friends; Steve, Will, Sally, Bill, Jim, and I all worked in computers downtown.  Trita, Bonnie, and Donna were from the Champagne Taste North Beach crowd.  Jane, Lois, GeorgeAnne, and Cindy were local Bernal Heights neighborhood people.  Rita, Jane, Donna, and Cindy were all current or ex, wives or girlfriends of mine.

Picture 7 Cindy Taylor and I were currently going together. She was Donna's partner in a Real Estate firm, Brown Bear Realty. Rita and Will Farris

We started the second seating with a scampi course and at this time, we brought out the first red, a '64 Bonnes Mares.  We moved on to Beef Wellington, a traditional English holiday dish.  The final red was served, a '61 Margaux, along with the Beef Wellington, Susan also presented roasted pheasant stuffed with chestnuts, and broccoli.

  

Picture 8 Me with Jane Blair. She and I lived together at Treat Street for a few years. She had three kids and believed in breast feeding until school-age.

Susan and Michelle were magical at whisking away all the plates and glasses and completely resetting the tables during the 15-20 minute break.  Also we'd already eaten enough rich food to stuff a pig and we were only half done, so we really needed that break.  I wish I had pictures of the people at the tables and the food.  But once the guests were seated, Susan didn't have a spare second for posing people into pictures.

 

Picture 9 Jane Blair, me, then Cindy

Picture 10 Bill Campbell and Bonnie Jones

There were several classical Christmas desserts, including a flaming brandied plum pudding and then something called a Christmas bush, a pyramid of sort of cream-puff balls, sprinkled with powered sugar when the mountain has been constructed.  We had two, one French and one German.