In the Headlights

Gwen Roland

I recently did a post about the fact that Atchafalaya Houseboat, Gwen Roland's book was going to be the subject of a documentary on PBS, August 31 at 10:30 PM.

I said I couldn't find my 2006 post about the book, but just now found it. Thanks, Google.

I think one of the reasons for my fascination with Roland and the book is that it took us to a primeval Eden, one attainable, perhaps even today, with enough hard work. I guess I lived vicariously with Gwen and Calvin.  I found it interesting that her retrospectoscope, at least according to the documentary, doesn't view it quite that way.

A couple of days ago, I received, to my delight, an email from Gwen herself.  It was prompted by the fact that she thinks we look like we might be kin, maybe with a not-too-remote branching of the family tree.  Who knows?  It pleases me to think it might be so.

In the meantime, Gwen is a writer on a number of topics.  She pens a monthly piece on sustainable agriculture for Mother Earth News, and continues to live a responsible, seemingly idyllic existence.  In this case, the grass probably really IS greener.

Thanks for the email, Cousin Gwen.  I'll be happy to attend the next family reunion.

[Image via Mother Earth News]

Atchafalaya Houseboat, 30 Years Later

I read and blogged about a book that was given to me by my friend Cate, who told me that it reminded her of me (for no reason that I can fathom):  Atchafalaya Houseboat:  My years in the Louisiana Swamp.  That was June 12, 2006.  I can find it by searching the archives, but can't seem to link to it.

It was the story of Gwen Roland and Calvin Voisin, who, in the 1970's escaped "civilization" by building a houseboat on which they lived in the Louisiana Bayou for nearly ten years.  They lived pretty much as our pioneer ancestors would have, catching and growing their food, trading for other goods. 

One of the people they met then was C.C. Lockwood a wonderful nature photographer.  He photographed Gwen and Calvin  over those years.  One of them was featured in National Geographic's 100 Best Pictures.

Now, thirty years later, Louisiana Public Broadcasting has produced a documentary about those days, as well as a retrospective view of the tim, hosted and narrated by Gwen Roland, the program features many of Lockwood's gorgeous photos of the swamp, evoking its beauty and making me yearn for such a life, surrounded by nature, sleeping when it's dark, working hard, eating well, sharing your life with animals and a afew Bayou denizens. 

The show airs August 31 at 10:30 PM Eastern Time.  I had the privilege to preview it.  The sheer visual beauty of the setting and the photos is enough to make it must-see.  Roland's commentary and her meeting with Voisin and Lockwood after thirty years is also compelling, as is her retrospective view of her life back then and the twists and turns it has taken since.   Looking back is somewhat difficult for her, perhaps not the idyllic hindsight I'd have expected, but the reality we all experience looking closely at our pasts.

[Purchase CC Lockwood's book at buy.com]

[Image of Gwen Roland today from Fresh Fiction]

Reading More, These Days

I recently discovered how easy it is to decide to do a post every few days instead of one or two each day.  Now I understand why some authors sit at their computers at the same time every day and dedicate a certain number of hours to writing.  Otherwise it all unravels so quickly.

Thanks to the folks who noticed I haven't been posting.  I'll blame some of it on my work schedule, and some on an ennui that has descended on me.  Hoping for changes soon.

Today, I'd like to share with you a trilogy I just finished.  Thanks, Bro for the birthday present.  I'd never heard of Kim Stanley Robinson, who is apparently quite prolific.  The "Science in the Capitol" trilogy consists of Forty Days of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below, and Sixty Days and Counting.

The books feature an intelligent take on science and spitirualism, with Tibetan Buddhists figuring side by side with National Science Foundation eggheads.  The character dynamics are charming and intelligent, the political commentary (though it's a novel, many real people are cited, and some of the characters pretty transparently represent real people.)

The books are intelligent without being condescending.  Love and betrayal, espionage and spiritual enlightenment are woven throughout.  There are many LOL moments, and many more thoughtful bits.

The background is the global warming crisis, and weather catastrophes figure prominently. These books, however, propose to actually DO something about the weather.  It goes through national and global political hoops to suggest some scientific suggestions (Would they work?  Who knows?  It's a novel.) to try to combat and reverse rising carbon dioxide levels. 

I marked many passages, here's one, near the end of the final novel.  The Panchen Lama (the one chosen by the Chinese, who is in exile) is speaking with Frank and Charlie, two of the books' main characters about reincarnation.  Frank has just said that the Dalai Lama claims to be just an ordinary man.

"I am even more ordinary, as you know."

"So why should you continue to believe you are the reincarnation of some previous person?"

"We are all such.  You know---one's parents."

"Yes, but you're talking about something else.  Some wandering spirit, moving from body to body."

"We all have those too."

"But identifiable, from life to life?"

Drepung (Panchen Lama) paused, then said, "I myself think that this is a heuristic device only."

Charlie laughed.  "A teaching device?  A metaphor?"

"That's what I think."...

"And what does that teach us?" Frank asked.

"Well, that you really do go through different incarnations, in effect.  That in any life, your body changes, and where you live changes--the people in your life, your work, your habits.  All that changes, so much that in effect you pass through several incarnations in any one biological span.  And what I think is, if you consider it that way, it helps you not to have too much attachment.  You go from life to life.  Each day is a new thing."

All this spiritualism and a good recipe for a marinade too, from President Phil Chase's blog:

"What I do is mix soy sauce and a dry white wine about half and half, and then add a big dash or tarragon vinegar, and some heaping spoonfuls of brown sugar, and a tablespoon of olive oil, about a teaspoon each of ginger and mustard powder, and a dash of garlic powder.  Mix that up and the longer you marinate things in it the better but just dipping in it will do too.  Best on veggies, chicken and flank steak.  Sear the meat and then cook at a lower heat."

I loved these books.  Hope you will too.

The Mane Event

I have a lot of odds and ends of shampoo and conditioner lying around.  When my Mom buys something to try and doesn't like it, she gives it to me.  Then there are literally dozens of little hotel bottles I've accumulated over time.  I like to switch them around.  I think it works better that way.

I used to like Vidal Sassoon conditioner, and Mom gave me an old bottle a year or so ago, which I just finished.  Next time I went to the store, I looked for more, but couldn't find any.  Don't know if they no longer market in grocery stores, but it wasn't there.

However, I spotted something else I had heard of:  "Mane and Tail" conditioner.  I'd read about this stuff.  It was originally used for grooming horses, then word got around that it did a great job on human hair as well.  So I bought a bottle.  Something like $3.59 for a quart.  I've used it a couple of times, and it does a great job of conditioning my hair, leaving it shiny and tangle free.

It's a real animal product.  The horse pictures on their website are amazing.  I'd kill for hair like that... 

Next stop:  Mane and Tail shampoo.

The conditioner is a great product.

Broadway Ballroom

Last weekend, a friend and I went to see "Simply Ballroom" at the Times Union Center in Jacksonville.

It was fun.  Hosted by a couple of American Idol finalists, Anthony Federov and Vonzell Solomon (season 4)who did introductions and sang, it featured ten couples dressed in ballroom show gowns doing numbers which showcased typical dances, like the quick step, waltz and swing, with a bit of introduction about the dances themselves. 

The dancers were good, though we could tell they weren't all ballroom dancers.  Some appeared to be Broadway dancers doing ballroom numbers. Equally adept doing amazing things on stage. Tom would comment "You can tell she isn't ballroom trained.  She keeps bending her knee doing the cha-cha," and the like.

Some didn't seem very into it, though one part, when they competed against each other seemed to bring out the best in the dancers.

Debbie Reynolds was the featured star.  She held the stage a few times, telling stories about her days in Hollywood, and jokes about her multiple husbands.  She talked about her first role in "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly, and pretending to Mr. Kelly when she met him that she could dance.  She even sang one of her hits, "Tammy."

The show was a lot of fun.  I take ballroom lessons whenever I can fit them into my schedule.  Good exercise and incredible fun, so I can at least appreciate some of the moves the dancers were making. 

Strange Brew

I heard from one of my dance instructors that absinthe is back in the stores.  I thought it was illegal due to addictive and psychoactive properties. I remembered that it was the favorite drink of the French impressionists.  I had read that Van Gogh's strange visuals were attributed to his intake of absinthe.  An ingredient called wormwood was held responsible.

Tom said they saw it on the counter of a liquor store, and bought it out of curiosity.  It was 101 proof, green and tasted nasty, like licorice.  He managed to get three fingers of it down, all the same.  Sounded to me like Ouzo or Raki, but they are diluted with water.  I found when I checked the Wikipedia link above, that absinthe also is diluted and cloudy when drunk, and probably a lot more palatable.

Apparently, the drink itself holds no qualities not found in other 100-proof alcoholic beverages.  It has been banned in the U.S., where a grande-wormwood-free product called "Absente" was sold.  However, in 2007, the ban was lifted and several brands can be legally sold.  They must be "thujone-free". Thujone was once thought to be a THC relative.  Interestingly, lots of legal products, like bitters and sage oil, contail thujone and are perfectly legal.

Speaking of strange brews, I was listening to NPR a few days ago.  They were interviewing Christiane Jory who wrote a book called The 99 ¢ Only Cookbook.  At one point, she saw a woman buying a bottle of wine at the 99 ¢ store.  She thought she had nothing to lose...and tried a bottle.  And liked it.  She said when she tried the Sauvignon Blanc, she knew she wine for the Summer...Sauvignon Blanc is my current wine fave...

Then someone mentioned Two-Buck Chuck, a good Charles Shaw wine available at Trader Joe's and other stores for about two bucks.

*  *  *  *  *

My sister and her kids were visiting this week.  They stayed at the beach but drove in every day, so I got to see they a few days running.  Amazing how fast the kids are growing up.  They're 8 and 10 now, and incredibly funny.

  Yesterday was my birthday.  It was wonderful.  I slept in, then went to the Mandarin Art Fair with Sandy.  We bought a lot of little stuff--earrings, a macrame choker and anklet, wind chimes.  It was great fun.  Then I went to a dance lesson, home to goof off, and then out to dinner with Sandy and Kathy.  We went to Marker 32.  I had a couple of Hendrick's gibsons, a diver scallops appetizer and a great piece of grouper.  Dessert was an ice cream and berry dish, and we split a a tres leches.  Much too sweet for my taste.

Pretty much a perfect birthday.  Thanks, buds.

[Image of Edgar Degas's L'Absinthe borrowed from Wikipedia.  Gibson taken by me at Marker 32, with my ATT Tilt.)

Weekend Greetings

It's been almost a week since my last post.  I find myself writing posts in my head as I drive down the road, but coming home and eating and sleeping have taken priority lately.

Interestingly, my number of hits hasn't gone down this last week.  Testament to the effectiveness of Google;  evidence to me that the bulk of my readers are accidental.  Not to slight you loyal visitors, just saying.

I downloaded my pictures from White Oak and decided to get some printed.  I copied almost 40 of them onto a CD, and took it to a local drug store and had them printed.  Much easier to share with friends.  Here are some of them:

This is Hazari, the baby cheetah playing tug of war with Kadir, the Andalusian Shepherd.  They are now five months old, and chase each other, play with toys and get petted.  Not a bad life.

Here's something else I found interesting.  An Indian rhino being fed carrots and petted.  I learned that rhinos can run up to 40 miles an hour.  Anyway, this rhino got turned, and I couldn't resist getting a photo. Weirdest thing I ever saw. Looked like a bromeliad. Forgive me.

Be back soon.

My So-Called New Life

Dear Friends, Relatives, Colleagues, Romans, Countrymen, devoted readers, blah, blah,

It is fitting that today's post will be late, part of my new laissez-faire attitude toward blogging.  Though I also blame it on this stupid early daylight saving time rollback.

  But I digress.  For over 2 1/2 years, I have blogged on a schedule.  First, two posts at 1 and 5, and more recently, once a day at 1 PM.

Lately, other things have been crowding my schedule.  I'm preparing to take a recertification exam.  We are moving to a new workplace in a month, lock, stock and pussy-cat.  And work's been a bear.  I have a number of trips coming up, some work, some pleasure.  And I squeeze in a dance lesson when I can.

And so it's become too too.  The things that should relax and divert me have become deadlines and pressure.  I'd come in late from work, and know I had to pre-post something for the next day, and get it done before I went to bed, because it sure wasn't going to happen in the morning if I expect to be at work by 0630. 

For that reason, I am going off-schedule with the blog.  No more daily posts.  I'll post  when I have something to say.  And I have plenty to say.  I'll keep going with books and movies I find interesting, good recipes, and places to travel, interesting things and people.  But I won't push myself to post when I have no ideas.  (Oh, God, now I feel the ideas rushing into my head...).

I won't have to prepost for trips, or take the computer for short trips.  Besides, now I can do short posts from my cell phone if I have something to share.

I know I'll lose some readers, I realize that some will migrate away after checking a few times and finding nothing to divert them.  Others will stick it out.

I have to do what I have to do.  Thanks for your help and support as we go through this transition.  Hopefully, In the Headlights will be a better blog for the change.

[Image of Harold Lloyd in Safety Last from Wikipedia]

Alice, Let's Eat

I love to eat.  I love to read.  I live to read.  I live to love.  I eat to live.  I eat to ...read?

Anyway, they're pretty important aspects of my life, so no surprise that I love reading Calvin Trillin.  After reading About Alice a few months back, I picked up a few other Trillins that I had missed.  This was one. 

It's a republication of a book of articles originally published in 1978.  I wouldn't have known it if I hadn't looked at the flyleaf.  The material is as fresh and fun as if it had been penned last month.

The theme is more or less that Trillin yearns to try every good meal (particularly regional delicacies) in every good restaurant he reads about (and his agents are everywhere) as his lovely wife tries to limit him to three meals a day, and occasionally attempts to get him to diet. 

The most mentioned restaurant is Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, famed for its barbecue, but he is on no less a quest for the best fried chicken or country ham.  He also seeks out Dungeness crab and oyster loaf, pizza and barbecued mutton.  And just about every type of food to be found in Louisiana, though most of it is ingested in New Orleans.  He does eat some things I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, but it just goes to show that chacun a son gout.  Imagine the accents where they belong.

It is part travelogue, part food journal, part intimate portrait of a marriage.  Alice herself is a gourmet cook (married to a gourmet/gourmand, what's not to like there), who is addicted to good food, particularly dessert, and most particularly, chocolate. 

The real amazing thing here is that I have never seen photos of Calvin or Alice Trillin where they look the least bit overweight.  That's the real secret I'd like to discover.

[Image from Barnes & Noble, where they also have an interview with Trillin.]

Cheetah Lady

One of the coolest things about this staying at White Oak last weekend was meeting Laurie Marker.

Ms. Marker is the world's expert on cheetahs.  Deemed so by no less than Smithsonian Magazine, which has a feature article on her in the March issue.

This striking-looking woman is also striking in her intelligence and dedication.  Devoted to animal welfare all her life, she moved to Namibia in 1991, founding the Cheetah Conservation Fund.  Not only did she do research into breeding these difficult-to-rear animals, discovering a lack of genetic variability low sperm counts, she intervened on a grass-roots level, visiting farmers to help them find ways to protect their cattle without killing cheetahs.

Anyway, this very cool woman with the infectious smile partied with us for the weekend, and on Sunday, captivated the audience as we watched cheetahs chase a rabbit pelt around a track.  They didn't get up to the speed  they do in the wild.  They didn't have to, not being hungry.  But the cheetahs put on a great show, and Ms. Marker's comments gave us all a sense of understanding these magnificent cats.

She is also responsible for discovering the benefits of a breed of dogs called the Andalusian Shepherd.  These dogs are very protective and have been used to guard farmers' flocks from cheetahs and other predators in Namibia.  So it's not surprising that at White Oak, when they needed a companion to grow up with orphaned cheetah Hazari, they took Laurie's recommendation and got an Andalusian pup named Kadir to be her foil and playmate for life.  He outweighs her big time now, but she's got the attitude and agility to be his equal.  They're five months old now, playing tug-of-war; one of the most charming success stories you could ever hope to see.

[Image taken with my ATT Tilt, simply because I had nowhere to carry my Panasonic Lumix camera.]