General Corruption

The lines are blurred, but almost everyone steals. Small change, usually, a roll of toilet paper, some push-pins. Madoff. They fired the head of Ford, but he'd earned 19 million last year. Don't get me started on Trump or Congress. I'd like to just close the door, the gate, and not listen to anything, but I like hearing the local news and weather, so I know what to expect. Being prepared is the name of the game. Being prepared, for me, means having beans and rice; I know entropy is on the rise, but I should be ok, in my lead suit and aluminum foil hat. I'd picked up the new John Lescroart novel at the library, so I buried my head in a book for a few hours and felt better. A bit more money in the bank than I thought, so I'd bought a Ridge Zinfandel, which I opened, then set aside to breathe while I made the veal roll-ups. Morel Duxelles with caramelized shallots. I have a pan I'd modified to fit in the toaster oven (raining again and I can't use the grill), a pat of butter on each and a little wine in the pan, maybe five minutes in the oven. There were six of them and I figured two meals, with the sauteed parsnips and dandelion salad. Par-boil the parsnips, then slice and fry in butter. I spent like two hours making this meal, mostly sitting at the island and reading, but paying attention to whatever I was cooking, and it was very good. I was trying to track down the actual method Incans used to freeze potatoes, so I was reading yet another book about potatoes. Say what you will, but when I'm fully engrossed, caramelizing parsnip spears or wondering about freeze-dried potatoes, well and truly in the moment, I don't care about anything else. Usually the bear just goes away, sometimes I throw a firecracker. Firecrackers have become my first line of defense. Dogs hate them, snakes hate them; my advice? Carry a Bic lighter and a few loose firecrackers if you're walking in the woods. You can't be too careful. Worse case scenario, a rabid coon. How contagious is that disease? It's a Tuesday in May, the canopy is almost complete.