The Great Pumpkin Patch, Birth Control pills - and other freakishly large plants.

In the late summer of 1994, I was working weekends as a CNA at the Good Samaritan Home in Quincy, IL, while attending nursing school during the week to receive my LPN license. 


The charge nurse (RN) on the floor that I was regularly assigned to came to work  very late one particular Saturday morning.  She was a straight woman, but for all practical purposes, she resembled a butchy little bulldog-like lesbian.  Nothing broke this woman. She was a strong leader, and nothing seemed to phase her one way or the other.  On this Saturday morning, around 9:00 AM, I was starting to get worried.  Janet was normally at work at 7:00 AM.  She had not called the nursing home to report car trouble, or that she was ill. We heard nothing from her. 


When she did manage to get to work, she almost crawled through the door, and slumped back to her office down the hallway, away from the rest of the crew and the patients.  The second she hit the doorway, I noted that her eyes were beet red and swollen from crying.  The weeping and wailing sounds that came from her office were a pretty good indicator that she was very upset!  I thought she had a car accident on the way to work, or that she had just experienced a death in the family.


I was the only staff member that was brave enough to enter her office, and ask Janet if she was "OK", and that she should perhaps go back home for the day.  In between her gasping sobs, and the copious tears flowing down her cheeks, she managed to tell me the details.


This woman taked extreme pride in her pumpkin patch each year.  Janet's pride and joy was growing the huge pumpkin (from seed) that usually sits in a big antique horse-drawn wagon at the entrance of county fairs.  Each year, giant pumpkins get bigger and bigger.  You can find resources on-line for seeds for proven giant pumpkins. They might not be cheap, but with GREAT care, they will grow a giant for you!  This year's record breaker, for example, weighs 1,810.5 lbs.  Janet's prize show pieces often reached the 1,000 pound mark. 


Before her unhappy trek to work, the evening before, the Quincy, IL area had a severe thunderstorm.  The storm knocked over a wooden fence on Janet's farm, and broke the stem of this year's giant pumpkin.  At the time of the mishap, the pumpkin weighed in at 600 lbs.  A 600 lb. pumpkin is a huge beast, by most people's standards, but it was barely over half way grown, according to Janet's previous prized pumpkins. (Say that without using a "P"!)

The care for her "babies" goes far beyond the normal pumpkin patch in the average garden.  The seeds from previous strains of giant pumpkins are carefully selected.  When the vine starts to grow, only ONE pumpkin per vine is allowed to mature.  If pumpkin growers would allow more than one pumpkin to grow on a vine, each giant gourd would be competing for nutrients, thus making each one smaller than their full potential size.  In addition, when the pumpkin is very small, she places it on a wooden skid, to avoid the bottom rotting out of the giant as it grows.  Her other secret is this:


Janet was close friends with several local doctors.  They carried sample packets of birth control pills (yes, human birth control pills!) in their offices.  She would ask them to reserve for her any outdated packets.  They would willingly give away their surplus to her.  This woman was in her late 50's - there was no actual need for her to have the birth control pills, other than to feed her giant pumpkin.  Janet found the right solution to mix the ground birth control pills with, then with an IV bag, line and needle, she would attach her 'birth control IV' to the stem of the growing pumpkin.  It is this solution that made her already-huge pumpkins even bigger.  Trust me when I tell you that these pumpkins are purely for show, and not for consumption!


Personally, I found a great alternative to using Miracle Gro on my own plants.  My standard fertilizer is, in fact, Miracle Gro, and I strongly recommend my readers to fertilize their plants at the required intravals.  Humans and animals can't survive on water alone, and neither can plants. 


At any rate, when I had lots of fish aquariums (fresh water!  The salt could be damaging!), I found a recipe from an early 1980's Mother Earth News Magazine that I that I started using in the early 1990's:


(Each ingredient is responsible for a nutrient that plants crave!)


* One 5 gallon bucket of water that you drain from your aquarium (or pond!) as you do a water change
* the heads of an entire book of unburned matches (either cut the heads off, or throw the entire book of matches in)
* 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid
* 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts
* 2 rust nails, a rusty hinge, or something rusty of similar size


Mix all ingredients, and let sit one week.  You can dilute this mixture, and water more frequently, or use this solution on outdoor plants once a week, and once a month on indoor plants.


The results:
I started that spring with 6 tomato plants, but the squirrels ate 4 of the 6, leaving me with 2.  In November of that year, I froze, canned and gave away as many as I could.  I still had to throw away over 100 huge tomatoes from those two vines - and that was after I had actively kept the vines tended to during the summer months.


I also grew standard "Heavenly Blue" Morning Glories on a chain link fence.  When these Morning Glory vines bloomed, I rarely saw a green leaf because of the thick coverage of blooms!  What a wonderful wall of BLUE each morning!  At the end of summer, after the vines died, we I had to get help to pull the vines off the fence.  We rolled up that thick mat of vines, and it looked like one of those huge rolls of baled hay.  Our next task was to load it on the back of a truck, and take it to a natural landfill!


Then...the marigolds. Yes, standard marigolds.  Their average height should have been 18", and the heads on the flowers should have been no more than an inch and a half across.  BEFORE they fell over, these morning glories grew to 6 FEET tall, with their stems as big as your wrist, and the flowers on the end of these honkin' stems looked like giant football mums!


These days, Mark won't allow me to have an aquarium (he's weird like that!), so I use off-the-shelf Miracle Gro, with decent results.  BUT...the Miracle Gro is **absolutely** no comparison to this Mother Earth News find!


Move over with your birth control pills, Janet! I'm on my way up!  :)


- Michael




   

My own little (true!) Ghost story! AKA: "The things a nurse is obliged to do!"

My own little (true!) Ghost story!
AKA:  "The things a nurse is obliged to do!"


Before I became inactive in the medical field, I worked as a nurse for a very well known local (St. Louis, MO area) home health care / private services provider.  If I would go back into the medical field, I would  not be interested in facility (hospital / nursing home) care, and I would only accept a private duty case.  Private duty is not without it's own share of problems, but they can pale in comparison to the antics that facility nurses have to deal with.


Anywho - back to the spooks.


If an employee of a private duty nursing service loses a patient, whether it is due to the patient's death, or the family decides to remove their relative from private duty care, that particular nurse or nurse's aide can be 'between cases' for a length of time.  In order to work enough hours to sustain his or her livelihood, that employee often goes to emergency cases, such as if another employee of the agency quits without notice, or a family has a nursing emergency (the patient need care for a couple days before they can get into a nursing facility, etc). 


In this particular instance, I was 'between cases', and I was called in to help with a quadriplegic man, aged 74.  This man was a functional lawyer up to the incident that caused his paralysis.  When he was 14, he was playing with a gun with his childhood friend, and the friend accidentally shot his right arm off! 


In the area they lived in, there were no large hospitals, and in those days, many people went to the corner pharmacist when a doctor wasn't available.  The boys ran to the corner pharmacist, and he skillfully closed the boy's stub in the back room of the pharmacy. 


There was one thing the pharmacist (and most surgeons of the day) was not aware of at that time.  If the nerve(s) are not cut back much farther than the actual stump, the patient will experience phantom pain and phantom sensations.  This was the case with my patient.  He was 72 yrs. old, and still having severe chronic phantom pain in his stub.  He went to a young surgeon (in 1997!) that promised a quick surgery to remove those painful nerves, and that surgery would require only an overnight stay in the hospital.  To make a long story longer: 


The surgery to end his pain was a little TOO successful.  Even though this procedure was a simple operation, and today would definitely be an outpatient surgery, the man had a stroke on the operating table, and became quadriplegic!  Needless to say, his career as a prominent lawyer was over. 


This man and his wife lived in a 1970's reproduction of a huge English Tudor-style mansion in a wealthy area between the suburbs of Ladue and Chesterfield, MO.  Technically, his house was right behind the huge Mormon Temple that is visible from I-40.


My shift was 7:00 PM - 7:00 AM.  I will never work nights again as long as I live, but I digress.  The first night I was sitting in front a huge walk-in fireplace with this man's wife.  We were having casual conversation, and watching the fire.  Please keep in mind that any time during this story, the  only people in the house were myself, and this elderly couple.  It was about 10:00 PM, and I heard VERY **LOUD** music coming from an old radio, laughter and lots of conversation coming from the adjacent kitchen.  There was nobody in the kitchen, and there was no radio in that kitchen.  My eyes must have grown to the size of silver dollars, but I tried to maintain a professional decorum.  I didn't even flinch, and I kept the conversation with the wife going.  She wouldn't even look at me.  She had an obviously frightened look on her face, and  avoided eye contact with me.  Eventually, the noise in the kitchen got so loud that I leaned around and looked her dead in the eye and said, "Am I the only one in this house that is aware of a loud party happening in the kitchen, and we weren't invited???"  She answered me, "I don't care what they do in there, as long as they don't hurt us!"  That was my first clue!


One of the haunts in this house didn't like me, in particular. When we worked an overnight shift, depending on the particular case, we were allowed to slumber, or sleep, depending on the patient's wishes and needs.  The 'gentleman' (GHOST!) that was causing the problem would have been in his mid-30's, I would say. He had a great radio announcer voice.  He had a particular issue with me when I was  in the music parlor. I would lay on a love seat next to the piano, and this ghost would torture the Hell out of me until I left the room!


I was on the case for two weeks. I usually arrived at the house 15 minutes before my shift started - at 6:45 PM. This is a semi-gated community, and I wasn't aware that they locked one gate of the neighborhood at 7:00 PM, leaving only one entrance / exit open.  One night, I was running a bit late, and I would have arrived at the house at 6:55 PM, just 5 minutes before my shift was scheduled to start.  This time period was before GPS was available, and the management had already locked the only entrance that I had used up until this point, and I didn't know the location of the alternate entrance.   I had to use the Mapquest print out that I still had in my truck to try to find the other entrance.  This area of St. Louis County is very heavily wooded, with no street lights.  It is VERY dark at night, and it was almost impossible to see street signs.  Nobody would have said anything to me if I was a minute or two late, but I am known for being prompt.  I arrived at the house at 6:59 PM.  I was standing in the foyer by the grand (carpeted) stair case, with my back to the front door, facing the rest of the house, getting report from the young man that worked the previous shift.  This man was in his early 20's, and was as much of a testosterone-filled, straight man with a lot to prove to the world as he could be.  We were standing next to the banister of the winding stair case.  Our report was interrupted by the stairs squeaking.  We both glanced down at the steps at the same time.  With every squeak from the steps, we could see foot steps being formed in the carpet, going up the steps. Remember that on this particular occasion, I was facing the balcony - the rest of the house, with the front door to my back.  As he was giving report, I could see a dark grey figure going from room to room up on the balcony.  I didn't say a word to the other employee.  After he saw the foot prints forming in the carpet, this manly young man looked at me with complete and utter fear in his eyes.  Again, I didn't flinch.  He quickly left the house, and went home for the night.  I don't think he got out of the driveway when a huge voice boomed from the balcony above me.  With childish, mocking laughter, he (the GHOST!) said, "Ha Ha Ha HA HA! You were almost late!"  The foot prints that we saw forming, and that we heard on the steps belonged to the grey ghostly figure that I saw upstairs that, a few minutes later:  He was mocking me!


That night, I decided to avoid the parlor like the plague, and I rested on the sofa in front of that huge smoke stained fireplace.  As always, I was laying face-down on the sofa.  I can never sleep well on my back.  I was awakened by a firm hand - and I mean FIRM on my upper thigh (OK, he almost grabbed my butt!)  I woke up, rather startled.  I tried to reach my harm behind me and pry the bony fingers off that were stuck firmly on my ass!  When I discoveredt that I wasn't strong enough to remove the hand that held me, I slid my foot down the bony leg that was sitting on the end of the sofa.  My bare foot got caught in the cuff of "his" pants.  I eventually wiggled my toe out of the cuff, and continued to slide my foot down 'his' bony shin.  I found a crumpled-up sock gathered around a bony ankle before I hit what felt like a well polished, firm dress shoe.  My big toe finally reached the floor. Suddenly, I felt the firm grip release from my behind, and I could finally raise myself up off the sofa.  I looked over my left shoulder, and into the bedroom that was located some distance down the hallway. I could see the quadriplegic man exactly where I left him a couple hours earlier (of course!), and his wife was sound asleep beside him.


The following evening, when I was receiving report from the same young man, I was the one facing the door, and he was facing the balcony and the rest of the house.  Once again, we heard the steps creaking... and we both looked down at the same time.  I am here to tell you that Casper the Friendly Ghost didn't have crap on the color of this kid!   He was **WHITE**!  He gulped loudly.  The young man tried to continue his report. He stammered a bit, then stopped talking completely.  His eyes were huge with fear, and they were darting back and forth.  He was watching the same grey ghostly figure that I saw the night before, walking back and forth on the balcony above.


Early the next day, I got a call from my nurse manager.  She told me that this particular agency had dropped this case!!  Playing dumb, I asked  her why they dropped a $12,000 / month case.  I said, "Are they going to put the patient in a nursing home, or did they hire a private individual that might have been a bit cheaper?"  I knew very well why they were pulling our services, but I didn't say a word to her about it.  She finally gave in and told me, "I have had many reports from my staff of things happening in that home, and the reason you (ME!) are working on that case is that several nurses have called me and told me that they won't go back to that house!"  Playing even dumber, I asked her, "Why?  What's the problem?"  She said, "There have been a lot of unexplained things happen in that house, and it has gotten to the point where I can no longer guarantee the safety of our staff!"  I finally admitted to her that I knew very well what she was talking about, but I didn't want to be the first one that said anything about it.  She said, "I wish you would have!  I would have believed you before I believed the other staff members that called me!"


Imagine this:  A company turning down $12,000 a month because the staff was threatened by ghosts!  I can vouch that their choice to pull the staff from that house was a good choice!


- Michael

The Day The Music Di ... er.... Did WHAT???

The Day The Music Di...Did WHAT????

I have attended a few concerts in the past few months, and while the clues were not-so-subtle, I have noted a trend among the artists. 

First up:  Booker T & The MGs.  Their front man is Booker T. Jones.   For the uninitiated, the following video is a sample of their music.  The quintessential and timeless 'Green Onions':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5SFT3OLzl0

and for another version, The Root Doctor (Organissmo).  Jim's dad is playing drums in this band.  Watch his face when Jim takes it to church!  A proud and supportive pappa, indeed! (Where can **I** get one of those????)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7m2muhoEk

Back to the subject at hand.  Further examples from Booker T Jones' repertoire can be found on YouTube.  Songs like Hip Hugger, Time is Tight, Melting Pot and many more have become Booker T classics.  The instrument that Booker T is known for playing, and had gained him his fame and fortune is the Hammond B3 organ.  There can be no doubt or argument against that fact.

During Labor Day weekend, we attended the Big Muddy Blues Festival on Laclede's Landing, St. Louis.  Booker T & The MGs was the headliner act on Saturday night, the biggest night of the festival.  We parked in the Brentwood area, just 3 miles from our home, and bought round trip train tickets to ride public transportation (The Metrolink) directly into the heart of the action.  Our stop on the Metrolink was less than a block from the main stage of the Blues festival. We got there about 20 minutes before Booker T was to take the stage.  The area was PACKED with people, but we managed to sneak up behind the sound booth, and sit on the ground to get a direct close-up view of the stage. 

When the previous band left the stage, it took about 20 minutes for the stage hands to set up for Booker T to start playing. I was THRILLED to see a beautiful B3 wheeled on stage, followed by a road case for a Leslie 122.  What more can a fan ask for?  They unpacked the Leslie, and removed the Hammond from it's dolly.

The band started to play.  'Green Onions' was the first song in the set.  I knew something was amiss, because most bands don't start a set with their #1 hit (by most people's consideration, at any rate).  That would be a suicide attempt,  because after most fans hear the #1 song by that particular band, they would leave the venue and head for home.

I am here to tell you that if Booker T. would not have played 'Green Onions', there would have been rotten eggs and tomatoes by the bushel thrown at the stage!

Here is my beef about the current trend: Immediately after Booker T played 'Green Onions', he vacated the bench, and grabbed a guitar.  I whispered to Mark, "I will give him 3 songs to get back on that bench.  If he doesn't, we are OUT OF HERE, and we will board that train and head home before the rest of the crowd follows." Ultimately, we waited through 4 songs, and Booker T was still playing that damned guitar! 

When Liberace was still alive, I would have shot him directly in the head, myself, if he played one song on the piano, then took to a drum set for the rest of the concert!  I would have payed out the ass to see him play **PIANO**.  I do not want hear Carlos Santana sing all night. He is known as a guitar virtuoso - a Guitar God!

I certainly embrace diversity in our lives.  I am not opposed to a musician playing a totally different instrument than the instrument they are known for playing for a song or two during a concert.  However, I have a real beef when they play their #1 hit at the beginning of the show "Just to get it out of the way", and then they do something totally different for the rest of the concert.

I thought I was just being a major Diva about the subject until I attended the St. Louis Art Fair and approached a gentleman that was manning the St. Louis Blues (not the sports team!) booth.  I told him, "I attended the Booker T. concert at the Blues Fest....", and he *immediately* started shaking his head, and hung his head while whispering, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" - before I even completed my sentence or thought! 

I asked him, "Did you go to the concert?"  He said, "No, I was out of town that weekend, but boy, did I hear about it!"  I asked him, "Who told you, how did you hear about the concert?" He said that several tried and true fans that know Booker T's music well had stopped by his booth and said the same thing!  I asked him if Booker T ever got back on that bench during that concert, and he said, "Remember, I wasn't there, but from what folks are telling me, he didn't touch that organ again the rest of the night!"  That is bad - just bad!

A few years ago, we went to the Fourth of July festivities at the Gateway Arch.  Al Green was the headliner act that night.  Everybody waited through his entire set for his hit, "Love and Happiness".  When he did that song, the arrangement was hideous!  He performed that song much too fast, there was NO Hammond in the song, whatsoever.  As you can hear in this clip, Hammond organ is the most significant and prominent instrument in 'Love and Happiness':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsU6_eSG4k4

Removing the Hammond from Love and Happiness, and playing it much to fast is like shooting a hole through the face of the Mona Lisa painting!

I do wish I would have videoed the mass of people leaving - all at the same time, during that Al Green concert, when he royally screwed up 'Love and Happiness'.  It was a mass exodus!  You would think that he would have learned his lesson the first time they walked out on him, and changed his set before the next concert.

The examples of musicians and singers shooting themselves in the foot could go on and on.  There is a time and place for change.  We all need some changes in our lives to avoid being like people that I have been familiar with in my past.  The only difference between a rut and a grave is dimensions!

There is something to be said, however, for giving back to the people that have made you so successful what they are expecting.  Barry Manilow was asked during an interview if he was tired of singing the song, "Copacabana" at every concert.  He answered, "Well, no! That song paid for the nice big house that I live in, and the life that I enjoy so much!  Why would I be tired of singing it?  I will sing it as expected, and as gleefully as I can at every concert I play until I can't perform anymore!"    

Musicians and singers:  Take a lesson.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  In doing so, you aren't being 'hip' by changing something else up in this 'Dump-it-now-and-run-on' society.  You are in danger, however, or losing everything you are now experiencing if you attempt to exchange tried and true values and skills for something that is of diminished value.      

- Michael

The History Channel (Pawn Stars), Faberge Eggs, and diminishing detail

Recently on The History Channel's 'Pawn Stars', a lady approached the counter with a large, jeweled brooch in the shape of a spider.

To be certain, I would have to record the episode on my computer (through cable) when it re-runs, and I could pause the video at the precise moment that the box that came with the brooch is on screen.  I think the box says "Faberge", and I know the piece was signed by Faberge. 

The question now presents itself:

How long has that particular lady lived in the Stone Age?  I am almost inclined to think that if the word 'Faberge' was written twice in relatively plain sight, and she STILL didn't know the value of the piece that she owned, she deserved to be taken by the owners of the pawn shop!

The client asked for $2,000, but Rick said that because he does have somewhat of a conscious (and that is questionable, at best!), he said he would immediately offer her $15,000 as his final offer.  He did ultimately increase the offer to $16,000.  She should have immediately thanked him for being somewhat honest, and took her brooch back, and left the shop immediately. 

The next steps in her quest should have been to take her brooch to several different respectable high quality jewelers and had it appraised.  She should have been upfront with the all of the jewelers, telling them that she is having the brooch appraised by several different jewelers, and after these appraisals, she would would ultimately decide if any, which jeweler she was going to sell to.  I have seen internet appraisals of that brooch going for $50,000 - $70,000, and I have read several comments stating that if the cameras weren't on them, Rick would have offered her a flat $2,000.  She would have had the choice to take the $2,000 or walk. 

I am not as gullible as some reality TV viewers out there.  I am completely schooled in the fact that "reality TV" is **not at all**, in fact, reality based.  While I do believe he is knowledgeable, not for one second do I believe that Rick intellectually knows every detail that he mentions on the show about every item that comes on the show.  The producers research these details, and he is briefed before that segment is filmed.  In the same manner, I do not believe that when the customers that appear on the show walk into the shop, this is the first time that the employees of Pawn Stars and the camera crew have seen these people.  These people have been interviewed, probably at length, and they have had to sign contracts before the filming.  This gives the producers of the show time to do research on the item that they are trying to pawn, so they can fill in Rick for his 'informative segments'.  In my Humble Opinion: Rick knew about that brooch, and he 'saw her coming'.

The moral of this particular saga is 'Do your own homework!"  Considering the free-to-inexpensive costs for a home computer and internet service, combined with book shops and other readily available information resources, there is absolutely no reason anybody should not recognize the word 'Faberge'. That, in itself, is a grim reminder of increased speed that 'the dumbing down' of society is occurring, and that anything of high quality is quickly being discarded or forgotten. 

At the end of this blog, I will post links to a  part series about Faberge Eggs, the Russian Czars, and their history.  At the end of the last clip, you hear the narrator's profound closing statement:

(Relating to Fabrege eggs):
"They are of a time and place that is no more, and will never come again."

That statement can be applied to Architecture, music, a lot of 'art', fashion, and almost anything produced today.  In general, people are becoming increasingly lazy.  Their focus has become 'What can you do for me NOW?', and their grasp has become an unequal balance between past, present and future.  In order to have a well balanced, sustained society, we need to have an EQUAL grasp on the past, present and future.  When that gets out of balance, the result is today's society!  In Asian, Arabic, European countries, there are buildings, for example, that are easily over 1,000 years older than when this continent was discovered.  One would be inclined to think that since the USA is relatively young in comparison, the citizens would be striving to maintain and preserve as much history as possible.  Instead, the sad joke, "Let's demolish this building and build a parking garage or strip mall in it's place!" has embarrassingly be attached to us. 

As promised, here is the 5 part series recorded from The History Channel on Faberge Eggs, the Russian Czars, and their detailed history.

I have posted all 5 clips from YouTube, but you can watch the first video, then look over in the right hand column of related videos. Find the next clip in the sequence, or you can click on the individual links below.

As I previously stated, at the end of the last clip, you will hear the narrator's profound closing statement: (pertaining to Faberge Eggs, or anything with true artistic value and detail):

"They are of a time and place that is no more, and will never come again."

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:





Part 4:


Part 5:





Here is another example of the now commonly accepted American value of bring proud of poor workmanship and quality.  Yesterday, I heard a commercial on the radio.  It was for a company that made windows.  The line in the commercial that absolutely stunned me was this:

"If you plan on being in your current home only 3 - 5 years before you sell it, these windows are what you need for your home!"

I know my chin was on my chest for a half an hour!  There are so many things wrong with that statement:

1) Being in your home 3 - 5 years before selling it.  What is wrong with that statement?  Does anybody else besides me remember the time that people made a careful choice as to where they wanted to live for the rest of their lives, and they bought that particular house, and it was passed down for generations in the family?  Those days are long **GONE*!

2) The poor sucker that is buying that home after the 3 - 5 year period will have holes in his walls!  WHAT THE HELL?  Why proudly advertise poor craftsmanship, and continue to encourage a fickle, vagabond American society?

Unfortunately, the generation that is now raising today's youth never had these morals and standards instilled in them, either.  It is the responsibility for each individual person to stop living a lazy, bland life, and to maintain strong standards for detail.

- Michael

What's for Lunch? The trials and tribulations of a true FOODIE! (and Taste of St. Louis)

What's for lunch today?  I never thought you would ask!  Today, I'm having Punjabi Kadhi Pakora (Bengal gram flour dumplings with spinach in yogurt gravy!) - over a Indian-inspired seasoned rice!  You can always make it from scratch, but in lieu of that, you can purchase these meals at an local International Market, or locally (St. Louis) at Schnuck's grocery stores in the International isle.   I make instant rice and add some Indian seasonings to the rice while the food is heating up in the microwave.  Time spent to prepare an adventuresome and GREAT lunch:  5 minutes!  It now comes to my attention that I never add curry powder to any of the Indian dishes that I make at home.  Many people think that all Indian Food is curry-based.  Those people are probably so inclined to believe that all Mexican food is tacos, and Germans eat nothing but wienerschnitzel.

The major problem with being diversified in taste, in general, are the CHOICES!  I will be the first person to bitch if I don't have enough choices, but having too many choices causes a lot of debate between Mark and myself.  If I had to choose, I would rather have too many than not enough choices.  Without going into details, "Not Enough" produces some hideous people, let me tell you!


I went to the Taste of St. Louis yesterday (10/4/10, which will become yet another yearly tradition in our house.  I parked my truck 3 miles from my house, at the Brentwood Metrolink terminal, and paid $4.50 for a round trip ticket on the train.  Taking public transportation will remove ALL parking hassles!   The only problem I had with the Metrolink system on this particular day was that there were 3 major events going on in the downtown St. Louis area at the exact time: A St. Louis Rams game, a St. Louis Cardinals game, and the Taste of St. Louis.  That does not take into consideration the normal daily riders on the system.  The train wasn't at all crowded on the way in, but on the way back, I took one look at a West-bound train, and they were packed in like sardines!  When the train stopped at the depot that I wanted to board (St. Louis Union Station), there honestly wasn't room enough for one person to board when they opened the doors!  I am 'just metro enough' to have that problem figured out!  I took the next train EAST, instead of West, as I normally would have.  I rode the east-bound train *past* the 8th & Pine and the Convention Center depots, where 99% of this huge post-game crowd was boarding the train.  I exited the train at the Laclede's Landing depot, and simply stepped across the boarding area to take the next Blue Line West-Bound train, as I originally should have.  What is the benefit in going the wrong direction first?  I got on a practically empty west bound train.  Within TWO stops, there were probably 300 people packed on my train!  Thankfully, most of them exited the train at stops before my own, and I could easily make my way to the door when my stop approached.  I quickly counted at least 100 people getting of the train at my stop!
 
BACK TO THE FOOD:
There were 45 separate restaurants set up on Market Street in the downtown area.  There was a large area set up as a Kids area with their own large stage, a petting zoo, and several other activities.  One block was an Art / Wine walk, featuring probably 20 artists.  There were 3 main stages for entertainment.  The entertainment featured a range of talent, from Nikko Smith to Sister Hazel to rockabilly, country, Jazz, Gospel and cover bands.

 My friends from Hank's Cheesecakes were representing themselves at the Taste of St. Louis, we were many, many of my favorite restaurants.  I had a glass of beer (not my favorite drink in the world, but it will do in a pinch!), and I walked between the stages, listening to the music, and I walked around the area several times before making the difficult decision of  "What's for lunch?"  


Lo and behold!  I discovered yet one more Indian restaurant in the area that was not on my list!  I talked to the owners, and they said that this particular restaurant was in the area only a year.  Their food was LOVELY!  It was **hot** (spicy), and had their own distinct flavor.  I can't express to you how thankful I am for that hot, spicy food!    When we went to the Indian restaurant on Page Blvd, I talked with the owner for a few minutes.  She said that she originally decided to turn down the spices a bit in her particular restaurant to make her food more acceptable to more Americans.  I thought I was going to hit the floor!  BUT...she quickly redeemed herself by saying that many of her regular customers complained that the food was not what they were expecting.  SO....She turned the volume back up on the spices, and her clientele has never been better.  I leaned over and whispered to her, "If I wanted a fricken Hamburger, I would go to Wendy's restaurant just a couple blocks down the street!  When I want pizazz, I come HERE!"  She told me that I wasn't alone in my sentiments!..  

I told the owner of that restaurant that I am not entirely peeved with boring American food.  We must consider Sweetie Pie's Restaurants in St. Louis.  The woman that owns these restaurants was an Ikette- a back-up singer for Ike and Tina Turner.  She has been featured a few times on The Food Network, and is famous for her baked Mac & Cheese.  I am here to tell you that I have never, EVER tasted Mac & Cheese like that, nor have I ever had a better fried Catfish - or better service from her staff.  If I want good old Southern Home cooking, I will head to Sweetie Pie's.....  If I want International foods, we have a lot of variety here, as well, but I am extremely comfortable in an Indian restaurant.  Indian food is 'International Comfort Food" for my little family!


(more food and international blogs will follow).....


- Michael

My Moment at The Society Gardener Garden Shop in Macon, GA

In the spring of 1998, I flew with my partner from St. Louis to Atlanta, and rented a car to drive to Macon, to attend the Passover dinner at his older sister's home in Macon.

This was in April, and the wisteria was in full bloom.  Although we do have wisteria in St. Louis (and many varieties of magnolias), wisteria is not as common and plentiful in St. Louis as it is in Georgia and much of the south.  Our arrival could not have been better timed  As we were driving down I-75, the smell of the wisteria was growing over the telephone poles was drifting across the highway.  The temperature was warm and balmy, but not hot.  In St. Louis, we had not yet experienced a good spring day in that season.

We were walking down Ingleside Avenue, and to kill time, we decided to stop and shop the antique district.  Almost on a weekly basis, I browse thrift shops, antique stores and malls, and I go to flea markets (and estate sales!) almost every weekend during the summer months.

After visiting a couple antique stores, I happened along a 'shop', of sorts -  "The Society Gardner".  There wasn't actually a building to visit, but it was rather a place where a building once stood, that had been long since torn down.  The building that once occupied this space had a basement that would have been below street level, but the back of the basement must have had a rear entrance at ground level.  This business occupied the space between two buildings.  In order to get to the merchandise being sold, shoppers had to enter through huge cast-iron gates with an iron trellis over-head, and  go down a flight of wide wooden steps (as wide as the space, itself).  There is ivy completely covering both walls of the existing buildings, making a nice 'wallpaper' for this business.



Throughout the space was wonderful topiaries, and topiary forms available for sale. One was a huge teapot, with the lid raised, and begonias planted in the pot.  Another topiary was a squirrel, planted with ivy, that was climbing a large real tree that growing in the back of the space.

The cash register, and 'shop' where gardening tools and other small finds could be purchased was a small, but complete house in the back of the space.  This tiny house had came complete with a porch  it's own tin roof - RUSTED!, and with it's own rocking chair, a window with curtains and a lamp - and on the left side of the hut was a row of chicken nest boxes.  If you reached in the nest boxes, there were other small finds for purchases:  Gardening gloves, small gardening tools, etc. 

Before I officially accepted disability, I worked on the flower market here in St. Louis for 5 years. Mark has worked there for 15 years.  The plant / garden thing is in my blood.  This market supplies florists for miles around with the flowers they sell to the general public. It is a wholesale flower market, and takes up both sides of a block and a half area near downtown St. Louis.

The minute I walked through that huge cast iron gate, and looked below me at this quaint 'shop' (but it is totally outdoors!),   I took an all-too-familiar deep, relaxing breath, and let out a sigh of relief.  I was HOME - and I wasn't going ANYWHERE!  I slowly walked down the wide wooden steps, and noticed that Andrea Bocelli music was playing through speakers that were hidden behind the ivy on the walls.  Andrea Bocelli had just hit this country, and I loved him then, and I love him now.

I leaned against the ivy-covered wall, with my back to the wall. I closed my eyes, and turned my face up to the warm spring sun, and I could smell the wisteria blowing through the air. I know a copious amount of tears was streaming down my cheeks, and dripping onto my shirt, but I didn't care. 

A few minutes later, my 'moment' was disturbed by the other people in my entourage.  They were ready to continue shopping down the street.  I told them, "Go ahead and shop without me.  IF you have to, leave me here, and I will somehow find my way back to St. Louis, but I AM NOT BUDGING AN INCH!  This is heaven, and I am in the present, and I am here to enjoy it."  About the same time, the shopkeep passed me by. I apologized for loitering, and for leaning against her wall, and she patted me on the shoulder, and said, "You are we more than welcome to stay as long as you like.  Enjoy your moment!" And she walked on.  My partner and his sister went to a nearby pizza shop and got me a slice of hand-made pizza, and a Mike's Hard Lemonade beer, and brought it back to me - right where I was still standing!  I don't remember when it was that I pulled myself off that wall, and continued with my day, but that is one moment that I was in absolute bliss, and that I will never forget as long as I live. 

I'm sure The Society Gardner has changed a bit over the past 12 years, but I am glad to see that in this day and age of 'here today, gone tomorrow', and considering the state of the economy, not only are they still in business, but they are thriving.

I made them a friend on Facebook. Although they are not right next door, I can somehow keep in touch.  I think about the Society Gardner Shop every time I walk through my other guilty pleasure on a weekly basis - The Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Unfortunately, the Society Gardener has changed to "The Society Garden".  They are no longer a garden shop - and they are an entertainment spot, with food, drink and music.  The vines have been stripped from the walls, the area is not planted and the atmosphere that I was so fortunate enough to experience is totally gone as of 4/14/2018.  I am glad to have experienced it when I did!

- Michael

Rajput, the Indian restaurants, other cultures and expanding your minds!

Raj Put, the Indian restaurants and cultures.

Those of you that know Mark and myself very well will know that we closely embrace every other culture on the planet. It's not a matter of 'acceptance' or 'tolerance' - we truly love every one of them. I find the word 'tolerance' to be rather irritating. In my mind's little eye, if someone is 'tolerant' of me, they are forcing themselves to put up with me, or to deal with me, but would most likely rather be in the presence of virtually anybody else at that particular moment. Uh...No thank you! I have worked the following over-used phrase to death: "Those of you who love me know me well - those who don't can go to hell!" I do not want to be merely tolerated. The very few people that I welcome into my inner circles love me dearly for who I am, and they do not merely tolerate me. I that same philosophy applies to our embracing every other culture on the planet. I don't merely tolerate them - I welcome and embrace them into my life. While it is true that I was instrumental in introducing Mark to the cultural events that I go to, the Indian, Vietnamese, and Thai restaurants (and the list could go on forever!), he has quickly picked up the ball and ran with it. Our living room is 18th Century Qing Dynasty furniture with a definite world traveler theme. I find all the different foods, customs, religions and beliefs as well as clothing, arts and crafts from other cultures refreshing and inspiring.

There is more than one danger involved in living in a tight, constricted environment. People that impose unnecessary limitations on themselves will most often impose the same limitations on their children and any family member around them:
"I don't eat this...."
"I don't eat that....."
"I won't wear that...."
"Why are they doing that...."

I've heard them all.

It's sad and funny at the same time when I hear a remark made by an American about someone speak with an English, Scottish, Irish or Australian accent. I've heard them remark, "I can't stand that accent. I don't like the way they talk." I answer them, "You do realize, of course, that the English are the people that invented the language that you Americans have effectively bastardized so well!" The blank looks I get in response are priceless.

Back to self-imposed restrictions: The root of these restrictions (filters!) that people impose on themselves and the people around them most often comes from the environment in which we are raised. I've heard the phrase, "Rise above your raising." That is a profound statement. Just because a person was raised not accepting other cultures, eating a limited variety of foods, not exploring new places, new clothing new music, etc, etc, doesn't mean we have to continue our lives doing so. At a very early age, we are capable of having individual and separate thoughts than those people around us. We each have the responsibility of deciding on which thought, belief, standard, moral, custom or tradition that we have been taught to believe since birth that we actually want to keep, which ones we want to alter a bit, and which ones we want to throw out with the next trash pick-up. Some folks have parents that were instrumental in broadening their children's horizons, rather than limit them or give them a bleak outlook on life. Mind you, procreation wasn't meant for everybody. Please remember that some animals eat their young!

At any rate, it is our own responsibility to change our filters so we can see the world more clearly. Please do not live your life through filters that other people have imposed on you. We have to live our own lives. When it comes time for you to pass from this earth, trust me when I tell you that you, too, will be the only one to do that. Nobody else is going go die for you, and nobody is going to do the living, either...so...
Do just that - LIVE!

You must realize that this is a huge planet, with a large variety of people on it's surface. One person's religion or beliefs is just as valid, but not more, than another person's. There are many, many different foods out there. Traditional American beliefs, foods, customs, clothing, music, etc is a good thing - but people need to be aware that the American way of life is just ONE flavor of a huge palate in the world. Because a view might be limited to things in the immediate area, one should realize that the world does not definitely stop there. If you believe that the small world around you is the only way of life, you are indeed short changing your life, and possibly, those around you. I think it should be a crime to limit a child's dining choices to a few select items. You create monsters by doing so. I also think parents should be jailed for NOT taking their children to cultural events, and to places such as St. Louis' City Museum (http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp). Even though parents might impose limitations on themselves, it is inexcusable to impose these conditions on young, impressionable minds. Children (and adults!) have the capacity to expand their minds and their hearts. Restricting a child's choices because adults have not learned how to properly experience the wide world around them is like keeping a race horse in a small stall with no room to exercise - FOREVER! Eventually, that race horse will forget about the choices he had in life, and will accept his small, cramped space. What a waste of life!

Back to the cultures:
"Rajput". When you look at my Facebook pictures, you can't miss the huge, groomed moustach and goatee on my face. Let's take a segway for a second to my favorite cuisine and culture: Indian (India). I go to several Indian restaurants in the St. Louis area, including:
*India's Rasoi
*Tandoori Hut
*India's Kitchen
*Saffron
*Everest Cafe & Bar
*Haveli.

The proprietors at each restaurant know us personally. I have recently learned from an Indian fella that was attending the Great Forest Park Hot Air Balloon Race that the way I style my beard is loved and honored by many Indian people because a class of Indian warriors also sport the same beard type! A Rajput is a member of one of the major Hindu Kshatriya (warrior) groups of India and are a ruling class of the Indian subcontinent. They enjoy a reputation as soldiers; many of them serve in the Indian Armed Forces, while persons of Rajput ancestry also serve in the Pakistani Armed Forces.

After I shared with him that in American History, my look is known as "burlesque", I told this Indian fella that I thought the owners of these restaurants like us for **US**, but now that I think about it in a different context, do they love me for my look more than for ME? My Indian friend had a hearty laugh and assured me that both were possible - they like us because we are likable, AND because I resemble a part of their culture that they find endearing!

Miss Martha Stewart recently did a show on her trip to Istanbul (formerly known as Constantanople). I cried while I watched the entire show! She spent a day at a massive spice market that requires a day to completely cover. The foods she was
introduced to were nothing short of amazing. She also had several Turkish meals, visited the Great Blue Mosque. This Mosque is also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was built between 1609 - 1616. There was NOTHING but TeePees in this country at that time!

Here is the Wikipedia article on this breath taking and awe inspiring Mosque:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque

Videos on the Mosque on YouTube (select any video when the page loads!)

http://tinyurl.com/BueMosque2

The Great Blue Mosque is more known for the fine detailed blue tiles inside the structure. Every time I look at pictures of these tiles, tears jump out of my eyes like a cartoon character! The detail is unparalleled. Here is some pictures on flickr.com:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Sultan+Ahmed+Mosque+tiles

Here is another sample of timeless, fine architecture in Istanbul. The Hagia Sophis was a church-turned-mosque-turned-museum, and contains fine examples of religions iconography from both religions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

I have had lengthy discussions with Mark about 'where in the world would I travel if I had the chance." I can't think of a country or land that I would not want to visit, if I was guaranteed a translator and that I would be physically safe. Honestly - I want to wear all the clothes, visit all the religious sites, try every food that I can stick in my mouth, and visit markets. I want to learn of the customs and traditions. I would visit all the famous tourist traps, as well as take a trek down a side street and see how people in other countries and cultures live day-to-day life. If I was forced to pick a favorite, it would have to be Moroccan, Byzantine-Moorish, Indian, Pakistani and other Middle eastern flavors, with Asian countries following an extremely close second place....but... I LOVE THEM ALL!

I can not impress upon you the value and the necessity of doing those things. Have you ever seen a person in a wheel chair that has a debilitating condition that has caused physical contractures of the arms or legs? If you do not do things to increase and expand your mind, you can and WILL develop mental contractures as well. The bad thing about that is not only what it does to yourself, but what it will do to those immediately around you. Not only do people choose to bring themselves down and keep themselves down, but they learn how to use such control and laziness, basically, to control others around them. Think about it: If (other than for allergy reasons) a person says, "I don't eat that...I won't see that...I won't touch that...I won't wear that...", etc, what is being accomplished by such behavior. The answer: 2 things that I can think of! 1) Laziness and 2) Control. Both should be actively eliminated from your lives. They are cancers that will eat you alive, and those around you.

In addition, many unknowing people will assume that they know everything they need to know. Please be advised that your level of intelligence is constantly changing. IF you don't use it, you will lose it! Have you ever heard 'The Dumbing down of America?" It is a very real and active phenomenon. Avoid it if you can! In two years, I have learned to read music at a 5 yr. level, and I have become an advanced knitter all completely self taught. As a result, I learn things much more quickly than somebody my own age. Every night of my entire life, I have been an active dreamer. I have 3 - 5 dreams every night, and I can remember most of them in detail. The big surprise: Since I have been working harder than ever to expand my mind, my tastes and my life, my dreams have become much more vivid. In fact, a few months go, my brain has started to go back and RERUN every one of those dreams - no matter how inconsequential - one at a time. The difference is that the second time around, there is much greater detail than the first time. They are indeed the same dreams, just more detail! I am here to tell you that my brain is rehashing dreams that I thought I had long since forgotten, and added tiny details to where there was once none! That is one small benefit of expanding my heart and mind that I enjoy. There are many more advantages to learning how to play an instrument, or continuing to learn a foreign language that I can possibly relay here. Trust me when I tell you that it works. Many people are lazy in areas that they will never be willing to admit to themselves. Try to avoid it, if you can!

*Learn a new skill - and maintain and expand it continually
*Go to cultural functions
*Learn why people around you behave (or misbehave!) around you, and how you can improve your life in a way to avoid becoming THOSE people! It does take some work, but 'Lazy' seldom reaps rich rewards. What it can get you, however, is bitter, sad, controlling and lonely!

- Michael