Friday, February 26, 2010
Might Wanna Re-Think that One?
One of the few magazines that I still take at home is the National Geographic. It's also one of the few that I have been known to read from cover to cover. I sometimes see some political leanings within the writing but in general - politics and social agendas are handled even-handedly.
I also like to read the letters to the editor just to see the giant chasm between views on an issue. There seems to be very little room for middle ground on any given subject. I'm afraid that's just a sign that those of us who are more moderate on an issue aren't sufficiently motivated by the plight of the two-tongued owl frog in lower Scandabuvia to get up off the couch and scratch off a letter or even zip off an e-mail to the folks at NG.
A while back I was reading a letter from a man (don't remember where he was from but almost certain it was the West or East Coast) concerning logging practices in the Northwest. He was adamantly opposed to continued but controlled harvesting of redwood trees. Now I understand his concern and I have some questions about the need to continue logging these giants myself. BUT his solution seemed a bit drastic to me!
His reasoning was to reduce the demand for lumber by reducing the world's population. There wouldn't be any need to cut these trees if there weren't so many people. In fact, he proposed "reducing" the world population by 3/4ths. I might have taken his suggestion a bit more seriously IF his letter contained an offer to be the first in line for "self -reduction".
I also like to read the letters to the editor just to see the giant chasm between views on an issue. There seems to be very little room for middle ground on any given subject. I'm afraid that's just a sign that those of us who are more moderate on an issue aren't sufficiently motivated by the plight of the two-tongued owl frog in lower Scandabuvia to get up off the couch and scratch off a letter or even zip off an e-mail to the folks at NG.
A while back I was reading a letter from a man (don't remember where he was from but almost certain it was the West or East Coast) concerning logging practices in the Northwest. He was adamantly opposed to continued but controlled harvesting of redwood trees. Now I understand his concern and I have some questions about the need to continue logging these giants myself. BUT his solution seemed a bit drastic to me!
His reasoning was to reduce the demand for lumber by reducing the world's population. There wouldn't be any need to cut these trees if there weren't so many people. In fact, he proposed "reducing" the world population by 3/4ths. I might have taken his suggestion a bit more seriously IF his letter contained an offer to be the first in line for "self -reduction".
What's in a Name?
Ok - so where'd I get the name "Cornbread & Potlikker"? Most of us here in the South are still not so far removed from our rural roots that we don't know about potlikker or for those more proper - "pot liquor". Our parents or grandparents grew up a few years back just thankful to have a cast iron skillet full of cornbread and a pot full of peas or butterbeans for a meal.
This meal symbolizes a different time - a time when people made daily decisions based upon their moral /financial and practical consequences. I hope that a reverence for that time and culture will set the tone for this blog.
( For those who still don't know - potlikker is the liquid remaining after a vegetable is cooked (peas, butterbeans, etc). Usually seasoned with salt pork and onions, it tastes wonderful poured over a slice of homemade cornbread.)
This meal symbolizes a different time - a time when people made daily decisions based upon their moral /financial and practical consequences. I hope that a reverence for that time and culture will set the tone for this blog.
( For those who still don't know - potlikker is the liquid remaining after a vegetable is cooked (peas, butterbeans, etc). Usually seasoned with salt pork and onions, it tastes wonderful poured over a slice of homemade cornbread.)
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