National Day of …….

Claiming My Heritage

It’s National Tartan Day. I’m proud to say I have the bloodline to wear a few different Scottish tartans. My father was a Carmichael, his grandmother was a McIntyre and they could prove lineage back through the Royal Stewarts. In the old days, I’m talking 1700 and 1800’s, a tartan was a visible sign of where one lived, and who that person was loyal to. Wearing a tartan you didn’t have the bloodline to claim was a punishable offense.

I lived in England from September 1974 – April 1977. My Aunt Ruth Carmichael came to visit the summer of 1976. I was talking with her about wanting to get a coat made with the McIntyre Tartan. She asked, “Why not the Royal Stewart?” then explained that it was acceptable to wear the tartan of the highest ranking family you could prove. I was elated, the Royal Stewart Tartan is bright and attractive. I got that coat, and wore it until the butt was thread bare. I even got stopped on the street one day in Thetford, Norfolk, England, and asked if I had the bloodline to wear it. How fun it was to say yes and know what I was talking about.

. Royal Stewart Tartan

If you study tartans, you will learn that there are two or three plaids that “belong” to each family. One is worn for everyday and another for dress-up occasions. They were woven in cotton for summer wear and in wool for the winter.

Of course when I see a tartan, my mind jumps to bagpipes. I always wanted to learn to play them. I’ve been told I have enough hot air to do so. Anyway, on our recent visit to New Orleans, weren’t we surprised when one of the musicians that had been playing all of the woodwind instruments, and the harmonica, turned from the crowd, and turned back around playing a jazz harmony on the bagpipes. Everyone’s mouth dropped open. I wouldn’t have believed it was possible had I not seen, and heard, it myself. What a treat.

These days anybody can wear a tartan plaid, but if you are in Great Britain, don’t be surprised if you get questioned.

04/06/2017 0

Let’s Go “Mudding”

Note: This is not a paid advertisement for Jeep.

Have you ever been “mudding”? If you like communing with nature, driving (or riding) over rough trails, don’t mind getting dirty, and have a sense of adventure, I recommend “mudding” in a 4 X 4. Yes, you need that four-wheel drive to get over or through some of the terrain in the mountains. Hills work if you don’t have mountains near by.

In my younger days, I lived in Tacoma, Washington. I worked mornings, so had the afternoons to drive up into the mountains, to downtown Seattle or to the coast. All were just an hour away, in different directions. I had a Chevy-Luv pick-up myself and loved to drive the relatively flat, but steep, logging roads near Mt. Rainier. I would find a place to get my baby truck off the road, so a logging truck could get by if necessary, then just sit on my tailgate and let the wilderness view calm my inner self. Nothing like it.

Sometimes I went with a friend that had a larger pick-up. He knew where the trails were and he would drive carefully over tree roots, across small streams, and even over boulders. It was a very bumpy, but breathtakingly beautiful ride. I didn’t treat my truck like he did his, but then, he could fix his if something happened.

A new guy started working where I did that had a Jeep 4 X 4 . I wasn’t shy then, or afraid of much. I asked him if he went “mudding” and could I go too. He gave me an odd look, as he was quite a bit younger, but said, “Yeah. When do you want to go?” I don’t remember the timing, but I sure remember the experience. We went the day after a good rain, and instead of avoiding the water filled ruts on the logging roads, he drove straight into them, as fast as he dared. Then he looked for some rougher terrain to prove his jeep could make it through the mud without getting stuck. The thought process was like a child stomping in mud puddles to see how high the water will fly. And of course, the jeep was left dirty as a sign of a successful “mud run”. I must say, it was exhilarating. I didn’t pay as much attention to the scenery, but I could describe the moment of fear when the windshield was blackened by dirty water and you couldn’t see where you were going for a second.

Currently my old back wouldn’t be able to handle the bumpiness of a good “mudding” day, but I sure have a wonderful memory of the time I got to do it. I highly recommend doing it at least once, in a Jeep 4 X 4 if possible.

04/04/2017 0

Mickey Mouse’s Birthday

On November 18, we commemorate the birth of that ever lovable mouse that was once a rabbit called Oswald. It was back in 1927 while under contract to Universal Studios that Walt Disney first sketched a floppy eared bunny that later became Mickey Mouse.

From a rabbit named Oswald to a mouse named Mortimer, eventually the squeaky voiced rodent was dubbed Mickey. He flopped in two animated short films, then on November 18, 1928, Mickey’s star was born. The first animation synchronized to music and sound effects, Steamboat Willie premiered in New York.

Within a year, a Mickey Mouse Club popped up in Salem, Oregon. This particular club offered admission as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army with a donation of either a potato or a small toy and a penny. According to a December 22, 1929, Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) article, $12 and three truckloads of potatoes and toys collected by eager new members.

Remember, the stock market crashed just 20 days before Mickey Mouse was born. That a cute little mouse could bring smiles to the faces of children at an uncertain time really isn’t such a surprise.

Generally, new members joined the club by completing an admission form obtained from a local merchant and attending meetings held during matinees at local movie houses. The price of admission often was reduced for good deeds and report cards. By the end of 1930, the Mickey Mouse Clubs had spread across the country.

A makeover in 1935 by animator Fred Moore gave Mickey the look we are familiar with today. The big eyes, white gloves and the pert little nose. More lovable than ever before, he propelled himself even further into the hearts of children everywhere.

His companions Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto joined him along the way, bringing vaudeville comedy with them.

I took the above history from the National Day of Calendar and shared it because I had never heard any of it. Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse. A trip to Disney World is still on my bucket list.

11/18/2016 2

Clean the Fridge

The National Day of calendar says this day is set aside to actually empty your refrigerator in order to wash the walls and shelves. Who does that? Well, I do once in a while, usually before out of town company comes for a visit, kids and family don’t count!

Eleven years ago my step-son was working for the Cal-Berkeley Girls basketball team as their videographer. He became friends with a student named Jon Doss who did the play-by-play on the campus radio station. We met Jon the first time when we visited California. A few years later Jon came to New York to attend the Newhouse School of Broadcasting at Syracuse University. We got to know him a bit better. Then Jon got a job at WHAM, in Rochester, NY, as a sports broadcaster. I got in touch with him and informed him he would not stay in a hotel when he arrived, but would stay with us until he found a suitable apartment. We gladly became his “Rochester parents”; loaning him a car at times, rescuing him when he locked himself out, feeding him dinner on his day off and holidays, making middle-of-the-night trips to the airport and welcoming his wife whenever she was able to be in town.

I’ll get to the refrigerator….one evening while he was visiting, he asked if I had any lime juice. I told him to look in the fridge door. He found a bottle of Rose’s Lime Juice but refused to use it because it was about six years passed the expiration date. With good humor and dismay he asked if I was trying to kill him. Then he proceeded to check most of the bottles in the fridge, throwing out half of them. With a twinkle in his eye, he said something to the effect of, “God, I eat here all the time!” Now generally I serve fresh vegetables, salad and meat. I make my own dressings, and rarely use a box mix or prepared food. He felt better when I pointed that out, then went to the pantry and continued the purge. By this time we were howling with laughter; well I was anyway. I had a lot more shelf space when he got done. The next Saturday at the public market I got him some fresh limes. He did continue to come for meals.

Jon moved back to California this past March to keep Bakersfield up to date on sports news and to live full time with his lovely wife. We miss his company, his humor, his wife, and that occasion when he thinks my fridge needs a clean out.

11/15/2016 1

Pickles: Sweet or Dill

It’s National Pickle Day. Which are your favorite? Sweet or Dill?

I grew up in a big two-story house in the southern tier of New York state. You could walk a large circle downstairs from room to room. In the hall between the kitchen and bathroom there were “things” lined up against the wall; the dog’s water and food bowl, the Charlie Chip can, an extra kitchen table chair, and, a crock of icicle pickles. If I had friends over, it wasn’t unusual to stop at the crock and help ourselves to a snack. Those were the good old days.

My husband’s family has a recipe for dill midgets. They put small cucumbers in jars with a saltwater brine, stuff in some dill and garlic and leave the jars on the counter for ten days before eating. The first time I saw them made I insisted the jars wouldn’t seal unless they were put in a hot water bath, but I was wrong. My sisters make bread-and-butter pickles and they always put them in a hot water bath after filling the jars. I don’t understand why the dills don’t need it.

We buy almost all of our fresh vegetables at a public market. Every year when the cucumbers are in season we walk slowly past looking at them with longing and share our memories of home-made pickles. We rarely make them, and why I don’t think to eat them at home I can’t explain. My sisters still do.

In our city we have a couple of burger joints that still have a condiment bar with things like onions, relish, and pickles for the taking. If we go to the one that has sweet pickle slices we eat them as an appetizer. The dill slices we put right on the burger. Funny how people choose to join flavors to get an enhanced one. Oh, and we always add the onions.

I have a friend that is a health nut and she eats sour things on purpose to make her body more alkaline. Says it helps to stave off disease. She’ll eat a half a lemon if it’s on her plate, but refuses the dill pickle. We tease her and takes turns eating it.

In honor of the day…….Go eat a Pickle!

11/14/2016 3

Not an Ordained Rabbi

Temple Beth-El in Hornell, NY, had a celebration to recognize its inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places on Sunday, October 9, 2016. The building itself is not impressive to look at. It is “Minimal Tradition” in style, and small compared to what the mind thinks of when it hears the word temple, or synagogue. As we learned in the dedication yesterday, it’s not what the building looks like, it’s the people who make its heart beat that are important.

There were thirteen of my husband’s family there because their grandfather was instrumental in making the congregation a thriving entity back in the ’40s when there was a large contingency of Jewish people living in Hornell. Today, that is not the case. The Temple is only open for the fall High Days, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

Since the year 2000, the services have been led by a teacher from a Jewish school in Washington, D.C. We call him our visiting Rabbi, but he will tell you, “I’m not ordained.” We still call him Rabbi out of respect and love. My husband and I had the privilege of having him stay in our home Saturday night and taking him to the event on Sunday. We do not keep a kosher home and I was concerned about what to feed him. Somewhere in the conversation we remembered from sharing other meals with him, that he doesn’t eat meat, and he loves fruit. I relaxed a little.

The question in our modern world of travel is always, will the plane be on time. He was supposed to arrive at 11:30pm Saturday evening. Well, that turned into 3:00am Sunday morning. When we got back to the house, Paul had a meal of fresh fruit, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, peanuts and three peanut butter cookies. He did join us for a cheese omelet late Sunday morning.

The celebration was a HUGE success. The Temple was full to almost overflowing. A sight to behold when you know what it looks like on a high day. A few people did a lot of work to make the registration happen. We are proud to be a part of the heart beat. So what’s the point of all this? Our cousin took our “Rabbi” back to D.C after the service. Before they left, he whispered to me, “What do I feed him? Can I stop at a restaurant?” I laughed, relieved to know I wasn’t the only one with that question. I had packed them a bag with fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and cookies, but I meant it as a snack. I’ll have to find out if they stopped someplace.

We appreciate that Paul leads our services every fall. You ought to hear how fast he can speak Hebrew! [Note; he looks nothing like the above picture and doesn’t wear a collar.]

10/10/2016 0

Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

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