A few years ago, my daughter Becky gave me a book to read, The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  I recommend it to you.

A while back, I chatted with Becky about her desire to stop eating anything containing high fructose corn syrup, to buy from her local farmers, to provide wholesome food for her family.

Recently, I spoke to Becky about her efforts to prepare meals made from the fundamentals, to eschew preprocessed, industrial foodstuffs.

Frankly, a few years ago, I thought Becky was nuts.  I don’t think that anymore.

As planned, I began my investigation into the procurement and consumption of locally grown, healthier food.  I was fortunate, coincidently, to be reading over the past week a book given to me by my daughter, Becky.  The book, which I do not commend to you, was written by Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain’t Normal.  Joel is the farmer from Virginia whose natural farm was one quartet of the food journey described in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  Unfortunately, to mix an agri-business metaphor, something of value in Joel’s book is rarer than hen’s teeth (the book is a rather extended rant about all that is wrong with the world, from the inception of the USDA to Obama’s health plan).  I tended to agree with much of what he said, but the effort required to find the wheat in the chaff was, well, annoying (sort of like reading my stuff, I assume).

I made for breakfast today three “naturally grown” eggs.  They were different in two minor respects: the yolks were slightly darker and “solid” and the packaging (shell) was not of uniform conformity; they were more bullet shaped than “egg” shaped (now there’s a paradox, for ya).

So, I prepared my grass-fed T-bone on the grill last night.  For a fair comparison to the usual fare, I treated it exactly as I do every other piece of grilled meat with some Kon-Rico Cajun spice rub.  In the interest of full disclosure, I wasn’t able to compare apples to apples (sort of) because the farm I bought the T-bone from didn’t have my usual cut, a New York strip.

PD'n Me

A run-in with the law was inevitable.  Others may disagree, but like I’ve always said, honesty is the best policy.

So, as a certifiable newbie in re my TR6 (“P.D.”), I’ve started to attack the “easy” stuff (you know, fluids and lights; things that won’t kill the car…or me).  Today I decided to fix one of the reverse lights (one worked, one didn’t).  Others may disagree, but I think I’m on the verge of becoming a certifiable genius (see: MacGyver).

After nearly forty years of [im]patient waiting, I took delivery yesterday of a 1973 Triumph TR6.  The cost is unimportant.  Let it go.

Others may disagree, but I think this is one helluva way to spend my kids’ inheritance…

[Following her surprise announcement to again run for leader of the now minority House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed to sit down with me to discuss the results of the recent elections.]

I’ve been “troubled” (see: confused) lately about this whole “[46/47/48/49/”Nearly 50”] Million uninsured Americans” stuff being tossed about by our elected leaders (and other health care reform advocates).  I recall hearing one day, while parked outside of a liquor store in Charleston, SC (don’t ask), Senator Coburn (R-OK) on Dr Radio (or something or other on the XM radio) explaining that the numbers were “inflated” (Senator Coburn is a practicing physician, by the way).  I’ve finally had a moment to track down the facts (and just the facts, ma’am).

I am sickened by the attempts of Congressional Democrats and the White House to assign motivations to protesters at Town Hall meetings as somehow “outside the mainstream” and to identify American citizens who differ with their Health Care initiatives as part of the “lunatic fringe.”

Some of you are old enough to remember the vernacular employed to discount the importance of protesters from the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement.  If so, the words of Pelosi, Reid, and Obama should resonate as they attempt to downplay the irate nature of The People’s dissatisfaction with their Health Care reform plans.

Attempting to portray the discontent of the American People (regardless of political affiliation) with the Health Care debacle as “outrageous” or “lunacy” or “right wing motivated” is beyond the pale.