Imagine if 59,054,087 Americans Had Been Wiser
Tonight Schuyler, hoping to make us glow along with the fireplace, made us a delicious drink, a Blue Blazer, which he made with whiskey, boiling water and a sugar cube. On the drinks table he also had some spiced decaf tea for those who didn't want a cocktail.

Judy and Elizabeth had begun a conversation that quickly caught our attention. They were discussing January 6, which is Epiphany or the Day of The Three Wisemen, celebrated in many countries, and the day when many children throughout the world actually receive their presents.

Because some of our gang are Europeans and some Latin Americans, we know that we'll have some sort of celebration, but that isn't exactly where Judy and Elizabeth were going with their conversation. Instead of celebratory foods and presents for the children, they were talking about wisdom, and wisdom Judy said, included the concepts of honor, decency and principles. Liz, always ready with a good quote or a good definition, thought it would be good to define wisdom. She said it encompassed: having discernment for what is true, right, judicious, and having common sense, sagacity and good judgment. Also it includes being highly educated and being prudent and sensible.

Well, Elizabeth suggested, which parents do you think would raise the most promising children, wise parents or loose cannons? Teresa Heinz Kerry is as principled and wise as anybody could be. Her amazing organizational skills, wisdom and knowledge make her one of the country's most highly principled philanthropists. Laura Bush, on the other hand Elizabeth told the hushed but excited group, isn't particularly well-known for giving away money, and other than being known for once having been a librarian, hasn't really shown much aptitude for the appreciation of good music, good art or especially fine literature. Her mothering accomplishments of course pale in comparison to Mrs. Heinz Kerry's, who single-handedly raised three extremely fine, respectable, responsible and principled sons who will likely contribute to society.

Terry jumped into the discussion, saying that John Kerry, who was not the nouveau-riche, parvenu that George Bush is, also single-handedly raised two fine, distinguished, responsible daughters who are well on their way to achieving success in their respective fields. So his smile didn't beguile people the way George Bush's perpetual smirk did? So people found him too patrician? Terry pointed out that most of this country's greatest statesmen have been patrician, and being patrician, have always been above corruption, scandal and petty vendettas. Put another way, Art said, the patrician statesmen that founded this country, and the patrician presidents who have led us since, could never have the label of poor white trash pinned on them, as this present just-barely elected president can.

Epiphany: A Revelatory Moment and A Sudden Flash of Recognition
The young Heinz men, and the young Kerry women are responsible, respectable, prudent young people with principles and the desire to do good and to be productive citizens. And that says a lot about their parents, but more important: it tells us how this country might have been better nurtured toward continuing greatness had Mr. and Mrs. Kerry become the residents of the White House. The way they took care of their children, and the remarkable way their children have turned out, speaks volumes for how they would have taken care of this country.

Barry, usually one of the two or three very quiet members of our gang jumped into the conversation also, saying that the qualities of parenting between these two families were quite evident since the Kerry's had raised magnificent children, and the Bush's, at best, raised two daughters who find greater delight in beer than they do in accomplishment of any kind that would be appreciated by the country at large. At her age, Jenna Bush should not be sticking her tongue out at the media, the way her father flips them the bird. Because their parents are very definitely not philanthropists, and their grandmother has on numerous public occasions derided the less fortunate, these two girls have learned nothing of value. Their father, a loose cannon who has unleashed unspeakable horror in the Middle East and publicly derides his own father, is certainly no paragon of virtue, which in the White House, would be quite refreshing.

So, probably, we'll be celebrating one kind of Epiphany for the younger European and Latin American children in our group, and we will continue talking about the epiphany of realizing that Mr. Kerry would have been a much better nurturer and custodian of our country than the loose cannon who has firmly planted us in a quagmire that is sucking our treasury dry and killing the youth we needed to do wondrous things with their youth, vigor and enthusiasm.

The Three Wisemen: We Counted a Few More
Yes, in the Bible we learn of the Magi, but here in the United States, what we should have had all along is the collective wisdom and goodness of Teresa Heinz Kerry and her three splendid sons, and that of Senator John Kerry and his two highly respectable daughters, in other words, a family that represents the best values of this country, Democratic values of the highest level. Republican values apparently are founded on un-called for invasions of unprovocative countries, corruption and scandal at the highest levels, and the total, abysmal desecration of our Constitution.

Max and Charlotte, Aided by Others, Prepare Dinner
Charlotte, as soon as we were all seated, served us small plates with Toast Points with Slivered Almonds and Manchego Cheese Shavings. She served us an Hidalgo Jerez Amontillado Napoleón sherry, with this course. The sherry had marzipan and tangerine scents and was dry but succulent and juicy.
Charlotte and Max thought this cold night would be great for a hearty Chicken, Leek and Celery Soup. Charlotte made it with generous quantities of dry white wine, cream and pancetta. She confessed that her job was made immeasurably more easy by not having to carry a huge stock pot full of soup to a blender, but instead used one of our new KitchenAid immersion blenders in order to blend the soup right on the stovetop. She and Max believed that the same sherry would pair well with the soup, and it did.

Charlotte always amazes us by her ingenious presentations. She and Beatrix both believe that no dish is too complicated or not worth the effort to prepare for us, so we were mesmerized by her Phyllo Tartlets with Garlic Prawns. The tartlets were both spicy and buttery, so Charlotte and Max elected to serve a white Italian wine that was a blend of vernaccia and some chardonnay, a Teruzzi & Puthod 2003 Toscana Terre di Tufi. The wine, slightly chilled and with its mild nectarine flavors was a perfect and enjoyable choice for the Prawn Tartlets.

Charlotte gave each of us a dollop of persimmon sorbet to prepare our palates for the next course which Max had prepared, Medallions of Liver Milanese with a medley of braised mushrooms, pearl onions and garlic smashed potatoes. The strong-flavored liver needed a very strong wine, and Charlotte and Max brought some bottles of Thierry Puzelat 2003 Touraine Pineau d'Aunis, which was a full and ripe wine with an abundance of tannins that paired perfectly with the liver.

For dessert, Charlotte served us a very simple dish of ripe peaches and cream. Here, we considered the fresh peaches a luxury in the middle of winter and enjoyed them vastly, together with her pairing the peaches with an Italian wine, a Vietti 2004 Moscato d'Asti Cascinetta, whose banana scents truly paired well with the peaches and cream.

Return To The Great Room
To finish our evening, we re-joined the teenagers in the great room and had our after-dinner espresso that Max enjoys making for us. The kids had gathered bits of what we had discussed tonight, so they were interested in this quote from Thomas Jefferson from 1774 that Liz gave us to top off the evening: "The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest." Well, Liz asked us all, between the parvenu Bush's and the patrician Kerrys, which couple do you think would be the most prone to be honest? We thought the answer was pretty evident, considering everything that's in the news every day now. And now, home to take care of animals, pets and homework, but it was a productive conversational night.

Summary:
If 59,054,087 Americans had been wiser in their election of a snide and pouty upstart, and had instead voted to bring in to the presidency a fine father and husband, whose principles are unassailable, today the world would be a safer world and we would not be as vastly hated as we are. Epiphany is both a special day observed by Christians, and a word that signifies awakening and realization of great truth, and our great truth is that the nouveau-riche, poor white trash George Bush has dragged us into an expensive quagmire that we can ill afford.

Key words:
Epiphany, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Senator John Kerry, George Bush, Democratic values, Republican values, corruption, scandal, Hidalgo Jerez Amontillado Napoleón, KitchenAid immersion blender, Teruzzi & Puthod 2003 Toscana Terre di Tufi, Thierry Puzelat 2003 Touraine Pineau d'Aunis, Vietti 2004 Moscato d'Asti Cascinetta