Well, well. What to make of the Epstein fuss? After careful deliberation, methinks I will stick to mediocre golf and good food, as the more I read about this business, the weirder it gets. Not that I don’t appreciate the entertainment value, but I fear it’s just another distraction, and Trump will once again slip away without a hitch.
I look forward to being wrong.
Some distractions are better than others. I prefer golf to pedophiles, although it’s looking like golf is a little less predictable. In my women’s league, last week I was DFL in my flight. That stands for Dead Fucking Last. This week I tied for low gross over the field.
I don’t understand why I can’t play well all the time, and it used to make me so mad. But now there’s The Great Big Picture Book of things to be mad about, so it was time to make peace with the ups and downs of recreational golf.
It’s better this way. Honestly, I’m just happy to be healthy and able to play. Double bogeys pale in comparison to masked men grabbing you off the street.
A friend of mine in Los Angeles is Mexican-American, born in the United States. I met her when we were both in the Army. She went on to get a PhD and taught at the university level. She’s retired now and recently wrote that she might start carrying her passport when she goes out. Because her skin is brown.
This was supposed to be about golf and food, but I seem to be combusting, so let’s just go with it. Among the multitude of things that fire me up are the little cross necklaces some of these despicable people wear for show. Pam Bondi for one. Karoline Leavitt for two.
Not exactly models of Christianity. Unless their bibles have a special section on the merits of fascism, viciousness and hypocrisy.
I have a special grudge against Karoline. In my career as a professional communicator, I often served as the company spokesperson. In some ways, it’s like being the conscience of the company.
Even when the news is bad, you have to find your organization’s truth and tell their story, and you have to tell it in a way that builds trust with your stakeholders – the public, customers, etc. We weren’t perfect, but we were always respectful to the media, and we didn’t blame them for our failures.
Karoline and these other spokespeople who work for Trump have made a mockery of this ideal. I think, well, they aren’t the conscience of the company, but then again, if the company is Trump, maybe they are. But it’s still a dagger to the heart of what I thought was an honorable career.
Back to food. Tomato season is in full swing. I made tomato pie, I start with a homemade biscuit crust and add well-drained sliced tomatoes, grated cheddar cheese, fresh basil, chopped chives and a sauce made from mayonnaise thinned with a little lemon juice. Top with more crust, slash and bake.
It’s like tomato shortcake. We ate half of it Thursday, and we’re eating the other half tonight.
Our Saturday night show of late has been Poldark on PBS Passport. It’s one of the few shows Dale will watch, so that’s good. But then we had an argument about it, so that’s bad. I can’t understand how we can be so combative over things that don’t matter.
There’s a character in the show named Verity. The family doesn’t want her to marry the love of her life, and it’s turning out to be a very big deal. I couldn’t understand why, so I Googled it. I explained some of my findings to Dale, who was pissed. Why wouldn’t I just wait to see how the story unfolded?
OK, he’s got a point. I don’t know why I jumped the gun, but I guess I won’t be doing it again anytime soon. Without Dale’s expert guidance, I’ve been managing to watch Ballard on Amazon Prime. It’s a Harry Bosch spin-off, which is never a bad thing.
Speaking of Harry, I’m on the waiting list at the library for Nightshade, a new Michael Connelly book featuring a detective on Catalina Island.
Golf, crosses, Mexican-Americans, spokespersons, food, TV…a dizzying array of topics. Way to go!
Still trying to figure out this writing business.
Those crosses are the dead giveaway.
A lifetime ago, Jerry Brown was running for president and the press always wanted to ask him about his yearly trip to Japan to sit zazen in a monastery, because it was weird and they wanted to make fun of him and call him Governor Moonbeam. But he would refuse to discuss it. He masterfully flipped the script on them by saying it was because, “If you exploit your spirituality, you lose it.”
I love that. Thank you.
Christians In Name Only.
Found out I forgot to cancel the free Prime trial so we’ve been watching Ballard. I enjoyed the books, although I’m not sure I read them all. I was on the hold list at the library for Nightshade. Unfortunately it just came in, and I’m enjoying three more weeks at the Oregon coast, which is at least 30 degrees cooler than where I live in a neighboring state. So back on the hold list.
How do you get your tomatoes dry enough, or does it depend on the variety? My daughter made a tomato pie, but she got the dreaded soggy bottom. And question for you regarding enchiladas, assuming you make those, how do you keep the tortillas from sogging up and falling apart after you cover them with sauce?
As for tomatoes, I don’t think variety matters. I peel and slice them, and then put them in a colander to drain for a couple of hours. I do think biscuit dough holds up better than regular pie crust for a pie this wet. My bottom crust isn’t soggy, but it’s not exactly crisp, either. But there’s so much crispiness on top, we don’t mind.
My enchiladas don’t sog up. I fry each tortilla in lard for a few seconds until there’s a hint of crispiness to them, but they are still pilable for rolling. The biggest issue is when you go to cut them after they are cooked. With all that goo in there, it’s easy to cut into the enchilada, making it more like a casserole than an actual roll.
Thank you! I’m making them for houseguests tonight so I’ll use your method.
I love the way you write. It’s stream of consciousness with a conscience.
I haven’t watched Poldark or Ballard but they are on our list. We are just finishing up six seasons of The Resident on Netflix, which we have found surprisingly good. Interesting storylines and some good commentary on our country’s broken medical system.
Thank you so much for the nice words about the way I write. Made my day!
I canceled my Netflix earlier this year, but I’m about to resubscribe. I believe Thursday Murder Club starts in August. I will check out The Resident. I do love that we have all these choices, even though it’s sometimes complicated to manage the subscriptions.
I’m watching The Resident right now too!! About halfway through Season 2 and I love it. I should have watched it before this.
As I recall, Poldark was a big deal here and yet I’ve watched neither the original nor the remake, but I totally get you googling to figure stuff out. I’m that way too. Himself and I watch ‘Slow Horses’, and I promised not to read ahead so that we could enjoy watching it together without my knowing what was coming. I lasted a year… and then I read what I believed to be a standalone book, only to read a reference to something BIG, and couldn’t wait. So I read the whole series. Himself is disappointed, if unsurprised.
The Epstein thing is quite something. I’ve started watching podcasts commenting on the news again, as the potential permutations are making for interesting listening. I will have to stop again, as it’s hard to keep away from thoughts of all those young girls being preyed upon. I can’t decide whether to hope that the Epstein thing brings down Trump, or to worry if JD would be even worse. Hey ho… I understand why you focus on good food – that tomato pie sounds amazing, and is something I’ve never heard of.
I watched one episode of Slow Horses, and I definitely needed to look stuff up! I am glad to know I’m not the only one who reads ahead. I tend to do it more when I think something bad is going to happen — it lessens my anxiety. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.
The Epstein thing is indeed quite something. I’ve gone down the rabbit hole and will need to stop, as it is making me depressed. They are so worried about these men, but as you said, what about the girls????? Nobody gives a hoot about them.
JD could be worse, but he doesn’t have the cult following that Trump has, so I would take it as a win.