Aged dandelion wine and fresh mozzarella cheese! How do those fit together?

Earlier this spring as a neighbor and I sat at the table drinking tea and taking note of this year’s first dandelion bloom, the discussion turned to the topic of dandelion wine. My neighbor apparently had a passing acquaintance with dandelion wine in years past, but never had the opportunity to imbibe. Always one to want to help out a friend, I noted that my Mom had, at times, a representative sample of dandelion wine in her cellar tucked in someplace near the pickled beets. I figured there might well be some left knowing how guardedly such wine would be dispensed on the occasion of a special holiday dinner. I came up with the idea that I would ask my Mom for a sample, so that I could offer my neighbor a taste; he could then delete one more thing from his bucket list.

Mom came through and readily supplied me with a tasting carafe of dandelion wine—a 12 ounce jelly jar full to the shoulder and appropriately labeled with masking tape.

Last evening was the special event. The neighbor and his wife joined my wife and me for the First Annual Memorial Day Weekend Wine ‘n’ Cheese Celebration.

Earlier in the week, as I pulled together plans for the Friday evening portion of this weekend’s extravaganza, I struggled with a menu. I needed something to accompany, to augment, to contribute to the ambiance of the event. I settled on a cheese, fruit, and cracker plate. The struggle continued as to the selection of cheese. With the choices available at a local grocery store, I settled on soft mozzarella. I had one prior experience with fresh mozzarella several years ago in the Twin Cities at a combined Father’s Day and Wife/Mother’s birthday celebration. (I think my memory serves me right on that.) Fresh mozzarella was served as an appetizer with fresh tomato wedges, olive oil, and crusty bread. There were fond memories of that event, so I gambled on being able to bring some fondness to this event. Soft mozzarella might just be the proper vehicle.

Fresh mozzarella proved to be an excellent choice to accompany dandelion wine, whole wheat snack crackers, and fruit. The latter was an apple preserve that I found (read: impulse purchase) at the local Pamida, which is in the process of changing over to a downsized Shopko, so all of their current merchandise is discounted.

This morning I am still heady with the success with which I pulled off last evening’s inaugural event of the 2012 summer season’s first holiday weekend. I am sure it will only build as the day proceeds. This morning’s event is a breakfast of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar. Following that, the remainder of the weekend is unscripted.

By the way, there was no wine left when we called it an evening. Do you think Mom will think we were indiscreet in that we drank it all in one sitting?

I certainly am not one to often suggest that the Catholic Church hierarchy return to doing things the old way, that is, as were done prior to 1968. Yet when it comes to gay marriage, I think there is much to learn from the old way.

In the old days, the Catholic Church had a much nuanced system in place to address the differences and distinctions between “church marriages” (An updated terms might well be “sacramental marriage.”) and civil marriages. Multiple circumstances were taken into consideration: Were one or both parties baptized Catholics or baptized non-Catholic Christians? Was the witness to the marriage a Catholic clergyperson or a non-Catholic clergyperson or a civil official? Was either party married previously? Both civil or legal separations and divorces were available to Catholics, who found themselves in seriously problematic marriages. With respect to divorce, there was one caveat; a Catholic did not remain in good standing with the Church, if he/she exercised the right to remarry, which is encompassed in a civil divorce. An additional step was required, that is, a decision by Church authorities that a significant impediment to the marriage was present at its inception, so that a church or sacramental marriage had, in fact, never taken place. Some of the impediments accepted by the Catholic Church were over and above those accepted by the civil authorities.

Would it not be possible to incorporate much of this view into the debate about civilly sanctioned gay marriage? I realize there is one significant difference. This time the discussion is about homosexual couples and not heterosexual couples. Should that make a difference? Morality is morality. Right? I suspect that the Catholic Church hierarchy has decided that it currently has the political power or capital to be a player on national and state legislative stages that it might successfully advocate for its position to be incorporated into civil law. Even if that appraisal is valid, is it prudential to exercise that clout, both in terms of the current state of affairs and in the realization that the social and political milieu never remains quite the same? Will the current actions of the Catholic hierarchy set the stage for a very unwelcome struggle and a disastrous outcome at a future date once all moral capital has been exchanged for political capital and after that capital has been fully spent? The phenomenon of unintended consequences is very real, in addition to blow-back. I am more concerned with the former than the latter. Unintended does not mean unforeseen or unforeseeable. In other words, there is responsibility for unintended consequences. (I was reminded of this once again as I read Joan Chittisher’s May 16^th column in National Catholic Reporter, where she references Gerard Noel’s book, Pius XII: The Hound of Hitler.)

During the old days, I recall no discussion as to how the civil or state system demeaned or detracted from marriage as conceptualized and practiced by the Catholic Church. The differences were recognized and worked around. Each system appeared to respect the other. Church officials appreciated the accommodation by the state that clergypersons were able to witness marriages as representatives of the state. Couples did not have to undergo both church and civil ceremonies. At the same time, I will acknowledge that for divorced Catholics, the lack of consistency between the two systems was problematic and the source of considerable distress for individuals, nuclear families, and extended families. With the subsequent developments in the annulment process following the Second Vatican Council, some of these concerns were addressed. In my estimation, further developments are warranted in terms of the transparency, accessibility, and intellectual honesty inherent in the process. Some 40+ years ago as an undergraduate, I raised a question with respect to Church annulments. I did not receive a satisfactory response at that time; nor have I seen any discussion of the issue during the subsequent four decades. That may be the topic for a subsequent entry.

Despite the popularity of the Stieg Larsson’s The Girl… trilogy, I have not been inclined to either read the books or see the movie. On the other hand, I was intrigued enough to check out the Larsson’s biography by Barry Forshaw, when I saw it in the local library. The dust jacket on the book makes mention of the author’s other work as a journalist investigating right wing groups in northern Europe. That comment was made even more intriguing by the observation that an author’s real life can be more exciting than that of any of the characters one might create. Since I have also been following the Anders Breivik trial, I decided to give the biography a read.

It was a good read. The rather  brief overview of Larsson’s life story simply sets the stage for a lengthy discussion of the trilogy and crime fiction in general. I enjoyed the discussion. I am not a fan of crime fiction, but I came away with the idea that I would try to read a little vintage crime fiction. The American author, Dashiell Hammett, was cited several times in this work. I recognized the name. Years ago, I happened upon a biography of Hammett, the creator of Nick Charles and Sam Spade. Hammett is also one of those authors, whose real life is more exciting than that of his characters. Hammett was the veteran of two world wars. In the early 50’s, he spent time in a federal penitentiary for contempt of court, when he refused to cooperate with Smith Act trials. When he died 10 years later, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Back in the library to return the Larsson biography and to find a Hammett work, I found a single volume collection of Hammett’s five detective novels—complete and unabridged. I made it through the first one, Red Harvest, before I set the book aside and went looking for something else to read. It is still on my desk. I probably will return it without reading any more. The writing style is great. Characters are described in such a way that they are easily and vividly perceived by the reader’s mind’s eye. The physical and socio-political settings for the story are part and parcel of the narrative and come across with unvarnished validity.

According to Forshaw, crime fiction (It appears that “crime fiction” is the British term for what Americans commonly refer to as detective novels.) has as its central theme the corruption of society on all levels with the only corrective force being the intervention of a special individual.  In this literary genre, that would be either (1) the police detective, who stands out from his peers by reason of his moral uprightness, cunning, and skill, or (2) the private investigator, who skillfully operates on the fringes of propriety, but never for personal gain, or (3) the eccentric character (matronly grandmother, computer nerd/hacker, journalist, etc.), who operates outside of societal norms, if not the law. This same premise seems to be the core of superhero fiction as well. The remedy affected by the hero/heroine or superhero/heroine is at best a temporary fix; it is as if every remedy contains the seeds of the next aberration—a rather unsettling view of human “progress.”

 
I am done with crime fiction/detective novels, at least for now. The real stuff is just as exciting. If I am going to be disturbed by social injustice or the capriciousness of the human condition, I may as well set the novels aside and read the real stuff. After I completed and set aside Red Harvest, I found Richard Hammer’s The Vatican Connection in one of the boxes of books that I have accumulated over the past 45 years. It’s the story of a real cop, but, unlike the fictional version, he never gets all the way to the top. There are those that are protected and insulated, so that their activities are never brought into the daylight and they can never be held responsible. There does not appear to even be the satisfaction of a temporary fix, some assurance that crime doesn’t pay, or that honesty might really be the best policy.

With the upcoming Wisconsin governor recall election, the appearance of vitriolic ads and yard signs, and the invitation/challenge presented by a neighbor in his blog, I have been trying to come up with a design for my own homemade yard sign.

What do you think of this idea?

5-8-12                       6-5-12

VOTE RESPONSIBLY

Consider Your Neighbor's

Interests

As Well As Your Own

I wonder if there will be some unintended consequences should such signage appear in my front yard. Experience has shown that I don't always accurately gauge the reactions of others to my great ideas. Somethings well intentioned on my part have resulted in a negative reaction in others. I need to think this matter through. There are a few more days before the primary. I may even run the idea by a neighbor, who lives the next street over.  



For me the frequently heard reference to “natural law” is problematic in the discussions of human behavior and the appropriate societal limits on such behavior. The phrase is used without qualification and seemingly with the presumption that it is as clear as the proverbial “nose on my face” to all readers or listeners. If the phrase is qualified by the adjective Judeo-Christian, then the concept is severely limited. If the caveat “guided by reason and faith” is added, it is similarly limited. When one asks for clarification or elaboration, the response is often an ad hominem attack.

Here is an example that speaks to the adolescent logician, who continues to reside within me. In a recent search of some of literature on natural law, a particular author noted that St. Thomas Aquinas had determined that polygamy was consistent with natural law theory, but polyandry was not. (I am sorry that I don’t have the full citation.) This may be why I have never seen a reference to Aquinas in defense of any of the marriage amendments that are making the rounds in various states.

Where does this leave us? Natural law is supposedly not subject to change or modification over time. Was St. Thomas in error? If so, what other errors have not yet been corrected and continue to be passed off as natural law, moral imperatives, and the sole legitimate basis for civil codes?

My sense is that the entire physical world is evolutionary. It follows, that out of a sense of humility (acknowledging the limitations of our own species' genius), we need to view the whole of human intellectual activity as evolutionary or developmental. The proper human stance is to remain studiously open to such development, i.e. change. We don’t always get it right or make the best choice the first go-a-round, but we have the responsibility to keep on looking.