As I get older, I become more convinced that people are not nearly as kind and thoughtful toward others as they used to be. Perhaps this is just a natural part of getting older but I really don't think so. I've thought about ways to quantify this but its one of those things that just cannot be measured.
All I can offer is anecdotal evidence but it does seem that everywhere I look, I see people being uncivil toward others. Yesterday I was watching the PGA golf tournament on television. The crowds at golf tournaments used to be famous for their polite demeanor; not any more. They yell, they taunt the players, and generally act like asses.
Although I haven't been a ham radio operator all that many years, I'm told by old timers that the airwaves are full of language that would not have been there forty years ago. In fact, I was quite surprised when I got my amateur license at how much "CB" type discourse is out there. I had always believed that amateur radio was a "genteel" hobby where everyone respected everyone else - not so!
Politics has always been a nasty business. If you study historical news events, you find outrageous behavior among politicians from the very beginning of time. However, it seems that our leaders have gotten to the point where they really do hate their opponents and try their best to "demonize" them. Has this change in political behavior led to a polarization of our society or is it merely a reflection of it? I really don't know.
What are the reasons for this loss of civility? Like many other problems we face today, these values are not being taught at home anymore. Our children are learning today that aggressive behavior is rewarded and those who are pacifistic are stomped on. Public education occasionally makes a foray into this area (example: the "campaign" against bullying), but this effort ultimately cannot be successful without support from parents.
As I've told many people, I'm at an awkward stage in my life; I can remember being embarrassed when my Dad said the World was going to hell in a hand basket, but I'm now old enough to believe its true!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Bread Making
I don't recall what started it, but a couple of months ago, we got to talking about homemade bread. It came up in conversations a few times and I started thinking about it.
I've always told Louise that beer is just liquid bread; they both have all the same ingredients (grain, yeast and water). Beer, of course does have the additional ingredient, hops, but it is just a flavoring as are caraway seeds in rye bread. This has been my excuse for the consumption of a few bottles of "liquid bread".
The other day, I finally took action. I was at Whole Foods (or as my son, Dan, calls it, "Whole Paycheck"), and decided to look for rye flour since I had a yearning for rye bread. Sure enough, there it was on the shelf so I purchased some.
I went home, found a reasonable looking recipe on the internet, and proceeded to make my own rye bread! Surprisingly, it turned out quite nicely although I did trash the kitchen in the process. It turned out so good, in fact, that I made another batch the next day and made two smaller loaves instead of one large one. My neighbor, T.J., was the recipient of one of the two smaller loaves and, unless he was lying to me, really enjoyed it. Of course, what are you going to say when your neighbor forces a loaf of bread on you?
Yesterday, I decided to try regular old homemade white bread. Amazingly, it came out great too. There's nothing to this bread making! In my usual fashion, I'll probably wind up spending a lot of money on equipment to continue this and then stop as soon as the equipment has been purchased. Lets see, we need a Kitchen Aid mixer, a bread machine, an outdoor stone oven, what else?
More bread projects will include English muffins, French rolls, and those really hard crusted rolls that taste so good! I'm glad I don't have to worry about a gluten free diet!
I've always told Louise that beer is just liquid bread; they both have all the same ingredients (grain, yeast and water). Beer, of course does have the additional ingredient, hops, but it is just a flavoring as are caraway seeds in rye bread. This has been my excuse for the consumption of a few bottles of "liquid bread".
The other day, I finally took action. I was at Whole Foods (or as my son, Dan, calls it, "Whole Paycheck"), and decided to look for rye flour since I had a yearning for rye bread. Sure enough, there it was on the shelf so I purchased some.
I went home, found a reasonable looking recipe on the internet, and proceeded to make my own rye bread! Surprisingly, it turned out quite nicely although I did trash the kitchen in the process. It turned out so good, in fact, that I made another batch the next day and made two smaller loaves instead of one large one. My neighbor, T.J., was the recipient of one of the two smaller loaves and, unless he was lying to me, really enjoyed it. Of course, what are you going to say when your neighbor forces a loaf of bread on you?
Yesterday, I decided to try regular old homemade white bread. Amazingly, it came out great too. There's nothing to this bread making! In my usual fashion, I'll probably wind up spending a lot of money on equipment to continue this and then stop as soon as the equipment has been purchased. Lets see, we need a Kitchen Aid mixer, a bread machine, an outdoor stone oven, what else?
More bread projects will include English muffins, French rolls, and those really hard crusted rolls that taste so good! I'm glad I don't have to worry about a gluten free diet!
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