Kurt Schumacher About the Nazis, 1932

Kurt Schumacher was a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He lost his right arm fighting against the Russians in World War One (just to be clear, Russia was an ALLY of Britain and France, and later, the United States, in World War One). Prior to the Nazis coming to power, Schumacher was elected as a delegate to the German Reichstag (parliament) representing the Social Democrats. He detested the communists as much as the fascists, and he said, "communists are red painted fascists" (German: "Kommunisten sind rot angestrichene Faschisten"). Kurt Schumacher died in 1952. A number of German cities have streets and plazas named for Kurt Schumacher, including Berlin, Kiel, Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main and some others.

 

In February 1932, Kurt Schumacher gave a speech in the Reichstag in which indeed he called out the Nazis and he also gave a warning to Germans of what the Nazis were doing. Less than a year later, Hitler was named chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg. The "inner scoundrel" of Germany had come to power. AMERICANS, HEED THESE WORDS! : An important quote from Schumacher's speech that day was: "The whole National Socialist agitation is a continuous appeal to the inner scoundrel in people. … If we recognize anything about National Socialism, then it is the fact that for the first time in German politics it (National Socialism/Nazism) has succeeded in the total mobilization of human stupidity." The original German text: "Die ganze nationalsozialistische Agitation ist ein dauernder Appell an den inneren Schweinehund im Menschen. …Wenn wir irgendetwas beim Nationalsozialismus anerkennen, dann ist es die Tatsache, dass ihm zum ersten Mal in der deutschen Politik die restlose Mobilisierung der menschlichen Dummheit gelungen ist."

 

We don't have to agree with everything else, or anything else, for that matter, that Kurt Schumacher believed about the issues of those times, because he got this one essential point right. During World War Two, democracies made an uneasy alliance with Josef Stalin, a ruthless communist dictator. These democracies didn't like him, but the alternative, a possible victory by Hitler and fascism, was even a worse thought. Yes, the end of that war brought direct confrontation with communism in various places around the world that lasted for decades, and it even continues to this day, but the immediate danger of fascist victory subsided, and for a while, we remained vigilant about any fascist revival, especially as more and more information became available about the horrendous crimes of fascism. Also, let's not forget, in the aftermath of World War Two, we took former Nazi scientists to help give us an edge in rocketry, space exploration and in weaponry. Sometimes, being a purist can be hazardous to your health, and at that time, as tainted as these people might have been, we needed them to help us confront the new high-level danger we then faced ... communism. And this is a lesson for us NOW, in our own era of rising fascism; regardless of our political beliefs and opinions, we need to see the overwhelming primary danger, or we will likely lose EVERYTHING, if fascists get a second try at control of the U.S. government. The first time was a trial run, and the "Fascist-in-Chief," Trump, had people storm the Capitol Building to keep him and fascism in power. This is NOT like anything in the past in the U.S. Don't take a lot of comfort in that fascists are not a majority, it doesn't take overwhelming numbers to control a country. Don't forget, William was called "the Conqueror," but he only had something like 20,000 men to control the 2 million people of England. Hitler never won a majority in national elections, even in an election held after he had many opponents locked up and storm troopers were stationed at many polling places not long after he was named chancellor. Let me tell you, those storm troopers weren't there to hand out campaign literature. 

Right wing media, led by Fox News, is the Goebbels-like megaphone blasting out propaganda to appeal to the "inner scoundrel" of Americans in an effort to duplicate the Nazi success at taking over Germany in the 1930s with "the total mobilization of human stupidity," with hatred and viciousness toward their fellow human beings as a part of that stupidity. 

This is a public domain photo from Wikipedia that was taken by a U.S. soldier or employee performing their job at the Nuremberg Trials in the aftermath of World War Two, and it shows Kurt Schumacher as a witness at the Nuremberg Trials. Wikipedia got the photo from the website forum.axishistory.com 

WORD HISTORY:

Asset(s)-This word is related to "saturate," a Latin-derived word, borrowed by English from that language, to "satisfy," another Latin-derived word borrowed by English from Latin-based French, and it is related, through Indo European, to "sad," a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "ad," which meant "near, at, by, toward," and this gave Latin "ad," meaning "toward, to." The rest of the word goes back to Indo European "sa(h)," with the notion of "to satisfy, to be full, to be enough." This gave Latin the adjective "satis," with the meaning, "satisfied, enough, filled." The two words together gave Latin the expression "ad satis" meaning "to or toward sufficiency or plenty or having enough." Old French took this as a one word adverbial form, "asez/assez," meaning "enough, sufficiently (in amount)," and this became "asetz/assetz" in the French spoken by the Norman-descendants in England, with noun use as "satisfaction, sufficiency" (used of a person's property "being enough" to satisfy debts or the instructions of a last will). English borrowed the word as "assets" (seems in the 1300s), which many took to be a plural; thus, English speakers created "asset" as the English singular form, but not until about the mid 1800s. It was seemingly initially used in the legalistic sense of possessions being enough to pay off debts, often, but not always, of a deceased person. This led in the mid 1500s to the broader meaning "property, possession" that could be sold to convert it to a monetary amount. A combination of the meanings (sort of) may have led to the accounting idea of balancing debts with assets to determine whether a person or company had a positive or a negative financial value.

Singapore Sling Cocktail

This cocktail is thought to have been invented at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in the World War One era. The use of "sling" for some cocktails seems to be from the idea of "swallowing, throwing back a drink," "seemingly" taken from German "schlingen" (now more commonly "verschlingen"), one of the meanings of which is "swallow (quickly), gulp" (the German form is related to English "sling," a word of confusing history, because of its various meanings over time, although undoubtedly from Germanic, but perhaps there was more than one Old Germanic form; that is, variants; thus, the divergent meanings in the Germanic languages.   

 

Back in the mid to late 1980s, I would occasionally order this cocktail at a Chinese restaurant on Playhouse Square here in Cleveland (unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the restaurant). There are variations in recipes for this cocktail and some shake the ingredients and strain them into a glass, but I prefer ice in the drink (not just this drink, but generally speaking, I'm not terribly fond of strained cocktails, although very occasionally I'll have one). 

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

1 ounce gin

1 ounce cherry liqueur

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

2 ounces pineapple juice

1/4 ounce grenadine

1 or 2 dashes of angostura bitters

1 to 2 ounces of club soda

ice 

tall glass or another large glass (whatever the glass, it needs to hold 10 ounces, but preferably 12)

orange slice, pineapple chunk or section, cherry garnish 

 

In a tall glass, add the gin, cherry liqueur, lime juice, grenadine and angostura bitters; mix well, now add ice, stir, then top with club soda and stir again briefly. Garnish with an orange slice, pineapple chunk or section and a cherry. 

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Dove-This word for a pigeon goes back to Indo European "dheu(b)," which meant "smoke, haze, dust, mist;" thus also adjectivally, "dark." This is "seemingly" in reference to the dark color of many pigeons. This gave Old Germanic "dubon," which meant, "pigeon," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "dufa," with the same meaning, and this then became "douve" and "duve," before the modern form. While the original name seems to have had association with dark-colored pigeons, the lighter-colored birds, especially white, were associated with "peace, both personally and in reference to people getting along." The use of white doves as a symbol of peace seems to date to the World War One era (known as "the Great War" in those times, the war came to be known as "the war to end all wars," apparently a slight alteration of the H.G. Wells statement and title, "the war that will end war," as the war was so horrific, it was thought that humans would never allow such an event again; comment: such idealism and naivete can be very dangerous, which was proven when an even more horrific war took place, primarily in the first half of the 1940s). "Dove" also came to be applied to antiwar activists in the latter part of the World War One era; later, as opposed to "hawks;" that is, those who favor using military actions or military might to settle disputes. English generally uses "pigeon" now, but "dove" is used more for "turtle dove/mourning dove." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Taube," Low German has "Duuv" ('Duffer' is a male pigeon), West Frisian "do," Dutch "duif," Icelandic "dúfu," Danish and Norwegian "due," Swedish "duva." 

Brazilian Mortadella Sandwich: Sanduíche de Mortadela

Provolone cheese originated in the Campania area of Italy, but since that time, it has become popular elsewhere in Italy, as well as in other countries. It melts pretty easily and it is stringy when heated, making provolone a common addition to pizzas. Another option is to use white American cheese, or yellow American cheese, if you're not concerned with the color of the cheese. Mortadella is closely related to bologna, or baloney, as it is more commonly called in the United States. Mortadella is typically made of finely ground pork and mixed with garlic, nutmeg, ground coriander, black peppercorns, pistachio nuts and small pieces of pork fat (the black peppercorns, pistachios and pork fat are easily visible in the finished product, as they are not finely ground). 

I make my sandwich somewhat "smaller" by using 1/3 pound of mortadella, but in Brazil or in Brazilian restaurants outside of Brazil, the sandwiches more commonly contain 1/2 pound of mortadella or more. Yes, these are HUGE sandwiches!  

 

Ingredients (per sandwich):  

1/3 to 1/2 pound of sliced mortadella

1 or 2 teaspoons of oil for frying the meat (peanut oil, olive oil or avocado oil, all are good)

3 or 4 slices provolone cheese

3 pieces of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil  

(recommended, but optional) 1 or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

(recommended, but optional) 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

bread roll like a kaiser roll or hoagie roll

Fold slices of the mortadella to make two or three piles of meat (probably good to make two piles if you use 1/3 pound of mortadella, but three piles if you use 1/2 pound). Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat and fry the meat until the outside slice is browned and a bit crispy (the inside slices will heat through, but remain soft); turn and brown other side, but after a short time, add slices of cheese to the top of each pile near the end of cooking; it will begin to melt. Remove meat piles to a plate. Slice open the bread rolls and place them open side down in the skillet. Toast the rolls lightly, and don't worry if they sop up some of the pan drippings from the previously cooked mortadella. Remove the rolls and spread the bottom part with mustard, put one pile of cheese topped mortadella over the mustard covered roll part, add sun dried tomatoes, then add the other pile of cheese topped meat, squeeze on or spoon on some mayonnaise and press the top part of the roll onto the sandwich. Don't forget the napkins.   

 

WORD HISTORY:

Cabin-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but Latin had "capanna/cabanna," which meant "hut," and this gave Occitan^ "cabana/cabano" ("hut"), which gave Old French "cabane" ("hut, small house"), and English borrowed the word in the mid 1300s as "cabane," initially meaning "small room on a ship (initially, for use by officers, later, more general for crew members and passengers). This then became "cabin," with the extra meaning, "a roughly constructed small house, typically made of logs." French borrowed the English word as "cabine," meaning "small or compact construction for living quarters, small room for living quarters on a ship, for bathing, or for some other specific purpose; such as, (modern) passenger area of an airplane or a telephone booth." Many other European languages use forms of "cabin," but exactly how they acquired the word is not always clear to me. German has "Kabine" meaning "small room, booth/stand, cubicle, passenger area of a plane," and this seemingly was borrowed in the 1600s from English, as it was initially spelled "Cabbin" in German, but French certainly influenced it further as the spelling changed to "Kabine." Portuguese has "cabine," meaning "compartment, booth, fitting room," and "cabana" meaning "hut, shanty, shed."  

 

^  Occitan is a Latin-based language of the western Mediterranean region, which includes parts of modern Spain, France, Monaco and Italy. It's best known dialect is likely "Provençal," which is spoken in the French Riviera.

A Bunch of Baloney (Sandwiches)

When I was growing up in the 1950s, "baloney" sandwiches were common, including "fried baloney" sandwiches, which were a bit fancier than regular baloney sandwiches that were made from slices of baloney taken right from the refrigerator, or "icebox," as many people still called it back then. "Bologna" traces back to mortadella sausage from the northern Italian city of Bologna. It "seems" Germans took the Italian idea and made a similar sausage which was brought to America by German immigrants, and then Italian immigrants brought actual mortadella, and these were given "American" touches to become "bologna." By the 1920s and 1930s, sandwiches had become highly popular in the U.S., as they were quick and simple to make and they could be easily transported to jobs in bags or lunch boxes, and a common meat used was "baloney," the more typical Americanized pronunciation of "bologna." It wasn't fancy, but it wasn't expensive either, and that was important to every day American working people, and especially so when these "working people" didn't always have a steady job in the days of the Great Depression in the 1930s. It seems baloney was originally made from pork, but then also came beef, then chicken, then turkey, and even mixtures of meat products.

 

"A bunch of baloney" is a slang expression that means "a bunch of nonsense," and the expression seems to have developed in the 1920s in the U.S., in New York City, likely from the idea of baloney then being made from cheap cuts or remnants of meat, thus being of little worth, with nonsense seen the same way.
 

You can use beef baloney, or baloney made with chicken or turkey, if you don't eat pork.

My "Regular" Baloney Sandwich; totally simple:

2 slices white sandwich bread (you can certainly use whole wheat or multigrain bread)

1/2 to 1 tablespoon butter

2 slices baloney

thick ketchup, with more in reserve, if needed; okay, WHEN needed

Spread one slice of bread with butter. Place the 2 slices of baloney on either slice of bread, squeeze a "good" amount of thick ketchup onto the baloney, then place the other slice of bread on top of the ketchup covered baloney. Keep more ketchup nearby, and dip the sandwich into it before every bite. 

 

 

Is This the Typical Baloney Sandwich? 

 

Is this simple sandwich the "typical" baloney sandwich? There's really no way to prove or disprove it.

 

2 slices white bread

1 or 2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 or 2 leaves of lettuce

2 or 3 slices of baloney

1 slice of American cheese

Spread one slice bread with mayonnaise, to the other slice of bread, add the lettuce, 2 or 3 slices of baloney and then top with the slice of cheese.

 

Variation: yellow or brown mustard supplements, or replaces, the mayonnaise, or try a good honey mustard on this sandwich (with no mayonnaise). 

"Regular" Fried Baloney Sandwich

 

You can cut slits around the edge of the baloney slices to help prevent curling of the meat when frying. 

 

2 slices white bread

2 to 3 slices baloney

1/2 tablespoon of butter

2 teaspoons mustard (more if you choose to put mustard on both slices of bread), or 2 teaspoons ketchup, or 2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 pickle on the side, or 3 or 4 pickle slices

 

 

  

 

"Deluxe" Fried Baloney Sandwich

 

2 slices white bread

2 to 3 slices baloney

1/2 tablespoon butter (another 1/2 tablespoon butter, if needed)

1 slice Swiss cheese (or white or yellow American cheese)

1 or 2 slices onion, separated into rings

3 to 5 slices of bread 'n butter pickles (the slices are sometimes referred to as 'chips')

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

(optional) 2 teaspoons mustard or honey mustard

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add the rings of onion and saute. Move the onion rings to the side of the skillet and add the baloney (add more butter, if needed). Fry the baloney on both sides until lightly browned. Keep mixing the onions around to brown them, as the baloney fries. Add the baloney to one slice of bread, top with the fried onions, then the pickles and then the Swiss cheese. Add mayonnaise to the top slice of bread, or if using mustard, spread the top slice with mustard first, then spread on the mayonnaise and add the bread to the top of the sandwich.

 

 

Fried Mortadella Sandwich

 

Mortadella is Italian bologna; actually, THE original bologna.

Ingredients (per sandwich):

2 slices bread (white, whole wheat or multigrain)

2 or 3 slices of mortadella

1 tablespoon butter + 1 teaspoon olive oil (or other oil of your choice)

1 or 2 slices of American cheese (or you can substitute white or yellow cheddar, or Colby)

2 to 3 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 or 3 tomato slices (I tend to use Roma tomatoes, which are usually smaller, so 3 slices)

3 or 4 pickle slices (dill or sweet and sour chips)

Spread the Dijon mustard onto one slice of bread, followed by the mayonnaise. Add the tomato slices, then turn to preparing the mortadella. Add the butter and oil to a skillet over low heat (the oil will help keep the butter from browning quickly). Add the mortadella; brown the meat on both sides, then add the cheese on top of the meat for only about 20 to 30 seconds. Put the mortadella/cheese on top of the tomato covered bread slice and then top the meat/cheese with the pickle slices, and cover with the other plain slice of bread. In the photos below, the bottom photo shows building the sandwich, then the second photo shows completing the sandwich. I didn't add the cheese to the mortadella in the skillet so that the meat could be seen. This is a really good sandwich. 

Mustard followed by mayonnaise, then tomato slices, then mortadella

Fried Onion & Garlic Baloney Sandwich

 

2 slices white bread

2 slices baloney

2 to 4 cloves of garlic, sliced or finely chopped

1 green onion, white and green, chopped

1/2 tablespoon butter 

ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise, your preference, or some combo (I used mayo and ketchup in the photos below)

 

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat then add the green onion and garlic; saute about one minute, then move the onion and garlic to the side of the skillet and add the baloney slices. Fry on both sides until lightly browned. If the onion and garlic begin getting too dark (especially the garlic, it will become bitter) remove from the skillet until the baloney is done. I put some mayonnaise on the bottom slice of bread, then I add the meat, followed by the green onion and garlic and then some ketchup.

  

  

WORD HISTORY:

Weasel-The ultimate origin of the noun "weasel" is difficult, but it "seems" to go back to Indo European "weys," with the notion "to flow, to melt, to run," and the extended noun form "weselos/wiselos," which was the name for the animal, and this gave Old Germanic "wisulon," which meant the same thing. This gave Old English "weosule" then "wesle," which then became "wesele," before the modern form. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Wiesel," Low German "Wes(s)el," West Frisian and Dutch "wezel," Icelandic "vesla" (but it also has an unrelated word for the animal), Danish "væsel," Norwegian "vesle/væsel," Swedish "vessla."  

McHale's Navy: The TV Series

"McHale's Navy" holds a special place in my heart, and I'm sure in the hearts of many people of my generation, as we were kids or teenagers when this comedy initially aired on television (and there were also two movies released). So many fond memories of the cast of this show, and I wish there were a way to give each of the cast members a hug and let them know how important they were to us; but unfortunately, most are no longer with us. As of this writing, of the regular cast, only John Wright, who played PT 73 radioman Willy Moss, and Yoshio Yoda, who played Fuji, the crew's POW houseboy and cook, are still with us. Ernest Borgnine, who played Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale, died in 2012, age 95, Joe Flynn, who played Captain Binghamton, died of a heart attack in 1974 at the age of 49, Bob Hastings, who played Binghamton's aide Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter died of cancer in 2014, age 89, Carl Ballantine, who played the PT 73's Torpedoman Lester Gruber, died in 2009, age 92, Billy Sands, who played the PT 73's Machinist Harrison "Tinker" Bell, died in 1984 from lung cancer, age 73, Edson Stroll, who played PT 73's Gunner Virgil Edwards, died of cancer in 2011, age 82, Gavin MacLeod, who played Seaman "Happy" Haines died in 2021, age 90, Gary Vinson, who played Quartermaster "Christy" Christopher, died of a self inflicted bullet wound in 1984, age 47. As for some of the actors/actresses who appeared somewhat regularly in the series: Jacques Aubuchon, who played native chief Urulu, died of heart problems in 1991, age 67, Roy Roberts, who played Admiral Rogers, died of a heart attack in 1975, age 69, Herbert Lytton, who played Admiral Reynolds, died in 1981, age 83, Jane Dulo, who played Nurse Molly Turner, died after heart surgery in 1994 (I found various birth years for her, so her age at death was between 75 and 81), Canadian actor Henry Beckman, who played Colonel Harrington when the PT 73 was serving in Italy, died in 2008, age 86, Makoto Iwamatsu, who went by the professional name Mako, and who played the role of a number of Japanese officers, died from cancer in 2006, age 72, Jay Novello, who played Mario Lugatto, the conniving mayor of Volta Fiore when the show was set in Italy during its last season, died in 1982, age 78

McHale's Navy ran for four seasons beginning in 1962, all were in black and white, which was common in those days, although by 1965 most series were switching to color, and the 1964 and 1965 full length movies, based upon the series, were filmed in color. The series was broadcast on the ABC network. The first three seasons of the series were set during World War Two in the South Pacific islands in the "general vicinity" of Australia, with the main setting being a U.S. Navy supply base on the island of Taratupa, a fictional island name created purely for the television series. The last season of the show was set in Italy in 1943/44. It's important to remember, when the series first aired, there were millions upon millions of former participants from World War Two, including Ernest Borgnine,* who ranged from middle aged to senior citizens. 

One of Taratupa's PT boats was PT 73, under the command of Lt. Commander Quinton McHale (PT boat =patrol torpedo boat), a man who, prior to the war, had spent years sailing these same waters, and who knew the many islands, the people and the tribal chieftains, which made him an important asset for the US Navy when the war started. McHale and his men are carefree and they have a good time having parties, swimming and water skiing when they aren't patrolling or sent on missions to engage the Japanese, who occupy some of the islands not too far away. While the crew seems lax, they are good in their various roles on the PT boat and in combat. They also have a lot of feelings for the villagers on some of the islands, with a special soft spot for children. The base was commanded by Captain Wallace Binghamton, a man almost more at war with McHale and his men than with the Japanese. Binghamton wants to get rid of McHale, but even when he has McHale on the ropes, something happens to help McHale escape transfer or court martial. Captain Binghamton's aide is Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter, a man who will do anything to stay on Binghamton's good side, no matter how much humiliation he has to endure. On the other hand, McHale's second in command is Ensign Charles Parker, a well meaning klutzy bungler, who often quotes official Navy regulations.

Binghamton has McHale and his crew stationed off of the immediate base, on what is called "McHale's Island," and McHale and the boys have a Japanese POW (prisoner-of-war) who cooks and takes care of their living quarters there. "Fuji" is a great cook, and the crew accepts him as one of their own. Fuji's cooking is a major part of one episode, as Captain Binghamton is quite taken with the food he tries by chance, and he wants "McHale's cook" to prepare food for an admiral coming to the base. There's a BIG problem! Did I mention that Binghamton doesn't know about Fuji, because McHale and his crew keep Fuji hidden at their quarters, and whenever Binghamton is spotted heading for the island (he has to come by boat or skiff), McHale sends Fuji off into the jungle to hide until Binghamton leaves; so, "Fuji, get lost," is a line oft heard in the show's episodes; after all, Fuji could be captured... AGAIN! hahaha 

So, if you grew up with "McHale's Navy," or became very or somewhat familiar with it at some part through television reruns, stir some memories again, as the entire series is available on DVD, as are the two color movies they made back then too. If you've never seen or heard of "McHale's Navy," give it a try, you might just get hooked.** The DVDs also have interviews from some of the surviving cast from when the DVDs were in preparation.

*Ernest Borgnine had been in the Navy in the 1930s, but he left just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, which then saw him re-enlist. He served in the Atlantic/Western European part of the war. His parents were Italian immigrants, and while he was born in the U.S., he lived with his mother in Italy for the several years his mother and father were separated because of marital difficulties; after which, they returned to the United States. Borgnine, whose real family name was the similar "Borgnino," was fluent in Italian and when the show was set in Italy, he displayed his fluent Italian in some episodes.   

** The 1997 movie, starring Tom Arnold as McHale, doesn't count as seeing "McHale's Navy," nor does it capture anything like the essence of the great television series from the 1960s. Ernest Borgnine appears in the movie, but he couldn't save it either.        

Photo is from the Shout! Factory 2007 DVD, Season One (all four seasons are on DVD)

WORD HISTORY:

Mast-English has more than one word of this spelling, but this is the noun with by far the most common meaning, "tall pole or poles used to hold the sail(s) or rigging of a ship or a boat." "Mast" goes back to Indo European "mastos/mazdos," which meant "post, pole." This gave Old Germanic "mastaz," with the same meaning, but also the specific "pole used for a ship's sail," and this gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "mæst" ("pole used for a ship's sail"), and this then became "mast," where it has been for hundreds of years.^

     

^ The expression "before the mast," as in the book, "Two Years Before the Mast" by Richard Henry Dana in the 1800s, refers to the quarters for non officers on ships commonly being in the front of the ship; that is, before where the mast was located; thus, also it can mean "a regular sailor," not an officer. 

Dark 'n Stormy Cocktail

This cocktail "supposedly" got its name from a sailor noting that the drink's dark cloudy color made him think of storm clouds. 

 

Naturally beverage companies want you to use their own specific products to make certain drinks, but we can't have all of the many brands of liquors, so use what you have or what you have access to; don't fret over having such and such a brand name of liquor, as it usually doesn't matter much to the actual taste of whatever drink you are making. 

Ginger beer seems to have been first brewed in England in the 1700s and it became a popular drink in all of the British Isles and in numerous (then) British colonies and possessions like Canada, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa. It is my understanding that the original fermentation process produced both an alcohol content, as well as the sparkling fizz of the drink, which was made with yeast; but that later, the process was altered to make an alcohol free brew, and later still, the carbonation process (injecting carbon dioxide under pressure) was used to give the drink its fizz. Ginger beer is made by using real ginger in the brewing process, and this imparts the soft drink's spicier taste compared to ginger ale, which is somewhat milder (typically made with ginger flavored syrup).     

 

Ingredients (per cocktail):

 

2 ounces dark rum

3 ounces ginger beer

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

(optional) candied ginger slice

slice of lime

ice 

Tall glass (10 to 12 ounces)

Fill a tall glass with ice, add dark rum and lime juice, stir to mix, then add the ginger beer, stir. Add a slice of lime and a slice of candied ginger for garnish. 

WORD HISTORY:

Span-"Span" is used both as a noun and a verb, and the word is related to quite a number of words, including distantly to part of "appendix," "dispense" and "expend," all Latin-derived words, with both "appendix" and "expend" borrowed by English directly from Latin, and with "dispense" borrowed via French, and it is more closely related to "spin," "spider" and "spindle," all words from the Germanic roots of English. "Span" goes back to Indo European "(s)pen," with the notion of "stretch, draw out," with implications for "spin thread." This gave Old Germanic "spannan," with the same meanings, and this gave Old English "spann," meaning, "the fully opened (stretched out) hand as a tool for measurement;" thus also, "the distance between the tip of one's thumb to the tip of the little finger." This then became "spanne," before the more clipped modern form "span." The hand measurement idea broadened (no pun intended) to a more general notion of "distance between two points or objects," but other meanings also developed, including, "an amount of time" (circa 1600)^ and "a span of animals" (mid 1700s), ^^ the 1700s also saw the use of the word for the distance between the arches for bridges, and the word has actually become almost synonymous with bridge, perhaps also because a bridge typically "spans" (the verb use) a river, creek, bay or ravine). Latin long ago borrowed the word from Germanic as "spannus," seemingly borrowed from Germanic Frankish via the Latin dialects in Gaul, which would later become the core of the Frankish Kingdom and then France. The Old French form was "espan," which was then altered to "empan." "Spanner," most commonly a type of tool that connects to something to tighten or turn it, a type of wrench;" borrowed from German "Spanner" in the first half of the 1600s. The German word is from the same source as "span." The verb form of "span" goes back to the same original Indo European and Old Germanic sources, and the Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "spannan," meaning "to fasten, to clasp, to bind," with a secondary meaning of even "to join in marriage" and "to hitch animals together," and the spelling later became "spannen," before the shortening to "span." The verb's meanings mirrored the noun, including about time (as in, "The diplomat's career spans three presidencies") and distance between point or objects ("The bridge spans the gorge near the highway").     

 

^ No set period of time, rather non specific, as in, "The line was long to get into the movie premier, but we only had to wait a span of 12 minutes," but also, "The storm knocked out our electricity for a span of 4 days."

^^ Two animals typically connected by some type of yoke to pull a cart or wagon. 

Rosemary Ginger Beer

This is a totally simple refreshing non-alcohol beverage. Ginger beer seems to have been first brewed in England in the 1700s and it became a popular drink in all of the British Isles and in numerous (then) British colonies and possessions like Canada, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa. It is my understanding that the original fermentation process produced both an alcohol content, as well as the sparkling fizz of the drink, which was made with yeast; but that later, the process was altered to make an alcohol free brew, and later still, the carbonation process (injecting carbon dioxide under pressure) was used to give the drink its fizz. The brewing process for ginger beer typically includes using real ginger; thus, the soft drink has a bit spicier taste than ginger ale, as ginger ale is typically carbonated water with ginger flavored syrup. For rosemary syrup, here is the link, it's simple:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/03/herbal-syrup-rosemary.html  

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

tall glass (10 to 12 ounces)

ice

5 or 6 ounces ginger beer (according to glass size and amount of ice)

2 teaspoons to 3 teaspoons (that makes 1 tablespoon) rosemary syrup (your preference to taste)

rosemary for garnish

lemon slice for garnish

 

Add a little bit of ice to the glass (a small amount of ice makes it initially easier to mix), add some ginger beer and 2 teaspoons rosemary syrup, stir to mix, add more ice, and more ginger beer (to near the top of the glass), stir and taste; add another teaspoon (or more) of rosemary syrup, to suit your taste preference. Garnish with some fresh rosemary and a slice of lemon.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Beverage-The main part of this word is related to "potable," "potion" and "poison," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English from French, and to "imbibe," another Latin-derived word, either borrowed from Latin, but with French influence, or perhaps the other way around. "Beverage" goes back to Indo European "po/poi," which meant "to drink." This gave Latin "bibere," with the same meaning, and this passed to Latin-based Old French as "boivre/beivre," and it produced the noun "bevrage" (no 'e' between v and r), meaning "a drink," with the suffix "-age," often indicating "the act or process of the main word to which it was attached), tracing back through Latin "aticum/aticus" to Indo European "at." "Old French "bevrage" was "beverage" in the Anglo-Norman dialect that developed among the Norman descendants of England, and this was borrowed by English in the mid 1200s, and meaning "a drink." 

Caribbean Rum Punch

Punch, with or without alcohol, is generally something that is for multiple servings which can be prepared in a pitcher. Lots of Caribbean flavors here. 

 

Ingredients (4 to 5 servings):

 

4 ounces light rum

4 ounces dark rum

2 ounces coconut rum

8 ounces pineapple juice

8 ounces orange juice

4 ounces mango nectar/juice

4 ounces Sprite or club soda

2 ounces fresh lime juice

2 ounces grenadine 

1 cup ice 

4 or 5 tall glasses (8 to 12 ounce glasses)

Add all the ingredients to a pitcher, except the club soda or Sprite, stir well, then add the soda/Sprite, stir again. You can certainly mix the punch in a pitcher without the ice, then distribute the ice to individual serving glasses and pour the punch into the ice-filled glasses.

WORD HISTORY:

Fletch (Fletcher)-A variant pronunciation, and thus spelling, of the verb form of "fledge"^ that developed in the 1600s, but under the heavy influence of the noun "fletcher," which is also related to "fledge," and a word borrowed as "fleccher" in the early 1300s from French "flechier," meaning "arrow maker" (French "fleche" means "arrow" ), as an arrow is a shaft or rod with "feathers on the end" (the connection with "fledge"). French got the word by absorbing the form from a close cousin of English, Germanic Frankish (flegja??). I don't know about England, and the rest of the English speaking world, but "fletch" and "fletcher" are not common words in American English, although "Fletcher" is sometimes heard as both a family name and as a given name: from the mid 1980s until the mid 1990s, British actress Angela Lansbury played the character "Jessica Fletcher" on the popular CBS television series "Murder, She Wrote."^^ "Fletcher Christian" was part of the crew of the ship "HMS Bounty," the subject of books and three major films. I also knew a man here in Cleveland with the given name "Fletcher." 

 

^ For the history of "fledge," it is included at the bottom of this article: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2022/06/shirley-temple-mocktail.html

 

^^ Lansbury was born in England, and her father was English and her mother was from Northern Ireland. In the television series, "Fletcher" is Jessica's married name from her deceased husband Frank. 

Sanford and Son Episode: Happy Birthday, Pop

"Sanford and Son" was a comedy series that originally aired on the NBC network from early 1972 until the spring of 1977. The show was based on a British show called "Steptoe and Son," that began in the 1960s. This American show was set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In those times Watts had a predominantly, but not exclusively, black population, and indeed, during its years of original episodes, the diversity of the neighborhood was shown, while giving emphasis to the area's black majority. Today, Watts is a majority Latino neighborhood. 

 

This episode first aired on NBC in January 1972. Harold Fong, who plays the waiter in the restaurant, was a Chinese-American actor who played a lot of generally minor Asian characters in movies and on television from the 1940s through to the 1970s, but he was one of those actors people might recognize, but they likely didn't know his name. 

Episode Cast:

Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford 

Demond Wilson as Lamont Sanford

Harold Fong as the waiter in the Chinese restaurant

Jack Manning as the man seated at the next table in the restaurant

It's Fred's 65th birthday and he thinks Lamont has forgotten, and Lamont lets his dad go on believing that, until he surprises him with a new hat, a gray fedora (see 'Word History' below). Lamont also has a nice birthday card with the hat, and Fred wants to read the card out loud, although Lamont doesn't like that idea, as he thinks the card is mushy. Fred reads the card out loud and the father and son squabble a bit over Fred reading the card, especially when Fred tells his son the sentiment of the card means more to him than the hat. This prompts Lamont to say, "Okay, keep the card and I'll take the hat back!" Fred protests and Lamont says his dad is never satisfied. Things gradually calm down and Lamont tells Fred he's taking him out for his birthday, as he has a nice evening planned for the two of them to celebrate and to spend time together, and that first they'll be going out to get a drink, then Lamont has made reservations to a movie and finally they'll be going to dinner. Fred complains a little about having to wear a coat and tie, but things seem fine. 

 

So Fred puts on his suit and tie and wears his new hat and Lamont takes his dad into a nice upscale bar. Fred looks at the list of drinks and orders a Shirley Temple, and Lamont tells him that's a drink frequently served to children, and that Fred should order something else. So Fred asks if the place has beer on tap (also known as 'draught/draft beer'), but the bartender tells him they only have bottle beer, which brings a reply from Fred that, "I don't like bottle beer, it makes me burp; I don't like to burp." So the bartender goes to wait on other customers while Fred decides what he wants. When the bartender comes back, he suggests that Fred have an "Old Fashioned" (typically whiskey, sugar or simple syrup, water and angostura bitters), but Fred is unfamiliar with the cocktail and instead he takes offense at being called "old fashioned." Lamont settles things down by ordering the Old Fashioned for his dad and a martini for himself. Lamont comments about what a nice place it is, but Fred complains that they don't have a pinball machine. When Lamont tells him places like that don't have pinball machines, Fred says they might have it in the backroom, so he yells out, "Hey, do you have a pinball machine?" Lamont is embarrassed. The bartender brings their drinks and Lamont asks how much he owes. When the bartender says "Two dollars and fifty cents," Lamont gives the bartender $3 and tells him to keep the change. Fred is upset, saying, "We could have got a half case of muscatel for $3." (Note: Remember, this was 1972, and $2.50 for two cocktails was considered expensive back then. Many neighborhood bars in those times charged ten to fifteen cents for a glass of beer. $2.50 is equivalent to between about $17 and $18 in 2022. Also, in those days, muscatel had a reputation for being the drink of winos and cheap wine. Hic! Now wait a second, I said back then, not now! hahaha) Fred takes a drink of the Old Fashioned and right away he complains that it's too sweet and he says it's like syrup, but without the hotcakes. Lamont has had enough and he gets Fred and they begin to leave, but Fred can't go without turning and shouting, "Hey, get a pinball machine!" 

 

Lamont takes his dad to the movie theater to see "Fiddler on the Roof" (Note: This was the film adaptation of the major hit Broadway musical that had been released in the mid 1960s, and the film was also a hit. The story has to do with a Jewish family in western Russia in the early 1900s.) During the intermission, Fred and Lamont come out into the theater lobby with Fred complaining about the movie. Fred's bigotry comes out when he says you can't understand the movie unless you're Jewish. When the buzzer sounds to signal the second half is about to begin, Fred is surprised that there is more to the movie! He tells Lamont to go back into the movie and that he'll take the bus home, but of course, Lamont won't let that happen and he agrees to leave and to take his dad to dinner as promised. When one of the theater personnel tells Fred and Lamont the second half is starting, Fred replies, "The movie is too long ... get some cartoons on there!" 

 

Lamont takes Fred to a Chinese restaurant and Fred's bigotry makes another appearance, as he tells Lamont he heard that someone found soap in their Chinese food, because the Chinese cook and do their laundry in the same pot. Fred also has the waiter bring a third chair so Fred can put his new hat on it. The waiter takes the chair from the next table where a couple is not using it. Lamont does the ordering and when he orders fried wonton, Fred says, "I ain't gonna eat that, that stuff will kill ya," but Lamont calms things down and the waiter takes the order. Now Fred turns his attention to the couple at the table next to them, and he tells them about it being his birthday and he shows them his new hat. The man can't wait to get away from Fred as he already has his check, but when they stand up to leave, Fred grabs his arm and tells him they saw the movie, which he calls, "Fiddler Up A Roof." He also tells the guy if they haven't seen it, not to waste their money, but the man says, "I heard it was VERY good." Fred turns to Lamont and privately says, "He must be one 'em" (implying that the guy must be Jewish). The man wishes Fred a "happy birthday," and as the couple leaves, Fred says to Lamont, "That's a nice white fella." 

 

The waiter brings their food and Fred puts his finger into one of the dishes and smells it, "Ew, that smells," he declares, and he continues, "Smells like insect spray ... I'll bet they gave it a shot so that when it got out here, would nuthin' on the plate move." This upsets Lamont and he has hit the limit, so he gives Fred some money and tells him to go buy his own dinner, because he's leaving. He gets the check and the waiter asks Fred if he wants to take the food home, but Fred answers, "I don't like Chinese food, make me burp." Fred puts his hat on and covers up the food with a napkin. When Fred gets outside, there's a crack of thunder and it starts raining. Fred quickly takes off his hat and puts it under his suit jacket. 

 

The next morning, Lamont is waiting for his breakfast, but Fred comes down from the upstairs still in his robe. He tells Lamont he's not cooking breakfast, because he's retired, and he's expecting a good monthly sum from Social Security. Lamont questions whether that will prove to be true, because his father hadn't earned enough to receive a large amount. Fred gets the telephone and calls the Social Security office. He asks how much he'll be receiving each month, and while he waits for the person to look up his information, he tells Lamont the kitchen is closed due to retirement. The person comes on the line and Fred gets a funny look on his face and hangs up the phone. He asks Lamont, "How do you want your eggs?"          

Photo is of the 2002 Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Season One DVD release (Columbia TriStar is now part of Sony Home Entertainment)

WORD HISTORY:

Fedora-This name for a type of hat with a crease in the crown and with a soft, bendable brim comes from the feminine form, "Fedora," of the Russian male name "Fedor." "Fedor" is "Theodore" in English, and the meaning is "gift of god," a compound form, with the first part going back to Indo European "dhes/dhehs," meaning, "god, deity;" thus also, "sacred, holy."^ and the second part going back to the Indo European root "do" (long 'o'), meaning "give."^^ The first part gave transliterated Greek "theos," meaning "god," and the second part gave transliterated Greek "doron," meaning "gift." Together these gave Ancient Greek the name "Theodoros," which was taken by Russian as transliterated "Fedor/Fyodor" (the 'th' was rendered in Russian as 'f'), and the feminine form "Fedora." In late 1882, a play by French dramatist Victorien Sardou called "Fedora," which he named after the main character, began a popular run of performances. In the play, the character Fedora wore a creased hat with a flexible brim. The character was originally played by then popular actress Sarah Bernhardt, which helped to promote the use of such hats among women and the name of the play and character being applied to the hat. This was borrowed into English (by American English) with that meaning by the mid 1880s.   

 

^ This part of "fedora" makes it related to "feast," "fair" (the noun form only, meaning 'gathering for selling, buying or a promotional event') and "festival," all words of Latin derivation borrowed by English from Latin-based French, and to "fest," a word borrowed from German, which had it from Latin, and to "theology," a word borrowed from French, which had it from Latin, which had it from Greek.  

 

^^ The second part is related to "dose," a word borrowed from French, which had it from Latin, which had it from Greek, and to "donation," a Latin word borrowed by English via French.    

Tequila Sunset

The "Tequila Sunset" simply seems to have been a follow up to the "Tequila Sunrise"

 

Ingredients (per drink):

 

2 ounces tequila

4 ounces orange juice

1/2 ounce blackberry brandy

orange slice and a maraschino cherry for garnish

ice

tall glass (12 ounces)

Add the tequila and orange juice to the glass, stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again. (I put the the tequila and orange juice in first without ice, because it makes it easier to mix those two ingredients, then add the ice and stir again to help chill the drink.) Now add the blackberry brandy along the edge of the glass and let it begin to settle toward the bottom, DO NOT STIR! Garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry and watch the sun set, while you drink the "Sunset."

WORD HISTORY:

Orange-A common word in modern times, but it has an extensive and somewhat complicated history, as the tree, and more especially the fruit of the tree, spread beyond its original homeland in southern Asia. This word seems to go back to a Dravidian language,^ perhaps to transliterated Malayalam^^ "naranja," which seems to have meant "citrus fruit;" as it was used for both "oranges" and "lemons." This was taken by Sanskrit^^^ as transliterated "naranga," which meant "orange tree," which was borrowed by Persian as transliterated "narang," which was then borrowed by Arabic as transliterated "naranji." This came into Italian from a couple of ways, first, apparently via Venetian dialect "naranza;" likely borrowed as a result of trade, as Venice was a major maritime center with ships from elsewhere, but also with ships and their crews from Venice itself and other parts of Italy which returned from other countries, with the natural importation not only of goods, but of "words!" The Arabic form likely also entered Italian via Sicily, and the Venetians and Sicilians gave Italian "arancia," and yes, no beginning 'n,' and this was taken by Latin as "orenge," with the same form passing to Latin-based Old French, but this then became "orange" by "about" 1100. The Portuguese likely had some role in the development of, or reinforcement of, the word "orange," as Portuguese traders went to Asia, including to China and India, and returned to Portugal which likely helped promote the use of forms of "orange" in Spain and southern France (modern Portuguese uses "laranja," from Arabic, for "orange"). English borrowed the word in the late 1300s from French as the fruit and tree name. It was used for the color in the early part of the 1500s, and it pretty quickly overtook the native "yelwered" which came from Old English "geoluread," (literally yellow-red). 

 

^ Dravidian is a family of languages primarily spoken in southern India, but also to some extent in Pakistan and on the island of Sri Lanka. 

 

^^ Malayalam is one of the Dravidian languages, and it is spoken in southwestern India.

 

^^^ "Sanskrit" is an ancient language from the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo European; thus, it is related to English, although much further down the family tree. It is still in use to some degree, especially in India.  

Black-Eyed Pea Spread

Dips and spreads made with ground beans, peas, nuts and seeds have been eaten by humans for many hundreds of years, and likely longer; after all, the ingredients for these dishes were all around long, long before anything like modern times, and just because they didn't have a Cuisinart food processor, didn't mean they they didn't know how to process food without such a device. By the way, Cuisinart food processors didn't go public until the early 1970s, although some electric blenders, the forerunners of actual food processors, began to make their public appearances not long after the end of World War One, and blenders gradually began to be enabled by add-on accessories to make them more like food processors, especially after World War Two.  

 

Black-eyed peas are really a type of bean originally from Africa and brought to the New World by African slaves. They are commonly eaten in several African countries like Senegal, Nigeria and some others, as well as on many of the Caribbean islands, in India and Pakistan, and they are popular in the American South and in parts of Brazil, especially in the Bahia region there. The Portuguese likely took black-eyed peas back to Portugal from Africa and also from Brazil, which was a colony of Portugal for over 300 years until the 1820s. This spread is "similar" to hummus.   

 

Serve with lightly toasted sliced baguettes, crackers, flatbread (pita or naan) and sliced vegetables. Certainly using the toaster is quick and easy, but sometimes I like to toast bread in a skillet, either dry, or with a little oil or butter. The baguette slices in the photos below were dry toasted in a skillet, as was the naan bread. The small amount of ground red pepper won't set your mouth afire; in fact, if you like "heat," you can toss a fresh chili pepper into the mixture before processing.  

 

Ingredients:

 

1 can black eyed peas (15 ounce), drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (after processing, if it's too thick add another tablespoon oil)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 inch piece of fresh lemon zest

2 large cloves garlic

1 slice (1/4 inch thick) from a medium red or white onion

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (like cayenne)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves (needles)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon teaspoon salt (per your preference)

(optional) if you like heat, 1 fresh whole chili pepper, like serrano

(optional) you can top the finished spread with a teaspoon or two of extra virgin olive oil   

 

Put all ingredients into a food processor/blender and process until smooth.

 

 

Black-eyed pea spread with some toasted baguette and cut up Indian naan flatbread ...

WORD HISTORY:

Furnish-"Furnish" is related to "from" and "frame," both from the Germanic roots of English, and it is distantly related to many of the words with the prefix "per," like "perform" and "permit," for example, and also distantly related to words like "proceed" and "produce," with all of these distantly related words being of Latin derivation and with "produce" borrowed by English directly from Latin, and "proceed" likely borrowed from Latin, but with French influence and reinforcement, "permit" a borrowing from French, but with Latin influence, and "perform" a borrowing from French. "Furnish" goes back to Indo European "per," which had the idea of "forward, before, in front;" thus also, "main, chief, first." This had the variant form "pro" meaning "to or toward the front, forward," and this had the suffixed version of "promo," with the same meaning. This gave Old Germanic "frumjanan" meaning, "to advance, to go forward" (Germanic rendered Indo European "p" as "f"). The Germanic form was borrowed by Latin as "fromire," and then altered to "fornire," which passed to Latin-based Old French as "furnir" (meaning "to carry out, to accomplish;" thus also, "to provide, to equip," all from the idea of "going forward, advancing"), which then became "fornir," the stem of a participle form of which was "furniss/forniss." English borrowed this in the middle 1400s as the verb "fornisshen/furnysshen," meaning "to provide, to equip," and when English began to conjugate verbs differently, the "en" ending was dropped and the spelling became the modern form "furnish," and the infinitive form "to furnish."