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." 

The High Chaparral Episode: The Stallion

"The High Chaparral" was a western television series originally broadcast on NBC from 1967 until 1971. It was created by David Dortort.

Cast:

Big John Cannon, the owner of the High Chaparral: Leif Erickson
Buck Cannon, Big John's brother and therefore, naturally, Blue's uncle: Cameron Mitchell
Blue Cannon, Big John's son: Mark Slade
Victoria Cannon, Big John's wife and daughter of a wealthy Mexican landowner: Linda Cristal
Manolito "Mano" Montoya, Victoria's brother: Henry Darrow
Chatto, son of Natchez: Clive Clerk*
Natchez, Apache chief: Michael Keep

This was a great episode of "The High Chaparral." The story is fictional, but it uses the historical Apache chief Natchez as one of the main characters, even though the real Natchez would have been a young man in the 1870s, the general time frame setting of "The High Chaparral."

Blue Cannon (aka, Billy Blue or Blue Boy) pursues a magnificent wild black stallion, but before he can rope the horse, Chatto, the son of Apache chief Natchez, gets a rope around the great horse, only to have the rope break. Blue chases and ropes the horse. Chatto is not far behind and he feels the horse is his. Blue and Chatto fight and Blue pulls his gun, but just then, Natchez and several of his men ride up. From the opposite direction comes Blue's father, Big John Cannon, and ranch hands from the High Chaparral. Big John and Natchez have an earlier agreement to try to keep the peace, but this incident is about to put that agreement to the test. Blue tells his father what happened, and Big John has Manolito tell Natchez that Chatto lost the stallion and that Blue caught it, so it is his. Chatto does not want to give up the horse, but his father does not want an incident that could lead to war. Chatto angrily dashes away to his own horse.** Natchez and his men ride off, but Buck says he doesn't think they have heard the last about the possession of this stallion.

When Blue takes the horse back to the High Chaparral, he prepares to train the horse for riding, but Buck brings him a set of hobbles, which restrain a horse's legs, and thus, its movement, to allow a person to put a saddle on them, and then begin to get the horse to accept a rider. At first Blue decides to call the horse "Windy," but later when Big John talks to his son, he proposes a new name, "Sirocco," a word meaning, "a hot, dry wind from the Sahara Desert." *** Big John also tells Blue that a horse such as "Sirocco" should be won over and not be broken in the usual manner. Blue takes his father's advice and spends days working with the stallion to win him over, which he finally does. One day as Blue and the ranch hands eat and Sirocco is tied up nearby, Chatto sneaks in and takes the stallion. Blue chases after him, but Sirocco is too fast and eventually Blue has to temporarily abandon the pursuit. In the meantime, Chatto names the stallion "Santana" and treats the horse well, developing a good relationship with him, just as Blue did.

Big John goes to see Natchez and neither wants an incident that will provoke war, but John tells him that Blue is willing to kill to get the horse back. Natchez and his men show up where Chatto has been keeping the stallion. Natchez wants to keep the peace, but his son will not give up the horse, and the young Apache men choose to side with Chatto. War may be approaching. Blue returns to the ranch and Buck prepares to have the ranch hands ride out with Blue to find Chatto and the stallion and to provide support for Blue if things turn ugly. Blue takes off without Buck and the ranch hands, but they soon follow after Blue. Natchez goes to the High Chaparral alone and tells Big John about his men siding with Chatto, which could mean war. Big John and Natchez go out together to try to resolve the situation and to keep the peace.

Blue finally spots Chatto on the stallion and a chase begins. Buck and the men are also not far behind, and the young Apache men leave their camp to find Chatto, as Big John and Natchez race to intervene. Chatto draws his knife and waits for Blue above the trail on a large rock. He leaps down at Blue and the fight is on as Buck and the men continue to close in. Chatto is able to hop on the horse to try to get away, but Blue hops on the stallion too. Their fight continues until they both fall off the horse and fight on the ground. The Apache men appear on the ridge above where the two men are fighting, and Buck and the ranch hands appear nearby. Buck wants to let the two men fight it out, but the Apache men begin to slowly descend from the high ground. Buck and his men also begin to move in. Natchez and Big John ride up and Natchez grabs his son and Big John grabs his son. Big John comes to a decision to see if the two young men will let the horse decide which man it wants to go with. Blue and Chatto agree to the plan and both are confident the horse will choose them. The horse is released and both men call to him, Blue using "Sirocco," and Chatto using "Santana." The horse turns and moves one way, and then the other. Up on the high ground the stallion's former herd appears.... the stallion runs to the herd! Blue and Chatto are stunned. Blue takes his father's horse and begins to chase after the stallion, but John tells him, "Some things are just naturally born to run free." Blue agrees and Natchez looks at Chatto. Blue rides over to Chatto and tells him to get on. He reaches out and Chatto reaches out and Blue pulls him up onto the horse; there will be no war. The stallion appears on the high ground.   

* Clive Clerk was a young actor in the 1960s and early 1970s who was in several episodes of NBC's daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives," as well as in episodes of other shows. In the 1970s, he chose to concentrate more on interior design and art. He met actor and writer Tom Tryon when he did the interior design and decorating of Tryon's New York City residence. The two became romantically involved for a time.     

** In an error made during filming, we see Chatto run toward his horse, which is facing him, but then the view changes to Chatto jumping onto the horse (probably a stunt man was used), which is turned around. They had to clearly see this when editing, if not before, but they likely felt it wasn't worth the time and effort to shoot the scene again.

*** "Sirocco" is a word from Arabic, but its borrowing by English in the early part of the 1600s is from either French or Italian. The story in "the High Chaparral" episode has Big John say it's a French word, but from what I found in just a brief review, is that a number of histories say English took the word from Italian, and they also say French got the word from Italian. The thing is, it looks as if many of the southern European languages (Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and others) borrowed the word from North African sources, which is not terribly surprising, because this dry, hot wind blows across the Mediterranean Sea into southern Europe, sometimes powerfully so.

Photo is of the 2018 Shout Factory High Chaparral, Season Two DVD set

WORD HISTORY:
Stallion-This word for a "strong male horse," often with the additional notion of, "strong male horse used to sire offspring," is related to "stall" (a place for animals, later also, a small enclosed area for merchants to sell things), a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "stel," which had the notion, "to place, to put, to set." This gave Old Germanic "stallaz," meaning, "place, place for standing;" thus also, "place for an animal to stand." This gave Frankish, a Germanic language/dialect, "stal(l)," with the same meanings. This was taken into Old French to form "estalon," meaning, "a male horse kept in a stall for breeding purposes." This became "estaloun" in the Norman dialect in England. It was borrowed by English in the early 1300s as "staloun," before the change to "stallion" in the 1400s. (I inadvertently left this out: "Stallion" replaced the original English word for such a horse, "hengist." German still has "Hengst," meaning "stallion," and the figurative, "stud.")      

Baja-Style Mexican Fish Tacos

Presumably tacos have been around for a long time; almost certainly, well before the Spanish set foot in Mexico; after all, wrapping food in cooked ground corn batter is not a terribly difficult concept to figure out. I, myself, figured it out last week. hahaha! While the history of tacos is sketchy, at best, the use of the word "taco" for this famous food is more than a little unclear. Quite some time ago I had a neighbor who was originally from Mexico. He told me the word taco, which actually means "plug, stopper," came to be used for the food by Mexican miners, who wrapped gunpowder in paper for use to extract minerals from the mines. I believe these explosive "tacos" were used more to extract silver, but I don't know that to be a fact. Anyway, the idea of wrapping fillings in tortillas led to the use of the word for the food, or at least that was my neighbor's story. On the other hand, tacos are a great snack, and could the word have been used because they act as a quick "stopper" for one's hunger between meals; thus, "a light meal?" Of course, there could be a simpler explanation proposed by some, that a word from one of the native languages for this already existent food was close to the Spanish word "taco," and so that is the word the Spanish speaking people took as the name for the food.

In Baja, the western part of Mexico, access to the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California eventually brought about fish wrapped in tortillas; thus, the fish taco, a "somewhat standardized" form of which spread to the U.S. side of the border and to San Diego and vicinity, although the tasty dish is much more widespread now. Notice I used "somewhat standardized" form for fish tacos, as with any popular dish, there will be inevitable variations, and so it is with fish tacos. Some people use red cabbage, some people use lettuce, some people use vinegar, some use chili peppers, some use white cheese, and I'm sure there are other changes. I like fish tacos with "Mexican rice,"* often called "Spanish rice" in the United States. 

Ingredients (8 servings):

1 bag shredded cabbage/carrot cole slaw mix 
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 pound cod in 4 fillets, then halve each fillet (8 pieces total)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup beer, more if needed to thin batter (light color, a Mexican brand if you desire more authenticity)
oil for cooking
corn tortillas 
chipotle sauce **
lime wedges 

In a bowl, add the slaw mix, the onion, the cilantro. In a cup or small bowl, mix together well the olive oil, lime juice, salt and honey. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix in well. Best if refrigerated for a minimum of a couple of hours. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, the ancho chili powder, the salt, the baking powder and the beer to form a batter. Add enough oil to a skillet to give you about 1/2 inch of oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Drop a cube of bread into the oil. If the bread sizzles and starts to brown, you're ready to go. Dip the fish pieces into the batter, then let the excess batter drain off. I fry 4 pieces of fish at a time. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds or so. Put a piece of fish into each tortilla, add some of the slaw mixture, then drizzle on some chipotle sauce. Add a lime wedge to each serving.  

* The recipe for Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo) is at the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/02/mexican-red-rice-arroz-rojo.html


** To make the creamy chipotle sauce, this is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/02/creamy-chipotle-sauce.html

Baja Fish Taco with Mexican rice...

WORD HISTORY:
Canon-This word has a number of meanings, the most common of which are: "church law issued by religious authorities," which broadened into, "law, principle, rule, guideline, standard accepted as proper;" "a list of people deemed worthy of sainthood;" "the collected validated works of a writer;" "a clergyman living under the principles of certain religious orders and often serving in a cathedral." "Canon" is related to "cannon," the gun, a word borrowed by English. It "seems" to go back to transliterated Sumerian "ginah,"^ which meant "reed," which seems to have been taken by transliterated Akkadian as "qanuh," with the same meaning. This gave Hebrew "qaneh" (same meaning). This was borrowed by Ancient Greek from Hebrew as transliterated "kánna," and also meant "reed," which were used for measurement and keeping things in a straight row; thus, "ruler (the implement);" thus, "a standard." Latin took the word as "canna," with the same meanings, but which then developed into "Church issued decree" ("rule to be followed"), as "canon." "Canon" was borrowed into Old English from Latin, but certainly reinforced by French, which had had the term passed to it from Latin. Latin had developed the adjective "canonicus," meaning, "by the rules of the Church, according to the rules of the Church," and this came to be used as a noun for the "clergyman" meaning ("a man who lives by the rules of the Church"). This passed into Old French as "canonie," and it was either taken to England by the Normans or developed among the Norman nobles in England as "canun/canoun." It was borrowed by English, at first as "canoun," in the late 1100s.     

Cream Gravy with Pepper

Cream gravy, also known by some as country gravy, or pepper gravy, is a traditional gravy in the American South, often served over Chicken Fried Steak.* Cream gravy also forms the base for the gravy used in sausage (gravy) and biscuits, which usually has the butter replaced with sausage drippings, and has fried crumbled sausage added. This is another dish of the American South. To be quite honest about it, over the years I've found the basic recipe type of cream gravy in a number of restaurants or diners to be a little too bland for me, so I add some adobo seasoning to the gravy, which gives it a very slight yellow tint, due to some turmeric and paprika in the adobo seasoning; that is, the adobo seasoning I make myself,** but there are commercial adobo seasonings that "may not" have turmeric or paprika in the ingredients. In the U.S., adobo seasoning is easily found in supermarkets in many communities, as it has a strong connection to Puerto Rican cooking, and PUERTO RICANS ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS!    

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons regular olive oil
4 to 5 tablespoons flour
1 to 2 tablespoons ground black pepper, according to how ''peppery" you like it
2 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons adobo seasoning**

Heat the butter and oil in a pan over low heat until the butter melts. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook for just a minute or two to take away the raw flour taste, but don't let the roux darken. To prevent darkening, remove the pan from the heat for a few moments, if need be. Add about a half cup of the milk, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. You can turn up the heat a little now (I set it on medium). Gradually add more milk, always stirring, and always allowing the mixture to come up to a simmer until it thickens. When the milk has all been added and the gravy is thickened, reduce the heat again to low or even very low. Add the pepper and the adobo seasoning, and stir to mix the seasonings in well. Let cook for another minute or so over low heat, always stirring to prevent any sticking.

* This is the link to "Chicken Fried Steak," but I made brown mushroom and onion gravy. This recipe for the meat is the same regardless of the gravy used: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/10/chicken-fried-steak-with-brown-mushroom.html

** For the recipe for adobo seasoning:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/11/adobo-seasoning.html

Back in the 1970s I would fairly often go to this one restaurant that had a listing on their menu for "vegetarian platter." Customers could order four side dishes for a set price that was somewhat less than these dishes would have cost at their regular individual prices combined. I decided to go that route for this picture, although I'm not a vegetarian. This is mashed potatoes with pepper gravy (not meat gravy), peas, sliced tomatoes and cottage cheese.  

With fried boneless breaded chicken breast....

WORD HISTORY:
Boil-English has more than one word of this spelling, but this is the verb, and the derived noun ("state of boiling"). It is distantly related, through Indo European, to "ball" (rounded object), a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "bhel," which had the notion of "swell, bloat out, to bulge," which gave Latin "bulla,"^ meaning, "knob, bubble" (that is, "air filled swellings") and this produced Latin "bullire," a verb meaning, "to bubble." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "bollir" ("to bubble, to ferment, to boil"), the Anglo-Norman form of which, "boiller," was borrowed by English in the 1200s (at first as, "boillen?"). This word gradually replaced the native English word "seethe," as the main word for "heat liquid to bubbling."^^ The noun form for "state of boiling," was derived from the noun in the 1400s.  

^ Latin "bulla" is thought by some to have been borrowed from Gaulish, a Celtic language, which is also Indo European. Gaulish was absorbed by Latin in ancient times in the area of what is today largely France and southern Belgium.

^^ Of course "seethe" is still around and meaning "liquid at a full boil," although it is used more in its figurative sense, "be very angry, 'boiling' mad." 

Of Human Bondage, 1964, Laurence Harvey, Kim Novak

This 1964 film based on the novel of the same name by British author W. (William) Somerset Maugham, published in 1915, never lived up to the 1934 film version that helped make Bette Davis a well known actress. The wonderful theme song was written by English musician and composer Ron Godwin. Notice too, I said the movie was "based" on the novel, because there are some stark differences between Maugham's book and this film. Maugham's "general" story, however, is semi autobiographical, and elements of this were carried into the film script.   

Cast: American actress Kim Novak as Mildred Rogers; Philip Carey is played by actor Laurence Harvey, who was born in Lithuania to Jewish parents, but raised from a young age in South Africa, before moving to England after World War II; English actor Robert Morley as Dr. Jacobs, English actor Jack Hedley as Griffiths ("Griff"), English actor Ronald Lacey as Mathews, Irish actress Siobhán (pronounced as if, "Shi-vaughn") McKenna as Norah Nesbit.

As a boy in England, Philip Carey, who has a club foot, is badly mistreated by his male schoolmates. Philip's mild and kind manner are no match for the ruthlessness of the other boys, who even pick on Philip's dead mother! This opening scene sets the tone for what's to come, as Philip is sensitive and self conscious about his foot, and generally insecure about himself. The film shifts to Paris where Philip is being given a brutally frank assessment of his artistic abilities, or rather of his lack of artistic ability. Philip returns to England and attends medical school where he meets and becomes friends with two other male medical students, Griffiths and Mathews, and the latter wants Philip's help getting him a date with a waitress at a tearoom to whom he has taken a fancy. Philip finds himself attracted to the waitress, Mildred Rogers, and he begins to go to the tearoom regularly, until finally, he asks her to go to dinner with him. They go to a fine restaurant and Mildred asks Philip if he can afford such a dinner, and he tells her an uncle died and left him a great deal of money. Mildred presents herself as a person of means and good family, telling Philip, "My family were very well connected... I don't have to work for a living. I just don't like doin' nuthin'." While Philip knows none of this true, he can't take his eyes off of Mildred and he glows at just being near her. When Philip takes Mildred to the theater, she flirts with another man from a distance. Philip sees what is going on, but he says nothing.

We're then reminded once again of Philip's physical affliction, as his medical class is studying the case of a young boy with a club foot. The instructing doctor is anything but easy on his students and he pointedly twists the symbolic knife around in Philip, as he tells him in front of all of the other medical students that the boy's club foot is a subject Philip should know something about.

Then when Mildred is supposed to go out with Philip again, she tells him her aunt is sick and that she has to sit with her. Philip tells her he believes her, but he just feels uneasy about Mildred's story, so he waits and watches from a distance until Mildred leaves work, only to see her get into a carriage with the man she had flirted with at the theater. Philip goes to the carriage where Mildred is enraged at him. Her male companion shoves Philip to the ground, just as the boys at school had done to him years before.

Philip relates to Griffiths what happened and Griffiths tells him that this should now end the matter, that Mildred is not worth any anquish, and that she is as mean and selfish as they come, but Philip says he knows her better than Griffiths. Griffiths finally comes right out and says Mildred is a whore who just doesn't walk the streets. This angers Philip and he ends the conversation.

Philip fails his exams in medical school, and when he goes to a pub for a beer, Mildred is there with another man. Philip "sort of" tries to leave, but Mildred catches up to him. She sweet talks him, and he gives in and forgives her for lying to him. When Philip suggests they leave the pub, he then mentions that she can't just walk out on the man she was with, but she tells him, "Oh can't I? You just watch me." Away they go, as the man stands calling out to Mildred.

Philip and Mildred kiss and Philip asks her if she cares for him. Mildred answers, "Of course I like you, I just let you kiss me, haven't I?" But Philip says, "You haven't answered my question?" This brings Mildred to firmly retort, "Questions.... you're always cross examining me." They part and Philip goes and buys a ring for Mildred. When they meet again the next day, Philip tells Mildred he has a surprise for her and she gets quite excited. They go to Philip's place and he asks her if she will marry him. This brings Mildred to say, "You've really got it bad, haven't you?" When Philip replies affirmatively, Mildred asks, "Do you think we'd be happy?" And Philip says, "No, but what does it matter?" He gives Mildred the ring and she's quite taken with it. Mildred and Philip end up in bed and he tells her how he loves her and that she's changed his life. Then Mildred tells Philip she is getting married. Philip is despondent and as Mildred gets ready to leave, he asks her why he "got to kiss the bride." She says, "Well... I had to make it up to you somehow." It's all a transaction in Mildred's world. She offers to return the ring, and Philip declines, but she says, "I don't think I'd better (keep it), it wouldn't be quite good taste, would it?" She sets the ring down and leaves.

Griffiths takes Philip to a party where he meets Norah Nesbit, a writer who uses a male name as her pseudonym. A relationship develops between the two. Norah gives comfort to the troubled Philip and he returns to his medical studies with renewed interest and he passes his exams. Norah is kind and worries after Philip, much as Philip had done with Mildred. She tells Philip not to be so self conscious and sensitive about his club foot, because most people only notice it when they first meet him, but then they forget about it, as he should too.

As Philip comes home one evening, a forlorn Mildred is waiting for him. She's pregnant and she tells Philip that she didn't get married, because the man was already married, and that he left her with no money. Philip tells her she is to have the child and that he will take care of her until the baby is born. Mildred, now frightened and alone, asks Philip if he still cares for her, and his positive answer leads her to say that things will be different this time, but when Philip asks why, Mildred answers, "Because I owe it to you." It's still a transaction, not a love affair.

When Philip sees Norah, he tells her that Mildred has come back. Norah can tell it's over with Philip, but she asks why he took Mildred back, to which he answers, "I don't know... There's a saying somewhere, something about human bondage."

Mildred has the baby, a girl, but she gives her up to a lady for care, which is paid for by Philip. She convinces Philip to take her out to some nice place that evening, but she asks that Philip bring Griffiths along too, "he makes me laugh." During the evening out, Mildred spends most of her time dancing and laughing with Griffiths. The next day, Philip tells her not to humiliate him by chasing after Griff, but she says she can't help it if Griffiths plays up to her. Philip then tells her that Griff doesn't like her, that he's told him that. From her purse Mildred pulls a letter from Griff and hands it to Philip, who reads it in silence. Tempers then flare a bit and Mildred tells Philip, "I like you very much, as a friend, but you can't live on friendship, now can you?" This brings Philip to bluntly tell her that she hasn't found it too difficult living off of his "friendship," because he's been keeping her. The temperatures rise and Philip calls Mildred "a vulgar little tart," and she angrily says, "you've forced yourself on me," and then she says how revolted she's been by him. He slaps her and tells her she can go to Griffiths to see if he will keep her in such a lifestyle.

After this whole episode, Philip barely speaks to Griffiths, but one day Griff tells him Mildred is walking the streets as a prostitute. Philip finds her and learns that she has the baby with her, as she doesn't have money to pay the lady to take care of the child any longer. Philip tells her he'll get someone to take care of the baby. He takes Mildred with him to his place, but this time it's truly different. After a time, Mildred is restless and she fixes herself up to look as she once did. She plays up to Philip, but he no longer sees Mildred as in the past. He now treats Mildred much more as a patient, not as the focus of his love. When Mildred tells Philip she loves him and that she wants to make everything up to him, he says it's too late. When she asks why, he says, "Perhaps because I once loved you too much," and he removes her arms from around his neck. When she tries to lure Philip to her bed, he tells her she disgusts him. No longer bound to her manipulations, Philip's freedom angers Mildred and she tries to humiliate him by telling him how she wiped her mouth every time after kissing him, and how she laughed at him behind his back. She calls him "a cripple," because she knows how sensitive he has been about his club foot. Such things would have once weighed heavily on Philip, but not now, and the loss of control over Philip leaves Mildred furious. When Philip returns home, Mildred is gone, but she has wrecked his apartment and slashed many of his belongings.

Philip is now a legal doctor and he works in the outpatient clinic for the hospital. One day after treating a patient, Philip turns around and there is Mildred sitting waiting to be seen as a patient. She tells Philip she wants no favors, just some medicine for a throat problem. Philip examines her and tells her it would be best if she stays for a couple of days while he does some tests. Mildred says she just wants some medicine. Philip believes she doesn't want to stay because of the baby, but she tells him the baby is dead. Philip does a blood test and when he gets the results, he goes to find Mildred. He asks her if she's ever seen anyone die of syphilis. He tells her he doesn't want anything from her, he just wants to help her. Mildred calls Philip "a dirty crippled bastard," so he turns and leaves.

While the time frame in the film goes unspecified, presumably not long thereafter, as Philip sees patients, Griffiths comes in to tell him that Mildred has been admitted to the hospital and that she's dying. Philip goes to her bedside and she tells him, "You always were a gentleman. Promise me... I want a proper funeral, like a lady." Philip says, "You're not going to die. I'm going to look after you," but Mildred is gone. Philip goes to the cemetery, where a handful of people are present for Mildred's funeral. As he walks away, he sees Sally, a woman in love with Philip, and who wants to marry him.

Photo is from the 2014 Warner Archive Collection DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Bondage-This word is not related to "bound," "band" or to "bond," the noun meaning, "something that binds, or holds together," all from the Germanic origins of English, even though it certainly looks to be related to these words. It IS related to "build" and to "bower," both words also from the Germanic origins of English. "Bondage" goes back to Indo European "bhu/bu," which meant, "to dwell, to live upon or in," derived from the notion, "to be, to exist." This gave Old Germanic "buanan," meaning, "to dwell.'' The Old Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "buan," meaning, "to dwell, to occupy a place or space." Now the problem... Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "bonda," which meant, "(a) householder (one who dwells or occupies a space to live in), the head of a family household, husband." North Germanic had the related "boa" from the Old Germanic form, meaning, "to dwell, to make ready," and which gave Old Norse, "boandi," which meant, "dweller, free farmer (not a serf), husband." So, did Old English get "bonda" from its own form of the Old Germanic, or did it get it from Old Norse, or did Old Norse reinforce the already existent English word? Anyway, English "bonda" then became "bond," with shift in meaning away from "free farmer," to "serf, a farmer obligated as a tenant to a lord." With the Normans in charge of English justice and law in the Middle Ages, they used both their own form of French, but also Latin, in the administration of the justice system. They took the English word "bond" and Latinized it to "bondagium," to represent "the state of subservient tenancy." This then became, "bondage" by the early 1300s, and the meaning expanded more generally to "a condition of slavery," perhaps due to translations of the Bible in reference to the Hebrews in Egypt. The sadomasochistic sexual meaning "seems" to have come about, at least in more general usage, in the 20th Century.      

The Normans & The English Language

When the Normans* invaded England, the process of incorporating hundreds of Norman French words into English started. Many, but certainly not all, of our more complex terms come from Norman French (some were also borrowed later from "continental" French), but nearly all of our most commonly used words are still from Old English; that is, Anglo-Saxon. It has been said "by some," that when Winston Churchill gave his famous defiant speech against the Nazis in 1940, he deliberately used "almost" all words derived from Old English in the part about, "We shall fight on the beaches," etc. Anyway, the French dialect carried to England by the Normans is commonly referred to as "Anglo-Norman," rather than as "French."

The victory of William, Duke of Normandy, over the English brought about a natural change to the ruling structure of England, as William, then as king and known as King William I, ruled with Norman officials, as English nobles were removed from such positions; that is, those English nobles who were not killed. The site of William's major victory over the English near Hastings, in southeastern England, was given a Norman French name, "Battle," a word which became part of the English language, but which also showed how English was under pressure from words imported by the Normans. William ordered the building of an abbey at the battlefield location as a memorial to the dead there, and to comply with the Pope's admonishment for the Normans having killed so many people to complete their takeover of England. This takeover went on for a few years and the Normans literally laid waste to large areas of England. Many English people were slain, while others died from disease or starvation as a result of the destruction of their farms and towns. The abbey was not completed until after William had died, but it is still in existence. While set more than a century later, the book and the movie "Ivanhoe" does convey the very contentious relationship between the  the Norman rulers and their English subjects.** Some of this animosity is also shown in the film, "Becket," which covers the historical feud between the Christian church, represented in England by Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Henry II, the great grandson of William the Conqueror.***   

The Normans brought something else to England... the castle (Norman French: "castel"). In order to administer the country, the Normans built numerous castles to also provide some sense of safety from the still hostile English population. "Castle" was another word imported into the English language and it also was used to describe fortified towns. Words having to do with Norman nobles and rule came into English: "baron," "duke" and "govern." Likewise, some words of a military nature also were taken into English from the Normans: "archer" (although the English synonym "bowman" survives to this day), "soldier" (from Norman French "soudeour/soudier," although its spelling with the "l" was directly influenced by Latin), "army" (French: armée).

As part of their rule in England, the legal system showed the tremendous influence of Norman French upon the English language, with such basic words as "justice" and "judge" being borrowed into English, but there were many more, although some of the words may have been borrowed more directly from Latin, with reinforcement from Norman French, as Latin was also used in legal proceedings in England by the Normans. The word "legal" itself was borrowed by English (Old French "légal"). 

Last, but not least, there was the Norman influence on words about food. English retained many of its words for kinds of animals, but the Normans brought their own terms for the animals when used for food: modern English forms of the words: "cow, pig/swine, deer, calf, chicken, sheep," and the Norman terms for the food products: "beef, pork, venison, veal, poultry, mutton." 

*The Normans were originally North Germanic speakers, being what most folks commonly refer to as Vikings. They sailed up the rivers along the Atlantic coast, raiding inland, even near Paris. The Frankish (see note at end of this paragraph) king, in an effort to stop the raids, gave these folks land in the northwestern part of his kingdom. The people called the raiders "Northmen," as they came from Scandinavia, and the term stuck, although it was contracted into "Normans," and the area given to them by the king came to be called "Normandy." They quickly adapted to the local (majority) population, as their children and grandchildren grew up speaking the local dialect of "French," which was somewhat different from the French dialect of the Paris region. NOTE: The Franks were a large Germanic tribe, probably formed by the inclusion of many smaller Germanic tribes. The main elements of the Franks conquered much of Gaul, eventually giving their own name to the territory, “France,” and to the people and language, “French.” Interestingly in German, the word for France is “Frankreich;” that is, “empire of the Franks.” Gaul (named after the Celtic people, “the Gauls”) had been a Roman province for centuries by the time the Franks arrived, and the population spoke various dialects of Latin. Ever so gradually over a few centuries, the conquerors became the conquered, so to speak, as the Frankish language essentially was absorbed into the existing and more widespread Latin dialects. Frankish, however, did give many words to the “new” French language before it disappeared as a truly separate language in that area.

** This is the link to my article about "Ivanhoe:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/02/ivanhoe-robert-taylor-in-title-role.html  

*** "Ivanhoe" is set in the time of King Richard I, the son of Henry II. 

**** French is a Latin-based language, with a number of Germanic influences, including some vocabulary, primarily from its namesake language, Frankish, a Germanic language that was absorbed into the Latin dialects of the area we now call France (named after the Franks) in the time leading up to the Norman Invasion. A good number of German dialects today trace their heritage back to Frankish, including the dialect of Lorraine (Lothringisch), Luxembourg (Lëtzebuergesch), the Nuremberg area (the area is called "Franken" and the dialect is "Fränkisch") and several others. Not only these dialects, but the Dutch language comes from Frankish.

WORD HISTORY:
Manor-This word, related to "mansion" (a Latin-derived word borrowed from French), goes back to Indo European "men," which had the meaning, "to stay," also in the sense, "dwell." This gave Latin "manere," meaning, "to stay, to dwell." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "maneir," which then became "manoir," and both forms retained the Latin meaning. "Manoir" also became a noun meaning, "dwelling place, home," but also later, "main home of a lord or noble on his property holdings." This was carried to England by the Normans in their dialect as "maner," and it was borrowed into English in the second half of the 1200s. 

Plantain Chips

Plantains are starchy, non sweet bananas, common in tropical parts of the world, including on the island of Puerto Rico, which is a territory of the United States (people born on Puerto Rico are American citizens). Plantains are generally available in the produce sections of many supermarkets these days, and definitely in Latino markets, and make sure you look at the little sticker on them that says, "plaintain," because they are identical to the more common sweet bananas. Plantain chips, called "platanutres," in the Spanish of Puerto Rico, are one of the island's most common uses for this produce, but they are also common in other places in the Caribbean and in some South American countries. The "basic" recipe for these chips is the same all over, but for me, it was inspired by: "A Taste of Puerto Rico," by Yvonne Ortiz, Dutton, a division of Penguin Books, 1994. There are some slight variations in recipes from place to place, and from person to person.

Plantain chips are simple to make, but what is not so simple, is to be able to stop eating them:

2 green plantains
1 1/4 cups canola or vegetable oil
Puerto Rican adobo seasoning to taste*
(for a spicy kick, 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

Peel and very thinly slice the plantains. Add enough oil for an inch or 2 in a heavy duty skillet; cast iron is good for this, but not a necessity. Heat the oil, but it should not be smoking hot. Fry the chips in batches, removing them to paper towels to drain them as you go. Add Puerto Rican adobo to taste, and the 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, if using.

* Puerto Rican adobo is a type of seasoning, easily available in supermarkets, although perhaps in the "Hispanic/Latino Foods" section. I deliberately put "Puerto Rican adobo," as "adobo" can mean different things in Latino countries or in the Philippines, a country with Spanish influences (it was once a colony of Spain).

WORD HISTORY:
Plantain-There are two words of this spelling in English, but by far the more common is the one meaning, "a type of starchy banana using in cooking," although its pronunciation may well have been influenced by the other word.^ This word goes back to the "Carib" language of the "Cariban" family of languages, native to South America, which then spread to some of the islands of the Caribbean. This language family is much diminished in modern times, as its forms were often replaced by Spanish, Portuguese, French, English or Dutch in the areas colonized by the European speakers of these languages. The Carib word, "platana/blatana," meaning "banana," was borrowed into Spanish as "plántano" (early on likely influenced by the other Latin derived word, see note below), which then became "plátano." It was borrowed by English in the mid 1500s, but was likely influenced in spelling and pronunciation by the already borrowed word, "plantain" (see note below).

^ The other word of identical spelling is the name for a plant with broad, flat leaves, but it is from a form of the Latin word "plantago," which gave Old French, a heavily Latin-based language, "plantain," but it has nothing to do with the origins of the Carib word. This word "plantain" was borrowed by English in the 1400s from the French dialects brought to England by the Normans and other French speakers, thus called, "Anglo-Norman," which had a variety of spellings, like "plainteine, planteine, planteyne," but its English spelling seems to have been influenced directly by the continental French spelling, "plantain."

Health Care Was An Issue Even In The 1960s

A few weeks ago I was watching an old episode of one of my all time favorite television shows, "Get Smart," a comedy show I watched faithfully all those years ago in the mid to late 1960s. In this one particular episode the Chief is wounded inside a hospital and has passed out, but when Max and Agent 99 get a nurse for help, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, the first question by the nurse is, "Does he have insurance?" Followed by, "Does he have his insurance card?" While this was a comedy, it was the sort of thing Americans could relate to even back then; that's why they put it into the show's script. The American health care system has been debated for a long time, and things are not about to change now, because this is about BIG money.

WORD HISTORY:
Mean (1)-There are three different words "mean" in English. This is the one for "midway, middle, intermediate." It goes back to Indo European "medhyo," which meant "middle." This gave its Italic/Latin offspring "medius," with the same meaning. This later gave Latin "medianus," which meant "that of the middle, that which is in the middle." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "meien." English borrowed the word as "meene" in the mid 1300s, either directly from French, or from Anglo-Norman^ "meen."

^ The Norman French dialect was naturally carried to England by the Norman invaders in late 1066. That dialect, away from every day contact with continental French and influenced by English, developed into what many call Anglo-Norman.