Geezer or Codger???

One or the other. 

Yesterday, in a fit of bravery (or great stupidity), I applied for Social Security and Medicare Benefits online. G*d help me.  Then began referring to my new status as a " Geezer" but today my darlin' Irish Gen. Mgr. (the dear) told me "No, not geezer, Codger"! 

Never liked the word geezer; codger was always more interesting. A word not heard much these days.  It always conjures up for me, interesting images of character actors in old films of the 30s and 40s, or the great Waldorf and Statler of Muppet Show fame.  So I decided to look the phrases up online and here's what came up:

Noun  1.    old geezer - an elderly man  antique, gaffer, old-timer, oldtimer graybeard, greybeard, old man, Methuselah - a man who is very old

Next:

Noun  1.  old codger - used affectionately to refer to an eccentric but amusing old man

Since I am no "Methuselah" and can be amusing (if only to myself), I prefer the latter moniker, if you don't mind. Or, even if you do. So there.

So, that's that. Old Codger it is.  Done!  I smell olives.

And so it goes.
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Good May Come from Flooding Basin

 Doing great damage from North to South the bloated Mississippi may yet do some good

 Flooding in Atchafalaya Basin may be big help to coastal wetlands 

The flooding in the Atchafalaya Basin has ruined crops and soaked hundreds of camps, but the water could also change the swamp and bolster one of the few areas of the state’s coast that is not washing away.
Scientists who study the Basin say it’s too early to know for certain what the overall effect will be.
Wildlife, such as deer and the threatened Louisiana black bear, could take a hit, and the fast-moving flood waters could shift the landscape, eroding some areas while building up others.
But the flooding should also flush out stagnant swamp water and carry sediment down to the coast to help build new marsh.
“From our viewpoint, if the marshes could speak, they would be singing hymns of praise,” said D. Phil Turnipseed, director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette. “Floods, in general, are very beneficial to wetlands on the coast.”
The swollen Atchafalaya River, combined with the Mississippi River water being diverted into the Basin at the Morganza Spillway, is moving a heavy load of sand, silt and clay though the swamp and to the coast below Morgan City.
For the past few decades, the sediment being carried by the Atchafalaya River has actually been building land in that area even as other parts of the coast wash away.
One delta has been growing at the mouth of Atchafalaya River. Another delta is spreading at the mouth of the Wax Lake Outlet, a channel off the main river that was dug in the 1940s to redirect some of the Atchafalaya River west of Morgan City to reduce the flooding threat there.
The deltas first began emerging from the water after the flood of 1973 — the last time the Morganza Spillway was opened. The current flood could mark a new period of growth, said Paul Kemp, vice president of the National Audubon Society’s Louisiana Coastal Initiative.
“It may have been building underneath there for a long time, and then it will pop up after an event like this,” Kemp said. “We would expect to see a significant pulse in the deltas after an event like this.”
The Wax Lake Delta had been growing at a rate of little more than half a square mile per year in the 1980s and 1990s, said Yvonne Allen, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research ecologist.
Growth tapered off in the past decade, Allen said, but the new flooding could kick-start another period of expansion.
“I would expect and hope that it’s going to be delivering a lot of sediment with that water,” she said.

If we only let nature do her thing, not interfere, we'd be much better for it.

Read the rest HERE.

And so it goes.

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5K Run Sunday: A Survivor's Tale

Awards and Trophy Tables

Runners are a strange, jovial lot.  Devoted, close-knit, loyal to their sport and one another.  The men, even some my age, are also very hot! I'm just sayin'.  The post race breakfast sponsored by the restaurant went extremely well.  You'd think that would be enuf' said, right?  Oh no.

The doslocosguys had set up the awards and trophy tables, the fresh fruit table, and plates the night before.  This means they were still at the restaurant at 2 am, because Karaoke ends at 12 and the bar closes at 1 am.  Ouch!

I arrived at 6:30 and went through the usual routine with a few extra chores for the breakfast.  I prepared 3 pots of coffee just for the staff, I was sure they would need it. And they did.  The restaurant doesn't normally serve breakfast foods, but this day was different. I set up the chafing dishes and when the bagels arrived, began slicing them into quarters. (Kitchen crew took over when they arrived.) Next came the plastic flatware which I displayed in large baskets. 

Kitchen staff arrived at 7, with wait staff hot on their heels. Locosguys arrive at 7:30. Floor mopped one more time and tables polished.  Phone call informs us that the race will be over at 8 am.  We cannot get the place open until 8:30, but that's fine.  Everyone shifts into high gear.  Out comes the bagels, cream cheese, salsa and guacamole. Chafing dishes are heated and French toast, Wings, Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas are ready to go. Bar is ready and the beer is on tap. 

A crowd in bright green jerseys gathers outside and the locosguys are a bit frantic.  As I said in the earlier post, they had never hosted an event like this before, so we were winging it. I was excited and happy with everything we had accomplished and knew in my heart the runners would be happy, too.

Long lines to get to the food tables.

I opened the doors and within a half hour 200+ runners of all ages, shapes, and sizes were chowing down and knocking back beer and sodas.  I was amazed that they all fit inside the place at one time.

I saw (and met) at least 5 future ex-husbands (kidding) in the mix who raved about the food, the atmosphere, and the service. I almost kissed one on the cheek, he was that sweet and handsome. Relax, I resisted; damn it!

locosguys receive awards and beach towels.

With everyone fed, the award ceremony was the only item left on the agenda, during which the doslocosguys were given a standing ovation, and award, and beach towels with the Seashore Striders logo embroidered at one end. The staff was given a round of applause and it was over. It was 10:30 am - an hour before we normally open the restaurant.  It was decided to remain open. All tables, chairs, set-ups, and cocktail menus were back in place in short order - as if nothing had happened only a few minutes ago.

Meanwhile the locosguys surprised the staff with breakfast delivered to the door.  A real treat, since we'd had no time to think about food. Scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, and garlic toast and was still hot. Delicious and much appreciated, as my stomach growled.

A few runners hung around to learn more about the restaurant, check out the menus, and stake out stools at the bar.  A core group of friends stayed with us through lunch and enjoyed the experience.  I enjoyed their company and humor.  As a result, there will be a party of 10 dining with us on Friday night.  Yes, we made new friends and new customers at the same time.

Although we felt as though we had already worked a full shift we had to welcome our regular Sunday lunch crowd so we kicked back into gear and off we went.  The afternoon went quickly because we were very busy, thank G*d.  I can't imagine any one of us hanging on if we were slow.

By shift's end, we had served 177 lunches - on top of the 200+ breakfasts and were exhausted. After a quick AS golden margarita, my stomach began to grumble again, realizing I had not eaten for 7 hours, headed  home to prepare supper - and another cocktail.

Following the meal, I posted my 5 on the Fifth contribution, checked email and went to bed. It's nice to have this day off with nowhere to go.

More later.
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Five on the Fifth

Sorry to be so late to the party, but it's been a very busy day.  More on that in another post.

Stephen Chapman at his blog “The State Of The Nation UK”, has a monthly feature called “Five on the Fifth” in which bloggers may participate by posting five photos on their blog and exchanging links with his.  The five pictures, taken in the days leading up to the fifth of the month, may be random or may follow his suggested theme, which this month is “New”.

This was a good fit for me this month, because a strange little houseplant purchased when I moved here a year ago (to have another life form for company) suddenly began to send up a new shoot and I wanted to capture it's growth progress.  I didn't use flash purposely, because of the reflection from the shiny leaves.  Flash gave the little plant an unreal quality. The last shot is how the shoot looks today as it unfolds and grows much taller than any of the others. The plant must have decided it likes living here.  So, here are my 5.

First day new growth was noticed.

Three days later.

Another 3 days pass.

June 2, 2011 and another new shoot is emerging at bottom right of the other one.

Finally, June 5 - leaves are opening. Second shoot growing quickly.

I don't know why I liked this strange little plant.  Probably because of the shiny, wax-like leaves and it's odd shape.  Now that I see how it grows I can tell it's going to be a very large plant, eventually. If anyone has any idea it's name, let me know.

That's my contribution for this month. I appreciate any and all comments.

Update:  Thanks to Stan for the plant name - Zamioculcas - and a link to it's story at Wiki.

More later.
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Ready for a 5K Run? Um, No!

A magnificent day in this little beach town today. The lunch crowd came in fits and spurts as they left the beach throughout the afternoon and they were a jolly bunch.  Many were visiting to take part in the first ever Dos Locos sponsored 5K run tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. They've come from all over the country, and it is an honor to have them with us for the weekend.

That said, the staff was not thrilled to learn that they had to be at work tomorrow at 7 am. The groans were so loud, I initially thought it was Hippos giving birth nearby.  They groaned to me and I said "it is what it is".  Then (unfortunately) they groaned even louder to the locos guys, and they said, "deal with it." End of discussion.

Frankly, I don't understand the groans, it's only one day, after all. And we'll be putting in much longer hours as the season progresses. So, what's the point?  Prima donnas,  the entire lot.

The run is to benefit "The Council for Economic Education"  and the reason the Dos Locos Guys signed on. Click the link to learn more, and contribute if you wish.  The Guys thought it was a good idea.

OK, since the Run begins at 7:30, the restaurant must be open by 9 and that means setting up buffet tables piled high with food containing high carbs - cheese quesadillas, bagels, French Toast, even a certain beer which is high in carbs. All the rest is up in the air.  No one knows what to expect and I find that exciting.  Live and learn, let go, and enjoy the adventure.

What this boils down to is I must be at the restaurant by 6:30 am to get started on kitchen set-up, the prep area, stonegrill ovens, and back-bar. Therefore, tonight's dinner of leftover pork roast with fresh steamed spinach will be enjoyed with a glass of wine; followed by a quick shower, then it's off to bed.

And so it goes.
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Sentry Caturday

More later.
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A Letter From NOLA: Year 6 of a 5-Year Lifespan

Harry Shearer (if you don't know who he is, Google him) nails this over at HuffPo, but does anyone care?

NEW ORLEANS -- It's righteously hot at the beginning of June, a time for this area to take an involuntary intake of breath, if not a full-on gasp, before getting on with finding some shade. June 1 is the official start of the hurricane season. No whistles blow, no bands play, but the news media are full of stories about the onset of "that time of year." I've just finished taking a ride on a stretch of road that brings back memories of a previous hurricane season: the so-called "twin spans" of I-10 across Lake Pontchartrain, which were shattered and scattered like the toys of an angry child during the storm surge of Hurricane Katrina, are still, just now, undergoing the finishing touches of rebuilding.
This is a notable start of hurricane season for another reason. June 1 was the Corps of Engineers' self-imposed deadline for the completion, in name if not in fact, of their renamed Hurricane Risk Reduction System (the previous name, the Hurricane Protection System, was too ironic for the Corps, given the ghastly failures of that system during Katrina). Parts of the system are yet to be completed, or started, but the Corps is proud to say, in press release and soundbite alike, that "New Orleans has never been safer." Coming from an agency which, according to two independent forensic investigative reports (ILIT from UC Berkeley and Team Louisiana from LSU), bore primary responsibility for the death and devastation in 2005 that nearly drowned this metropolitan area, that's mild reassurance indeed. The conclusions of those two reports share an interesting distinction: both were never publicly rebutted in detail and both were widely ignored by the national news media.

Everything new is suddenly old again.

Read the rest of this circus of stoopid HERE.

And so it goes.
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Puttanesca: Fresh or Bottled?

The sauce prepared the other night was out-of-this-world.  That's the good news. Spending the rest of the evening and another hour in the morning before leaving for work, cleaning up is the bad news. (Image from the Internet, but the dish looks very much like the one I made.)

All ingredients are fresh and everything requires chopping or dicing.  Time-consuming and exacting. And their order in the recipe made it tough to clean up while preparing. Timing is everything and the sink filled rapidly with bowls and plates of all shapes and sizes. Still, I got through it and eventually enjoyed a lovely and refreshing dinner.

Then I had to face facts: I simply do not have enough countertop space for prep of this volume. The sink is too small once filled with used bowls and plates, and it's difficult to clean the chopping boards for the next ingredients. Pans had to wait for the dishes to be washed because of their size.  (Put a 6 quart Dutch Oven in my sink and it's all over.)


It suddenly hit me that the last time I made this recipe I lived in a big house with a huge kitchen, every needless appliance and gadget known to man, 2 huge sinks, a food prep island, and (most importantly) a partner who helped clean up as the preparation progressed.  Oh, and let's not forget the automatic dishwasher.  Silly me.  How could I have forgotten all that history?  Well, I guess I did.

So logistically, this one was a nightmare of frustration. A co-worker suggested I look into some of the gourmet bottled sauces that she says are quite good.  She offered to send a few web addresses catering to those of us with small cooking spaces, but large love of food.  Still, I so enjoy the act of preparing a meal with my own hands so I guess it will be a trade-off.

Meanwhile, I have frozen 4 containers of the sauce for later enjoyment. That pays for some of the extra trouble.

And so it goes.
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Palin's Garish Bus Has New Decoration

One of the seven million residents of Gotham decided to tart up Palin's bus by adding a sign above the over-sized image of Preamble to the Constitution.  Bus was parked outside of FOX while Palin was inside. The new addition reads: "I, The Media Whore".

Some things are better left unsaid.  No?

Underground City Beneath Jerusalem.

Just another one of those stories I love and love to share. From AP via Yahoo News:

JERUSALEM – Underneath the crowded alleys and holy sites of old Jerusalem, hundreds of people are snaking at any given moment through tunnels, vaulted medieval chambers and Roman sewers in a rapidly expanding subterranean city invisible from the streets above.

At street level, the walled Old City is an energetic and fractious enclave with a physical landscape that is predominantly Islamic and a population that is mainly Arab.

Underground Jerusalem is different: Here the noise recedes, the fierce Middle Eastern sun disappears, and light comes from fluorescent bulbs. There is a smell of earth and mildew, and the geography recalls a Jewish city that existed 2,000 years ago.

Archaeological digs under the disputed Old City are a matter of immense sensitivity. For Israel, the tunnels are proof of the depth of Jewish roots here, and this has made the tunnels one of Jerusalem's main tourist draws: The number of visitors, mostly Jews and Christians, has risen dramatically in recent years to more than a million visitors in 2010.

But many Palestinians, who reject Israel's sovereignty in the city, see them as a threat to their own claims to Jerusalem. And some critics say they put an exaggerated focus on Jewish history.

A new underground link is opening within two months, and when it does, there will be more than a mile (two kilometers) of pathways beneath the city. Officials say at least one other major project is in the works. Soon, anyone so inclined will be able to spend much of their time in Jerusalem without seeing the sky.

On a recent morning, a man carrying surveying equipment walked across a two-millennia-old stone road, paused at the edge of a hole and disappeared underground. 

In a multilevel maze of rooms and corridors beneath the Muslim Quarter, workers cleared rubble and installed steel safety braces to shore up crumbling 700-year-old Mamluk-era arches.

Above ground, a group of French tourists emerged from a dark passage they had entered an hour earlier in the Jewish Quarter and found themselves among Arab shops on the Via Dolorosa, the traditional route Jesus took to his crucifixion.

Read the rest HERE. There is a slide show including the above. (click to embiggen.)

More later.
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Vile & Odious* Comments Will Not Be Posted

I received a long, rambling comment for moderation directed at the Memorial weekend posts, but went far beyond.  It was vile and I chose not to post it since it was written by "anonymous" (bless their heart) and filled with hate. (BTW, I removed the "older" from the profile about a week ago, so this tells me a lot.)  Here is a teeny sample:

As you point out, you are an "older" gay man and you are working as a restaurant host? By your own admission, you are working and socializing with people young enough to be your children and grandchildren.  Is this all you have to show for your long life? Maybe you should have died of AIDS. You have been worthless otherwise.

This person also took offense at my Memorial Caturday post, claiming I was (sic) "defaming the dignity of our war dead". S/he took shots at my heritage and birthplace.  Just about the only thing not beaten to death in the rant was the style and color of my underwear - for obvious reasons.

I smell a rat here. A number of statements refer to things never posted here, only on an earlier, now defunct site, designed to address those of us in long-term relationships who were suddenly alone, which (for many reasons) I chose to discontinue, wrap up, and move on. This "person" was trying to get to me for some reason, and I don't know why.  In the past  5 years alone I've probably lost more - materially - than this person will ever dream of having.

I make no excuses for my life, past or present.  It was what it was (and was it ever!), and it is what it is. Nothing, certainly not anonymous, hateful words, can alter that truth.

*A phrase often used by southern belles to defend family reputations, as well as their own.

And so it goes.

It's June. Wheee!

More later.
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