DeLay Rhymes With Decay

Gee Golly, Ms. Elizabeth
"Whether it rains rain or rains cow patties, it comes from the top down, sweet pie." These words out of the mouth of Elizabeth, one of the quietest of our neighbors. She told us this as her husband, Schuyler, was pouring us some good Harvey Wallbangers which he made with Absolut vodka and Galliano. He had carefully chilled the glasses, so when he passed them around we had a well-chilled cocktail, necessary because of the potential heat that will come from Elizabeth's quiet pronouncement. One of the couples from Iraq who recently moved to one of the farms nearby prefer nonalcoholic drinks, and Schuyler had something good for them to drink also.

Exterminator? Dictator Wannabe?
I don't know if Tom DeLay had one of those twirling termites above his pest-extermination shop, but knowing what we do about his good taste, he probably did. And what could be easier, they could just copy his smile to get the termite's mouth down pat.

Alex told us he could not remember how many indictments are now facing DeLay, since they're piling up. Whether it's two or three, this still follows condemnation from within his own party. Is he an embarrassment to this administration? Does it feel hot when you pee down your leg? Alex apologized for this last comment, but he had just heard two old farmers talking about just such an incident at the nearest feed store. What really matters of course, is that DeLays actions are an embarrassment to our country. We used to be better than that.

Shelley, On Bush
Shelley and Cathy, who have that beautiful horse farm down the road, were pretty riled up tonight about the whole DeLay thing. Basically, the message to us was "It's from the Top, stupid." They think the whole DeLay thing is just symptomatic of this megalomaniac administration with a president hell-bent on being as absolute and dicatatorial as possible. Corruption? Bush has just become a bona fide member of the Worst and Most Corrupt Dictators Club. Remember those dastardly sweetheats Idi Amin, Sukarno, Suharto, Marcos, Castro, Pinochet, etc.? Cathy asked us how much we'd be willing to bet that under these guys corruption and shakedowns were approved from the top.

Dimmest Porch Light
Alex agrees with most of us that Bush is not the brightest light on the porch, but he's also not completely stupid or clueless, and, Alex said, if any of us think for a minute that Bush hasn't known all along what DeLay was up to, we didn't understand anything about this White House. Just like Abu Ghraib doesn't have anything to do with Lynde England, the DeLay scandal doesn't just have something to do with DeLay. It all started at the top, and the top, as he loves to crow to all who'll pay him any mind, is he's the El Commando in Jefe, the nonpareil battleship prancer: where all the corruption begins, where all that's wrong in Iraq begins, where all that's wrong in the country, especially our economy and criminal indebtedness to the Chinese, begins, at the top. The Offal Office. So though this exterminator has just put the metal to the pedal of our National Decay, it's the son of the nefarious Barbara Bush who is ultimately responsible. Although, of course, it takes cojones to say, "The buck stops here." And, have you seen any of those on anyone in power right now? Even Snotty Frist doesn't have any or he'd fess up and put a swift end to one more Bush administration scandal.

Yuck. Exterminators. Next? The Dinner Gong
By now the younger set was clamoring that it was time to have dinner. Most of us, after working all day on our farms and ranches, had to agree, and looked forward to the meal several of the couples had shared efforts to prepare for us tonight. Since the two large grills were going nicely on the porch, we knew at least one of our courses would be grilled. Also, we hoped Max had fixed some of his cowboy-style breads on the grill.
First, Shelley brought out some delicious Mushroom and Fontina Crostini. Cathy brought us Italian white wine to pair with the Crostini, a Dolcetto D'Alba.

Our next course was a very welcome, light, Tortilla Soup with chicken and avocado. Surprisingly, Max said it only took him about 10 minutes to put this soup together, and that made me think, so where's the justification for ever buying canned again? Paired with an exquisite Fisher Coach Insignia full-flavored Chardonnay, it put an end to the theory that only beer, beer, beer could be had with good Mexican food. Having said that, we did serve two of our Muslim neighbors some good nonalcoholic beer with the soup.
Charlotte contributed the next dish for our dinner, individual spinach-lined ramekins of Bay Scallops and Oysters, garnished with caviar. Charlotte suggested a still wine from the Champagne district, a Coteaux Champenois.

After dollops of coconut sorbet, we were ready for Max's contribution to dinner: Grilled Flank Steak with a Chile Rub, grilled Vegetable Medley, and what we were anxious to have tonight, some of Max's made-on- the grill, in his enormous cast iron skillets, Zucchini and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cowboy cornmeal bread. His pairing the steak with a wonderful Zinfandel, a Rabbit Ridge Paso Robles Westside Zinfandel was genius.

To close the meal, Liz served us both one of her famous quotes, and a simple Strawberry and Raspberry Crisp, served with a delicious Sauternes. Before we left the dining room to join the younger set in the great room, Liz told us what John Dean said in regard to the Watergate affair: "We have a cancer within, close to the Presidency, that is growing. It is growing daily." Turns out, Liz said, the cancer wasn't close to the Presidency, it was the president.

Winding Down
We went back to join the kids and have our after-dinner espresso. The kids were all very animated tonight, and after asking them what was going on, it turns out their teachers also had been talking to them today about politics, decay, corruption and how it was going to be up to them bring back the glory of this country. Our generation, it seems, has let them down. Tragically, Third World country down.

Summary:
You can start talking about corruption and decay at the lower strata, but when you realize the strata are built up by matter raining from the top down, well….