1. It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that as I read further into Haruki Murakami's book, Underground, that it's as much a study of Tokyo and Japanese cultural values as it is a telling of the sarin gas attack. Right now, I can't lay out in any knowledgable detail what Murakami might have us see in general, but, in the specific stories I've read so far, I've learned more about these people's devotion to their work, their home and family lives, and their attitudes about having been random targets of a terrorist attack. I don't have anything smart or insightful to write about what I've learned, only that it's been fascinating and often moving, but because of the attack itself, often frightening.
2. Not long ago, Debbie bought a tube of polenta. I asked her what she'd like to eat it with.
"Pork chops and roasted vegetables."
Ah! Great!
So I sliced into lengths a couple of potatoes (I'm experimenting with eating small amounts of potatoes on occasion -- can I do this and keep my potassium levels in range?). made red onion wedges, and cut a handful of florets off of a cauliflower head. I oiled them, seasoned them with Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute and roasted them. I air fried the polenta. I fried the pork chops and, while they rested, I sautéed a handful or two of sliced mushrooms.
It turned out that this meal was just what Debbie had hoped for and we agreed: it worked!
3. Over the last nearly forty years, one of Eugene, Oregon's most visible citizens was David Miller, rarely known by this name, but widely known as Frog. Frog made photocopied books of jokes and sold them on the streets of Eugene and at other venues, like Saturday Market. He hawked his joke books much of the time on 13th Avenue, near Kincaid street, near the U of O Bookstore.
Frog died today.
Jeff Steve messaged me that Frog had died, I responded, and then Jeff called me.
We talked some about Frog, but mostly we talked about the friends we hung out with back in about 1985-87 when we lived near each other in Eugene and promptly figured out that we had many mutual acquaintances both in CdA and at Whitworth College.
Today, we talked about the present -- kidney transplant, Jeff's trip back to Ventura after coming to North Idaho, Jeff's latest time on the water in a kayak he'd spruced up -- but we also talked about the great times we had on West Broadway in Eugene and I told Jeff how those people from those days frequently pop into my memories, often randomly, and I visit with them in my head. Jeff is the only one of those old friends I ever see these days, but fortunately my memories and the conversations in my head give me the feeling that we are still in touch, still enjoying one another's company.
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