Family Affair

My mother was the oldest of five siblings.

She is survived by two brothers...

...and two sisters.

One brother and one sister are sort of local; one sister lives in South Carolina and one brother lives in Rhode Island.  Despite the distance, it's a tightly-knit crew.









Because of the distance, though, and careers and busy lives and kids and grandkids, it's rare to get everyone - especially with their spouses - together in one spot.

They were all here last weekend, though, and they spent an entire precious afternoon at my place.

Inevitably, the conversation turned to family history.  Much of the lore is fairly common knowledge; some of it, though, comes out in bits from this person and pieces from another, depending on who talked to whom over the years.

There's great-great Uncle Buzz, born in 1893, who worked as a cook on a schooner on the Maine to Bermuda route.  On one trip, the captain died, and Buzz, being the most qualified of the crew, brought the schooner home.  Apparently he also had fair certain knowledge of the whereabouts of buried treasure (the existence of which along the Maine coast has long been rumored), which he took to his grave.  Who knew?

Then there's my great-great-grandmother Maude, who was widowed young in 1897 and whose only daughter became the object of a custody battle with her late husband's family over an imagined inheritance (they lost).   There are shadow stories of a second pregnancy which was forcibly terminated by the late husband.

Or how about my great-great-great-grandmother Etta, who is the first woman in the family who experienced clairvoyant dreams and visions?  One of Etta's sons nearly lost his life in a terrible storm at sea - the details of which Etta could describe accurately before the son even came home to share his tale.  (This gift is shared by my grandmother and one of my aunts, but skipped my line, thank heavens).

Someday we shall write a book.

A Room with a View

I was in Portland last week for a manufacturing conference, which was held at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

My room was on the fourth floor and it did, indeed, have lovely (if somewhat distant and fog-shrouded) views of Portland Harbor.

One was somewhat distracted, however, by the view in the foreground of the second-floor roof.

Which was a regular hangout for, and covered with the waste of, those pestilential herring gulls.

A small drama has been playing out in Rockland recently between an old dingbat who insists on feeding gulls, her neighbors, and the city fathers.

Said dingbat doesn't just toss out the odd crumb every now and again.  No.  We're talking cases and cases of bread, daily, and a scrum of hundreds of aggressive, defecating, squawking, extremely large birds, which trash not just the dingbat's yard but the neighbors' yards, while the neighbors are trapped in their houses to avoid the noise and mess.

Cars and window screens end up covered in caustic bird droppings.  Feathers blanket patios.  Small children are carried away bodily.

The city fathers got involved after a series of complaints.  A new ordinance was written.  The intrepid code enforcement officer has been going deep undercover to ensure compliance.  The old lady still believes she is within her rights, so continues to feed the gulls.

Of course after years of daily feedings, the gulls are going to show up in her yard no matter what.  Like they stalk fishing boats knowing that old bait is going to be tossed out.  They've got used to humans making their wretched lives easier.

(Take this guy, for example.  One of many at my Portland aviary which dropped by to nab a drink from the condensation draining off the rooftop HVAC units.)

Now the city is threatening fines of $2,500 per day and the dingbat continues to insist that she has to feed the damn things because - this kills me - she says they don't have anywhere else to go.

To all Rockland herring gulls, if the Camden Street Terrace smorgasbord dries up on you, may I suggest the thriving urban environment (and progressive food scene) 80 miles to the south?

Recipe: Spicy Southwestern Chicken Salad

This is a refreshing and substantial summertime main dish salad (utilizing the tomato, cilantro and lettuce in this week's CSA share...).

Spicy Southwestern Chicken Salad

Chicken:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine the first five ingredients and coat the chicken breasts with the mixture.  Refrigerate 30 minutes, then grill until done.  Set aside until it's time to assemble the salad, then slice thinly.

Tomato/onion vinaigrette:

3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2-3 hot peppers (like serrano, poblano, cayenne; the variety is not terribly crucial and a mix is good), or to taste, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.

Salad:

1-2 heads lettuce (depending on size), washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
About 3 cups shredded Cheddar, Jack or Mexican blend cheese
About 2/3 of a 26-oz bag of frozen shoestring fries, baked according to package directions

Divide the lettuce among four dinner plates.  Top with hot fries and shredded cheese.  Arrange sliced chicken over the cheese, then pour the vinaigrette over everything.

Serves 4.