The Recent Future

Monday, April 6, 2020

Fortunately, not all of us are sitting around moping, impotently complaining about the altered state imposed upon us by the Trump Virus.  Grandson Boaz, age 12, has built a website and an entertainment channel on YouTube in the last few days, complete with a tutorial on using them.  I am thoroughly impressed by the technical effort and the poise of his presentation.  As I praised his accomplishments, I couldn't help but harken back to 1969, when I was hired as a computer programmer trainee by a company bringing an established German computer to the U.S. market. 

I told him that the smartyphone that I was using to have a video chat with him was far more powerful than anything we used back then to operate entire businesses.  That bit of reverie sent me to Google to search for any trace of the Nixdorf 800 Computer.  And, indeed, I struck a very thin, but evocative, vein of information.

While I was pleased to see the advertisement of the machine that I spent years with, appearing so deceptively simple, but a beast to control, it was seeing the guy that grabbed me.  He's not a professional model; it's Don Elliott, always looking businesslike.  He was my boss for several years and my dear friend for several decades thereafter.  He died three years ago of cancer that started on his tongue, usually an affliction of smokers and, of course, he never smoked.

. . .

When a friend asked about America's Favorite Epidemiologist's view of the pandemic, I replied:

"Madam is crazed because of the mismanagement of this crisis.  The need for responsible action was evident 3 months ago.  Instead we got denial, posturing, fingerpointing, contradictions, lying, stalling, chortling about the TV ratings of the daily briefings and now Jared to the rescue."

. . .

A book review this weekend of a new book about Hitler's rise to power states:

"Undoubtedly, all attempts to draw comparisons, let alone parallels, [to today] stumble on the fact that the sense of political threat in the 1930s and the era’s economic malaise were profoundly deeper and more intractable than the problems of today."  That was certainly written before 10 million Americans filed unemployment claims in the last 2 weeks and 9,624 died of coronavirus as of April 6th.  Nah, no comparison.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020
I start the typical day (will we ever see that again?) with two cups of coffee, but continue through the afternoon and evening with tea, brewed from loose leaves, preferably Earl Grey, Assam or Russian Caravan.  It turns out that I am doing my body a favor. 

This article claims that "Daily tea intake as part of a healthy habitual dietary pattern may be associated with lower risks of CVD [cardiovascular disease] and all-cause mortality among adults." 
https://academic.oup.com/advances/advance-article/doi/10.1093/advances/nmaa010/5732737   However, my healthy habitual dietary pattern of Chinese food and ice cream is severely inhibited by the present health emergency.  I pray for relief.
. . .

At first, I brightened at the sight of a recipe for "Traditional Sangria" in today's paper, since more than tea may be occasionally desirable, even necessary, in these times.  Then, I looked at the ingredients, including "dry garnacha red wine, dry rosado (Spanish rosé), Torres orange liqueur, Romate or other Spanish brandy" (elisions omitted) plus some soda and fruit.  We normally have a couple of dozen wines on hand and an array of liquor and liqueurs.  In fact, yesterday, we received a delivery of three different white wines, chardonnays from France and California and Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. 

But, not having any of the specified ingredients for the recipe in our inventory, coming close only with a bottle of French rosé, evidently disqualifies us from any pretense of cosmopolitanism.  It looks like it will have to settle for Diet Pepsi.
. . .

Speaking of swallowing, a book reviewed today tells "the story of a single pharmacy in Kermit, W.Va., population 382 [that in] just two years in the mid-aughts . . . distributed nearly nine million opioid pain pills to its customers."  
https://nyti.ms/2XfcUPU

Not only is my liquor cabinet seemingly understocked, my medicine cabinet is even more so by this measure.  I can't even imagine the pain caused by the profligate use of these painkillers.

. . .

Pick your poison:
1) "African-Americans are suffering coronavirus infections at disturbing rates in some of the largest cities and states in the United States, emerging statistics show."

2) "On social media and in interviews with CNN, a number of people of color — activists, academics and ordinary Americans — expressed fears that homemade masks could exacerbate racial profiling and place blacks and Latinos in danger."

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Considering the sources of the following item, I would normally discard it entirely.  However, these are not normal times, so here goes with a Fox News report of an Uber Eats survey of its restaurant food deliveries in March by state.  French fries rule; 6 of the 35 states report it (them?) as first choice.  Additionally, variations appear as favorites in other states -- carne asada fries twice, waffle fries, notso (?) fries.   https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/quarantine-cravings-uber-eats-popular-takeout-america 

While there is nothing French about French fries, I'm really surprised by the international character of the list, especially as much of the country increasingly demonstrates xenophobia.  Chicken tikka masala (California, it figures); burrito bowl; pad Thai (5 first places including Tennessee and Kentucky!); poké bowl; burrito; garlic naan; crab Rangoon twice; enchiladas; Chicken teriyaki bowl; jerk chicken; nachos; spicy tuna roll.  Real American food appears only a few measly times.  Is this what you can expect down the VFW hall on Saturday night?

Thursday, April 9, 2020

When it comes to nutrition, I follow the advice of having a good breakfast as long as it is served around noon.  French toast, lox, eggs and onions, egg and cheese sandwich on a roll, fried chicken with a waffle, all of these things belong properly in front of you at lunch, when those of you who still have a job are not scurrying to get to work in the morning. 

It's not that I stay away from the table until midday; I usually begin each day with coffee and a big bowl of cereal with berries and bananas, until Passover that is.  While our cupboard usually contains 6 or 8 boxes of cereal, every one of them is based on wheat, corn, oats or rice, all items on the Passover No-Fly list.  (Note -- Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews, those with roots on the Iberian Peninsula or in the Middle East, are allowed rice.)  This makes my breakfast for the eight-day holiday period particularly trying.  How can one be expected to face a forty-year trek in the Sinai desert without a good breakfast?  I'm not sure how I did it in the past.

Now, however, multi-talented daughter-in-law Irit has come to the rescue.  She has provided us with the following recipe for a delicious Passover granola, which is good enough to be eaten every day of the year but Yom Kippur.

3 cups matzoh farfel (the only ingredient not readily found in Utah)

2/3 cup sliced almonds 

1/2 cup sweetened or unsweetened coconut

2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) margarine or unsalted butter

1/3 cup honey

1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) chopped, dried mixed fruit of your choice, including raisins

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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the farfel, almonds, coconut, pecans, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a microwave or pan over low heat, heat the margarine or butter and honey until the margarine or butter melts. Stir this mixture into the farfel mixture, coating all the pieces. Spread the mixture evenly into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or similar and bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even browning. It should be lightly golden.

Remove from the oven, transfer to a large sheet of wax paper and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Add the dried fruit and toss to combine. Set aside to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Last night we virtually attended the second of two seders, so expertly conducted by Law Professor David.  The last words in the Hagaddah, the script for the evening, are L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim, a fervent hope that we will all gather in Jerusalem next year.  Following that, I silently uttered L'Shana Haba'ah B'Chinatown.