“Stacks of crates and cartons gave us cover while we crept quietly along, searching for canned fruit, baked beans, spaghetti, Vienna Sausage-even prize of all prizes, Spam, Yes, Spam. Perhaps the processed pork that everyone called Spam was the bane of Stateside mess halls, but on Guadalcanal, Spam was a distinct delicacy. Often we would risk a bullet in the back for Spam, softly looting a case of it at the foot of the very stack upon which the sentry sat, like mice filching cheese between the paws of a sleeping cat.”
“Helmet for My Pillow From Paris Island to the Pacific” Robert Leckie Bantam Books 2010
Up at 10 to make breakfast which was a disaster and even poor Heidi groaned. Michael came over at 1:30 and we were setting off to The British Officer’s Club for a swim. Mom said she couldn’t find her passport. Have you ever lost your passport in a foreign country? Mass panic. We turned our luggage upside down and went through the sofa but no passport. You could make a fortune with a passport. Heidi then saw it lying on the ground some seven stories below. The danger of napping out on the balcony!
“If you are willing to turn toward the pain, accept it, observe it, and not run from it, it can teach you a great deal. Above all, you learn that you can work with it. You learn that pain is not a static experience: it is constantly changing. You come to see that that the sensations are just what they are and that your thoughts and feelings are something apart from the sensations. You come to see that your mind may play a large part in your suffering, and it can play a large role in freeing you from suffering as well. Pain can teach you all of these things.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn “Full Catastrophe Living” Bantam Books
“The Automat” is a documentary about the rise and demise of what was America’s first chain restaurant Horn & Hardart. But is it also about how its inclusiveness and high-quality foods influenced the perceptions of many Americans.
Do you go back that far to remember what an automat is? It is a restaurant where all the dishes are in a little box with a window. Pop your coins in and open the window and take out your dish. I have a foggy memory about this style of restaurant and seem to recall eating at one HH restaurant in New York and some automats in Europe. They were born in Germany and the concept was fine tuned in Philadelphia and New York with the first HH restaurant opening in 1912 and closing of the last in 1991.
Unlike the fast-food restaurants of today that purvey poor quality and often unhealthy food in barren and antiseptic settings HH had luxury to it with beautifully designed restaurants and served a wide variety of quality dishes. Working women flooding to work in New York could feel safe eating there. African Americans, like a young Colin Powell could eat there segregation free and it inspired him to create an inclusive US army. Ruth Bader Ginsberg ate there as a young girl and her anti-discriminatory beliefs were partially shaped by the inclusiveness of HH which had automats in New York and Philadelphia. Immigrants felt very American at HH and could eat for a modest price all without having to converse in English. Howard Shultz the CEO of Starbucks relates a story of how as a 10-year-old boy visiting Radio City Music Hall in New York then going for a slice of apple pie to HH. Fascinated by the food in the little compartments shaped his vision of Starbucks and he has a picture of an HH restaurant hanging in his office.
Much of this documentary is narrated by comedian Mel Brooks a huge fan of HH who soulfully describes his trips into New York to visit HH where with a Brooksian sense of humour he adds a huge dose of sincerity about HH. The documentary could have easily fallen into the “so-so” fact laden documentary but Brooks and a restaurant historian, the well-known actors, bus boys, former HH executives and family members assembled by director Lisa Hurwitz make this a “WOW WOW” documentary and it slides around your consciousness like a bowl of HH creamed spinach.
HH was in many ways a reflection of the industrialization of the United States emphasizing speed and efficiency but never sacrificing quality. Just to hear some of those interviewed wax about their favourite dishes is enough to make you want to time travel.
Why the demise of HH? It might very well have been the explosive growth of the suburbs as urban based life migrated to the suburbs. It was also the rising cost of food causing HH to raise its beloved coffee from 5 to 10 cents. Eventually fast-food restaurants plunged a dagger into HH’s heart. Many neighbourhoods where HH restaurants were located began to decline attracting vagrants.
You are in for a satisfying ride with this documentary. You’ll move from fascination, inspiration and humour into chagrin with the loss is not so much about a restaurant but a way of life. In today’s wall of fast-food sub mediocrity we could use an automat or two.
A spring frost and mildew was not very kind to Bordeaux in 2021. Yields seem to be down as much as 30%. And the quality? Time will tell. Should you stock up now? There seems to be enough flow from previous harvests so stocking up would not seem necessary. Pick with care the 2021’s or bypass? Even in rotten years there are often shining examples that can emerge as adversity can sometimes be a boon for some producers creating a distinct wine.
We try a 2016 from Château Grand Colombier for a reasonable price of $17.95. On the nose it is playing the Bordeaux game of holding its fruit close to its chest. Aromas of black cherry, cassis, blueberry and a titch of coconut. On the palate there are moderate tannins and about as much fruit as a nun who took a wrong turn and ended up in a casino and is being asked to place bets at the at the roulette table. The wine seems a bit “thin” but will it open up with more age but with 5 years under its belt it remains tight. Roger Voss of Wine Enthusiast gave this wine a 91 rating two years ago saying the “wine’s poise and balance between fresh acidity and structure promise further ageing”. I can’t see that has happened.
It is not a flawed wine but its tightness in my view is permanent. You can still enjoy if you like firm and disciplined wine. But it is best suited to food particularly beef. Now if you have any duck fat around and want to roast some potatoes and carrots in it this is your wine!
Drink now.
(Château Grand Colombier 2016 AC Montagne-Saint-Émillion, $17.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 21090, 750 mL, 13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 87/100).
We move to a Château Cilorn 2018 which is 100% Merlot which to me means lushness and plushness sort of like Dean Martin singing at The Sands in Las Vegas. On the nose at least there is some decadent hints of richness that Merlot is so proficient at invoking. However, as its French it seems more restrained than most California Merlots. There is a seething mix of blackberry, cassis and black cherry controlled by that French reticence. On the palate it has moderate tannins. There is a certain smoothness but no creaminess. A good presence of blueberry, Nestle Quick chocolate powder and tiny just picked strawberries. Typical of Bordeaux treatment of Merlot. Think of it as a teenager in California at a Grateful Dead concert wanting to let loose but there is an obvious looking narc pacing about looking for a bust.
It may be that some ageing will let this prudish wine relax and strut itself. Only time will tell. Why not take a gamble and store away in a cool place and try it in 2024. Years ago Bordeaux reds were often “green” and built for ageing instead of immediate accessibility. Could this wine be carrying on that tradition?
(Château Cilorn 2018, AC Bordeaux Supérieur, Claymore, Lussac, France, $18.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 21092, 750 mL, 14%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 88/100).
A late breakfast of hamburger and off to East Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie. We arrive at the checkpoint and yes Mom forgot the passport so back we went to pick them up. We had to register and check out with the staff at Checkpoint Charlie and then we walked into East Berlin and into a control building where they stamped our passport and returned them to us. We then had to go to a bank and change a minimum of five deutschmarks each which we had to spend in East Berlin. Once we gave the money conversion slip we were free to walk into East Berlin. Compared to the vibrant and modern West Berlin it was drab and dark and quite depressing. There were very few people on the streets and virtually no stores. There was little to see so we headed back to West Berlin by checking out with the East German border guards. We stopped at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum which explained the history of the Wall and showed so many desperate East Germans trying to escape over barbed wire they quickly laid before constructing the Wall. Frightening. They also had a display showing how people smuggled themselves out including a car with secret compartments.
August 19, 1971: East Berlin: Back to East Berlin
I returned to East Berlin on my own. I walked around like crazy and again there was really nothing to see.
August 21, 1971: West Berlin: At The British Officer’s Club
This afternoon it was off to the British Officer’s Club to use the pool. As Michael, Heidi’s boyfriend, is in the diplomatic core he knows many important people in Berlin. We stayed until 7. The pool was great but the Adriatic it was not. There were lots of very pasty white British people sort of like me when I started this trip. They seemed to be drinking lots of gin and tonic!
We woke up today for our first day in West Berlin very refreshed. We went for a short walk to explore the neighbourhood and went to a supermarket to buy some meat, pickles and milk. I had a feast of 6 hamburgers and a litre of milk. I find it taking some time to get used to seeing all sorts of food in the supermarket unlike Yugoslavia with its line ups and food shortages. We met Heidi for a coffee break and on the way home we found the American Library where we took out some books and then without luck tried to find a cinema playing an English movie. We had a big dinner of beouf bourguignon, listened to some records, read and went to bed. A weird feeling being surrounded by communists on all sides and the East German ones are rather nasty. Although Yugoslavia is communist tourists are treated more like fellow human beings instead of enemies.
August 14, 1971: West Berlin: A Visit to the American Sector: Swim and Risk Being Shot
Heidi joined us for lunch and it was great to see her. I washed her car, a VW Beetle. We visited the American sector. I think West Berlin is divided into a British, French and an American sector. We took a boat to an island park with peacocks on it. Heidi showed us the other side of the river which was in East Germany. Many people have been shot and killed tried to flee to West Berlin by swimming across the river. The East German guards are cruel but if they do not shoot and kill East Germans trying to escape to West Berlin they are severely punished. By 1961 it was estimated that 1,000 East Germans were crossing into West Berlin so the Wall was hastily constructed to trap East Germans in East Germany. What an embarrassment to communism!
We woke up today in our hunting lodge in the Black Forest and Fritz was in bad shape with a runny ear and a bad headache. We have been disease free in Yugoslavia for two months and we come to Germany and Fritz and Mom are sick! Have we imported a Yugoslavian plague?
We went to Albert the Farmer’s for a breakfast of ham and eggs. The German’s know how to get to my stomach! We returned to the hunting lodge and the two invalids and I went for a walk in the forest which was beautiful. After our walk into the speeding bullet Alfa Romero through the Black Forest and up in the mountains of Switzerland to Basel. We checked into the Continental Hotel which was very nice with HOT SHOWERS and for $11! We bought two train tickets to West Berlin. Fritz said good-bye after that. We loaded up on provisions for our trip to Berlin and I had a can of cold ravioli and a litre of gorgeous cold milk for lunch. After dinner we had a surprise visitor Fritz! He stayed for 15 minutes and we said good-bye to him again. Early to bed at 9:15.
August 12, 1971: Up at 3:00 a.m. for our Berlin Trip!
Our train departed at 4:30 a.m.so we went downstairs to check out and our breakfast had been prepared to our surprise by the night clerk. We gobbled down our breakfast and the porter called a taxi and after our tip to the porter we had 10 Swiss Francs left. Call it cutting it close we arrived at the train station with the meter at 8 francs! Mom was sick as a dog and we stumbled into a car with a sign saying “Berlin”. We transferred into another train at Frankfurt and we hit the East German border and there were guards with ladders, mirrors, snarling dogs and machine guns to greet us. An East German soldier checked my passport and saw my middle name as Kennedy and he snarled in German and threw the passport in my face saying in German “fucking Kennedy”. It was President Kennedy who ordered an airlift to West Berlin in the 1960’s when the Russians had blockaded West Berlin. President Kennedy spoke in West Berlin saying “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” which means I am a Berliner. The communists hate him for that. By the way I am named after my godfather Kennedy Jones who was a Minister of Finance in Nova Scotia. That East German border guard got it all wrong. Pardon me but I felt like saying fuck you to that piece of shit guard but at 15 I have enough experience to hold back. How many 15-year old’s in Canada have been through such an experience?
We arrived in West Berlin and met our friend Dr. Boden who was so very happy to see us as we were happy to see her! She is an incredible and kind person who speaks an impeccable and “kind” English. She had a beautiful flat and we talked and talked like dear friends. We met her boyfriend Michael a West German diplomat and he took us out for a delicious meal of Chinese food. My goodness hot food I love and not swimming in Yugoslavian grease. He took us to the Berlin Wall at night which is something I will never ever forget. Floodlights in East Germany with soldiers and dogs patrolling. Michael said they don’t even trust the border guards in East Germany as many are killed trying to escape into West Berlin. Heidi stayed the night with Michael so we had her flat to ourselves. I am in another strange world and I dream of the Berlin Wall and its guards, dogs, machine guns and an incredible sense of the evil of communism. Happy 15th birthday. No chocolate cake but memories that will be a gift for years to come.
Yet More Emergency Orders From Our Premier Doug Ford
Unfortunately we have become used to “emergency orders” to face the circling “enemy” of COVID as defined by the politico-medico elite as the opposition to incessant curtailing of liberties mounts in Ontario..oh…oh. Doug gets tough with another order slicing into the trucker convoy praise be the auto manufacturers say as democracy may surface some other day what is a little inconvenience to democracy! Get those Fords built has the Ford Nation put democracy on ration?
“When you look into a symptom with the full power of mindfulness, whether it is muscle tension, a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, fever or pain it gives you much more of a chance to remember to honour your body and listen to the messages it is trying to give you. When we fail to honor these messages, either through denial or by an inflated and self-involved preoccupation with symptoms, we can sometimes create serious dilemma for ourselves.”
“The result is that a lot of a certain kind of attention is spent on your symptoms, but it is likely not to be helpful or healing attention, so much as anxiety driven self-absorption and preoccupation. More often than not, that kind of attention is reactive, judgemental and fearful. There is little room in the mind for acceptance, or for recognition of a larger field of possibilities for relating to one’s circumstances and challenges. This is the opposite of wise attention.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn “Full Catastrophe Living” Bantam Books
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 