Monsoon, begone!

23 November 2020

[Above photo: A small, peaceful herd of elephants gathered by a large granite boulder—on our windowsill—in Blantyre, Malawi.]

Nights are cool and lovely. The rains are over. All is green and lush. It is a perfect time to travel into the beautiful nether reaches of Myanmar but, alas, it is not to be. Perhaps if vaccines are widely and rapidly disbursed here by the end of April or May, it will be possible. Upper Kachin State, at the tail of the Himalayas, will be a comfortable temperature before the rains turn it all to flooded rivers and soupy trails. It’s good to dream.

I’ve headed downtown twice since last week and realize how much I enjoy all the activity. It is convenient but boring to go into one of the City Mart Marketplaces here. The chain is identical to a Safeway or Hannaford. Since there are no wet markets functioning in our district at present, we are reduced to that.  I shall plan to go downtown at least weekly for my shot of a street market and street life. We are all masked and it is outside so I don’t think I am at great risk.

Here’s an issue I’ve wanted to tackle in my blog but haven’t known how. I still don’t. Every toilet here has an adjacent nozzle on a small hose with which to wash your butt. It turn out that this is common practice in much of the world, according to people who study these things. It now seems a bit gross to me not to wash off; the alternative being just a bit of friction with some toilet tissue. We use the latter here to dry off with. It is hygienic and I don’t know why it isn’t standard practice in the US. We are still a frontier people in many ways, as if using outhouses without plumbing. The French have bidets, the Koreans and Japanese have elaborate machines that will warm, cool, wash, dry, massage, and probably make popcorn! The control panels on those units have been somewhat intimidating to me. For all prospective visitors to my new home in Maine, I shall have plumbed little hoses with nozzles next to each toilet.

We are preparing for Thanksgiving. Yes, and despite my plant-based diet I’ll eat Jose’s turkey this evening. We’ve already made hummus for an appetizer and pecan, apple, and pumpkin pies from scratch. We have both whip cream and vanilla ice cream. How male to make desserts first! We’ll also have a savory dressing/stuffing, the Ottolenghi baked butternut squash/red onion/tahini dish, steamed green beans with fried garlic and almonds, rocket salad, Hasselbeck potatoes, mashed potatoes, and a variety of libations. A logistical challenge is oven space. The party—-five of us who socialize regularly and with few else—will be at our house. Thus, the turkey should cook here. I’ve tried transporting a turkey cooked in a disposable aluminum pan in the past and it was not pretty. We may have to outsource some of the other oven items to Jose and Irene’s stove and walk them over when cooked.

Kelly and I tried to revive an old gas stove in the pantry that belongs to the organization he used to head. He hasn’t used the oven in the 4 years he has been in the house.  We were able to connect it to a gas cylinder and light the oven but it refused to stay lit. The thermocouple must be dead. Probably safer just to ignore it. Kelly said, “I think I have a toaster oven that might work.” which entirely cracked me up. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner in a possible toaster oven that might work. Many have, I’d guess.

I do not know why I am so late writing this post. I haven’t felt I had that much to say, I suppose. Although I am excited by the professionalism of Joe’s cabinet choices, especially to see Janet Yellen and John Kerry included. It was inevitable that Tom Cotton and a bunch of spineless ‘Pubs will immediately begin to criticize them. The Base needs raw meat. They feel like the Germanic hordes of old. I guess it also was inevitable that DT would pardon Michael Flynn. Seeing how the Presidential pardon prerogative can be abused, including of Marc Rich by Bill Clinton, I think we should consider abolishing it. It seems like a royal privilege to me, akin to droit de seigneur. If someone’s presumed innocence demands a new trial, let’s have one. And if we could only base our vote on a candidate’s character, rather than wealth or charisma. Good luck with that!

My hearing hasn’t been good for years, perhaps from my ill-spent youth at the Filmore and Winterland in the ’60’s. I have trouble interpreting British English. In response, I bought a soundbar for the TV and now, miraculously, I can understand English, French, Russian and Chinese! It does make the experience much better. If you haven’t seen “The Morning Show” on Netflix, it is terrific. And I have not been a Jennifer Anniston fan, based on her whiney, aggrieved portrayal in the tabloids. How would I know? No, no, I never read that trash. Just whispers on the street. But it is a gripping saga and a peek into the world of broadcast celebrity and compromise, as well as human nature. I currently use my elliptical trainer watching Ken Burns’ “World War 2 in Color”. It is a masterful compilation and narrative, and leaves me stunned by the complexity and immensity of “modern” warfare—-and that was 80 years ago.

I am so enjoying my garden, viewed through the plastic sheet over my screen. It feels like I’m sitting in it but with no mosquitoes or stifling heat. I have so much to be thankful for, despite all the crap in the world. The gift of conscious life is astounding.