It is August 3rd and we are in Bled in the Julian Alps. We arrived yesterday. We will stay here until August 9th and then travel to Munich by train. We will meet our friend Fritz there and he has a car. We may stay in Munich for a week and take a cruise on the Rhine and after that to Berlin then back to Frankfurt and then home. Bled is a fairy-tale land with Alpine architecture. The swimming is excellent in a lake as opposed to the ocean. Tonight there is a concert in the park by the lake and we will go to it. I hope it is not an opera like last night as that was just too much for Robert. It really doesn’t seem like our trip of swimming and sun is about to end. Germany is not the place for that and I understand that and am looking forward to it. I do not want to return to Yugoslavia. I am too used to comfort. My birthday started out at 4:30 in the morning and we arrived in Bled at 4 p.m. OH boy what a crazy trip and my back started bothering me. Yugoslavia is too damp for my back. Greece was a drier heat and was good for my back. The beds here are as hard as boards and that is good for my back. I am looking forward to Germany especially the Black Forest where we will be sleeping for two nights. Germany is having a heat wave now and it is 94 degrees in Frankfurt. Robert just went on a mountain trail hike.
Yugoslavia is a beautiful country but the people are cold and rude. In our last island of Krk we met an army nurse Sonja who is 35 years old and has car. She is charming and beautiful. She has a car and took us to two homes. Summer homes lovely outside but very poor inside. One owner is a doctor and the other a nurse. Robert is back from his mountain trek and is steaming hot.
I am very discerning about Ontario Rieslings and I don’t want to stir things up about why. I have much better luck with British Columbia Rieslings.
Trust Mayhem to cause a bit of mayhem with its Riesling as not only was it aged in stainless steel but neutral French oak. EEKS! Oak and Riesling! Does it work?
It has a light gold colour. As for aromas right off the bat I would say it is more akin to a German Riesling than an Ontario one. Inviting aromas of peach, apricot, tangerine, tahini, almond paste and sweet white grapefruit. On the palate I take away the EEK and say the oak has not caused any damage to the wine! It is dry but far from the grapefruitish sourness one sees from vineyards and winemakers east of Beautiful British Columbia. It is spicey and a bit peppery for that initial instant but that fades quickly. There is noticeable acidity but thank goodness it is not overpowering. There is some lemon and lime with a little hint of ginger on the after palate. It has good traction on the finish. I find it a bit dry and I say it is not a great sipping wine but rather designed for food. The winery suggests bacon, grilled cheese with ham or any kind of pork. Were they reading my mind on that? I would add mac and cheese to that list provided you forgo the ketchup on it. I love ketchup on my homemade mac n cheese made with Balderson’s two-year-old cheddar. What a plebe I am with ketchup! As a side story I learnt to love ketchup as a 9-year-old in Vancouver eating at White Spot! Memories…….
2020 in the Okanagan might not have been a banner year for red wines but its coolish influence let the fruit retain its acidity without the sugar getting too far ahead. The handpicked Riesling grapes were from the Garagan Vineyard in Naramata and Capagnero Vineyard in Summerland.
If you think I suffer from Riesling Hesitation Syndrome (RHS) you guessed right. It keeps slapping me around this RHS but I have been checked into the Riesling Rehabilitation Institute in Kelowna and they are doing their best to help me. This Mayhem Riesling is a component of my daily regimen. My doctor, Doctor Vitis Vinifera is hopeful I will have a complete recovery. Unlike Nancy Regan I can’t say “Just Say No” to Riesling! Lead me to recovery Mayhem! Oh Dr. Vinifera says my superlative experiences with Mayhem wines is because I have Salmon Arm blood in my veins because that is where my father was born. British Columbia lives matter (BCLM).
(Mayhem 2020 Riesling, BC VQA, Mayhem Wines, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, $20.87, 750 mL, 12.7%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).
“American Reckoning” is a mostly uncomfortable documentary about the emergence of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement of the “negro” in the United Sates of the 1960’s as fleshed out through the 1967 murder of NAACP activist Wharlest Jackson Sr. killed by a car bomb in his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi.
Wharlest Sr. was in some respects a marked man as he was friends with NAACP activist George Metcalfe injured in a car bombing in Natchez in 1964. He also took a job in a local tire manufacturing factory that ordinarily would have been filled by a white. He was murdered on his first day on the job. Wharlest was a decorated Korean War soldier.
Wharlest’s story is recounted through archival footage of the situation in Natchez and through various interviews with his family, former Natchez politicians, a daughter of a Klan member that beat his children for talking with blacks and journalists. And it is a nasty story of discrimination, hatred, segregation and murderous violence. But it is also an inspiring story of courage and determination of the black population of Natchez to be recognized as human beings as opposed to being demeaned by whites as Jungle Bunnies, savages and cannibals.
As the NAACP gained in strength and spearheaded a boycott of white owned stores the white city council finally caved to the 12 demands the local black population had presented which resulted in those stores hiring blacks, the police force hiring 6 black police officers and some desegregation. It also was a crippling blow to the local Klan chapter.
You may be surprised to learn that there was an armed group of blacks called The Deacons for Defence and Justice which was formed for the purpose of self defence. And that more murderous elements of the Klan thinking men in sheets and cross burning was banal was formed and called The Silver Dollar Club. It would appear there was circumstantial evidence but no hard evidence pointing a finger to a Silver Dollar Club member as the murderer.
Wharlest’s murder was never solved despite the passage by the United Sates Congress of the Till Act in 2007 that provided for the funding of reopening cold cases of Civil Right’s violence. Of the 150 cases pursued all but 25 were closed and that included the Wharlest murder.
Having lived through these Civil Rights times and the violence and murder in its wake I almost didn’t have the heart to watch this sad story but I am glad that I did. I also realize that there may be younger viewers who may have limited knowledge that the Civil Rights movement in the United States existed and the blood it was covered in.
The world broadcast premiere is on February 15, 2022 which can be seen at FRONTLINE/PBS and streamed at pbs.org/frontline.
It was directed and produced by Brad Lichtenstein and Yoruba Richen.
Out for dinner of greasy stuffed green peppers. Mom lit up a cancer stick so I didn’t talk to her for awhile and she took a tantrum and said, “All right Robert if you continue to be such a child I will leave you the money and go home.” Who is the child here? Then she slapped my hand because I had too much food on my fork and food went flying all over my shirt and pants. She then added that if I was really that hungry I’d soak up the grease with our bread. She left half her meal on the plate and stormed off. Fritz pressure?
August 8,1971: Bled, Yugoslavia: Getting Sick and Tired of the Sun
We are getting to the point we are sick and tired of roasting in the sun. We also are tiring of greasy food in Yugoslavia. More greasy goulash for dinner. We had spent the day reading and playing some mini-golf.
August 9, 1971; Bled, Yugoslavia and Munich, Germany: A Turd on the Toilet Seat and Stinky Girls From New York
We said our goodbyes to Yugoslavia as we boarded the train for Munich. We were in a cabin with two filthy and stinky girls from New York. The toilets on the train were disgusting. I saw a turd sitting on the toilet seat. What a pig!
In addition to Portuguese indigenous grapes Alentejano wines often throw into the blend some “international” grapes such as Syrah, Alicante Bouschet or Merlot.
For example the 2016 Flor de Maio has in its blend of Trincadeira and Aragonez some Syrah. It is garnet in color. As for aroma there is black cherry, ripe strawberry, chocolate and cola. There is a bit of cork as well perhaps a bit too much. On the palate an initial little zip of tannins settles down quickly. It is very tight and cloistered with its fruit but there is some blackberry and cherry pie. You might even say the wine has a bit of a juicy finish. Some lean Portuguese wines demand a few years of ageing but given the annoying corkiness of this wine and lack of depth on the palate I would not age and in fact I would avoid purchasing although for your education and interest you may want to try to get a better idea of what “cork on the wine” smells and tastes like. It’s not going to harm you and it is only a slight taint. It took me several years before I had the confidence to detect cork in the wine. The wine is drinkable but any amount of cork is a case for backing away. I will not rate the wine a result of its flaw. This is the third wine this year I will have to return. Do not be afraid to return a corked wine. If you have any pushback issues your retailer is to be avoided. I can get some validation by sniffing the cork and if it has a strong cork aroma that is a hint although some say that test is BS. Now after having visited many wineries in Europe I have met vineyard managers, public relations representatives, field workers and winemakers and having seen their passion for wine one has to respect that and think very carefully before stating there is a flaw in the wine. But respect is no justification for ignoring a flaw in a wine.
(Flor de Maio 2016, Vinho Regional Alentejano, Magnum Carlos Lucas, Carregal do Sal, Portugal, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 427195, 750 mL,13.5%, A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating UNRATED).
Despite my brave words on corked wine I move to a 2017 José de Sousa Vinho Regional Alentejano which is blend of 58% Grand Noir de Calmette, 22% Trincadeira and 20% Aragonez. I have never had a Grand Noir de Calmette before but it was a hybrid developed in France and is used to add some colour to wine. It has more or less disappeared in France but can be found in Spain and the Alentejano. It also has a bit of a peppery finish.
It has a back cherry colour. On the nose some assertive black fruit infused notably with some very high-toned blackberry. I might say the nose is indicative of a muscular wine shy of having its biceps greased and flexed in front of the camera. The tannins are moderate. On the palate there is subdued power again obfuscated by some shyness. It does have a bit of pepper to it with some black licorice layered into it! All said and done this is somewhat of a blunted wine where food is required. Of course having been in Portugal I would say pair with a Alentejano black pig. Or here in North America I once prepared a pork tenderloin roast in a rich tomato sauce served over pasta but I have not had it in years but it just popped into my mind! I would decant for an hour before pouring. It will cruise nicely into 2025 but will its shyness retreat? That is part of the fun of waiting.
This vegan wine was ranked # 56 in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 wines of 2019.
(José de Sousa 2017 Vinho Regional Alentejano, José Maria da Fonseca, Azeitão, Portugal, $17.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 494153, 750 mL, 14.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 91/100).
A sick and tired of it all populist movement mushrooms TV dinner eating good Canadians huddle over their President’s Choice fare listening to a Prime Minister and a mayor of Ottawa gathering “intelligence” about the “insurrectionists” cutting off gas supplies to the terrorist truckers the biggest threat to democracy in Canada they howl a Trumpian conspiracy full of evil Americans waving confederate flags and Nazi symbols cut off crowd funding a nervous state on the attack on the edge of an imaginary FLQ moment is the man with a nice tattoo on his arm proudly displayed in the media dutifully getting his jab is the next step a 1970 father’s famous, “Just Watch Me” invoking the War Measures Act to clear out the trucker terrorists so we can breathe and make sure that democracy is not torn and no longer must we listen to that bloody horn!
Up and at em on Mom’s birthday. Up at 4:15 a.m. to catch a 5 a.m. bus to Rijeka. On our bus and groggy! Half an hour later we all heard a big CRACK. Bus breakdown. So we headed back on the bus on the other side of the road back to Krk. Again overcrowding on the next bus from Krk to Rijeka. Mom shoved on and then she was shoved out. We had to wait for the next bus to Rijeka. We had a good ferry ride and enjoyed the fresh ocean air. We missed our connection to our train trip to Bled so we ended up going by bus to Ljubljana to get a connecting train to Bled. We had to shove our way on the train but had to make a bus connection to Bled at Radovljica which we did. We finally ended up in Bled with our head spinning from such a nutty trip. We were so tired all we wanted to do was go to our crappy room and sleep. Since it was Mom’s birthday she had two ice cream cones and two pastries! We came home and had some grapes and went to bed. Bled is a beautiful town at the base of the mountains. There is a big freshwater lake with an island on it with a monastery. Marshall Tito has a summer house in Bled. Bled is in the Slovenian republic and the architecture is alpine. They say it is the least communist part of Yugoslavia and it certainly is much like Canada with lots of lush green.
August 3, 1971: Bled, Yugoslavia: The Sorriest Goulash Ever and Mini-Golf? A Stoned Hippy
After such an awful trip we awoke refreshed and ready to face the day. Breakfast was picked up at a store. Peaches, grapes, bread and jam. Mom went to get her hair cut and I went to buy a book and wait for her outside the salon. We went to the lake. Yes a lake. I am so used to the ocean that the lake sems a new experience to me. It was like being back on our old cottage on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Beautiful cool and so refreshing with a cool slide I went on many times. We came home and read and for dinner had the sorriest and greasy goulash I have ever seen in Yugoslavia and I have seen some grease-soaked goulash believe me! The rice was good. After dinner we sat on a bench listening to a band on a boat on the lake. I took Mom home and went to play mini-golf. I finished at 11 and walked home. I saw a stoned hippie wobbling about.
Today was complete murder. The tourist office informed us we could get a ferry to the island of Krk at 5 a.m. so we were up at 3:30 a.m. The 4:30 bus to the docks never showed up as the tourist office advised us it would. Thank you tourist office. So changing plans we took a 5:30 bus to Lopar and upon arrival had a kilometre walk to the docks to catch a ferry to Krk. There was no ferry to Krk so again the tourist office was incorrect. Instead we took the 9 a.m. ferry to Senj and then a bus trip to Crikvencia. The bus was like an oven. While getting on the bus we saw a failed purse snatching attempt. Finally we arrived on Krk at 1 p.m. and had to wait until 5:30 for our landlady to show up with a key to our room which was beautiful. Finally a delicious dinner of calamari and Mom trudged home and collapsed with exhaustion. I went to listen to a band playing on the waterfront.
July 31, 1971: Krk, Yugoslavia: Haircut Deal and a Letter from Fritz!
A couple of girls we met yesterday mentioned there was a great beach by the auto camp. It was thoroughly lousy! Upon returning home I went for a walk into town and checked the post office and there was a letter from Fritz but they would not give it to me saying I had no proper identification. I returned back home and upon receiving a promise I would not have to get a haircut until we returned home I returned to the post office with identification to pick up the letter. Fritz asked that we be in Munich on August 9th. We went into town to Hotel Pension Krk for a lousy rotten meal. Generally speaking Croatian food sucks.
It is almost inevitable that a death in the family brings about a streak of self realization. It can also tear apart a family or reunite it or even a bit of both.
The American film “Give or Take” examines bereavement and its effect on family and friends.
Kenneth dies in Cape Cod leaving a gay lover Ted (Norbert Leo Butz) behind that he had been living with for 6 years. Kenneth was married until his wife died and decided to finally emerge from the closet. His son Martin (Jamie Effros) lives in New York City with Lauren (Annapurna Sriram) his girlfriend. Martin arrives in Cape Cod for his father’s funeral and ill will is initially strong between Martin and Ted. Ted knows the out of the closet Kenneth while his son Martin knows the Kenneth of the past. Gradually Ted and Martin realize they loved Kenneth but in different ways and this edges them closer together. Both Ted and Martin come to this realization and the conflict between them subsides. Martin also starts to question the relationship he has with his girlfriend. He also re-establishes his friendship with his childhood friend Emma (Joanne Tucker) and makes a new friend with her husband a pseudo philosopher Terence (Louis Cancelmi).
Comic relief is provided by wormy realtor Patti King (Cheri Otteri) who is the type of agent that would sell her mother if she could. Butz also offers a certain quirkiness and slovenliness that is amusing. Terrence is even more quirky digging a hole in the beach to smoke weed and see the world from ground level.
Excellent writing by Jamie Effros and Paul Riccio coupled with solid acting by all particularly by Butz give the film an insight into the bereavement process and how it alters those with connections to the deceased in a meaningful and thought-provoking way. The storyline could have easily degenerated into sentimental sloppiness.
“Give or Take” will be released on February 22, 2022 on DVD and digital platforms including iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Vimeo, DirecTV and through some cable and satellite providers. It is directed by Paul Riccio.
July 27, 1971: Woken up by an air raid siren. Are the capitalists launching a nuclear attack? We had dinner at the Jadran Hotel. More greasy goulash. Thoroughly disgusting!
July 28, 1971: Went out for dinner with a couple of German girls from Frankfurt to the Continental Hotel. What a lousy dinner.
July 29, 1971: The beach we paid 3 dinars to enter wasn’t very good but I found a secluded beach further down. A man soon came to us all dressed in white and asked us to move as we were on the beach of a psychiatric hospital!
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