MINT

Well, the mint’s in. I was at Agway in Orleans the other day, shopping for plants.

                “Mint!” I heard one lady exclaim. “Who needs to buy that??”

                She’s quite right. I always let one or two patches grow in my garden because it discourages marauding furry creatures who love to snack on my seedlings as soon as they poke their leaves above ground. This year the mint is huge and plentiful, more than I can ever remember. My patches threatened to engulf the tomatoes, and completely obscured a beautiful hydrangea until I chopped them down, (they were over three feet tall) leaving me with a mountain of mint to make something out of. But what? I made three big bundles and hung them in the furnace room to dry out so I’ll have mint next winter, and possibly the winter after. That took care of some of it, but I still had, if not a mountain, at least a high dune. Fortunately, it was time to make one of my favorite summer drinks:

Iced Mint/Lime Tea

You’ll need a large bowl to brew this in. I use a big mixing bowl. After you cut the mint, fill the sink with cold water and wash the mint, stems and all. Let it sit for a few minutes to let any sand fall to the bottom. Remove the mint and strip the leaves off the stems into the large bowl. The container I use to store my tea in the fridge holds just about the same amount of water my full teakettle will take, so I fill the kettle and wait for the whistle, then pour the boiling water over the mint leaves. I then grate the zest of a lime into the mix and let it steep for at least 3-4 hours. By then it will be cool enough to remove the mint leaves. I do this with my hands, squeezing each handful before discarding it. (Side note: Having these leaves in your garbage makes it smell good.) I then strain the tea through cheesecloth into the pitcher I will store it in and put it in the refrigerator to chill. When I want to serve it, I squeeze the juice of ½ a lime into each 10 oz. glass, add honey to taste and stir to combine. I then add the tea, filling to about ¾ of the glass. Using a small cocktail shaker, I shake the tea, lime juice and honey vigorously, finishing with the mixture in the shaker. Add ice to the glass and pour the tea over. Serve with mint sprig and lime wedge.

                I know this sounds like a lot of trouble, but believe me, it’s worth it…also it uses up the mint. I still have some, though, if anybody needs any. 

Bad Day In Washington

Well, today was certainly not our finest hour. Once again, gun control has been defeated.  Amazing. One of my favorite slogans is “Evolution is a slow process” but come on!  Isn’t it time we made some sane, adult decisions about this? How many more people have to die? The slaughter in Orlando happened partly because a mentally unbalanced individual was able to buy an assault weapon.  Perhaps he would have found another way if he couldn’t get his hands on a gun. Perhaps he would have chosen another target if he couldn’t carry out his rampage at PULSE. There are many if/thens and none of them matters.  The fact is these weapons are made for one thing only and that is to kill human beings. They are not hunting weapons. You shoot a deer with one and you have deer dust. They are weapons of human destruction. Why are civilians allowed to buy them? You can’t by bazookas or rocket launchers. You can’t go out and purchase hand grenades. It doesn’t make sense, until you consider the strangle-hold the NRA has over seemingly all of Washington. Who are these people? Are they running our country? Why are our senators and congressmen listening to the NRA and ignoring the general public?Some claim their Second Amendment rights. The people who wrote the Second Amendment had no idea there would ever be such a thing as an automatic rifle.  By blindly adhering to something written over 200 years ago we deny ourselves the capacity for growth and change. I believe we are more flexible than that. I believe we have the power to recognize and make the changes necessary to promote our evolution.  Maybe banning the sale of automatic weapons  won’t stop these mass shootings but at least it would remove one element from a complex and terrifying problem and I can't see any reason not to do it  I beg everyone to consider this in November. Please. 

The Power of Hate

                Can someone explain to me the value of being able to buy automatic assault weapons?  I don’t get it. These are guns designed for absolutely nothing except killing human beings.  So why should anyone be able to walk into a gun store and buy one? Whose rights are we violating by not allowing the sale of these weapons?  What exactly is the argument?

                Last weekend someone used one of these weapons to massacre 49 people. Okay, maybe if he hadn’t been able to purchase an assault rifle he would have found another way to act out the rage that had been building in him for so many years. Probably that’s true. And I know that if you can’t get a gun legally, there are plenty of choices on the street, but it seems to me removing one of the choices can’t be a bad thing, even if it’s not the whole solution to that particular situation.  As long as people have access to assault weapons, we are all at risk.

                I am gay, and the events of last weekend tore at my heart.  To be reminded that things haven’t changed as much as we thought they had, to know there are still people out there who hate us and think we are the worst kind of human beings hurts deeply. To listen to the words of a father who would rather have his son labeled an international terrorist than gay, and to see the hideous results of that kind of thinking is so very sad to me. I don’t think of the people who died in that club in Orlando as my gay brothers and sisters. I think of them as my fellow human beings, ruthlessly cut down when all they were seeking was a good time. 

     It wasn’t drugs or booze that caused this. It wasn’t some far away terrorist organization. It was pure, home grown hatred, one of the most powerful of human emotions, one that kills as surely as any assault weapon sold. 

Safety?

Like most people, I was saddened and angry to learn of the events at the Cincinnati Zoo last week. The death of Harambe, a mature silverback gorilla is horrifying, just as seeing a four-year-old child being dragged through the water and slammed against rocks is horrifying. Thanks to the press, social media and the ability to take videos with a cell phone we were privy to all the brutal details, but I must question how those details were presented. I was appalled to find the child’s mother being persecuted on social media as someone who wasn’t taking proper care of her offspring, resulting in the death of an endangered animal.  No. The zoo, when it accepts your entrance fee, promises safety. Did everyone see the fence around the gorilla enclosure? A full-grown adult could probably have gotten through, never mind a four-year-old. Yet, within all the coverage, I only saw one picture of that fence. We were all too busy blaming the mother, so, in addition to watching her son nearly get killed, she has to endure the harsh judgment of people who may not have thought the thing through, to put it kindly. In my opinion the entire unhappy event is wholly the fault of the zoo.  Does anyone take their kid to the zoo without an expectation of safety? Of course not. We are not in the habit of putting our children in the path of danger, as far as I know.  That woman had every right to expect proper confinement of the exhibited animals. It was not there. The zoo failed the gorilla, that child, and his mother . Today I hear she isn’t going to sue, because the zoo has promised to improve the situation, for which I applaud her. She is taking the high road. I hope the Cincinnati Zoo does the same. Rest in peace, Harambe.

Stop & Shop Saga

 The store was crowded that day, every employee busy at a job as customers rolled their shopping carts in the time-honored pattern : fruits and veggies, pre-wrapped deli, fish, meats, etc.  I’d already had a disappointing day which included a broken tooth and the payment of taxes. I prowled the aisles with a frown and sunglasses, eager to be done and out of there. As my mother would say, I was in no mood. I finished up quickly and headed for the check-out lines, already preparing myself to wait at least 10 minutes.  To my amazement, the first register opened up just as I was going by and I dove in like Greg Louganis on speed. The check-out person, though new, seemed familiar with the process and I was soon ready to get on my way. I wheeled my cart out into the narrow aisle that led to the door and stopped. Two registers away, a woman was also just finishing, and had pushed her cart into the aisle, also stopping. I watched patiently while she put her cash away, then put her wallet away, and then, to my amazement, walked away, leaving the basket blocking my exit and the exit of the lady at the next register and anyone else who might want to pass. Both of us watched the woman take out her glasses and walk over to the window to begin perusing her receipt, which, I noted with dismay, was a long one. My fellow captive and I looked at each other in disbelief. All at once, it struck me funny, and I began to laugh. I mean, after the tooth and the taxes, what else could I do? As I began to giggle, one of the people bagging groceries noticed what had happened, glanced at the woman, the cart and me, in that order, and with one strong arm, sent the cart rolling out of the way and back into the store.  If it had been a movie, we would have all cheered. As it was I wiped the tears of mirth from my eyes and made for the door. I have no idea if the woman ever found her cart.  Summer is here. 

Bye, Bye, A.I.

             Well, no more American Idol. I must admit I’ll miss it. It was my guilty pleasure, though we certainly had an on-again off-again relationship, AI and I. There were whole years when I didn’t watch at all. But who can forget Sanjiah, or the first time I ever heard Jennifer Hudson’s magnificent voice? I always came back like some demented homing pigeon, and I must say, for the most part I was never disappointed. It’s thrilling to watch a new talent, someone nobody has seen before, somebody who is obviously going to be a big star.I watched the finale last week and actually teared up a couple of times, and I bet I’m not the only one. They really went all-out, pushing nostalgia while they reminded us again and again that we would meet the last American Idol by the end of the two-hour extravaganza. Former contestants returned to help end it all: Fantasia, Taylor Hicks and the afore mentioned Jennifer Hudson, to name a few. All the old judges were there, including Simon The Terrible and even Paula Abdul. Did anyone else notice the look

J-Lo shot Paul A. when they all came out together? Ellen was conspicuous by her absence, I thought. Wonder where she was? See? I really got involved.

 There have been talent searches before, but something about this one was different. Its contemporary rivals, X Factor, America’s Got Talent and The Voice were all good, but all carbon copies of AI. Years ago we had Ted Mack, where Frank Sinatra got his start, and then there was Star Search, where Sam Harris’ career was launched. None was as good as American Idol. As a rational human being, I realize the world will not come to an end because a television show is over. As an American Idol fan, I’ll probably still spend time in the shower rehearsing whatever I would have sung if I could have tried out. At least for a while. 

#46

Uh-oh. A blog block. How can this happen? There’s so much going on right now, you’d think I could find a hundred things to write about. Okay, let’s see. Donald Trump? Already written about him. What more can I say? Hillary Clinton? No surprises there. She fights on. The whole election thing? I don’t have to tell you how crazy it is. You can see that for yourselves. How about snow in April? Once, when I lived in New York City, it snowed on May 9. I remember this particularly because I was doing a concert at the Village Gate that night and we’d hired horses and carriages to take us to the after-show party. We had to cancel them. So snow in April isn’t so bad, except that I have already planted my peas. I’m hoping the extra moisture will be good for them. I’ll let you know.

I’ve been working on a show, (costumes) for the Provincetown Theater, “The Dresser”. Tony Jackman has put together a wonderful cast and I think it’s going to be great. They open Wednesday night. Oh, and B. and I went to the Central House to sample the work of their chef, who is a “Chopped” winner. (If you don’t know what “Chopped” is, watch the food channel for a fascinating time.) The food was very good, as was the service. Has anyone else noticed that the level of quality and creativity in our restaurants is enjoying an upward swing? Thanks, Foodies! We’re reaping the benefits of the craze. I think we should be doing even more to make Provincetown a food destination. We’ve got some wonderful chefs working here. How about some food events? Yum! Just a thought.

Okay. Blog block dissolved.