Stiff Upper Lip (or Lack Thereof)

And now for something completely different…

I actually find many (though not all) of the GEICO commercials pretty clever. I think my favorite is the “Drill Sergeant Therapist.” It reflects what I often wish I could tell my students. Things like, “get over yourself,” and “suck it up” rattle around in my brain when someone comes in with the same lame excuse for why their performance is subpar and why I should give them a break anyway.

Don’t get me wrong—when there is a genuine issue, I’m the very picture of compassion and empathy. Jesus does not bruise the tender reed or quench the smoldering wick, and we are to do likewise. It is the 21 and 22 year olds with the maturity of a junior high student that make me long for the times when you could speak your mind. I have found ways to communicate with them at least some of their shortcomings. They don’t always like it, but usually by the time I’m finished with them, they at least acknowledge my point, and a few are actually grateful, which keeps the hope alive.

Still, extraditions from ‘MambyPambyLand” are all too few and too late these days.

SDG

Parisa

Since the semester is over, I thought it would be fun to mimic Monty Python in a sense:  “… And now, for something completely different…”

My mother grew up in a small town just west of San Antonio that was settled via a land grant by some pioneers from the Alsace region of France. The question of whether Alsace is French or German would remind one of the song by “They Might Be Giants,” called “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” Ownership has traded back and forth by the two nations since humanity first thought of territorial gain.

Medina County has some of the most localized and unique culinary traditions of anywhere I can think of in Texas. The way sausage is seasoned there is unique, and there is a highly unique appetizer dish called ‘parisa’ (pah-REE-sah). Think of it as South Texas style paté, but better. It is a holiday tradition at parties, and can be obtained commercially at any of the local meat markets. The recipe is very flexible and can be varied according to taste, but a sample recipe is:

1 lb of EXCEEDINGLY lean ground red meat of your choice

½ lb of your choice of shredded yellow cheese (American or mild cheddar are common)

½ lb of very finely chopped onion (less if it’s strong)

4 finely chopped fresh Serrano peppers or 2-3 jalapeños

Salt, garlic, and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Juice of 1 lemon or lime

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl and put covered in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. (I like making it in a gallon Ziploc bag—dump everything in, close tightly, and mix everything through the bag then throw it in the fridge, preferably overnight.)

Serve. It goes great as a topping for saltines.

Yes, it is uncooked, but the meat is cured by the lemon juice. You want it as lean as possible, because fat can make it go rancid. You do want to take appropriate precautions in handling, but it is safe to eat, and frankly, it’s delicious! (I recommend not advertising what it is to your guests until after they’ve tried it.)

If you try it, let me know what you think, and your guests’ reaction to it. Also, I have some readership from Germany, and I’m curious if they know of anything similar back in the “Old Country” that served as the inspiration for this recipe, as it is so localized here, even among the larger German communities of central Texas.

Quick plug:  be sure to come back on Christmas for that day’s post. It will be a special Christmas tale.

SDG

The “People’s Front of Judea” or the “Judean People’s Front”?*

The UT West Mall is known as the “Free Speech Area,” and is where student groups set up their tables to hawk their group or cause. There is a student Socialist group, and they can often be found trying to sell their “Socialist Weekly” newspaper to passersby.

Several years ago, I was one of those passersby, and the attractive young coed was holding the rag, but also pressing little slips of yellow paper into people’s hands, calling out, “Come out Saturday and help us protest the Nazis!!”

Knowing that these days, anyone you dislike risks labeling as a Nazi, regardless of what their true bent might be, I decided to bite. “Ok,” I ask, “Who are the Nazi’s?”

Her earnest response, “The Nazis. The National Socialists.”

I eyed her newspaper with a quizzical glance. “So, why are you protesting them?”

She replied brightly, almost bubbly, “Oh! We’re the International Socialists!!”

I bade her good day and went on with mine.

*The title references a scene from “Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” which is a funny but highly controversial film about a man born at the same time, but next door to Christ, and is constantly mistaken for the Messiah his whole life. In the scene in question, there is a confab of a bunch of Jewish rebel groups seeking freedom from the Romans, all with similar names, similar goals, but irreconcilable differences, that was a jab at the rise of numerous left wing groups in the UK at the time the film was made.

SDG