Remembering Eats

My mother made a dish one time called Chicken Divan. It had broccoli in it, yech, broccoli! It was a casserole and was actually quite good. Even the broccoli tasted pretty good. I do not remember much about the dish but have seen the recipe advertised several times over the years. However, being a family who made fun with words Chicken Divan became Chicken on a Couch. So from time to time when she made that dish we all talked about having Chicken on the Couch which thoroughly confused some who were unfamiliar with the family name game tradition.

I loved bacon and eggs, still do. I call them "something different." So my wife gets a little smile on her face when I say I think I'll have "something different" for breakfast. My first wife and I called them "baswan and oggoose." How the hell we came up with that name is beyond me. I like "something different."

Chicken on a stick was actually a pork dish or veal. You could buy some type of ground pork or veal that was formed around an actual piece of wood and lightly breaded. It was quite tasty. We had it when I was a kid, then later on in my first marriage my wife and I found the same meat from time to time. It did seem to disappear and for the life of me I do not know what it is really called. Our name was Chicken on a Stick. It had a drumstick appearance.

Milk Toast was a favorite of my Dad's and I also. It was just toast, buttered. You poured milk over the toast until it was saturated, then salted the toast and dug in. I could eat a lot of that when I was a kid. It did not take long to go through a loaf of bread at our home.

Chicken Noonie soup was a great favorite. I always ate the broth first as I loved slurping up the noodles with a saltine cracker in my mouth. There was something comforting and warming about Campbell's Chicken Noonie soup.

My Dad loved Oyster stew and he passed that love on to me. Now I make my own from scratch. Have for many years. However Campbell's came out with a frozen Oyster Stew, with few oysters, that my Dad would buy from time to time and have my mother prepare. He loved to get an oyster, but made sure we all got one or two. When I began making Oyster stew I made sure there were a lot of oysters in the stew and that you could get a lot. That is another dish that speaks to me of the Christmas Holidays, New Year's Day and the taste of a good batch of Oyster stew and friends. Even today I made that stew several times during the holiday. I have begun to experiment with it, adding onion, mabe a little bacon bits. It is all good.

Vollwerth's Meats located in the U.P. used to come out with a hot dog that still was in a casing. It had some fine seasoning to it that was excellent. I've purchased those kinds of hot dogs for years when I travel back home. I freeze them and we enjoy them throughout the year in Arkansas. However, they don't taste the same as a hot dog cooked on a stick over a bed of coals. Perhaps the fresh air of camp, the natural fire, and the situation we found ourselves in added to the seasoning, or maybe they changed their recipe. I don't know, but I do enjoy hot dogs still in a natural casing.

My Mom's ham loaf. I have the recipe and from time to time Terry and I grind our own meat and make the dish. It is excellent. It was my traditional birthday meal when I was a child. It still tastes as good today as it did then, provided you get a tasty ham. Ham loaf, baked potato, and some vegetable side dish and you got a good evening. It is even good cold on a slab of bread. I always put some ketchup on it though as that makes it a little better.

Then I end with pasties. A Danish dish carried into the mines by scandanavian miners back in the late 1800's still can be found in most communities in the U.P. You run out of pasty places the further south you go, but in the U.P. the pasty is a staple of a good meal. A meat pie with potato, some type of beef, rutabega, and onion all finely chopped, or ground together as I do, encased in a pie dough shell. Baked with some lumps of butter to provide moisture and the crust painted with a mild or egg wash to give the crust that pretty brown appearance and you've got a meal you will not forget. The next day, cold left over pasty, a salt shaker, some ketchup and a cold beer to wash it down and you will not have a bad day. I make pasties, not too often as they can seem like a lot of work, but they are to die for.

That eats from my youth. Good days, good people, family and fun. You cannot ask for more.

My Father's Version

I was taught this saying by my Dad. It is a common little poem known by most fisherman, but sometimes the versions vary. This is the way it was taught to me by my father:

When the wind is from the West that's when fish bite the best.
When the wind is from the South, it blows the hook in the fish's mouth.
When the wind is from the East that is when the fish bite least.
When the wind is from the North, the fisherman doth not venture forth.

A lot of truth in the old sayings.

Dog Oberservations

The dogs are a pair of Labradors. They are mostly white in color with a little yellow cast at the shoulders and down the back. The noses are pink. Their names are Molly and Lily. At this writing they are about 5 months old. They were strays picked up by Terry's mother, kept for a while, when the owners could not be located we adopted them.

This morning it was cool, about 74, low humidity and very comfortable outside. I took my last cup of coffee and went out on the porch to enjoy the morning air. The dogs behavior has been easier to control so I let them out so they could enjoy the day also. Molly went down on the ground and lay just in front of the porch, Lily lay on the porch near my chair. Within a short period of time Molly decided she might like a little romp so she picked up an old face towel we have outside for them to play with. Lily immediately sat up, ears alert, eyes focused on Molly. The invitation was made, but not accepted at this point. Molly then spied a clump of weeds and root ball and jumped on that beginning to tear it apart. That was too much for Lily who came off the porch and wanted a piece of the action. So now we had a little game of keep away going on. Abruptly Lily broke off the game and grabbed another nearby towel, bunched it up in her mouth and began seducing Molly to play. Lily positioned her head in front of Molly's to entice her to grab the towel, when that did not work she began to swipe the towel on the top of Molly's head. Finally after some coaxing Molly took the bait and grabbed the towel. Lily let go and Molly, towel in mouth rolled away from Lily to keep the towel away from Lily. That was just what Lily wanted, she immediately jumped on the wad of weeds and took off with the intended prize all along. Molly followed and we had a tug of war over the weeds. Finally the weed ball broke apart sufficiently so it lost their focus of their interest.

Exploring the yard Molly came upon one of our apple trees. Finding an apple on the ground intrigued her and she began to bat it around. After a few minutes she decided it was worthy of sport so picking it up she pranced toward Lily who was exploring the base of one of our Pecan trees. Lily decided that they should have a rollicking game of "Apple, Apple, who's got the Apple." The dog without the apple would place her muzzle along side the dog with the apple, then cocking her head so her muzzle went under the head of the dog with the apple the head would twist up forcing the dog on top to raise its head and open its mouth. Then a little further twist would bring the canines into play and sometimes the apple would pop out and the other dog would have it. Then the wrestling would continue. Back and forth Molly and Lily went, one dog had the apple then the other. If one held the apple to long she would drop the apple on purpose to motivate the other dog to go after it. It appeared to be away of extending the game. It was kind of like as long as each dog got a turn at having the apple the other was willing to play.

Finally Molly decided she wanted to eat the apple. Perhaps it had nutritional value as the body of the apple got softened in the play and the juice didn't taste too bad. So Molly became very possessive and ate the apple. Lily wanted some, but Molly growled and protected her prize. They would end up barking at each other as though one were scolding the dog with the apple and Molly who was intent on eating the apple told Lily in no uncertain terms it was mine. Lily finally strolled off and got her own apple. Seeing the I cannot find any remnants I believe they each ate their apple.

So ends this observation. Very interesting.

How Late We Learn

I am 64. I have always been very introspective. In fact, in my work life I consider it one of my strongest traits that I have tried to cut through the personal BS and really assess my motives and needs when managing organizations.

Recently though I became aware of a facet I really was ignorant of. I hate structure in my life. I dislike any structure. The more unfettered and freedom I have the better I am. Now for some this may seem logical, doesn't everyone like freedom and unfettered actions. No, not at all. A great number of people like to have structure, rules, procedures, methods and routines. It allows them to have a sense of a pattern in their life and a means to live life in some semblance of rationality.

I am not a rock climber, bungee jumper, daredevil. In fact, I enjoy puttering around the house. I enjoy repairing things and making things work. I have always been an initiator, a driver, but I am not a workaholic. But I do not want anyone providing direction. I'll ask for direction, I'll follow advice, I always have, but I do not want it imposed.

The job I have right now is wonderful. I am able to take my morning exercise, I can arrange a day with my wife to enjoy her company, go shopping or mow the grass. I do have responsibilities, but they are scheduled by me. The few times I have an externally imposed deadline I hate the activity and will fight it even if it only takes a few moments to complete.

Retirement is a puzzlement for me. What will I do with day upon day of choice. Will I make good choices, will I accomplish things, will I be productive and useful in my golden years. Yes, I will. However I will march to my drummer and I do follow that road less traveled. Thank God!

A Personal Memorial

Through the years I have had the privilege of working with some talented, good people. I have learned from all of them. These I talk of are dead. Many times I spin their names through my mind as a means to keeping their memories alive. On this morning I remember many. Jim Downey, Chief Inspector for Fabrication - J. I. Case; Sarge Salerno, Manufacturing Manager- J. I. Case; Fred Slezarenko Heat Treat foreman - J. I. Case; Dick Henningfeld Machining Foreman - J. I. Case; Kelly Swanson Tractor Repair Foreman - J. I. Case; Maury Overberg Master Scheduling Manager - J. I. Case; Ray Dulek Manufacturing Engineering Manager - J. I. Case; Bill Regan Marketing Manager - Arkla Outdoor Products; Don Miller Tool Coordinator/Press Room - J. I. Case; Dick Witt Welding Foreman - J. I. Case; Al Burdick Machining Foreman - J. I. Case; Butch Roth Chief Inspector Receiving - J. I. Case

There others whose age would be well into their 80's ir 90's if they are still alive. Cliff Quinn, Eddie Roeder, Harold Block, Jim Bliss, Frank McNamara, Bob Cantrell, Rich Heidner, Mel Both, Lenny Peterson, Kenny Matson, Larry Tilbury, and Phil Wenzel.

There there are the characters who added color to the tapestry: Blackie the Assembler, Little Nick, Al Rowley, Vic Mead, Ted Miller, Donnie the Assembler, Mary the Drill lady, Ben Davis, Dennis Schneider, Barb Pocaro, Stoney, Al Principe, Big Jim, Don the Bullard Man, Tony "Helpa Me I'ma Behind" Ammendola, Ceasar Tenuta, Henry the Set Up Man, Nick Kadamian, and a host of others whose names drift in and out of my memory.

These people make up part of the tapestry of my past. They contributed to my knowledge, counted on my leadership or helped steer my path. They are an integral part of my skill as a manager and wisdom as a human. They all made a contribution.

Breaking out the bowls

Over the weekend two utensils were brought out, cleaned and put back into use after several years of storage. One is a large stainless steel bowl that my first dog Captain ate out of. I do not know exactly when we purchased that bowl, but Captain was born in 1976 and I associate that bowl with that period of time. I would not be surprised if we bought that bowl at Fleet/Farm a wonderful farm store located near Sturtevant, WI where we lived with we got Captain. The bowl is large was used when we had our other pair of dogs, Mattie and Blondie. The bowl was put up as our last dog, Cilla, could've slept in it. Now the bowl sits on the front porch and is the water bowl for our newest additions, Molly and Lily, two Yellow Labs we picked up from Terry's mom.

The second utensil is an old, beat up aluminum measuring cup. It is the cup I used when I measured out Captain's food. It also go put up after Mattie and Blondie passed. Now I use it to measure out the food for Lily and Molly. The cup was probably purchased at some flea market in Racine. The aluminum handle is broken off and only the rivets remain. As I said, it is dented, showing years of good service. Now it shall be put into service again, and I hope it lasts for another 30 years.

A Recent Memory

My daughter Jenny and Granddaughter Lindsey visited this past weekend. (4/9 to 4/13/2009) It was great. Lindsey is 5, is unsure of her status and constantly seeks to establish her place. All kids do. She is moody, yet thoroughly engaging, as most kids are. She shows logic and wisdom that has always amazed me that little folks so young can possess such ideas. She shows great promise at problem solving and coming up with new solutions when presented questions or constraints to her progress. My daughter is amazing. Patience that I never had. Understanding of a child's needs and challenges beyond my capability to grasp. Where did this young women get such knowledge, certainly from her mother, because it sure isn't in my realm of conscious thought.

We enjoyed the visit. It was short. They always are. The weather was not very cooperative although we did have one nice day. Lindsey caught on to the bird feeding and took that task quite seriously although she wanted to get down and chase Al (the cat) between feeding station fillings. The first full night here she helped my carry the deer corn down to the ground feeding area. We were rewarded with two deer coming in and feeding on the corn we had just put out. It was a great moment and she was utterly enthralled by the creatures. She also enjoyed the birds visiting the bird feeders.

Jenny and I only got one evening to sit and visit. It was the last night of the visit. We talked for perhaps 3 - 4 hours. Where did this young, self-assured, capable woman come from. It is remarkable. She calls me Dad, what a privilege to be called Dad. She only has one. She may have some other father figures, but only one Dad and its me! We talked of her work. She is aggressive, opinionated, and enthusiastic about her job. What a treat that is. She even asked my opinion of things about her work, and has for a number of years. I wonder how many Dad's have their daughters asking for advice about the intricacies of her work, promotion strategy, and office politics. It certainly makes me proud to think she values my thoughts and advice.

I do not live close to my children. I am not in constant contact as some parents I know. A lady who works for me has a daughter in North Carolina, married to an enlisted man. They talk every day, perhaps several times a day. That would get in the way for me, and I think for Jenny. In the way of what I'm not sure, but I'm and independent cuss, and so is she. That is how she was raised, and that is best for her, I think. We often don't get to talk for a long time. When the phone rings at her home it is a signal for her kids to ask her questions and beg her attention. That will change. I'll be patient.

I love her deeply. She has become a self-sufficient, independent, woman of the world, a loving and patient mom and a loving caring wife. What greater accomplishments could a person wish for?