Wednesday, November 23, 2016.
A Happy One.
I can hardly imagine two houses with less in common than the two in which son Jude lived in for most of his life. Where he lives now (somewhere in Los Angeles; I am not liberty to specify where) is sleek enough to be on a home design magazine cover. The Cool Water Ranch, on the other hand, has stuff piled everywhere. Their two dogs are little and yapping. All his boyhood dogs were monsters (in size, not personality).
And Jude's kitchen can accommodate major cooking while at the same time turning out the day's supply of baby food.
He has a signature dish. I've never seen anyone make a finer omelette. Not a speck of scorching. The texture of the eggs is unvarying from this side to that. And, most impressive of all, Jackson eats it up as quickly as Jude can pass the eggs over to him.
It's Jackson's birthday: one year old. I can't imagine a happier little guy. Or happier big guys and big girls.
The day passes quickly in continuous conversation. Not much politics, for which I am thankful.
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Thursday, November 24, 2016.
Thanksgiving Before, During, Then After
I hold the franchise for midday broadcasting on WWL Radio, having anchored those two hours for over twenty years. It's really too late to solve major cooking problems at nine a.m., but a lot of people call me every year to tell me how their dinners are going. I have a gizmo that allows me to sound exactly as I would if I were in the New Orleans studios, when in fact I am in Los Angeles. This requires the purchase of a telephone calling card for ten dollars. Only a couple of brief problems. If I do this show again next year, it will probably be by way of new technology.
Jude's mother-in-law likes to throw dinner parties, and she is very good at it. About thirty people are on hand for her big Thanksgiving feast, which begins late in the afternoon. Nobody asks me to cook anything. They don't ask for my opinions, either. Not much to say: the food is top-class. The most interesting item was the turkey, which is more or less stewed, with a lot of light gravy. I've done this with chicken more than a few times, but never before a turkey. I think they're really onto something with that idea.
I eat much more than I should have, and then proceed into the many desserts. No dislikes there, either. The only oddity is that only two bottles of wine are consumed. No, this isn't New Orleans.
Jude's father-in-law and I have something in common aside from our common relation to Jackson. He likes cats, as do I. His premier feline Penny looks a lot like my deceased Twinnery, but a lot bigger. Twinnery was an athlete all his fourteen years.
No politics brought up at this gathering, either. It was a lovely, chilly day. And tomorrow, we all gather again for an even better party, made so by the presence of many, many little people just learning to walk.
