Stand Up & Be Counted... VOTE!

2020 is a major election year, as Americans will vote for a president, many senators, many governors, all congressional representatives, as well as many state legislators, sheriffs, commissioners, and all sorts of other offices, plus there will likely be many issues on state or local ballots. That doesn't mean 2019 is not important, as Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi will elect governors, as well as some other offices.

So, as we approach the 2019 and 2020 general elections in November of each of those years, be sure to follow the laws and procedures of the state where you are registered to vote. If you are not registered to vote, DO SO NOW, don't procrastinate! Call your local election office, or check for their website online, so that you know EXACTLY what you need to do to be properly registered to vote. You can also check with your state's election office. "Typically" a state's chief election officer is that state's "secretary of state," and I'm sure they all have websites in these times. Remember, in the United States, election laws are set by the individual states, the District of Columbia, or U.S. territories (like Puerto Rico or Guam, for example, although residents of the territories are United States citizens, they cannot vote for president, unless they move to a state or to the District of Columbia and then register to vote in compliance with the laws of that state). For more information to help you register to vote, or for other election questions, here is the link to the site for the "League of Women Voters:" http://www.vote411.org/  as well as the link to the "League's" overall website: https://www.lwv.org/

If you have already registered to vote, it is a very good idea to check your registration, even if you just voted in an election within the last few months, and even if your information has not changed. Some states have ways of doing this online, but just as with registering, call or check online for ways to verify or update your voter registration. Remember, even if you move just a block or two away from the address shown on your voter registration information, it might change the ward or some voting district, so keep your information up to date. Further, there are occasional mistakes by election offices, and I'm not meaning "deliberate mistakes," but there are potentially those kinds of mistakes too, so you don't want to show up to vote, only to be told that your name is not on the voter rolls, or that you are listed in another precinct or whatever. TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED! REMEMBER, the Trump regime in Washington DC, along with their participants and collaborators on the state and local level, will do ANYTHING to disqualify you from voting, or to see that your vote does not count. There have always been charges leveled at both major political parties about election shenanigans, BUT we have never had the threat to our democracy in modern times that we face now. CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION, DON'T WAIT, DO IT NOW!

 If you are in a state that uses early voting by mail, and that is your preferred method to vote, be sure to follow your state's regulations for requesting a ballot, and then follow proper procedure for filling out and mailing in your completed ballot. Elections are always important, but the coming preisdential election in 2020 is perhaps the most important election in the history of this country. And let's not EVER forget Mitch McConnell, the most EVIL man to EVER serve in the United States Senate, refusing to hold a vote on Barack Obama's selection for the Supreme Court in 2016. That appointment was instead held by McConnell for Donald Trump. Whoever wins the presidency in 2020 will almost certainly get to appoint other Supreme Court judges, and all presidents get to appoint judges in the federal judicial sysatem. If you want to live in about the 1400s (maybe even 1400 BC), you'll love all of the Trump picks, and there will not be any legal thing you can do about them. You could well lose your rights very soon.

BE SURE YOUR VOTE WILL COUNT!

WORD HISTORY:
League-There are two main words of this spelling, but this is the most commonly used noun (and the derived verb) meaning "a group of organizations or people in alliance for some common purpose." It is related to "liaison," a word borrowed by English from French, which had derived it from Latin, and to "ligament," a word English borrowed from Latin. "League" goes back to Indo European "leig," which had the meaning, "to bind." This gave Latin "ligare," with the same meaning, which passed into Italian as "legare," again with the same meaning. This produced the Italian noun "lega," meaning, "a group, an association (people bound together in common cause);" thus, "a league." This was borrowed by French in the Middle Ages as "ligue," with the same meaning. English borrowed the word in the second half of the 1400s, initially as "ligg," then later as "league." The 1800s saw the word used for associations of sports teams, a meaning still very much relevant today. The verb developed from the noun in the first part of the 1600s meaning, "to bind together to form a league," but the verb is not all that common, at least not in the United States; I'm not sure about elsewhere.     

Salty Dog Cocktail

The time frame history of this cocktail is as cloudy as the grapefruit juice used to make it, but if you simply mix grapefruit juice and gin, the cocktail is called a "Greyhound;" so, it's certainly no great leap to "Salty Dog" by the addition of salt. "There are claims" that American comedian, actor and overall entertainer George Jessel invented the drink. Jessel is also credited by some as the inventor of the "Bloody Mary." I remember seeing George Jessel on television talk shows in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and if I remember right, he was often called "Georgie." Jessel was outspoken in his condemnation of racism and bigotry, and he ruffled the feathers of people in both political parties at times.  

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin
3 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (white or pink)
salt
slice/wedge of grapefruit for garnish 

Rub the edge of a tall glass with a piece of grapefruit, then dip the edge of the glass into some salt. Add the gin and grapefruit juice, stir well, then add ice to fill. Fix a small slice of grapefruit to the edge of the glass as a garnish.

WORD HISTORY:
Corner-This word is distantly related to "horn" and "hornet," both words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is more closely related to "corn" (the word meaning, "tough or hardened area of skin"), a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English from Latin-based French (it is NOT related to "corn," meaning "grain, type of grain and a plant producing such grain"). "Corner" goes back to Indo European "ker(h)," which meant, "horn, head." This gave Latin "cornu," meaning, "horn, pointed end." This then later became "corna" in Latin, which passed into Latin-based French as "corne," also meaning, "horn," but also, "angle, corner," from the notion of "pointed end." This was carried to England either as "cornere," or it became that version in England, and the word was borrowed by English circa 1300, with the meaning, "intersecting point of walls or streets," the main meaning that persists to this day. The verb developed in the late 1300s, initially meaning, "make things converge into a corner," and it wasn't until the early decades of the 1800s that the meaning developed, "force someone or something into a position of virtual hopelessness;" seemingly in American English, and certainly the main meaning of the verb in the U.S. up to this day. By the way, before borrowing "corner," the most common English word for a corner was "hyrne," which meant, "horn" (yes, a previous form of the modern word), but it also meant, "corner;" so, you can see the tie between these distant relatives (through Indo European). In modern times some of the other Germanic languages still use forms of "horn" for corner, while some others use forms of "hook," and German uses "Ecke," which is really the same word as English "edge," only with the harder "ck."       

Nepalese Spicy Potatoes: Aloo Dum

It seems the Portuguese first brought potatoes to the Indian subcontinent way back in the 1500s, but it was the British who helped spread the use of potatoes in the region.* Nepal, one of the countries of the Indian Subcontinent, is the home of Mount Everest and much of the country is within the Himalaya Mountains. The population of Nepal is somewhat above 25 million. The capital of Nepal is Kathmandu, a name I love. This dish has some variations, as the general recipe idea transcends the borders of Nepal, northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and it is also termed "Dum Aloo" and "Aloor Dum," depending upon region, and in many areas it is has much more sauce (also called 'gravy'), and small sized potatoes are often used. It actually seems to have originated in the Kashmir region of northern India (now split between India and Pakistan).    

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes (about 3 cups of cut potatoes), cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 to 6 green chilies, per your heat preference (serrano or jalapeño), chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped (or half a 14 1/2 ounce can of chopped tomatoes, not completely drained)
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 
1 teaspoon mild chili powder (like ancho chili powder)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt     

Boil the potato pieces in some lightly salted water until just tender, NOT mushy. While the potatoes cook, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger. Saute until the onions "begin" to brown, stirring to prevent the garlic from burning. Now add the chilies and cook another 30 seconds before adding the ground fenugreek, ground turmeric, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder; mix everything well, then add the chopped tomato and cook another couple of minutes. Add the cooked, well drained potato pieces and fold them in to coat them with the sauce. (NOTE: some drain the cooked potatoes and then fry them in oil until somewhat browned; they then add them to the seasoning mixture.) Cook gently folding the potatoes for a couple of minutes. Serve with rice.

* Potatoes, tomatoes, papayas, guavas, pineapples and chilies all came from the "New World," more specifically, from Central and South America. These "goodies" were spread to other parts of the world by the Spanish and Portuguese, and then later given a further boost by the British and French (perhaps also the Dutch?).

WORD HISTORY:
Or-Technically, there is more than one word in English "or," but this is for the most common (by far!), the conjunction. For such a little word, "or" has a very complicated history, but I'll keep things simple. It goes back to Indo European "eti," which had the notion, "beyond, further;" thus also adverbially, "furthermore," "and also." This gave Old Germanic some form that is unclear to me, and some speculative forms by others have failed to convince me of a good possibility. Anyway, this Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "oþþe"^ (=oththe), which meant, "either, or." This later became "oththr," and then "other" (not the same word as modern "other"). This gradually was contracted to just "or," but the contracted form didn't completely overtake "other" until the 1500s. Other Germanic languages have: German "oder" (originally "odo," then "oda," then "odar," then "oder," which has retained the similar form to its now contracted English cousin "other"), Low German "or" and "oder" (originally "ettho/ettha," then "eftho/eftha"),^^ Dutch "of" (contracted from "ofte"), West Frisian "of" (originally "joftha," then later, "oft"), Old Norse, the forerunner to the modern North Germanic languages, had "eða" (=etha) and "eðe" (=ethe), and Icelandic still uses the "eða" form to this day. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish have no direct relative of English "or," as all use "eller" to mean "or." "Eller" is a relative of English "else."  

^ Another form, "eþþa," also existed. Remember, no standard language in those times. 

^^ The modern Low German forms have "likely" been influenced by standard German, and also by its close cousin English. 

Old Fashioned Cocktail

Exactly where and when the Old Fashioned Cocktail was invented is really unknown, although there are some references that would date it to "at least" the early 1800s. It is possible, or perhaps even likely, that the bourbon element was added in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1880s, as prior to that time, other types of alcohol were included in cocktails with similar ingredients. Anyway, in more modern times rye whiskey or bourbon whiskey are often used, but you can also give brandy a try. The most difficult thing about this cocktail is muddling the sugar to get it dissolved, and this can take a minute. Of course, if you have "bar sugar;" that is, very fine sugar, it will naturally dissolve more easily, but I'm guessing most people do NOT have this on hand. 

Ingredients (per drink):

2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes angostura bitters
(optional) couple of drops of water
1/2 ounce triple sec or curaçao
1 orange wedge for garnish 
1 maraschino cherry for garnish
ice (not too many/much ice)

Muddle the sugar and bitters well in a rocks/old fashioned glass until the sugar is dissolved (add a drop or two of water to help the process, if needed). (NOTE: If you like a sweeter drink, use 1/2 teaspoon sugar, but also add a few drops of water, then muddle well to dissolve the sugar.) Add the whiskey and triple sec, then stir well to mix. Add some ice and garnish with an orange wedge (give the orange wedge a little squeeze to let a few drops of the juice get into the cocktail) and maraschino cherry. The glass does NOT have to be completely filled. I recall a mixologist (a mixer of cocktails and drinks) from about 35 years ago who always said to me, "Less ice is better in an Old Fashioned." 

WORD HISTORY:
Muddle-This word is closely related to "mud," a word from Germanic. "Muddle" appears in English circa 1600, with the sense, "bathe or roll in the mud," thus the progressive development meanings, "make water muddy or unclear," thus, "to make something unclear, to make something confusing," but also simply, "to mix together well," and later, the secondary meaning of, "make a mess of something" (second half of the 1800s?). "Muddle" could simply be the extension of English "mud" through the influence of close relatives Dutch ("moddelen," meaning, "to make water muddy") and/or Low German or Rhenish German dialect "muddele" (meaning, "to stir up or churn up mud or sediment in water, thus making it unclear"),^ or it could be a direct borrowing from one of these words.  

^ Rhenish German dialect is part of the larger regional dialect "Ripuarian" (German: Ripuarisch), which goes back to the Germanic Ripuarian Franks, also called Rhine Franks, who were a part of the larger Germanic tribe the Franks. The dialect is something of a mixture of High German and Low German, although the dialect variations are often referred to in German as "Platt" (literally "flat," in English; thus, "low"). The best known of this dialect's variations is likely "Kölsch," the dialect of Cologne, followed by "Öcher," the dialect of Aachen (a German cousin's former girlfriend is from Aachen, and she can also 'get the gist' of a lot of Dutch; the German dialects in that overall area and Dutch are all from Frankish; thus they are "similar" (I didn't say "the same").       

Black Russian/White Russian Cocktails

The "Black Russian Cocktail" did not originate in Russia, nor was it invented by a Russian; rather, it was invented in Brussels, Belgium by a Belgian bartender, Gustave Tops. He (supposedly) made the drink to honor the American ambassador to Luxembourg, Perle Mesta, a womens' rights activist appointed to the job by President Harry Truman. The "Russian" part of the name is simply because it contains vodka, which has long been associated with Russia. The "Black" part is from the coffee liqueur. * While it seems Donald Trump doesn't drink alcohol ... Hold it!... With his behavior now, can you imagine if he had some booze too? Anyhow, if Trump drank cocktails, I'm sure he'd say something like, "I like any drink that has the name 'Russian' in it, but you're not going to get me to drink a 'Black Russian;' I prefer a 'White Russian,' and don't forget, I'm the least racist guy you've ever known." I've read some possible origins of the "White Russian," but it's really unclear to me when and where the cocktail came about, although like the "Black Russian," the "Russian" part  seems to be in reference to the vodka component of the drink. The name "White Russian" is simply because of the cream used, rather than any reference to what used to be called "White Russia" until more modern times, when much of that area became "Belarus."** Anyway, forget about the history and enjoy these drinks.  

Ingredients:

2 parts vodka
1 part Kahlua
(optional) maraschino cherry for garnish
ice

Pour the vodka and Kahlua into a short glass (Old Fashioned glass type), stir and fill with ice.
For a "White Russian," do the same, but float some cream on top; although some people stir in the cream. 

* The basic information is from "Liquor.com," and an article from September 8, 2010, with contributions from Gary Regan.

** Many English speakers called it "White Russia," although some called it by its transliterated Russian form "Byelorussia." 

White Russian

Black Russian

WORD HISTORY:
Float-This word and its relatives could take pages to explain, but it is related to "fly" and to "flow," both words from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "pleu" (extended form "pleud"), which meant, "to flow, to run (of water/fluids), to stream." This gave Old Germanic "flotanan," which meant, "to float, to swim," which seemingly had a variant or dialectal form "flutanan/fleutanan."^ This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the verb "flotian" meaning, "to float." This later became "floten/flotten," with the same meaning, but also added the secondary meaning, "to drift in the air," from the notion of "swimming/floating in water." There were a couple of nouns in Old English derived from the same Germanic source: "flot," meaning, "the sea;" "flota," meaning, "ship" (a vessel that 'floats' on the sea), but also "a group of ships" (fleet^^). These then became the noun "float" (1100 to 1200?) originally meaning, "the act of floating in water" (a meaning since taken over by the derived "floating"); thus also, "swimming," then also, "group of ships (a fleet, later a meaning taken over by "fleet"), then in the early 1300s also, "device used on a fishing line for buoyancy" (a meaning still very much in use); then in the second half of the 1500s, "a raft, barge, flat bottomed boat," which seems to have provided the later meaning, "decorated vessel/vehicle used in a parade" (circa 1890); and "scoop of ice cream in soda pop" (circa 1915 to 1920). There are many relatives of "float" in the other Germanic languages,^^^ for instance, Dutch "vlieten" (run/flow), vlot/vlotten (verb, "to float"), vlotten (noun, "a float"), vlot (noun, "raft, float"), Icelandic "flot" (noun, "act of floating/flotation"), Swedish "flyta" (verb, "to flow/run, float"), Danish "flyde" (verb, "to flow, to float, to swim"), Norwegian "flytende" (adjective, "flowing, fluid"); for German and Low German examples, see 'note ^' below.      

^ The variant/dialectal Old Germanic form "flutanan/fleutanan" gave Old English the verb "fleotan," which also meant "to float, to swim, to stream or flow." The basic Old Germanic word had other slight variations, and this makes it very hard to separate out some of the direct ancestors of the words that developed in the Germanic languages; for example in English, "fleet" ("group of ships," German has "Flotte," Low German has "Flott," and there are forms in other Germanic languages), "flow" (German has "fließen"), "flee" (German has "fliehen"), although they are all closely related.    

^^ "Fleet," "a group of ships," is also closely related to "float," as is the adjective "fleet," meaning, "swift, fast moving," both forms are from Germanic.

^^^ Forms in Latin-based languages are borrowed from Germanic.       

Faroese: A Little Known Relative of English

In the North Atlantic lies a group of islands called the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but they have been self governing since a short time after World War Two ended. The population is "about" 50,000. There is more than a 600 mile distance between the islands and continental Denmark. The language of the Faroe Islands is not Danish, but rather "Faroese," a language from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic language family, with its closest linguistic relative being Icelandic, and Danish being a somewhat more distant linguistic cousin. Of course Faroese is related to the other Germanic languages, including English, although I would guess many English speakers, especially those outside of the British Isles, have no idea that such a language even exists. Like its close cousin Icelandic, Faroese has not had as many influences from other languages; thus, it has remained somewhat more consistent over time. "The Oxford Companion to the English Language" makes note that English and Faroese have not had much influence on one another.

Here are a few numbers in Faroese: ein (one), fýra (four), seks (six), hundrað (hundred), túsund (thousand).  

* "The Oxford Companion to the English Language," edited by Tom McArthur, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England; American edition printed in the United States in New York, 1992

The flag of the Faroe Islands ...

  

WORD HISTORY:

Meadow (Mead, not the drink 'mead,' which is unrelated to 'mead,' meaning meadow or pasture)-"Meadow/Mead" are closely related forms related to "math" (NOT the shortened form of "mathematics," rather as in the second part of "aftermath") and to "mow" ("to cut grass"), both from the Germanic roots of English. They go back to the Indo European root "me" (not the same as our word "me" today), with the notion of "cutting down grass or grain," with the suffixed form "met/maet." This gave Old Germanic "maetha," meaning, "place of mowed grass, place to be mowed;" thus, "grassy area;" thus, "pasture, meadow." This produced West Germanic "medwo," meaning, "meadow, pasture." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "mæd," which meant, "meadow, grassy area."^ This then became "mede," before the "mead" spelling. The accusative/dative form of Old English "mæd" was "mædwe," which came to stand on its own and then morphed into "meadow." Relatives in the other West Germanic languages: German has "Matte," meaning "highland meadow, pasture," which, like its close English cousin "mead," tends to be used more in high style writings and poetry in modern times; Low German (in Old Saxon) once had "matha/maða" ('ð' essentially=th), but this doesn't "seem" to have been a stand alone word, but rather it was used in geographical names. It's unclear to me exactly what happened with forms in Low German, as "mede" seems to be the last trace of the word, and that's been more than a couple of centuries ago; Dutch had "made/mede" up until a couple of hundred years ago, but I cannot a form in modern Dutch; West Frisian doesn't "seem" to have a stand alone word anymore, but it does have "miede" as part of a compound, and it means, "(grassy) field."     

     
^ The Old Germanic form also gave Old English the noun "mæþ," which meant, "grass that has been cut, crops that are cut down;" thus also, "harvested food produce."    

Get Smart Episode: Our Man in Toyland

This was one of the early episodes of the "Get Smart" television comedy series, which spoofed the spy mentality of the Cold War era. The episode first aired in October of 1965 and featured guest star John Hoyt, a familiar face to television viewers and movie goers in those times, although most people likely didn't know his name. John Hoyt played many a villainous role, and I have to believe it was his likeness that gave rise to the cartoon caricature of "Fearless Leader" on the "Rocky & Bullwinkle Show," which was televised in the early 1960s, first on the ABC network, then on the NBC network. Another familiar face of this episode is that of Helen Kleeb, who made many an appearance in movies, and many more appearances on television for decades. Helen Kleeb lived to be 96 years old, and she made television appearances well into the 1990s. To put this episode's ending into perspective, World War Two, the Korean War and the Vietnam War (then ongoing and escalating significantly) had created a substantial market for military-themed toys, like guns, grenades, bazookas, bayonets and bombs; and yes, I did say "toys." My mother had worked for a (then) major toy manufacturing company a few years before this episode aired, although I can't recall if she ever saw this episode, and "Get Smart" was not really her kind of comedy.      

Main Cast:

Don Adams: Maxwell Smart, CONTROL Agent 86, "Max"
Barbara Feldon: CONTROL Agent 99, "99"
Edward Platt: Chief of CONTROL, "Chief"
John Hoyt: Conrad Bunny/store manager/KAOS agent
Helen Kleeb: Frieda/store clerk, KAOS agent

The Chief of CONTROL assigns Maxwell Smart, along with canine agent Fang, also known as "K13," to find out how KAOS is getting secret government information out of the U.S. to hostile interests through merchandise at a local department store. The Chief already has placed Agent 99 and some other agents in the store and they will report any suspicious activity to Max, who will pretend to be a customer. Max goes to the store and is followed by a KAOS agent. The other CONTROL agents keep track of the KAOS man and report his movements to Max, who meets the Chief in the department store restaurant, where the KAOS agent is arrested. In the meantime, Max had gone to Agent 99, who was working in the perfume department of the store. She tells him she thinks KAOS knows who she is. The store manager, Mr. Conrad Bunny, approaches and Agent 99 tells Max he might be interested in a new perfume called, "Jasmine," which is a code to say she's in trouble. Max says he'll return later.

After the arrest of the KAOS agent in the restaurant, mentioned above, Max goes back to the perfume counter to get Agent 99 to safety, but another woman is there. She tells Max that he is mistaken about another woman having been working there earlier, because she's been the only person there all day. Max plants a microphone on the perfume counter and he hears the woman talking with Conrad Bunny who says that Agent 99 has gotten away from them, but that they have successfully disarmed her. He says that the store will close shortly and then they can search the entire store for 99. The clerk tells Mr. Bunny about Max having been to the counter and asking for the woman who wanted to demonstrate "Jasmine" perfume for him. Bunny remembers the earlier customer and figures the man (Max) is working with Agent 99. He says they must find both of these people and kill them. Max goes to get help from the three CONTROL agents stationed at points throughout the store, but two are missing, and he finds the third agent dead.

With closing time nearing for the store, Max and Fang go looking for 99 and they find her hiding in a small office. She tells Max she's discovered how KAOS is sending the secret information. She brings out a doll, called "Polly Dolly," that is equipped with a small tape cartridge to give it the ability to "talk." Mr. Bunny replaces the doll tape cartridge with one he has recorded with the secret information on it. He then marks the doll in a certain way so that it can be identified as one with secret info on it for KAOS agents overseas. The dolls easily clear customs officials, because no one is looking to play the tape cartridge. So Max and 99 get Fang to take the doll out of the store through the ventilation system to the Chief, which he does. The Chief calls for all available agents so they can raid the department store.

Klutzy Max hits the keys on an organ in the music department of the store, so Mr. Bunny knows where they are. To lessen the light, Max empties his gun shooting out the lights in the room, but when Mr. Bunny and two KAOS agents come in, Max tries to bluff his way with the empty gun. The bluff fails, but 99 picks up a toy water pistol which Max uses on Conrad Bunny, knocking his monocle to the floor, where he steps on it. Max and 99 flee into the toy department where they begin using the military toys to ward off Mr. Bunny and his KAOS agents. The toy weapons cause Bunny and company to seek shelter behind a counter, so Max finds the ultimate toy weapon called "Destructo," a remote operated flying bomb, which demolishes the counter where the KAOS agents are hiding. Max tells Agent 99, "We had at our disposal every fiendish and destructive plaything ever devised for the pleasure of little children. All those poor devils had were real guns and bullets." hahahahahaha!!!! The Chief arrives with several CONTROL agents and as they take Mr. Bunny away, he grabs a gun Max is holding. He tells how he'll at least kill one of them and he fires the gun. It turns out the gun was a dart gun and Max is standing with a dart in the middle of his forehead.
       
Picture is from the 2008 HBO Video release of "Get Smart: The Complete Series" (Season 1)

WORD HISTORY:   

Chaos-This word is distantly related to "yawn," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "chasm," a word English borrowed from Latin, which got it from Greek. It goes back to Indo European "ghih/gheh," which had the notion, "to be wide open." This gave transliterated Greek "khaos," meaning, "large empty space." This was borrowed by Latin as "chaos" and English borrowed the word circa 1400. The use of the word in a religious sense for, "the void in the universe before creation," developed in the 1500s and this developed into the more general "turmoil, confusion, disorder," in the 1600s, the meaning which has carried into modern times.

Vichyssoise

The origin of "Vichyssoise" is unclear, with France and the United States both having claims on the famous soup, which is usually served cold. Even if "Vichyssoise" was invented in the United States, its ties to France would still be substantial, because the man often credited with its invention, Louis Diat, the chef at the Ritz-Carlton in New York, was born in France, not far from Vichy, the city after which he claimed to have named the soup in 1917, originally, "Crème Vichyssoise Glacée" (iced or chilled cream Vichyssoise). Diat said he used a recipe from his grandmother's potato and leek soup in France as the basis for Vichyssoise. Julia Child, the famous television cook and culinary author, although she lived and trained in France, and later popularized French cooking in her native United States, maintained that Vichyssoise was an American invention. The are many variations to Vichyssoise, although most versions are similar. This is my own version (hey, I told you there were many variations, hahaha).

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup leeks, white parts only, cut into about 1 inch pieces
2/3 cup white onion, roughly chopped
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable stock)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme (thyme can add lots of flavor, so be careful how much you use)  
1/2 teaspoon salt (if the broth has a high salt content, you can leave out the salt)
chives for garnish

Cook the potatoes, leeks and onion in water until tender. Drain the vegetables and while still warm put them into a blender or a food processor, then add the chicken broth, butter, white pepper and salt. Blend/process the soup until smooth, then add the butter, heavy cream and dried thyme, blend/process again until well mixed. The soup is intended to be rather thick, but if it is too thick for you, you can thin it with a little more cream or even milk. Sieve the soup if you want to be sure it is smooth, with no vegetable pieces. I use a sieve that allows some of the small thyme leaves into the soup. Refrigerate the soup for several hours, until it is well chilled. Snip a few pieces of fresh chives on top of each serving.    

WORD HISTORY:
Slack-This word is distantly related to "lax" and to "relish," both words of Latin derivation borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "sleg," which had the notion, "to be loose, or slack." This gave Old Germanic "slakas/slakaz," seemingly meaning, "be loose, be infirm, not taut;" thus also, "be weak." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the adjective "slæc," which meant, "lazy," then also, "slow, lax," and this then became "slack." The noun was derived from the adjective in the 1300s with the general meaning of "looseness," and then also the figurative, "lull in some activity." "Slacks" was applied to loose fitting military pants (1820s?). The noun meaning "dust from coal" is not really the same word and simply came to be spelled and pronounced as "slack," to which it is unrelated, but it is related to "slag." The verb form "slacken" seems to me to be a hold over from when English used "en" endings on most infinitive verbs,^ and this verb developed from the adjective in the 1400s, but the shortened verb form "slack" was also used in the 1500s; both forms meaning, "to become loose, to become less active." The verb "slack" is now often used with "off," in "slack off," to mean, "to become less active in something." "Slack's" German relative is "schlack" (slack, loose, lazy, careless), "schlaksig" (would literally be "slacky" in English, and means "lanky"), the noun "Schlaks" (tall and lanky man), Low German had "slak," Dutch had "slac," and Swedish has "slack" (slack, floppy).  

^ Originally English, like its German cousin, used "-en" on many infinitive forms of verbs. In those times, English speakers didn't have to say "to" with a verb to indicate it was the infinitive. Later, when verb conjugations began to "streamline" in English, "to" was added to represent the former -en endings. Standard German has not changed, and that's why German infinitive verb forms commonly end in -en; as for example, "sehen" (to see), "machen" (to make or do), "hören" (to hear).      

Portuguese Pork & Clams: Carne de Porco à Alentejana

This wonderful representative of Portuguese cuisine is really not hard to make, although it is not typically a dish to be made if you are in a hurry, as it "should" marinate for a number of hours before cooking. In her book, "Portuguese Homestyle Cooking," Ana Patuleia Ortins writes that the name of the dish implies its origin was in Alentejo, but that some believe it actually originated in the Algarve region, which is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal; and thus, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, which makes seafood plentiful and a large part of the regional cuisine. Alentejo is just above the Algarve region, but Ana Patuleia Ortins does not give her opinion as to where this dish started. There are a number of variations to this dish and crisply fried diced potatoes are a common accompaniment, with some even adding potatoes to the dish itself. Traditionally it is made with lard, but some have switched over to making it with olive oil, so I compromised and made it with olive oil and some rendered pork fat. 

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/4 pound pork, cut into bite size pieces
about 15 to 18 small fresh clams, shells cleaned.
3 to 4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 tablespoon rendered pork fat or lard
1/2 to 2/3 cup white wine
2 teaspoons sweet paprika (Spanish sweet paprika, if you have it; it's smoky)
1 large tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons piri piri Portuguese chili sauce (you can substitute Tabasco or Franks pepper sauce)*  
2/3 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
1/2 teaspoon salt (later can add more to taste, if desired)

In a large bowl, add the pork pieces, sliced garlic, paprika, chili sauce, white pepper and salt. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 or 4 hours, although 8 to 10 hours is better, if possible. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and pork fat or lard. Add the ingredients from the bowl and saute the pork, stirring and turning the pork pieces to lightly brown them. Add the chopped tomato pieces and white wine, reduce the heat to low and cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil; cook, stirring and turning the meat occasionally, until the pork is tender. Add the clams and cover the skillet again. Check after about 5 or 6 minutes. The clams should have opened; if not, give them another minute or two, and tap lightly on any that haven't opened, if they still do not open, then discard them. Serve with extra chili sauce on the side.  

* Long ago Portuguese explorers led to Portugal's involvement in parts of Africa, such as in what are modern Angola and Mozambique, for example. This brought about their attachment to a small African chili pepper commonly called "piri piri," which they then used to make a hot pepper sauce bearing the same name. It is a common condiment in Portuguese homes and restaurants, and also used as an ingredient in some Portuguese recipes. It is "similar" to Tabasco sauce or Frank's Red Hot Sauce. It is available in "some" parts of the United States where Portuguese immigrants established communities.    

I put the fried diced potatoes on the left side of the plate, but some serve the port and clams on top of the potatoes.

WORD HISTORY:  

Cuspidor-The main part of this word is distantly related to "spew" and to "spit," both words from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "spyu," which meant "to spit, to discharge fluid from the mouth." This gave Latin "spuere," which meant, "to spit." The first part of "cuspidor" goes back to Indo European "kom," which had the notion "by, with, near, beside." This gave Latin "com," and its variant form, "con," both meaning, "together, with," which were common prefixes, and at times used as prefixes of emphasis (intensification). Together the two parts gave Latin "conspuere," meaning, "to spit, to spit at or upon." This passed into Latin-based Portuguese as "cuspir," meaning, "to spit," and this produced the Portuguese noun "cuspideira," meaning, "a container for spitting;" thus, "a spittoon." This was borrowed by English in the 1700s, although it seems to have taken until the late 1700s to become more firmly established. 

Michelle Wolf Spoke Truth

If Michelle Wolf's language is the worst thing you ever experience in your life, you'll have had a hell of a good life. Myself, I know all the words, I know how to use them and I do use them, on occasion, but I understand that some people may be uncomfortable or even shocked to hear such language, but if you have trouble hearing these words, how will you deal with truth, with reality. Truth can be ugly, it can force us to turn away, it can force us to pull the covers over our heads in an effort to avoid it. Sometimes we cringe at truth, but truth; that is, reality, marches on. I find it disingenuous by those who find Beto O'Rourke's occasional obscenities, or Michelle Wolf's language in 2018 to be so offensive, but they seem to have no problem with Donald Trump's language, including "Grab women by the -----," or calling some NFL players "son of a -------," or calling some African and Caribbean nations "sh--holes," or the use of words not generally judged to be obscenities, but given their context by Trump, they are truly obscene, like referring to Latinos as "invading the U.S.," calling Mexicans "rapists and criminals," calling Baltimore "disgusting ... a rat and rodent infested mess ... no human being would want to live there." Well anyway... comedy can be used to point to, or to emphasize, truth, and that's where Michelle Wolf hit the nail on the head.

In April of 2018, entertainer Michelle Wolf was the featured speaker (performer) at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.* With tensions in the country running high with Donald Trump often attacking the media and using the term "fake news" about reporting he didn't (doesn't) like, the stage was set for the dinner, which Trump did NOT attend, although Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his press secretary, was sent as a representative of the White House. Michelle Wolf's overall performance was what you likely have heard in nightclubs, if you've ever attended such; by that I mean, these performances "often" contain some rough language and she delivered the skewering of the media that was expected, she took a few jabs at herself, then she turned to the crux of the matter... Trump, Sarah Sanders and the media; she did NOT hold back. With Sarah Sanders she did everything except directly call her a liar, something I will gladly do here... SARAH SANDERS IS A LIAR! It is not without reason I call Sanders "Frau Goebbels." More truth was to come as Michelle said of the media and Trump, "You (the media) pretend that you hate him (Trump), but I think you love him. I think what no one in this room wants to admit... Trump has helped all of you. He couldn't sell steaks or vodka or water or college or ties or Eric ... but he has helped YOU. He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster and now you're profiting off of him." She ended with, "Okay, like an immigrant who was brought here by his parents and didn't do anything wrong, I've gotta get the f--- out of here.....Flint (Michigan) still doesn't have clean water!"  

* The White House Correspondents' Dinner is sponsored by an association of journalists from the various media who report on the U.S. presidency and presidential administrations. The dinner began in the 1920s and Calvin Coolidge was the first president to attend the dinner. Over the years show business people often provided entertainment, with comedians eventually becoming the most common, and with the entertainment centering on much teasing and joking, often by the president skewering media organizations or individual reporters, and the featured speaker skewering everyone.

WORD HISTORY:
Yacht-This word goes back to Dutch "jaght" or Low German "jacht" (in both cases the "j" is pronounced like English "y"), in either case a short form of Low German "jachtschip," which meant "hunting or pursuit ship;" that is, "a light fast ship." Low German "jacht" goes back to Old High German "jagon," which meant, "to hunt, to chase or pursue" (modern German still has "jagen," meaning, "to hunt or pursue"). Where this comes from is not entirely certain, although the Old High German word goes back at least to the 700s. It "could" go back to Indo European "yagh/yak," "seemingly" with the meaning, "to covet;" thus, "to pursue some desired object." The thing is, forms in the Germanic languages are scarce, and Old Norse borrowed its form, "jaga," from Low German "jagen." The Brothers Grimm show Old Frisian having "jagia," and Middle Dutch "jagen.'' Okay, so back to the derived word "yacht." It was borrowed by English in the mid 1500s from either Dutch or Low German, and the ship type itself also began use by the British monarchy in the 1600s as a boat for pleasure and relaxation; a use and meaning that has been with it ever since. German has both "Jacht" (borrowed from Low German or Dutch) and "Yacht" (borrowed from English), Low German has "Jacht," Dutch "jacht," Frisian "jacht," Danish and Norwegian "jacht" ("apparently" borrowed from Low German), Swedish "Yacht" (apparently borrowed from English).          

Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is typically a dessert dish in the United States, but some cultures use it as a main course, and there are various recipes. Rice likely moved out of Asia into the Middle East and then into Europe through Greece and later by way of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Where rice pudding developed is really not known, but certainly China would be on any list of possibilities, although what would actually have qualified as being "rice pudding" is unclear, but maybe rice with some spices and perhaps some sweetener? After all, rice pudding is generally a simple dish. Cinnamon is one of the common spices used in many countries for rice pudding, as well as nutmeg sometimes, and on the Indian subcontinent cardamom is also often used. Some people make rice pudding by cooking the rice in water, while elsewhere the rice is cooked in milk, as in German speaking countries, where the dish is literally called "Milchreis" ("milk rice"), and it is usually topped with sugar and cinnamon. On Puerto Rico coconut milk is part of the recipe.*    

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cream
2 cups milk **
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
bare pinch of salt
(optional) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(optional) 1/3 cup raisins 
some sugar and cinnamon for garnish on each serving

In a sauce pan, add the rice, sugar and salt, then add the milk, cream and vanilla. Mix well and place over medium heat for just a couple of minutes (DO NOT BOIL), then reduce heat to low or very low (you can continue reducing the heat as the rice cooks, if you prefer), cover and cook until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking (because this is cooking with milk and cream, and not with water, it can stick easily). (Optional) If you'd like, you can stir in 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and/or 1/3 cup of raisins; otherwise, just top each serving with some sugar and a little cinnamon. This can be served warm or chilled. If chilled, you can serve it with whipped cream, which is common in the United States.

* For Puerto Rican rice pudding; that is, Arroz con Dulce, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/04/puerto-rican-rice-pudding-arroz-con.html

** I use 1 cup of evaporated (canned) milk and 1 cup of regular milk, but if you use evaporated milk, the rice will not be completely white, if that matters to you. 

WORD HISTORY:
Hornet-This word is related to "horn," and it goes back to Indo European "k(h)er," which meant, "horn, head." This seems to have developed only in West Germanic, as "hurznuto," meaning, "hornet."^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hyrnet/hyrnetu," with the same meaning and this then became "hornet." The other West Germanic languages have: German "Hornisse," Low German "Hoornk," Dutch "hoornaar." I could not find a form in Frisian, although presumably there once was such a form, and the North Frisian dialect has "horn" and the West Frisian dialect has "hoarn," both meaning "horn," the base of the word "hornet."     

^ Apparently from the antennae, but there is some speculation that it is from the buzzing sound and its connection to "horn," the instrument, which literally were animal horns in ancient times, and some Germanic forms of long ago did use. I favor the antennae idea. 

Tequila Drink: Bahia Breeze Cocktail

This cocktail is easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 ounces golden tequila
4 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces cranberry juice
ice
lime garnish

Fill a tall glass about two-thirds of the way with ice. Add the golden tequila, pineapple juice and cranberry juice. Garnish with lime.

WORD HISTORY:
Halm-This word, also spelled "haulm," is distantly related through Indo European to "calamari." It goes back to Indo European "kolehmos," which meant "reed;" thus also, "grain shaft, stem, stalk."  This gave Old Germanic "halma," with the same meanings.^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "healm," meaning, "stalk of a plant, straw." This then became "halm." At some point, the word also took on the meaning "part of a horse collar or harness," but why is unclear. German has "Halm," meaning, "stem/stalk of a plant, straw," but which is also often used as a shortened form of "Trinkhalm;" that is, "drinking straw"), Low German "Halm," meaning, "plant stem or stalk," Dutch "halm," meaning "plant stalk or stem," Icelandic "hálmur," meaning, "straw," Danish, Norwegian and Swedish "halm," all meaning, "straw." English also has the term "culm" for "the hollow stalk of a flowering cereal plant," but this is a term pretty much confined to botanists. It is from Latin "culmus," meaning, "plant stalk," which Latin borrowed from Greek and which has the same Indo European ancestor as English "halm/haulm."  

^ The Germanic pronunciation emphasized the "h" sound, while Greek, which also had a form of the word, emphasized the "k."

Lilies of the Field: Sidney Poitier Oscar Winner

This 1963 black and white film was done on a relatively low budget, but like the dominant subject of the film, the movie does much with little. Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Lilia Skala was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the movie itself was nominated for Best Picture. A couple of other notes: Ralph Nelson was the producer and director of the film, and according to Turner Classic Movies (aka, "TCM"), the budget was so tight, he played the role of Mr. Ashton in the film, because he couldn't afford to hire an actor. And Sidney Poitier took a small actual paycheck for his role in the film, but he so believed in the story, he instead signed for a percentage of any future profits, which turned out to be pretty substantial. 

This is a GREAT story of how people of varying backgrounds can accomplish things when they work together, although some leadership and motivation are needed to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and the reasons why people continue to pursue some difficult goals may not even be fully understood by the people involved themselves. The movie has many lighthearted scenes, and regardless of your religious beliefs, or non religious beliefs, I think most people will feel good after seeing this movie.   

Cast:

Sidney Poitier as "Homer Smith"
Lilia Skala as "Mother Maria"
Lisa Mann as "Sister Gertrude"
Isa Crino as "Sister Agnes"
Francesca Jarvis as "Sister Albertine"
Pamela Branch as "Sister Elizabeth"
Stanley Adams as "Juan"
Dan Frazer as "Father Murphy"
Ralph Nelson as "Mr. Ashton" (Nelson was uncredited in the film role, but he was also the producer and director of the film)

A free-spirited African American traveling fix-it man, Homer Smith, needs water for his car, an old station wagon. When he pulls off a dusty road in the American Southwest, he meets five German speaking Catholic nuns who are putting up a fence around a small farmhouse. The head nun, Mother Maria, tells him that God is good and has sent her a strong man, and that she has something for Homer to do. Homer says he doesn't know anything about that, and he thanks the women for the water, gets back into his car and drives off, with the nuns looking on attentively. Before he even gets back to the road, he stops and looks into his wallet, where he sees his money is running low. He turns the car around and goes back. He tells Mother Maria if she wants to "hire" him, he is available for one day's work. Mother Maria says "hire?" Homer tells her, "Hire... that means for money." In a sort of comic way, the German-speaking nuns pronounce Homer's family name in the German manner, "Schmidt" ... hahaha... hey wait a minute, my name is Schmidt... ahh, Smith!* Mother Maria tells Homer the roof needs to be fixed, and he pulls a tool-filled crate from the back of his old station wagon. The nuns are impressed and he tells them you need good tools to get good work, and "when you 'hire' Homer Smith, you get good work." This brings Mother Maria to repeat the word "hire" in a scornful way, which goes unnoticed by Homer, and he goes off to fix the roof.

When Homer finishes with the roof, he begins to write up a bill. The nuns carry out a small bed and Mother Maria tells Homer the bed is for him to sleep. He tells her he sleeps in his car and that he has to get moving to find a place to eat, because he's hungry. Unknown to Homer, Mother Maria has been peeking over his shoulder at his calculations for payment. When he hands her the bill, she takes it and puts it into her pocket without looking at it, because she already knows what's on it. She tells Homer he is in too big of a hurry, and that, "We were not put on the Earth to hurry, Schmidt." She then says she'll ring the bell for supper. She walks away leaving Homer to wonder what just happened. Later she rings the bell and calls out, "Schmidt!" Homer comes to the house where the nuns are at a table waiting for him. Mother Maria says a prayer in German asking that the food provided to them will make "Schmidt" strong so that "he can fulfill Your will." Homer, who doesn't know what she just said, stands respectfully at the table.** They all sit down and not another word is spoken as the starving Homer gulps down the relatively small amount he's been given and the ever respectful nuns daintily eat their food. When all are finished, Mother Maria thanks God for the food, and Homer utters, "God sets a mighty poor table." When Homer says he must be going, Mother Maria says, "Do not make hurry. We are from Germany, from Austria and from Hungaria.*** We learn English." They bring out a phonograph and begin to play a record with English lessons for German speakers. After a few minutes Homer tells them he can help to teach them English and he proceeds to do just that, and in such a fun way, even the serious Mother Maria has fun. It's a cheerful scene and Homer even throws in a little black American English, "I stands up, y'all," much to the delight of the nuns, and Homer loves it too.

The next morning Mother Maria awakens Homer and speaks in German about him sleeping late while the nuns have been up for hours working. Homer decides to put his foot down and he tells Mother Maria that he's no nun to be bossed around by her, and that it's time she paid him and he'll leave. Mother Maria abruptly tells him to go inside and eat breakfast and she stomps off. Homer goes inside and finds his breakfast consists of just one egg and a cup of milk, which prompts him to say, "That old lady, she don't hand out grub like she hands out orders, does she?" Homer downs the egg in one bite and drinks some milk, then he goes outside and attempts to talk business with Mother Maria, who quickly orders him to follow her, which he does. She takes Homer to an area where there is a dilapidated building with no roof, lots of debris and broken down beams. She tells Homer "We build a chapel," which she pronounces with her German accent as "shhapel." She proceeds to tell Homer he is going to help them build the chapel, but he immediately protests, "I ain't buildin' no shhapel," he says, mocking her accent, but Mother Maria stands there straight-faced and arms crossed. She then says "We women will build it... it's God's will." Homer tries to give Mother Maria his bill, but she completely ignores him and Homer agrees to help move some of the debris from the site, "I don't want those girls breaking their backs picking up those heavy beams." Homer begins working. Later Mother Maria rings the dinner bell and calls, "Schmidt, Schmidt." A tired and hungry Homer utters, "Oh, Mother gonna feed the slaves?" They eat dinner and Homer gives them some more English lessons. He then tries to talk with Mother Maria about his bill, telling her, "You pay me. I'm for hire," and with the mention of that word again, Mother Maria cleverly says, "I speak English not so good." The two trade Bible verses to make their cases, and Mother Maria calls Homer's attention to some verses from Matthew, chapter 6, which Homer quotes back to her as his position weakens. (Note: Concisely, the Bible verses say believers should not worry about food and clothing, because God will provide for those of faith.) She tells Homer to go to sleep and that they need him to take them to Mass the next morning, which is Sunday. Homer says, "I'm a Baptist, I don't go to Mass." Mother Maria blesses him and walks away as she has before. Homer realizes he's lost and he tears up the bill. (Note: The nuns have been walking into town for Mass, and while I don't believe the distance is mentioned, it appears to be at least a couple of miles, so again, their dedication is seen.) 

Off the group goes to church the next morning, but it turns out the service is held outside in the little nearby town, because there is no shhapel... I mean, chapel. While Father Murphy says Mass, Homer goes into a little diner and orders a huge breakfast from the owner, named Juan, who is somewhat soured on religion, but he tells Homer the nuns have no money and that they escaped from East Germany, over the wall, and made it to the United States to take over this property which was left by the previous owner to a religious group in Germany in his will.**** So now Homer understands what the nuns have gone through and why they have such little food. He also begins to understand how Mother Maria's toughness has helped hold them together in the face of adversity, as the nuns intend to build a chapel on the land for the people to worship (later it is mentioned that Mother Maria wants to also build a school and a hospital). Just for the record, the nuns have a cow for milk, a few chickens for eggs and apparently little bits of food in donations. They are gardening to grow vegetables. The townspeople are mainly Latino and poor. Homer meets Father Murphy who travels and lives out of a trailer to go 400 miles a week to other such places to try to meet the spiritual needs of a poor population. He tells Homer that in his early days he prayed for a wealthy parish and that this was his answer. While Homer doesn't say much, he's clearly thinking about the whole situation and he keeps telling people, "I'm just passing through," when the subject of the chapel construction comes up, although the statement comes out of his mouth weaker and weaker.

They all return to the farm where the nuns gather to sing religious songs in Latin. Homer listens and the nuns ask him to sing a song. He teaches them the gospel song, "Amen," which had been around for more than a decade, but was made VERY popular by this movie. Homer has the nuns sing the constant "amen" refrain, and the upbeat tune delights the nuns, even the devout Mother Maria, who gradually begins to sing along. So, we have a black American Baptist singing along with five German-speaking Catholic nuns, who have come thousands of miles to tend to the spiritual needs of a poor Latino American community, with assistance from an Irish American priest. Anyway, Homer tells Mother Maria he's leaving, and she gets him to take her and one of the other nuns into town. She goes and talks to a construction company owner, Mr. Ashton, who offers Homer a job running a bulldozer, but not before a couple of things happen. First, Ashton calls Homer "Boy" twice,***** and Homer finally calls the man, "Boy," which makes a point. Second, Ashton tells Homer Mother Maria told him that Homer is the contractor for the nuns to build a chapel and he can't believe it (as a put down). This ruffles Homer's pride, so he doesn't deny that he is their contractor. Homer tells Ashton he'll take the bulldozing job for two days a week. Ashton asks what Homer is going to be doing the rest of each week, and he answers that he's going to be building a chapel. Homer bluntly tells Mother Maria he needs materials to build the chapel and he asks her if she can get them. Mother Maria determinedly answers, "Ja," German for "yes." She and the nuns begin writing to various foundations asking for financial assistance. Meanwhile, Homer works at the bulldozing job and earns his first pay. He buys lots of groceries, including some candy, and takes it all back to the farm. Mother Maria's stubbornness and religious devotion makes it hard for her to say "thank you," except to God. The problem is, there are no more bricks and lumber to continue building the chapel and Mother Maria's appeals have produced no financial help. The strain of the situation causes Mother Maria and Homer to quarrel and he angrily walks out, but not before telling her off about how she gives out orders and he compares her to Hitler.

Some time passes and still no help arrives and Homer does not return. Even Mother Maria is discouraged. The nuns again have to walk into town for Mass and the townspeople see that Homer is gone, and the assumption is, the chapel will not be completed. Then one Sunday as the nuns walk into town, here comes Homer. He stops and takes the nuns to Mass. The people see him and their spirits rise. The next day a pickup truck arrives filled with bricks, then others follow with bricks, lumber and church doors. When the townspeople offer their help, Homer turns them down, telling Mother Maria that she only contracted one man to build the chapel, but as the townspeople look on, Homer is weary and progress is slow with only him doing the work. Even Juan shows up and wants to help, soured on religion though he had become. Finally the people just begin working and Homer is discouraged out of vanity that he couldn't build the chapel himself. The workers mean well, but they have no supervision and they lack the vision of how the work should proceed. Juan tells Homer that he showed humility and came to help, even though he has little, if any, religious faith. He asks if Homer can show humility too, which Homer does, as he truly becomes the contractor, giving out orders and supervising the townspeople who do the work. In a turnabout, he says to Mother Maria, "You too, mach schnell (German for "hurry up")," prompting her to say, "Hitler!" Homer gives a big smile. Ashton asks Juan why he came to help and Juan says, "Insurance." Ashton doesn't understand and Juan tells him that he can't see beyond life now, but if those who believe in the hereafter are right, "I've paid my insurance." Shortly thereafter Ashton sends a truckload of bricks to the chapel site. He tells Homer and Juan the bricks are "seconds," but they're not, they are expensive bricks. Up until then, Ashton had made some donations to the nuns which he used as a tax write off, but now he makes this unconditional donation. Homer wonders why, and Juan tells him, "Insurance," but Homer doesn't understand and Juan leaves it at that. With the chapel built, Homer and the workers celebrate, much to the displeasure of Mother Maria who feels all celebration should be for God, not mortals. (During one of their earlier confrontations over Homer not building the chapel by himself, Homer tells her he has the desire to build some great building or other structure, and she says in her imperfect English, "God is building out there the shhapel and you sit here feeling sorry for yourself, because you are not Him.").****** 

The work gets done and the ever serious Mother Maria takes a checklist to Homer, but she finds that everything on the list has already been done, so there's nothing for her to complain about. Ashton has offered Homer a permanent job as a job foreman, and Homer declines it, but tells Ashton he really appreciates the offer. Homer has proven he's "a MAN, not a boy." The chapel will hold its first service the next day, and Homer sits with Mother Maria and the nuns in the farmhouse. During their English lesson, Homer mentions chapel with the German accent "shhapel," and Mother Maria corrects him by properly pronouncing it as "chapel." Homer then says with a German accent, "Sank you," and she properly says, "thank you," which brings a smile to Homer's face and a shocked expression to Mother Maria's face. She finally said "thank you" to Homer. The group begins to sing "Amen," and Homer gets up while continuing to sing, and he goes outside, puts his belongings into his car and he drives off.  

* On one of my trips to Germany many years ago, a German cousin was to pick me up at a bar... Hey, they had a pay telephone.. and beer. I no longer recall the name of the place, and it may well be gone by now anyway, but the owner asked my name and when I said, "Randy Smith," he laughed like hell. At first I thought my reputation had crossed the Atlantic, but then he said, "Ich heiße Rudi Schmidt, vielleicht sind wir irgendwie verwandt" ("My name is Rudi Schmidt, maybe we're somehow related"), so I got the point of his laughter.      

** There is no translation of Mother Maria's short prayer given in the movie, which I assume was deliberately done to leave non German speaking audience members in the same predicament as Homer, but events gradually show the gist of what was said.

*** "Hungaria" is the Latin form of Hungary. In standard German it is "Ungarn," but many years ago I was often around some immigrants here in Cleveland who were from the (largely former) German community in Hungary. They and their families had fled the advancing Russians at the end of World War Two and had first gone to West Germany and then to the United States. All of them used "Hungaria" when talking about Hungary, and it is not an uncommon word among people from Bavaria and Austria, where "perhaps" the strong Catholic tradition brought about the usage of the Latin term.

**** After World War Two ended, Germany was divided into occupation zones, with the eastern part being under Russian control (technically the USSR). The same was done with the city of Berlin, which, however, lay within the Russian zone. A native German communist government was put into power by the Russians to govern East Germany on a day-to-day basis and to support the USSR. Many Germans in the eastern sector moved into the western sector, occupied by the United States, Britain and France. The movement of people from East Germany to West Germany became so severe, the communist government erected a wall to divide the two German states and the city of Berlin, with communist propaganda stating the wall was to keep out unwanted elements and to prevent people from breaking into East Germany. It was all a bunch of nonsense, and it fooled no one, as the wall was put up to keep East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. Still, many Germans lost their lives trying to escape over the wall from East Germany, as border guards fired on those trying to escape.

***** For those unaware, the use of the term "Boy" for Black Americans by white, usually Southerners, made it a derogatory term in that usage, especially during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and beyond.

****** This is reminiscent of the movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," where the central character, George Bailey, wants to leave his small town and design and build big projects, and it takes him time to finally see that the family business of building basic homes for average people IS a big and important project. In the end, when George is threatened, the townspeople remember his kindness and generosity and they rally to him, a tribute far better than any name in lights could ever be.

Photo is of the 2001 MGM Home Entertainment DVD

WORD HISTORY: 
Harp-The ultimate origins of this word are unknown. Old Germanic had "harpon," meaning, "harp." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hearpe," which then became "harpe" (the ending "e" was pronounced "eh/ah"), before the modern spelling. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Harfe," Low German has "Harp," West Frisian "harpe," Dutch "harp," Danish and Norwegian "harpe," Icelandic "harpa" and "hörpu," and Swedish "harpa." The verb form in Old English was "hearpian," and simply meant, "to play a harp," but by the 1400s the meaning, "to dwell on a subject over and over," developed and has continued to this day. Latin borrowed a form of the word as "harpa," which then passed into other Latin-based languages, including Italian "arpa," which then also produced Italian "arpeggio."