Remembering John Kennedy, 1917-1963

John F. Kennedy - 35th US President

"Two generations later, the assassination still stirs quiet sadness in the baby boomers who remember it as the beginning of a darker, more cynical time."  [ABC News; November 22, 2013]

Fifty years ago this Friday morning, not just a man, not just a president, but a dream shared by many Americans was shattered by an assassin's bullets in Texas. His leadership not only brought hope to Americans, but he brought hope and encouragement to others around the world as well. I thought perhaps this anniversary could pass unnoticed by me because I have been jaded by the sordidness of American politics, by the fallibility of men, and that after the passage of so many years the residual effects of these memories would not be significant, that I could ignore them.  They were, I thought, something from a distant past. 

In that, I was mistaken, as the memory of those events has today brought me much sadness. We cannot know with any certainty how history would have judged the Kennedy presidency absent his assassination. His plans were cut short before they could play out, so his possible successes and his failures will remain conjecture forever. But we do know that a large measure of our innocence was taken from us that day. Those of us who lived through the events of late-November, 1963 never saw the world in quite the same bright way again. At age ten, I was not "political," and I have never had an opinion about JFK's politics - the tragic cost of his loss only became clear to me in subsequent years, and those far-reaching effects lie totally outside the realm of his beliefs or his political platform.

I have been reading a lot about John Kennedy this week, and I have been looking for something meaningful to share with you.  The words of his inaugural address came to mind.

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

Now the trumpet summons us again. Not as a call to bear arms, though embattled we are, but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle; a struggle against the common enemies of man – tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom.

In the hour of maximum danger, I do not shrink from this responsibility, I welcome it. The energy, the faith, the devotion, which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world - ask not what America can do for you - but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love - asking His blessing and His help - but knowing that here on earth
God's work must truly be our own.”

John Kennedy
Inaugural Address - January 20, 1961

JFK's Eternal Flame

Who I remember on Remembrance Day; Fred Ferguson

On Memorial Day, we remember those we lost.  On Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, we remember those who served.  We have had so many wars, and beyond that, so many others have served in times of peace, that the faces and the names tend to get lost in the masses.  So I thought for this Remembrance Day, I would find one name, one face, and pass along his story to you.

Almost the first name that came to mind was Fred Ferguson.  He was of my own time, almost my generation, about the age of someone who could have been my big brother, or a young uncle.  Today he’s 74 years old; he retired as a Major in 1982. Even after retirement, he has continued to "serve" our community in different ways. Years ago, I believe in my activities with the (then-named) Confederate Air Force, I got to meet Fred Ferguson; I consider that an honor to this day.

He was born in Texas, from where so many good things come.  He joined the Army as a young man in 1958, in Phoenix, and ten years later was serving in Southeast Asia.  That was the year of the Tet Offensive. He had become, by that time, a helicopter pilot, flying what we remember today (somewhat affectionately) as the Huey, perhaps the most-recognized icon of the Vietnam War.  In the climactic battle at Hue he distinguished himself with clear-headed action and a determination to get the job done under horrific conditions that many others wouldn’t risk.  That's not just empty prose - others looked at the situation and refused to go.  But Fred Ferguson wouldn't leave American troops and aircrew behind as their position fell to the North Vietnamese. Here is what his Medal of Honor commendation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. CWO Ferguson, U.S. Army distinguished himself while serving with Company C. [1st Air Cav]

CWO Ferguson, commander of a resupply helicopter monitoring an emergency call from wounded passengers and crewmen of a downed helicopter under heavy attack within the enemy-controlled city of Hue, unhesitatingly volunteered to attempt evacuation. Despite warnings from all aircraft to stay clear of the area due to heavy antiaircraft fire, CWO Ferguson began a low-level flight at maximum airspeed along the Perfume River toward the tiny, isolated South Vietnamese Army compound in which the crash survivors had taken refuge. Coolly and skillfully maintaining his course in the face of intense, short range fire from enemy-occupied buildings and boats, he displayed superior flying skill and tenacity of purpose by landing his aircraft in an extremely confined area in a blinding dust cloud under heavy mortar and small-arms fire. Although the helicopter was severely damaged by mortar fragments during the loading of the wounded, CWO Ferguson disregarded the damage and, taking off through the continuing hail of mortar fire, he flew his crippled aircraft on the return route through the rain of fire that he had experienced earlier and safely returned his wounded passengers to friendly control. CWO Ferguson's extraordinary determination saved the lives of five of his comrades. His actions are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself and the U.S. Army.

Ferguson

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”  When you read the reports of what he did (or hear him tell the story), those words take on new layers of meaning. They become real.  On the ground, in the smoke, in the horror of a fierce battle with jagged metal flying everywhere, he kept his head and focused on the plight of others. We cannot imagine what that is like, the reality of it, unless we’ve been there, unless we've been immersed in the white-knuckled, mind-numbing terror. 

Citizen Ferguson served his country – us – for about 24 years.  He served in peace and he served in war. He deserves our thanks and our remembrance today and every day.  Wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, I hope he knows that he and others like him are the reason we remember on Remembrance Day. When I think about the face of a Vietnam-era veteran, a true hero, it is men like Fred Ferguson that I think about.

Dick, this one's for you.

I like fish tacos!

I've been making fish tacos this week for a quick supper.  These are a Baja and San Diego tradition. They're not too difficult -- and mine have the same "bite" that you can find in a fast food joint.  So why pay more?

First off, most of them come in a soft corn tortilla, so that's how I made them all week.  But I was thinking it might be even better to use a fried corn tortilla instead -- so I may try that next time.  The difference is oil.  For soft, I heat a cast iron griddle, no oil, and when hot I cook each tortilla about 15 secs on one side, then flip and do about ten seconds more.  Make your taco while it is still hot.

For crispier tortillas, put a couple tsps of oil on the griddle once it is hot, and fry the tortillas maybe 30-60 secs.  Fry them on both sides a few secs, then about halfway through, fold them in half and fry a little on each side.  You can use tongs, I usually just work quick with clean fingers, but beware the hot oil.  Drain 'em a few moments on a piece of paper towel.

When I make tacos, I try to have everything else ready -- side dishes I mean, and serve the tacos hot as they come off the griddle -- each person can stuff their own. Or the cook can fill the hot tortilla with the meat mixture and let each diner do the rest at the table.  Whatever works for you.

Here's the ingredients I used for my fish tacos this week...

Fish.  You can use frozen fillets or fish sticks if you want, prepared and cut into chunks.  This fish is by its nature a bit mushy in texture.  Or, better yet, I got a small piece of cod (any firm white fish will work well) and cut him into chunks, dredged each piece in a mix of flour, cayenne, onion powder, salt and pepper.  I fried them for a little while on medium+ heat until they were golden.  Little pieces of fish don't take long.  With a little more time on my hands, I'd probably prepare the fish in a basket on the charcoal grill for a lighter meal.  Cooking the fish is the LAST thing you do though.

For the compleat fish taco, you need a coarse cabbage slaw, and a nice guacamole "salsa."

Slaw ingredients:
2T light-flavored olive oil
2T lime juice, preferably fresh squeezed
salt, pepper and sugar.
Two or three handfuls of coarsely shredded cabbage (shredded stringy is the custom).

When tossing the slaw, stay as dry as possible with your dressing -- two much dressing makes for soggy slaw.  Crisper is better on a fish taco, but you do want the tangy flavor of the lime dressing. It's a tightrope!  I used about 3/4 tsp of white pepper, 3/4 tsp of sea salt, and about 2 tsp of sugar.  You can omit the sugar if you wish.  I happen to like it better with the touch of sweetness.

Now the guacamole:
1 ripe avocado
1/8 cup sour cream
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine (I use a little food chopper)
1 T minced fresh onion (red, green, sweet, whatever)
1 T chopped cilantro (dry is fine, but use less by half)
1.5 T fresh lime juice
The avocado seed.

If you want hotter, use the whole jalapeno and more cayenne.  Maybe a jalapeno seed or two.  Keep your cotton-pickers away from your eyes though.

Peel and mash the avocado with the sour cream and the lime juice until smooth.  Add the remaining ingredients and place in a tightly sealed container WITH the avocado pit. Make this about an hour before your meal.  (Slaw too). You can also add some minced fresh garlic to this -- sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.   Good either way.

To make the delicious fish taco, cook the desired fish, and heat or fry the tortilla.  Place the tortilla on a plate, spread a TB or so of the guacamole on the middle of the tortilla, top with some slaw.  Be careful not to get the slaw dressing on the taco too much -- it will get soggy.  I usually dip a little of the slaw out of the bowl and into a strainer for a few seconds, letting the dressing drain back into the slaw-bowl, before putting it on the tortilla.  Top this with several chunks of the fish!  (this is for the soft corn tortillas -- for crispy ones, you fold the ingredients inside the hot crispy tortilla as it comes out of the oil.

This is enough for 3 or 4 tacos, depending on your fish size -- and there's enough salsa for about twice as many more, so you're half-way to fish tacos for tomorrow's meal too.  If you want.

I'm low rent -- I served these with Mexican-flavor Rice-a-Roni.  Hey, it's a work day, gimme a break!
 

Calavacitas for Mandy

This is a little Mexican vegetable side dish in my part of the world.  The calabacita* is a type of squash, but you can also substitute zucchini if you can't find the real thing. Taste and texture, they are almost indistinguishable from each other.  Cook this very slowly. 

*I find the calabacita at Wal-Mart here, and I guess they will also be found in Mexican markets in the SW USA.

 

⅓ cup chopped onion

½ jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine (or green chilies of some other variety)

Smidge of olive oil (maybe 1 TB)

Calavacitas

1 calavacita squash, partially pared and diced

½ cup or so frozen or fresh corn

Salt/pepper/cilantro

⅛ cup milk

⅓ to ½ cup grated co-jack cheese

 

Sauté the onion and jalapeno in the oil for a few moments.  Add the squash.  Mix and cook, covered for a little while. Add the milk, corn, seasonings and herbs and cook a while longer. Add the cheese, and stirring constantly, heat until the cheese melts. Or just cover it, turn off the heat and let it sit for a little while. All in all, this should take 20-30 minutes.  It will be like a little squash "stew."  This will not be "hot" as prepared -- but you can notch up the heat by leaving in a few of the pepper's seeds, or adding some red pepper flakes, etc (or of course you just use the whole pepper).  If using fresh corn, add it earlier so it cooks completely - I used frozen tonight so it didn't need to cook as long. 

This will serve 4 as a side dish.  Tonight, it was a wonderful accompaniment for fish tacos.
 

Suzy Bogguss in Concert

Waiting for Suzy

So...  Suzy Bogguss in concert!  I had a seat very close to the stage.  She started on time and sang for almost two hours without a break, at the acoustically wonderful Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) auditorium in north Phoenix.

Her accompaniment was lead guitarist Paul Kramer and bassist Charlie Chadwick.  Suzy played rhythm guitar as I think most lead singers do.  She sang many songs I knew, from Aces mostly which is the one album I owned until now. She also included several traditional American folk songs that everyone knew all from her most recent album - in 2011. One she didn't play that I would have loved to hear was "Music on the Wind" from "Aces."

Her live performance "voice" is a bit more "clipped" than you get in the studio recordings -- her voice doesn't soar quite as much in live sets.  If you are familiar with the limitations of live performance I don't need to explain why.  But no matter -- it was wonderful and I loved every minute of it.  It was like having a great performance in your own living room and Suzy Boggus has one of the purest, sweetest singing voices you've ever heard. This lady can sing and her back-ups were top-notch.



At another show...

After the concert and the encore, she said she'd meet us "all" outside the theater -- she'd stay as long as we did.  To me, she's a "Big Star"  and I have NEVER seen any performer do that in my entire life.  She stayed until she shook the last hand, posed for the last photo, hugged the last kid.  I know, 'cause I watched.  One thing that surprised me was that the audience was a predominantly older group.  I guess it shouldn't, since she's been around for a while -- just like those of us who went to see and hear her last night.  I feel sorry for those who don't like this kind of music -- tuneful, country, sweet, folksy, and decidedly American.

What a warm human being and a class act.  I'm really kind of irritated though.  Now I have to buy a lot more of her music.  Just can't help it.

Uncle Bob's Enchiladas del Pollo (Chicken Enchiladas)

Me gusta mucho...

These were not spicy as I made them this evening... my roomie is 93 and her days of spicy food are over... but you can heat them up very easily and if you like that kind of flavor, I suspect you know exactly how to accomplish it.

I started with several chicken thighs, covered them in approximately two cups of water and brought them to a simmer.  They were ready in 40 or 45 minutes.  I poured off the broth into a jar, and refrigerated both for a day or two.  This broth can be made richer by the addition of a carrot, some onion and celery while cooking...  if you prefer.  And why not?

Preparation time: 

I removed the lard from the chicken broth and made sauce out of the broth.

- 3 TB Shortening or Butter, or oil.  I used a combination of shortening and oil tonight. You can use some of the chicken fat as well if you wish.  I don't eat chicken fat too much...
- 3 TB Flour
- 1 TB chili powder (results in milder flavor, normally I'd add two in my enchilada sauce)
- Sprinkle of dry onion bits
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- Coarse ground black pepper to taste

Place the above in a saucepan and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 2 cups of cold broth all at once, stir and cook until thickened.  Set aside.

Skin, debone and shred the chicken.  I left mine a little chunky.  Set aside after heating in the microwave for a couple of minutes, at half power.  I wanted to just warm it a little, but not dry it out.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to at least 400 degrees.
Chop a yellow, brown or white onion.
1 lb of Mexican style cheese, shredded.  I like a mild cheese in my Mexican food -- I do NOT use cheddar.
Open 1 small can of Hatch green chilies* (or whatever you can get where you live.)  Rosarita, Macayo, etc.
El chicken, as prepared
12 corn tortillas

* Or, even better, grill and char a couple of mild green chili peppers, skin and chop them.  Fresh is best but I was in a hurry!

Heat a griddle or skillet to sizzling (a little bit of oil).

Fry a tortilla for a few seconds until it softens, flip and fry a few more seconds.  You do not want them crispy for enchiladas.  I add a tiny bit of oil to the griddle for each tortilla.

Place the tortilla on a plate, smear it with a TB of the sauce.  Place a bit of chicken, some onion, some green chili bits and a pile of queso (cheese!) on the center of the tortilla, slightly off center.  Roll the tortilla around the fillings loosely and place in a 13x9 baking pan, loose (flap) side down.  You've already prepared the pan by generously greasing the bottom, and added several TB of sauce to it.  If you lay two enchiladas end to end the long way, you can get six on each half of the pan.  (See photo above).

Repeat for all twelve tortillas.

Place uncovered in the oven for about 7 or 8 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle some chopped onions over the top, and ladle the remaining sauce over it.  Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top.  I add the leftover green chilies also, if any.  Back in the oven, uncovered, bake for about 12-15 minutes, until melted and bubbling.

I served these with buttery mashed potatoes.  Not exactly Mexican, but it was fantastic and they went well together.  I couldn't stay out of it.  No room for dessert!

Uncle Bob

Vivitek D825MS - problems!

Lamp problems (flashing intermittently) and display compressed...

 

Just in case anyone is having problems with their Vivitek DLP projector -- mine is a D825MS, about three years old.  It's provided yeoman service up until now... I didn't really WANT to replace it, and I couldn't find any advice online about this particular malfunction.  Vivitek's apparently lousy customer service didn't bother to return my request for assistance, even though I know they received it and got an initial "we got your note" reply.  It's been over a week since I wrote to them -- I am assuming at this point I am not going to hear from them.  That will be a factor in any future decisions I make about an eventual replacement.  Even a "Gee, we don't have a clue unless we look at it" would have been better than "Worm, you do not exist."  That's OK though, I have a memory like an elephant... and a mouth like the neighborhood gossip.

 

I use the projector in my classes -- with PowerPoint programs and videos, etc. It's been malfunctioning lately - it's lamp has been flashing on and off, and eventually, the picture "scrunched" in on itself (compressed drastically). So my first thought was that this was its way of telling me the lamp was going. Heavy sigh. They're pretty expensive, as you probably know.

I searched the problem online, hoping to find some direction from others who had experienced the same problem. I didn't find much about this specific problem -- one user mentioned that the "auto" picture function could cause the flashing if it was not working properly. I figured it was either the lamp or the VGA cable -- and I went to the store (and I looked at new projectors just in case).  Just about the time I thought it might not be bad to have a brand new LED-lamp projector ($600) with a 30,000 hour lamp-life expectancy, I brought a new VGA cable home to try that possible "fix."  It was the cheapest possible fix and I was hopin'.  Bingo.

Apparently, the cable started deteriorating some time ago - I think maybe it was the cause of my inability to use some PowerPoint programs that I initially thought were just memory hogs. A techie told me my laptop should be fully capable of running those programs (enough RAM, etc) -- so I thought maybe the programs I had were themselves the problem (glitchy in some way) -- but APPARENTLY, the VGA cable was not transmitting the data well enough -- and when it got even worse, it couldn't even carry enough data to support a static display.

If the fix lasts, proves permanent, then I saved perhaps $600 - $700 with a $24 cable ('cause I WAS really looking at that fancy, miniature LED projector with a 30,000 hour lamp...)  I probably could have gotten that $24 cable on Amazon for half the cost had I not been so impatient.   But I'm a happy camper, and my projector seems like it is back to normal operating condition.  Can't beat that!

[Update:  August 29, 2013 - Vivitek has never responded.  Jeers to them!]
[ Update: January 14, 2014 - Never got any response from Vivitek.  The projector continues to function normally.  Yay!]
[Update: January 27, 2015 - projector still functioning normally!]