Memorial Day. Remembering....

It brings such a smile to my eyes. Grandmother with her little flags flying, her star decals prominent on the kitchen window glass, constantly trading for rations and stamps - making sure that the neighbors all got what they needed when they needed it; for times were tough and supplies were scarce.

I believed that war was a normal part of life. When they told me that it was all over, I hadn't known that such a thing was possible. I took it for granted that men naturally went "over seas" and that women and children lived together - waiting for them to "come home."

I was one year old when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

To my father, Phillip Walton, a civilian engineer who, rejected by the Army for his football knee, nevertheless spent the war years at MacDill AFB in Tampa teaching the pilots to repair their ruined airplanes with whatever material they might have on hand.

To Forrest Cooke, my stepfather, also 4-F,  who built and maintained Liberty Ships at the shipyards in Wilmington.

To Uncle Rodney, Grandmother's baby, the telegraph operator who served in the clean-up crew of a ruined, defeated Germany.

To Uncle Glenward the war correspondent based in a newly liberated Paris.

To my cousin Greer Walton. We went from Tampa to Pensacola to see him off on his Coast Guard Cutter, flags flying and drums rolling.

To each of my fathers-in-law; Rubin L. Atkins, a blacksmith, and Arthur D. Mathews, an optician-turned-medic. Both returned alive and well to live long, happy years after WW ll. Rubin is buried in the National Cemetery in Wilmington.

To my classmates who died in Vietnam. I was never a flower child, turned the protest music off, disdained the hippies and became, instead, a patriot. For your sake and in your memory, I waved the flag that the others were spitting on and I am so happy that I did.

To my husband Wayne Mathews, Army Intelligence, digging his trench in the demilitarized zone of  South Korea during the first days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, all the while begging for his turn in Vietnam.

To our men and women around the world, tonight. Uniformed and guarding, in one way or another, my freedom to write this tribute. May you return to us safely, unharmed.

To every veteran of every war. To every hero of acts of terrorism. To all who serve us in any type of uniform. I've been to walls with your names listed. I've seen you pronounced heroes on television and I've read about you in newspapers and books. I've cried for you and I've said prayers.

Salute! Thank you! You might smile upon us as we picnic and sun, play games, hike, go to beaches tomorrow. Because of each of you, we can live free! We haven't forgotten you.

...You, Looking....

I saw you looking in on me
Over the grass and through the porch screen.
At times you were only limb and leaf
Then, as the wind shifted it was you again.
Limb and leaf, again.There you were, again.

I tried to close my eyes but I was too tired
From being sick over and over and over and...

I also heard you, earlier. No, not talking to me. Rustling.
Rustling like you do when you are
Outside the bedroom window somewhere in the roses.
Rustling and checking. Making sure. Letting me know.
At first, it was only the rain. Then Rustle. Rain.

I tried to throw my hands up at the sound but I was weak
And it was comforting to hear the roses rustle.

Both times, I thought (perhaps) you had come for me.
And You know how I am! All I could do was laugh!
That laugh I get when you just floor me with bad timing!
"I hope to God he can carry me out of here." Grinning.

"Does he not know? I am way too sick to walk."

Caroline's Book Reviews

Beethoven's Shadow by Jonathan Biss
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have a wonderful idea! Beethoven's Shadow would make a resourceful, one-of-a-kind audio book! The author could sit at the piano and play excerpts from the Beethoven (and other) musical examples he is making. I own many of the selections Biss mentioned and was driving myself crazy reading, searching for music, listening, re-reading.

Otherwise, Beethoven's Shadow was a research paper....a professional pianist holding forth on a fascinating subject but only to other musical brilliants. I couldn't hear the descriptions of the performances, was not familiar with the pianists Biss was writing about, and thought him to be rather on the dry side himself.

I could overcome my objections, however, had I not spent so much time searching my music library!



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Caroline's Book Reviews

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

James should have stopped with the first book. Let it hang. Played up the guesswork. One 50 Shades was plenty. Standing alone, 50 Shades of Grey would have been remembered as unique.

It's bad (hangs head) when the reader skips what some libraries are now calling the porn and skims the pages for the plot developments.

I wonder if the guys are reading the 50 Shades Trilogy?

Yesterday, I saw a young man in crisp slacks and a blue polo shirt with thick unruly reddish hair rushing down the sidewalk in his converse (they were all the rage in Europe before the 50 Shades) tie a-flutter. He was busy using Christian's mannerisms! Smiling at some inside joke, running his fingers through his hair, confident and cool. Rolex watch. Saab. I guess, the works.

I wondered, does this man have a red room at home? Or is this where the similarity ends? If the men will read 50, they will be looking a lot sexier from here on out.

I guess enough of anything is enough. For me at least. I've begun to speed read through book three. I think I'll count how many times I see the words "You are so beautiful." Laters, Baby.



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Cooking Coastal - Any Coast Will Do

I know, I know. When it comes to cooking for myself, I generally stick to Provençal fare or Thai food mixed with the older, Le Colonial French, Indochina cuisine. 


But when I make family dinner, I incorporate my other two favorite cooking methods - Italian (mostly Campania and Lazio Regions - pastas, pizzas, flat produce-infused breads, fresh vegetables, etc. - and good old Florida Coastal! 


Florida is a wonderful fish, crab, shrimp, oyster, beef, pork, and free-range chicken producing region. The summer melons, berries, corn, and veggies of North Florida are perfect and plentiful. The modern chef cooks with much less grease (yes, I mean butter and lard) now than in the past, moderate amounts of fried foods, the tiniest bits of bacon and of course less sausage.  


What I like (love) about these four cooking methods is that they use the same seafood, pork, poultry, veggies, and similar cheeses. Only the cooking methods are different. The great choices remain the same. 


Most Italian recipes don't have enough garlic for me, so I add more. I love olive oil from Sardinia but also from France, Greece, and Spain. Recently, I discovered a California olive oil that is superb, as is the balsamic type vinegar the vineyard ships only to wine club members or sells to visitors on wine tours. 


Anchovies have become standard fare in my kitchen I even slip them into the boys' pasta sauce unbeknownst to everyone at the table. I order L'anchois mostly from Amazon, but I found one dusty tin of Long Tailed Anchovy on the shelf of the Oriental grocery store right here in Tallahassee.

I often cross boundaries at one meal. Tomorrow, I'm going to serve a Tom and Jack favorite, Spiral Ham (Ha! Yes! I am Thai in the way I love to buy prepared dishes of various kinds) and an assortment of veggies. Eggplant, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers will find their way into Tian Niçoise. I'll cook the spinach a la Latium (Lazio) and the potatoes Coastal Carolina! Should be a fun time, as we are celebrating a birthday. Birthday? Oh, my! What's for desert?

Moon Over Lake Petty Gulf

I see the moon and the moon sees me....