My friend, Jackson, and I were talking about books and he could hear how much I like William Manchester. This was when I was reading the second of the Churchill books and bemoaning the fact that there would be no third. Jackson was born in December, 1931. The Glory and The Dream is about America from 1932 to 1972. Jackson calls it the story of his life. I enjoyed this book as much as the other Manchester books that I read. That is, until I got to the story of MY life.

I came of age in the late '60s. My first vote was for Hubert Humphrey. I protested against Dow Chemical. Actually, I didn't protest against it, I watched the demonstration while my friends, the organizers, protested. But the FBI took lots of pictures of me and tried to show that my room mate, Elaine was up at the front of the demonstration. They all sat back somewhere, some secret headquarters so the FBI couldn't take pictures of them. And one long haired blonde must have been pretty much like any other to the Fibbies. Exciting times. Which Manchester makes sound like inconsequential froofrah wrapped around sex, drugs and rock and roll. Yea, there was all that, but it was never inconsequential. There was a lot of things that needed changing. Most importantly was that stupid, inane war started for no very good reason that was never going to end. In those days, our friends were being drafted out of college. Today we are rotating National Guards folk into another inane war. I don't wonder, like Manchester seemed to, about why WE rebelled, I wonder why more people aren't doing it now.

Or did we, by electing Obama? That battle we fought seems to be moving in a somewhat positive direction. Racial and sexual equality are heading on the right path. Not there yet, but not all the old believers have died off yet. 'Course the new far right is just as creepy. Let's just say that if you were born before 1960, this is a good book to read. Whenever your life started in those 40 years, this book will bring back a lot of memories. And it's always good to learn about what happened before. One thing I found when reading this book was a lot of what happened before is happening again, so maybe it isn't bad to learn about what just happened and what could happen again soon.

If that makes sense.

We had dinner last night at the most fabulous place, Eventide. Natalie's parents know the people who, hum, own, cook at, bartend here? I'm not sure of what the people they know do, but I do know this: This is one fantastic place. Click on the link above to see the menu. K&P, K&N, ACN, we must eat here next time youse guys are in town. Cindy's birthday is next week and they will be in Kansas for a wedding. I wanted to celebrate before they left. This could be my new favorite place, but we have promised ourselves that we will try all the highly recommended places in the area before I leave. Now, that's a promise I can keep.

le carre

Nobody writes like le Carre'. His books are slow and detailed. His characters have a depth you don't often find in this genre. And he always makes his subtle point. International drug companies or the threat of Islamic extremists. Or the threat of our defenders on all things Islamic. The book takes place in Hamburg, a place that le Carre knows well. He was assigned there by the British Secret Service until he was outted by Kim Philby. Even though that was ages ago, he stays current on the issues confronting us today. I'd say this is a must read, but you have to be willing to accept a slow revealing.

And now just a little note about a wonderful dish I made last night. Sauteed chicken legs, then onions, shallot, and garlic. Deglazed with cider vinegar, then added cider and chicken stock and a cinnamon stick. Cooked for half an hour and added butternut squash and an apple. Wowser. Cindy said it was like autumn. Yep. We had it with the last of the summer corn from the farmer's market. In fact, almost everything was from the farmer's market.