Break From Baling Hay
A few of us were still busy baling the last of the hay, stocking up for winter. Not a bad job at all now that it's so much cooler. The land's been good to us this year and the cattle and the horses will have some good stuff to eat throughout the fall and winter. A quick shower, and off we go to join the gang, still on the back porch because it isn't really much more than just nippy. Upon arrival, Barry poured each of us a Green Dragon, with the caveat that it was to be sipped slowly and that there would be no refills, otherwise, Barry said, we'd be unable to make it to the dinner table on our own two feet.

Meathead
I don't think Archie Bunker really ever wanted to be mean, he just called it as he saw it. Nothing demure about that guy, so I guess it won't surprise you that here on the farm there's not much demure about us. We also don't want to be cruel, but gee whiz, when someone's stupid, how can you beat around the bush. Or the shrub. It seems to Bob that we're just going to have to talk about stupidity every now and then. Sorry, apologies in advance to all whom the shoe fits.

Kaiserette (rhymes with marionette) of Krawford
Elizabeth, tonight, wanted to talk about dumbkopf comments. But first, she wanted to know a couple of things, so we all joined in. You know the answers, so we'll just give you some examples of her questions. They began with: Whatever happened to the interest in Bin Laden? Other than Kabul, how much else in Afghanistan has been secured? Has its infrastructure country-wide been brought up to snuff? Has every burka disappeared? Has the poppy trade been eradicated? In Iraq, Elizabeth asked, does every home now have the promised 24/7 electricity and water? Stability and safety on every street? Plenty of easy to get gasoline and cooking fuel? Is the much-touted world's largest American embassy constructed and staffed? Does every home have telephone service? Has Halliburton accounted for all OUR money?

And most important, have we sent in the extra, fresh troops many in Congress and the Senate have insisted are needed in Iraq or is Rumsfeld having trouble getting fresh recruits? Jeepers, Elizabeth thought after we answered all her questions, sounds like we're in a quagmire and up the proverbial creek without a paddle and just about bankrupt. Liz, in her quiet way, told her what Martin Luther King had once said: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Yeah, Sure
You're not going to believe it, but back on August 14, Bob read that somebody, now, remember the word dumbkopf, was quoted as saying to the press: "All Options Are On The Table" referring to Iran. Yeah, sure. With what money? With which troops? With which support from the people? As usual, it took a smart foreign leader to issue a more intelligent statement. This is what German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had to say on the matter: "using force against Iran wouldn't be suitable." Sorry, how often in the last few years have we had to hear the word of reason from wiser foreign leaders? Oh, by the way Rice, are you goading your buddy on? {More on her tomorrow.]

Dinner Anybody?
Good thing Barry warned us about those Green Dragons. I drank mine carefully, really liked it, but my, how I had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. (Just kidding.) Also, I was really ready for dinner.

Carmen and Jim Cook!
Something in the air told us tonight was going to produce a multitude of flavors. Sure enough, as we sat down, Carmen and Jim were serving us tiny Catalan Pimiento and Chorizo Tartlets. Together with these delicious palate teasers, they served "copitas," or little glasses of well-cooled fino Sherry, as you would with Spanish Tapas. When they brought out the soup course, the aromas were irresistible. They served us small bowls of Provençal Soupe au Pistou (white bean soup with Parmigiano Reggiano and pesto) that they paired with an Albariño from Bodegas Morgadío, an excellent, floral, dry white wine from Spain.

When these two get together to plan dinner, you know there's a banquet coming up. Our next course was not our usual fish course, but rather, shrimp tamales which were cooked to perfection. A lady in the closest town gave a "class" in cooking tamales at Carmen and Jim's that we all attended. These were so good, paired with a wine to complement both the ingredients of the tamales and the shrimp, a Portuguese Vinho Verde. The next time we have tamales, we might try a Pinot Grigio, which goes so well with corn.
The barbecued brisket they prepared was absolutely beautiful, especially paired with a slightly chilled Riesling. The only thing we needed with the brisket was some good, garlicky smashed potatoes, steamed green beans, and some of Max's "Cowboy" poblano chile cornbread which he makes in cast iron skillets over hot coals.

Dinner's Conclusion
We all wanted to have dessert in the great room with the kids. Since they all have to hurry home to do homework, having dessert with them gives us a chance, albeit a short one, to catch up on how their day went. We had coffee and simple Brandied Plum Tarts.

One of the kids told us that during her American History class, the teacher had given them this quote by British philosopher Bertrand Russell to think about: "People don't seem to realize that it takes time and effort and preparation to think. Statesmen are far too busy making speeches to think." Sounds like this has some direct bearing on stupidity also, doesn't it?