L'aventure américaine

It's no fancy French cookie that brings me rushing back to summers of my childhood...  it is the BLT. I am home in Indiana for a very brief stay, under sadder circumstances than I would like, but I grasped one moment of joy today when I made myself lunch. I fried up three pieces of bacon until there were crispy bubbles of white amidst lines and textures of brown.  I washed and dried 3 pieces of lettuce and laid them out on my multigrain bread.  And then I sliced a homegrown tomato...  blood red, with juice just pouring out of it.  I finished the remainder of the tomato like an apple before applying a tiny layer of Miracle Whip and closing my sandwich. As I bit into the first bite, tomato juice dripping down my chin and hands, I reminisced on the multitudes of BLTs that I have consumed at home.  We awaited with great anticipation the first ripe tomatoes and it would be one of the few times of year that Mom would buy bacon.  I remember my very exa...

It is interesting that Mitch Daniels has chosen his INShape campaign as well as the construction of new terrain Interstate 69 as his legacy in these waning days of his time as our governor of Indiana.   I have been very pleased with his “Eat Better, Move More, Avoid Tobacco” campaign [1] , but his push for this interstate seems very incongruous.   This interstate will inevitably have negative effects on the citizens of Indiana living near new terrain I-69.   While supposedly reaping the benefits of the new economic opportunities, they will be suffering from the health effects of having an interstate running through their front yard.   Studies have shown that living near an interstate substantially increase one’s exposure to ultrafine particulate matter [2] .   This means that although we may not be able to see the pollution, we are breathing in tiny particles of molecules such as iron or nitrates or alum...

"The August day came out at them like a parched and coated tongue." Fannie Hurst While I may have felt this sentiment more in dry Phoenix than humid Baltimore, I loved the image nonetheless.  Here's hoping for some rain for those 50% of counties that need it.