What's Happening Episode: The Hospital Stay

"What's Happening" was a comedy series which ran from 1976 until the spring of 1979 on the ABC network. Just a basic overview for those who weren't/aren't familiar with "What's Happening:" the sitcom was set in Los Angeles and involved three black teenage guys: Roger, called Raj by many, Freddie, who was better known to friends as "Rerun," from his need to "rerun" failed school classes, and Dwayne. In addition there was Raj's younger sister, Dee, and Raj's and Dee's mother, Mabel, who did not stay with the show for the final (third) season. There was also Shirley, the outspoken and tough waitress at the local soda shop where the guys liked to hang out.

 

This episode first aired in January 1977.

 

Cast for this episode:

 

Ernest Thomas as Roger "Raj" Thomas 

Danielle Spencer as Dee Thomas

Mabel King as Mabel Thomas (Roger and Dee's mother, aka, "Mama")

Fred Berry as "Rerun" (Freddie Stubbs)

Haywood Nelson as Dwayne Nelson

Shirley Hemphill as Shirley Wilson 

Mel Stewart* as Spike Gibbs

Hope Clarke as Elizabeth Duncan 

Judy Pace as the nurse

Raj has water on the knee and he has to go into the hosptial for treatment. He is put into a room with a grouchy older man, Mr. Johnny Gibbs, who has a broken hip and who spends most of his time listening to his radio by using an earphone. (Note: Unlike today, a single earphone was the most common way to listen to a radio privately back then.) Mr. Gibbs complains when Raj or Raj's visitors talk and he firmly tells the nurse he won't accept any flowers from his daughter. It doesn't take long to for us to tell that Mr. Gibbs is one angry man. Enter Raj's 10 year old sister, Dee. When Mr. Gibbs yells and treats her rudely, Dee gives a dose of similar right back to him. When Raj is released and prepares to leave the hospital, Dee is able to talk with Mr. Gibbs in a calm way. He says to her that he can tell she's not afraid of him with all of his bellowing and grumbling and that only she and his daughter have ever been able to stand up to him. Dee asks about his daughter only to find out that he hasn't spoken to her for over 12 years. When Dee asks why, Mr. Gibbs tells her, "Because she married a white man." Dee asks Mr. Gibbs why such a thing would anger him so much, a question he finds difficult to answer except to say, "Those kinds of marriages never work out." Mr. Gibbs also tells her he was a baseball player many years before, and that he was known for stealing bases with his spikes flying, and that thousands of kids knew him as "Spike." Just before leaving Dee leans down and kisses Mr. Gibbs on the head. This brings a smile to Spike's old bearded face, before he goes back to his scowl. Out in the hospital corridor, Raj, Dee and their mother learn from the nurse that Mr. Gibbs is not just being treated for a broken hip, and the nurse's sad look tells them Mr. Gibbs may well be in a battle for his life. 

 

The guys try to find Johnny Gibbs in a baseball book, but without success, but Mrs. Thomas has brought home a baseball book from the library which has information on "Spike" Gibbs, including a photo. She explains that Spike and other black baseball players couldn't play in the major leagues because they were not allowed until 1947, when Jackie Robinson played for the (then) Brooklyn Dodgers; thus, breaking the so called "color barrier." Black players had to play in Negro leagues and Spike played for the Homestead Grays. The little discussion brings Dee to remark that this might be why Spike doesn't like white people and she explains further how Spike doesn't speak to his daughter because she married a white man. Mrs. Thomas gives us all a quick lesson by telling Dee and the guys, "Spike may have his reasons for being bitter, but I always say, if you gotta be mad at somebody, it should for something they did to you, not for the color they're wrapped in." The guys, with the help of Dee's information about Spike's daughter, Elizabeth, decide to contact her and try to get her to go see her father in the hospital. When the guys meet Spike's daughter, at first she is more than a little reluctant to go to see her father, as she thinks he only has a broken hip. After the guys explain that her father is really very sick, she has a change of heart. 

 

Three weeks later Elizabeth comes to the house and tells the guys she went to see her father. She also tells them he has now passed away, but that he left Dee and Raj his radio. Dee comes down the steps from the upstairs just in time to hear about Spike's passing. She tells Elizabeth that her dad will be fine, "He can't get hurt sliding into a cloud."   

 

* Mel Stewart was not an uncommon face on television back many years ago. A few years before this episode was made, he appeared several times in the highly popular comedy series "All in the Family," playing Henry Jefferson, the brother of the Bunker's neighbor George Jefferson (played by the great Sherman Hemsley).   

     

Photo is of the first season DVD release by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures, 2004.

WORD HISTORY: 

Rail (Verb)-English has more than one word of this spelling; this is one of the verb forms, often coupled with 'against,' and meaning, "to complain loudly against something or someone." The origins of this word are very unclear, and there is an initial assumption that it is likely a word of imitative beginnings going back to Latin "ragere," which meant "to roar, to neigh," which then spawned "ragulare," meaning, "to bray." Latin also had "rugire," meaning "to bellow," seemingly linked to Greek words for "sound, noise," and further to Greek words pertaining to "roaring and howling." French got the word as "railler" ("to joke, to mock or make fun of"), but seemingly not directly from Latin, but rather either from Portuguese or Provençal "ralhar," meaning, "chide, scold, scoff, mock." English borrowed the word in the mid 1400s (it seems French had only had the word less than a hundred years at that point).

Punjabi Carrot Pudding: Gajar Halwa

"Halwa," also rendered as "halva" and "halvah," is a word from Arabic (maybe also Hebrew? Or did Hebrew get it from Arabic?) that was borrowed by Turkish. The Turks took over the area of what is now Romania; thus, the word was borrowed by Romanian and then taken on by Yiddish speakers in Romania. English borrowed the word in the mid 1800s via Yiddish speaking immigrants. While the term has stayed near its basic meaning of "sweet dish," it does not mean the same exact thing everywhere. In Punjab, in northern India, it usually means "a sweetened pudding of vegetables," while in the greater Middle East it is often a dish of compressed sesame seeds and honey, along with some spices. In Punjab, where the carrot type halwa is common, it is called "gajrela" in Punjabi,* and it is typically served warm in the winter, when temperatures in Punjab are usually in the 30s and 40s F, in contrast to summer temperatures which commonly exceed 100 F.

Ingredients:

 

4 cups grated (peeled) carrot (you can use a food processor)

3 1/4 cups milk 

4 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter, but regular butter can be substituted) 

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (to your own preferred level of sweetness)

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped cashews

(optional) cream or extra butter for serving

 

You want to use a thick bottomed pan. Mix together the grated carrot and the milk in the pan. You can use medium heat briefly to warm up the mixture, but you need to reduce the heat to low well before it boils. Let the mixture boil, then adjust the temperature even further downward to just a slight simmer. Give the mixture a frequent stir. Between the carrots and evaporation, the milk will reduce and the mixture will thicken, but this can take some time, during which the main thing is to try to prevent sticking or burning. When the mixture is thicker, but still liquid, add the sugar and the ground cardamon, stir well, then add the butter. Continue to let the mixture simmer and thicken, still stirring frequently. Now add the raisins and chopped cashews. You may have to turn the heat even lower, if possible, but continue to cook the mixture until the milk is absorbed. Can be served warm or cold, with some extra butter, some cream or even with some extra dried fruit and nuts on top. 

   

* The Punjabi language is from the Indo Aryan branch of the Indo Iranian language branch of the Indo European language family. This makes it a relative of English, but further down the family tree.  

 

 

Topped with some cream ...

WORD HISTORY: 

Worsted-This word for a type of wool fabric is also used adjectively. It comes from about 1300 from the village of Worstead, in the county of Norfolk in eastern England, where the wool was first processed into such fabric. The Old English rendering of the village was "Wurþestede" ('þ' is essentially equivalent to 'th'), which then became "Worsted(e)," before the modern form. "Apparently" the town's name in Old English came from its location being considered to be a "worth(y) stead."

My Friends Were NOT Losers or Suckers

A few months ago I thought back to the 1960s, a tumultuous time in the world and in the United States. One hot spot in the world was Germany. After World War Two, the country was divided, with Austria again becoming independent, with the victorious Allies occupying the country. Germany was divided into occupation zones, with each of the four major Allies (the U.S., Britain, France and the Soviet Union) administering a zone. The eastern part of Germany was in the Soviet zone; thus, it became communist dominated with a pro-Soviet German government eventually installed. The thing was, lots of Germans, including many highly skilled workers and well educated people, crossed over into the western areas of Germany. By the early 1960s, the East German government, supported by the Soviets, cracked down on people leaving their sector, and they began building a wall to halt the out migration to West Germany. This all caused a crisis. Then not long thereafter, the U.S. announced they had evidence that the Soviets had shipped missiles to Cuba, a communist nation only 90 miles from the U.S. shore and run by dictator Fidel Castro. This REALLY caused problems and it looked as if the world could experience a nuclear war, as President Kennedy leaned on the Soviets to remove the missiles by ordering a naval blockade of Cuba. Finally, after many tense days, which included air raid drills in schools, the Soviets withdrew the missiles.

With these things going on, not many people paid as much attention to the then increasing tensions in South Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia. It was one of those countries that had been created by splitting the main country into a communist dominated North Vietnam, and a pro-Western government in South Vietnam. American foreign policy began to focus on stopping the spread of communism to South Vietnam, as we were eventually told and given to believe, that if South Vietnam became a communist nation, we could expect to be fighting Vietnamese communists in the streets of Los Angeles and Seattle, not to mention perhaps in Boise, Idaho. Thousands of U.S. troops were sent to South Vietnam, and while the reasons may seem odd today (almost funny, if the result hadn't been so bloody), the call to nationalism and American fear of communism was quite real in those days, and politicians of both major parties did not want to end up on the wrong side of the issue. We in the public were told how we were close to ending the threat in South Vietnam, but in fact, the situation grew worse, and soldiers by the tens of thousands were sent to try to end the conflict, with more than 50,000 dying by the time Americans were completely withdrawn from South Vietnam. 

A few months ago, as I thought about those times, I looked online for two friends who died in Vietnam. These guys were from right in my neighborhood. "Gary" was like 4 or 5 years older than me and the guys I hung around with. Now, if you're 10 and another guy is 14 or 15, that's a big difference at that age, and Gary was like a big brother to some of us, even though he wasn't a tall guy in that sense. Gary joined the Marines a few years later. He was sent to Vietnam and killed in action in 1967. Then there was "Robbie." He was just a year or 2 older than most of us and we all played ball together in the schoolyard and did all the things that young people and teenagers do. He was also not a tall guy at all. As the war became big news in the second half of the 1960s, he talked of wanting to be a Marine and to serve in Vietnam, or "Nam," as he would say. When he was still too young for military service, I think many of us thought and hoped the war would be over before Robbie might end up in it, and some of my firends poked fun at his gung ho attitude, perhaps to ease the thoughts of what might happen to him. Well, the war continued and Robbie joined the Marines. In the first few days of 1970 he was killed in action. The thing that most of us feared had happened.

 

I found my two friends online and I saw their photos from all of those years ago (both in their uniforms). I sat and cried and I'm not doing well at keeping my composure as I write this. Since I saw their pictures, word has come out that there were likely bounties paid by Russia to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and then word came that the "little man" (dis)serving as president of the United States called American wounded and dead soldiers "loosers and suckers." These things alone, along with his disparaging comments about John McCain and attacking the parents of a soldier killed in action, should be QUITE ENOUGH to tell any American all they need to know about the despicable creature and his mob-like culture occupying our White House. He is worthy of nothing but contempt. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Fidelity-This word is closely related to "fealty," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French, and it is related to "confide," a word borrowed by English directly from Latin. Further, it may be distantly related to "bide" and "abide," both words from the Germanic roots of English. "Fidelity" goes back to Indo European "bheidh," which had the notion, "to trust," with extended meanings like "to convince" (bring someone to trust in your feelings about something), "to obey" (put trust in someone by following their orders). Italic rendered the "bh" as "f," which gave Latin "fidere," meaning "to trust," and the noun "fides," meaning "faith," which produced the adjective "fidelis," meaning, "faithful," which produced the noun "fidelitas," meaning "faithfulness." This was taken into French as "fidélité," with the same meaning, and English borrowed the word in the first half of the 1400s (initially as "fidelite?").            

Berlin Pork Hock: Eisbein

Pork hocks are common fare in German regions, and along with that love of this part of the pig comes many regional terms, often involving words closely related to English "hock." In Berlin the culinary term "Eisbein" came along in the 1800s, although the cooking of pickled pork hocks in this way likely preceded the name of the dish. It literally means "ice-bone," and the plural, "Eisbeine," is used for "cold feet," in the literal sense, but also in the slang sense of "cold feet;" often including the verb "bekommen," that is, "to get cold feet; the nervous reluctance to go forward with something already committed to," often, but not exclusively used in reference to men wanting to back out of a marriage commitment. The origin of the term "Eisbein" is quite difficult to pin down. "Originally" in the Germanic languages it "may" have been an attempt to mimic Latin "ischium/ischia," a term Latin borrowed from transliterated Greek "ischion," and meaning "a part of the pelvic bone;" thus, "a part of the hip," and this was the meaning in the Germanic languages also; so, no actual initial connection to "ice." Later, and this is much more certain, the shinbones of hogs were used to make the blades or runners of ice skates, and the same term was applied, which moved the meaning away from the hip and further down the leg, while also giving the word a direct connection to "ice." To be clear, in modern German, "Eisbein" is a culinary term closely identified with Berlin.  

"Eisbein" is a pickled pork hock (some say "pig's knuckle"); that is, it is cured in a brine solution, but it is not smoked. This dish is not hard to make, it just takes time; namely, it takes a day or two to cure the pork hocks, and it takes some time to then cook the hocks. Pickling meat has long been used to help preserve it and to add flavor. Some pickled meats are then smoked. There are different recipes to pickle pork and there are also different types of salt used in these various recipes, as some salts (sodium nitrite) help to reduce the risk of bacterial growth for pork that is likely to be kept for a longer period of time. This here is just a very basic recipe for a short process and for the pork hocks to be used immediately and not kept for a lengthy amount of time. It is not terribly salty. In this recipe you'll want to use pure sea salt or kosher salt (not iodized). Regular table salt usually has iodine and also anti caking additives. Now, if you use regular table salt, will you be shot at sunrise? No, but you're apt to be hanged by late afternoon. hahaha! 

    

Berliners often serve Eisbein with sauerkraut, potatoes and pease pudding (German: Erbspüree*) and it is one of the dishes known for being part of the Berlin food scene. I had Eisbein in Berlin many years ago, when the city was still divided between the communist eastern districts and the democratic western districts, with the infamous "wall" being both the fact and the visible symbol reinforcing the political division. 

Ingredients (2 servings):

2 fresh (raw) pork hocks

1/2 cup salt (sea salt or kosher salt, neither with iodine), for each quart of water

water (enough to cover the hocks in whatever pot or other container you're using)

 

For cooking:

1 large onion, chopped (large chop is fine)

2 bay leaves

4 whole cloves (or whole allspice, if you'd like)

8 to 10 whole black peppercorns

1 tablespoon sugar 

water to cover

 

Put the raw pork hocks into either a stainless steel pot, enamel coated pot, large glass or crockware bowl/container. How much water you use to cover the hocks will determine the amount of salt you use. If you have a blender or other container marked with measurements for liquids, that would be really good. Mix the salt with the water. Pour the salt solution over the pork hocks. Make sure the hocks are covered with the solution. Cover the pot/container and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Check to make sure the hocks remain submerged in the brine during the process. To cook: Remove the pork hocks from the brine and give the hocks a little rinse under cold running water (discard the brine). Put the hocks into a pot and cover them with fresh water (Note: a crockpot or other slow cooker works well with this too). Add the chopped onion, bay leaves, whole cloves and whole peppercorns. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to maintain the slightest simmer. Cover the pot. After 30 minutes, add the sugar. Maintain the bare simmer until the hocks are tender (generally a total of about 2 to 4 hours).       

* For the recipe for German pease pudding, here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/10/german-pease-pudding-erbspuree.html

 

Pork hock (Eisbein) with sauerkraut, boiled potatoes (Salzkartoffeln) and pease pudding (Erbspüree)

WORD HISTORY:

Pea (Pease)-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown. It goes back to transliterated Greek "pison," meaning, "the name of both the plant and the seed of that particular plant which produces pods encasing its seeds, which are edible." Latin borrowed the word as "pisum." Both the Greek and Latin forms mentioned were singular, with the Latin plural being "pisa." Old English borrowed the word from Latin as "pise" (plural: pisan), with "pise" then becoming "pese" (plural: pesen) and then "pease," in the singular and "peasen" in the plural, but by that time, more and more English plurals were being formed by adding "s" or "es," and thus the singular form "pease" was taken to be the plural, and therefore "pea" was thought by English speakers to be the proper singular. The use of the form "pea" was so popular it overwhelmed any use of "pease" as the singular by the first half of the 1600s, and "peas," without the ending 'e,' became the plural. "Pease" (usually pronounced as if "peez") is a word rarely seen in American English, and I would assume likewise in Canada, although you may run across it in the rhyme, "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot, nine days old," although I'm not sure that's even very common today. I'm not sure about the use of "pease" in England and the rest of the UK, although it is certainly used in the dish "pease pudding," as it replaced the term "pease porridge," which had replaced the term "pease pottage." Long ago in English "pease" was also used as a collective term, as "corn" has been used.^ Not sure if they use the word "pease" much in Australia and New Zealand. Over time the word "pea" came to be used for some other bean type foods like "blackeyed peas" and "pigeon peas." 

 

^  In English, "corn" and its many relatives in the other Germanic languages simply meant "grain" ("grain" is a Latin derived word borrowed by English). Maize was a food from the New World, and English and English speaking settlers began using their own word, "corn," for the "grain" (kernels) of the plant and for the plant itself. That has continued to this day in the U.S., although "maize" is often used in other English speaking countries. "Maize" is rarely heard in American English.       

Law & Order Episode: Animal Instinct

This episode of "Law & Order" first aired in March 1993. The series is set in the Manhattan area of New York City. Law & Order episodes could be quite involved, with lots of twists and turns; thus, they can be difficult to set down in writing concisely. 

 

Main cast for this episode:

 

Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe

Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan

Dann Florek as Captain Donald? John? Cragen 

Michael Moriarty as Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone

Richard Brooks as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette 

Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff 

Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet

Frances Fisher as Susan Boyd

John Cunningham as Donald Walsh

A college teacher and reseacher, Mrs. Walsh, who does experiments with animals, is found shot to death in the school lab. The message "innocent victims" is scrawled in red paint on the wall and several cages are opened, allowing dozens of rats (the four-legged kind) to escape and run through the lab and adjacent areas of the school. These things lead the police to center the beginnings of their investigation on animal activist organizations. The dead researcher's husband, Donald Walsh, also teaches at the college and he tells the police about threats made to his wife by telephone and by mail over time and also about some recent hang-up calls. Detectives Briscoe and Logan arrest one male activist who had a pistol on him, but the weapon doesn't match the type used in the killing (a small type of shotgun), and the guy has a verified alibi. The detectives then learn that the school has a small shotgun kept in a locker in the administration office. It had been used in the past to collect bird specimens for research. They find the shotgun that has not been signed out for use for about 4 years, but the smell of gunpowder indicates it has been fired recently. 

This takes the detectives to Susan Boyd, who works in the school administration office. She tells them that many people have keys to the administration office, including students who might have a grudge against Mrs. Walsh, and thus, they would have had access to the shotgun. The detectives search the deceased researcher's office and find she had hired a private investigator. When he is questioned, he tells the detectives Mrs. Walsh hired him to investigate an affair her husband was having, but that he could never catch the two people together, although he has other evidence with letters and an answering machine recording to Mr. Walsh from the woman. The woman involved ... Susan Boyd from the school administrative office. When the detectives ask Mr. Walsh about the affair, he admits to knowing Susan Boyd, because she works in the school's office, but he denies any other involvement with her, although he admits he knew, and so did his wife, that Susan Boyd was infatuated with him. He tells Briscoe and Logan he and his wife thought the best way to handle the situation was for him to ingnore Boyd. He also tells the detectives he is traveling to Boston to give a lecture. Later, the two detectives are told by other police that Mr. Walsh booked a hotel room in Boston, but that later, AFTER Mrs. Walsh's death, a "Mrs. Walsh" called the hotel and changed the reservation to include herself (Walsh later denies he knew anything about the change in the hotel reservation). Now the detectives return to Susan Boyd and eventually she admits to being involved with Donald Walsh, but she also says that neither of them had anything to do with Mrs. Walsh's death and that she and Donald were together on the night Mrs. Walsh was murdered.

 

The District Attorney's office has the police arrest both Donald Walsh and Susan Boyd. The police find out that shotgun shells for the gun were bought at a gunshop a couple of weeks before the murder and that the shop took identification from Mrs. Walsh for the purchase. At a meeting in the jail where Boyd is being held, after some back and forth, Boyd's lawyer sees that his client could go to prison, so he makes a deal with Executive Assistant DA Ben Stone that will have Boyd testify against Mr. Walsh. Susan Boyd tells him that Donald Walsh talked about killing his wife, but that she didn't think he would do any such thing. The case goes to trial against Donald Walsh and the private investigator admits in court that he never saw Walsh and Boyd together outside of the school; therefore, he also says he can't conclusively say the two were having an affair. The gunshop owner testifies that he saw a driver's license for the purchase of the shotgun shells, but he then identifies a photograph of Susan Boyd as the person on the license photo. As the case is going badly for the prosecution, Adam Schiff tells Ben Stone to go over Boyd's testimony again before she testifies in court. During Stone's session with Boyd, she tells how she bought the shotgun shells and that she and Donald Walsh had found Mrs. Walsh's driver's license and that Susan impersonated her at the gunshop. When she explains that she was working at the school the night of the murder, but that she left and went home before Mrs. Walsh was killed, Stone tells her to keep her answer short when asked specifically where she was when Mrs. Walsh was killed. When she asks how she should answer, he says for her to "Just say you were home in your apartment." 

 

At the trial the defense attorney for Donald Walsh asks an uncomfortable Susan Boyd how she and Donald Walsh were together so many times, but that a trained private investigator never saw the two together outside of the school. She answers that they weren't sneaking around and that Donald was very proud of their relationship, but that the investigator may not be good at his job. The attorney then asks and immediately withdraws, "Or you're lying about everything." He then recounts that Susan had told the police she and Donald were together on the night Mrs. Walsh was murdered, but now in court she says she was alone in her apartment. She looks at Ben Stone and recites, "I was alone in my apartment." The defense attorney asks if Mr. Stone had told her to say that, and that in exchange for her testimony, Stone dropped all charges against her? She answers, "Yes." The judge immediately orders the defense attorney and Ben Stone into his chambers. He tells Stone that his witness's testimony is "tainted," and that accordingly, he will instruct the jury that they "may" disregard her testimony in its entirety. Back in court, the jury finds Donald Walsh "not guilty." 

 

DA Adam Schiff is furious at the outcome, but Assistant DA Paul Robinette suggests that Boyd may have planned the whole thing, where her testimony would be discredited and Walsh would be acquitted, but her deal with Ben Stone allows her to walk free too.* The DA's office decides to check into things and the publicity about the case brings contact from a judge in New Jersey for whom Susan Boyd had been a law clerk at one time. This judge says she attended Yale Law School and that she had been married to a member of the New York Philharmonic who died. The judge tells Robinette that Boyd is deeply disturbed and that one night they were working late on a case and he ordered Chinese food for them while they worked. Susan took this to be a proposal of marriage and that she wrote love notes to him and rented an apartment nearby; then, she started calling his wife. Robinette checks with Yale Law School, which has no record of her having ever attended there. Further, there's no evidence she was ever married to anyone on the orchestra. He finds that on her application for her present job that she claimed to have a degree from Cornell University, but it was also untrue. Robinette and Stone see that Susan Boyd has the ability to convince people of things that are total fiction and that Donald Walsh and the judge in New Jersey agree that Boyd is crazy. They talk with Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, a psychologist and consultant to the police. She tells them Susan Boyd fits a pattern of delusion called "erotomania," and that if they check, they'll likely find evidence of her delusion beyond her statements. They find that Boyd has a vacation home near that of Walsh. They get a warrant, and inside they find all sorts of items and photos of Donald Walsh as a "shrine" to him, and they also find the rest of the box of shotgun shells and Mrs. Walsh's driver's license altered with Susan Boyd's photo. They arrest Boyd for the murder of Mrs. Walsh. With her lawyer present they bring in Donald Walsh and he totally rejects her story about him loving her and he calls her a lunatic. Susan reacts by saying there's a conspiracy to keep her from Donald. Ben Stone offers hers a reduced sentence that has to be accompanied by psychiatric treatment. Her attorney asks her to accept, so she fires him and tells Stone she's taking over her own defense. 

 

The scene shifts to the DA's office months later with Ben Stone telling Adam Schiff how she has filed numerous motions and that she uses an outdated prison library, but that her legal work is as good or better than from a Wall Street law firm.   

 

* There's a bit of an element in this from "Witness for the Prosecution," a famous movie adapted from a story by English writer Agatha Christie. For the article on this movie, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/02/witness-for-prosecution.html

 

 

Photo is of the 2005 DVD set edition of Universal Studios Home Entertainment "Law & Order Third Year 1992-1993"

WORD HISTORY:

Alibi-This word means, "an excuse that proves or attempts to prove that a person is not guilty of a particular crime, often with heavy emphasis on the person not being present at the crime scene." "Alibi" is related to "alias," a Latin word borrowed by English, to "alien," another Latin word borrowed by English via French, and it is distantly related to "else," a word from the Germanic roots of English. "Alibi" goes back to the Indo European root "al/el," which meant, "beyond (a given point);" thus also, "other." This gave Latin "alius," with the same meanings. This then produced the Latin (location) adverb, "alibi," meaning, "elsewhere, at another place." English borrowed the word from Latin initially as an adverb in the first half of the 1700s, but the noun use was quickly established.    

Sichuan Sauce

"Sichuan" sauce, also spelled "schezwan" in India by some, and "szechwan" in English by some, is a spicy hot chili pepper sauce used as a condiment added to prepared foods, or used as a dip for some foods, or used in recipes to add flavor and heat. The use of 35 to 40 chilies makes a relatively modest amount, which you can store in a jar or covered bowl in your refrigerator for a week or two. If you want to reduce the heat, you can remove the seeds from the chilies, or at least from some of the chilies, but this sauce is supposed to be spicy hot. Also, the amount of oil is high, but this helps to preserve the sauce. While the basis of Sichuan sauce is from China, it is not uncommon in parts of India, or in other areas of the world where its spicy heat is enjoyed by those who long to test their own endurance versus spicy dishes. As such, there are quite a number of recipe variations, and my recipe here is somewhat influenced by Indian versions. 

Ingredients:

35 to 40 dried red chilies (like cayenne or arbol chilies), stems removed

water to cover the chilies, then reserve the water used for soaking/cooking

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/3 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons white vingar

2 tablespoons thick tomato ketchup 

  

Put the chilies into a pan and cover them with water. Soak the chilies for 1/2 hour, do not drain. Now put the pan/skillet over medium heat until the water boils, and boil the chilies for about 3 to 4 minutes, then cover the pan/skillet and adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Let the chilies simmer until they are softened and flexible (about 6 to 8 minutes), remove from the heat and let the chilies stand until cooled. Only some of the water should remain, reserve this water to use in a few moments (most of the water should have been absorbed or have evaporated). Put the cooked chilies (not the water) into a food processor or blender and process until no large pieces of pepper are visible. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the garlic and ginger; saute for a minute or two, but do not let the garlic and ginger brown. Add the processed chilies to the skillet and saute a further 2 minutes, stirring often, then add a tablespoon of the reserved "chili water," stir well, let cook for 1 minute, then add another tablespoon of the water, and stir well again. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to very low. Let cook for about 4 to 5 minutes (during this time check to make sure it is not sticking; stir it a little occasionally). Add the salt, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar and ketchup and then mix well and cook for another 2 minutes. Best if left to cool a bit before using.     

WORD HISTORY:

Bleat-This word, meaning "the sound made by sheep and goats," is distantly related to "feeble," a Latin-derived word, borrowed by English via French, and it is somewhat more closely related to "bellow" (deep sound made by certain animals, later used for people), a word from the Germanic roots of English.^ It goes back to Indo European "blhe," which had the notion, "to make sound," likely derived by our ancient ancestors in imitation of certain sounds initially. This gave Old Germanic "bletjanan," meaning, "to bleat, to make sound (for some animals)."^^ This gave Old English "blætan" (to bleat), which then became "bleten," before the modern form. The noun form in Old English was "blæt," which of course later also became "bleat," the noun. There are relatives in other Indo European languages with forms of the word, and in Latin the word developed the meaning "to weep or to cry,"^^^ which is hardly a startling development. German once had "blazen," and Dutch still has "blaten" (to bleat).  

^ While very similar, "bellows," the noun meaning, "a device used to force out air," is not related, as it is from a different source and its rendering with the plural ending "s" seems to have come from the device having two handles that were pushed together to expel the air, thus conveying a sense of two separate parts, thus, plural. 

 

^^ See "Etymological Dictionary of Proto Germanic," by Guus Kroonen, published 2013.  Part of the "Leiden Indo European Etymological Series," edited by Alexander Lubotsky, published by Brill (Publishing), Leiden, The Netherlands, Boston, U.S.

^^^ The Latin verb is "flere," meaning "to weep," with the extended meaning, "to grieve." The Indo European "b" beginning became "f" in Latin. 

Indian Green Chutney

"Green Chutney" is not something you will mistake for "red." It is VERY green. The peoples of the Indian subcontinent make chutneys from all sorts of things, and they serve them as a spread or dip along side their wonderful flatbreads, samosas (fried or baked dough filled with assorted vegetables or meat), or other foods. There are variations to green chutney recipes, and I did articles on "Coriander Chutney"* (coriander is better known as "cilantro" in much of North and South America) and "Mint Chutney,** both of which certainly fall into the category of "green chutneys."

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup fresh coriander/cilantro (no big stems or stalks)

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves

1 or 2 green chilies, like serrano or jalapeno (stems removed)

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 inch piece peeled ginger

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

(optional) 1/2 teaspoon sugar

few drops of water, IF NEEDED to thin the chutney

 

Put all ingredients, except water, into a blender/food processor. Process the ingredients until smooth, adding a few drops of water if needed to thin out the chutney, but not so that it's watery. 

 

 

* This is the link to the recipe for "Coriander Chutney": https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/10/indian-coriander-chutney.html

 

 ** This is the link to the recipe for "Mint Chutney": https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/indian-mint-chutney.html

WORD HISTORY:

Casual-This adjective is related to "case" (the noun form with the meaning "state or condition of something," also, "an event or happening," as in, "in this case, we mean this word"), a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English via French, and to "chance," another Latin word borrowed by English via French. "Casual" goes back to Indo Europian "kad/khad," which meant, "to fall." This gave Latin "cadere," meaning, "to fall, to sink, to perish, to die, to befall, to fall to or upon;" that is, "to occur, to happen." One of its participle base forms was "cas-," which served as the basis of the noun "casus," meaning more literally, "a falling down(ward)," but often used more figuratively to mean, "a mishap, a chance happening," as well as, "a grammatical case," as in "dative case." This then produced the Latin adjective "casualis," meaning, "(in reference to something) by chance, by opportunity," which passed to Latin-based French as "casuel," and this then was borrowed by English in the late 1300s with the same "by chance" meaning; thus also, "unpredictable." By the second half of the 1800s, the notion of "unpredictable" developed the use of "casual" for people who were "careless or undependable in their actions, work or attitude." Its use for clothing developed in the very late 1800s. (Note: "Casual" is a very close relative of "casualty," and I'll be posting its history soon.)

Vietnamese Coffee Filter & Press: Phin Filter

Coffee is very important to the Vietnamese, both from the standpoint of economics and of consumption. French involvement in Vietnam in the 1800s saw the French develop coffee production and the introduction of coffee plantations as a part of that development in what became known as "French Indochina," formed from the constituent parts of Vietnam. After much turmoil from wars and occupation, independent Vietnam's coffee production rebounded and the country is a major exporter of coffee to the world. A part of the Vietnamese coffee culture is the simple, single-serving coffee filter and press. These small devices have become much easier to find in the United States, and I'm sure, elsewhere. They are inexpensive, made of stainless steel, easy to use and, perhaps best of all, easy to clean. There is no paper filter used. 

 

In the top left part of the first photo below is the tray/filter. It has small perforations which will allow the coffee to drip into your cup. You simply set this tray on top of your cup. I said "cup," not a large cup or a mug. These coffee filters make about 6 ounces of coffee and that's it! To the top right is the container for the hot water and the ground coffee. It sits right inside tray/filter and it too has small perforations in the bottom, as well as a small threaded stem projecting from the bottom. Below that, in the lower right corner is the press insert. It is a round disc with a stem extending from the middle, and yes, it has perforations too. It screws onto the stem on the bottom of the water container. Finally there is the lid... no perforations! It just sits right on top, it doesn't fasten on. This holds in the steam and heat.

 

To make a (small) cup of coffee, you set the filter tray onto the top of your cup, then put the water container on top of the tray/filter.* Add finely ground coffee (a tablespoon or so) to the bottom of the water container. Screw on the press insert so that it firmly packs in the coffee grounds, but don't overdo it. If you make it too tight, the water will not flow properly, as for one thing, the coffee grounds will expand somewhat when wet. I usually tighten it pretty well, but then loosen the press just a little. Heat some water to near boiling (I let it begin to boil, then remove it from the heat for about 20 or 30 seconds). Add just a little water (about an ounce) to the water container/chamber and let it begin to seep into the pressed coffee to soak the grounds. After about 30 to 40 seconds add water until the chamber is filled. Put the lid on and let the coffee brew and drip into your cup. To clean, just rinse everything under some running water and dry with a towel. The coffee grounds will simply run right down the drain.   

* The Vietnamese typically add some sweetened condensed milk to their cup or glass first, and the coffee then mixes with the milk as it drips into the cup. Since the condensed milk is sweetened, it counters some of the bitterness of the coffee.

WORD HISTORY:

Habit-This word has a number of relatives, although most are distant relatives via Indo European; for instance, it is distantly related to "prohibit" (hold back, hinder, prevent), a word English borrowed from Latin, and to "give," a word from the Germanic roots of English.^ "Habit" goes back to Indo European "ghebh/ghabh," which meant, "to take," likely also, "to hold," but also "to give," in the sense of offering something that is "taken by another." This gave Latin the verb "habere," meaning, "to hold, to have, to possess," and a number of other meanings. Its participle form, "habitus," was also used as a noun meaning, "state or condition, emotional condition, physical condition, manner of dress;" thus also, "clothing." It was taken into Latin-based Old French as "(h)abit" (sometimes with the 'h,' sometimes without), and meaning, "clothing," including often, "common religious clothing." English borrowed the word in the 1200s as "abit," meaning, "clothing," including the "religious clothing" meaning. The Latin word "habitus" also exerted meaning influence on the English word, with the idea of "physical or emotional state or condition" taken from Latin. The idea of "customary religious clothing" provided the basis that expanded the word's meaning to "activities done repeatedly or in a customary way;" thus also later (late 1800s), "to take or be dependent upon drugs." The "religious clothing" meaning is still around today, but it is only used for nuns and sometimes monks, although it also is used about a woman's horseback riding apparel, "a riding habit"). Latin influence also brought about the addition of the beginning 'h' (to French also). The verb form, no longer common in English, traces from Latin "habere" (see above) to the derived form "habitare," meaning, "to live or dwell, to stay in a place." This gave Old French "(h)abiter," meaning, "to dwell, to reside." English borrowed the word as the verb "habit" in the middle of the 1300s with the "dwell" meaning, but added the meaning "to clothe" in reference to the already borrowed noun "habit" ("clothing").         

 

^ While "habit" bears similarity to "have" in appearance and underlying meaning, "have" is not related, as it comes from a different source. It is a word from the Germanic roots of English. 

German Pease Pudding: Erbspüree

"Erbspüree," also called "Erbsenpüree," is a dish known for its place in the cuisine of Berlin, although it is not unknown in other German areas. It is used as a side dish (German: "Beilage"). While similar dishes might be known in some limited parts of the United States, I must admit I'm not aware of it being a widespread dish among Americans. It is well known in northeastern England where it is often called "pease porridge," as in "pease porridge in a pot, nine days old" (pew!), but the term "pease pudding" is also used and the English version is slightly different from the German, and I intend to be covering it in the near future. You can use yellow or green split peas and both are used in Berlin. I used green split peas when I made this for this article and picture, because that's what I had in the pantry, but in the past I've used yellow split peas at times. There are variations in the exact recipes for Erbspüree. In Berlin Erbspüree is a common side dish for "Eisbein;" that is, cured ham hock, also called pig's knuckle by some.    

Ingredients: 

 

2 cups dried split peas (yellow or green), soaked for a few hours or overnight

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (fairly small chop)

2 tablespoons butter

6 slices bacon, chopped

2 teaspoons dried marjoram (you can substitute oregano)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

Soak the split peas overnight or for a few hours, then drain and rinse them. Simmer the split peas in fresh water until tender, "generally" about 45 minutes to an hour. Add the bacon and the onion to a pan over medium heat, saute until the onion softens, but don't let the bacon get crispy. Drain the cooked peas well, add the butter and use a stickblender, also known as an immersion blender (or you can use a mixer) and blend the peas into a consistency you prefer. I prefer to make about half of the peas very smooth, and to blend the other half, but to keep them a little chunky before mixing the two together and stirring in the onion/bacon mixture, marjoram and black pepper.      

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Dunk-This word is related to "tincture" and to "tinge," words borrowed by English from Latin, and to "taint," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from French. It goes back to Indo European "teng," which had the notion "to moisten, to soak, to make wet." Its history in the Germanic languages is sketchy, at best, especially regarding a form in Old Germanic. It is not a common word in the Germanic languages and there are not many forms identified in the ancient Germanic dialects. It's certainly possible that there were forms, but that they did not survive, except, obviously, in a couple of the West Germanic dialects. Old High German, the direct ancestor of modern German, had "thunkon," which meant "to dip (into liquid)," with the further meaning, "to plunge something into liquid to color it," or, "to moisten something with a coloring agent." This then became "dunkon," then "dunken," meaning, "to dip, to submerge (something)." In some High German dialects it then became "tunken," which then prevailed into the modern era as being the standard form. The spelling with "d" persisted in some dialects, including those in the Palatinate region, where a number of people emigrated to Colonial America, especially to Pennsylvania, where the German dialect continued as "Pennsylvania German," incorrectly also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch" from the misunderstanding of English speakers of the various terms centered around "Deutsch" and "Dutch."^ The Pennsylania German word was "dunke" and this was borrowed by English in the early part of the 20th Century. In the 1930s the meaning, "to stuff a basketball through the hoop/net," developed. The noun form simply developed from the verb. The religious sect, the "Dunkers," came about in the mid 1700s from German settlers in Colonial Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania German term "Tunker/Dunker" for those who were "dunked" into water for baptism. 

 

^ For more about these forms, here is the link to an article I did from several years ago:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-do-we-call-them-these-names.html