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| _sixty, curry, jungle, savory, ran its course.Image(s) from the Internet.
The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed! And couching them in Poetry is definitely NOT required.
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.
13 comments:
Tarzan was growing old, his years were nearing sixty.
He no longer swung on vines, his knees were getting tricky.
He still ruled the jungle, but he did it now with tact.
No savage beast assailed him, he was safe from all attack.
Big cats would curry favor by bring him his savory meat.
Parrots would provide him with fruit and berries to eat.
He kept peace between the species, sitting as a judge.
Tooth and claw was still the law, but he could give a nudge.
Only the hippos were defiant and denied Tarzan respect,
One not a water dweller was a king they'd not accept.
He could countenance this no longer, this pachyderm disdain,
Where the river ran its course was a part of his domain!
So he took his aging bones to a hut near river's side,
And in a hot spring soaked, until that turned the tide!
The hippos recognized Tarzan could live in water, too.
As for Tarzan, mineral baths were an invigorating brew!
I really did like this solution. It seemed apropos, therefore a clever pun. And it didn't strain for effect, unlike yesterdays, which I thought quite awkward.
I get pretty picky about jumbles, not annoyingly so, I hope.
Yay for 262!
FLN: Wilbur ~ I understand that different schedules & time zones are the reason for your relatively late postings.
I think it's too bad that we often don't see your contributions until we are already bleary-eyed--and sometimes even miss them.
But I wanted to let you know I enjoyed your piece, even as I had to force my concentration.
I caught myself visualizing the movies' Thin Man couple(!), wondered why(?), then realized Hammet's characters are of course Nick and Nora Charles,
Small world, eh?
Owen ~ We don't usually think of Tarzan growing old. I guess I always assumed he would die young, succumbing to Boy's ascension, or some other Law-of-the-Jungle event.
You offer him a reasonably calm elder statesman existence.
Nice to know too of the peaceful effect of sharing water with the hippos.
We know of the soothing amelioration that sometimes occurs when old foes share drinks together.
Here we have an example of togetherness with the liquid all on the outside.
I'm guessing that Mr E.R. Burroughs joins us in offering thanks!
~ OMK
Recipe: How to prepare tough meat (with a side of hominy), as with a...
"Ham Grits Course"
Curried boar is a savory treat,
the best meat a jungle can offer.
But be sure to soak it in marinade*
for sixty minutes or longer.
~ OMK
____________
* Oil, ginger, curry powder, fave seasonings to taste.
Go whole hog.
"Course Craft"
At sixty, Sue wrote a book
on her experience as a cook.
Her recipes often used curry,
and she encouraged us not to hurry.
Cooking may seem like a jungle
but it's important not to bungle.
It takes a bit of bravery
to experiment with what's savory.
The key, when you plan a course,
is to use the most pungent resource
which will give it a taste with much force.
And so, as you might well guess,
Sue's book was a great success.
Owen, I loved your Tarzan poem, particularly the way you described him as an "elder statesman," to use OMK,s neat term. And, yes, his example with how to deal with a rivalry like that of the hippos, by sharing their habit of soaking in water, is inspiring. And in addition, you cleverly worked in the Jumble words and solution, when "the river ran its course." Kudos and congratulations!
Ol' Man Keith, I admired both your clever brief verse with everything woven into it, and your insightful commentary on Owen's. You're not only a great poet, but also a great critic.
Isn't it interesting, Misty, how our domestic lives can be dramatically altered by historical events?
The use of "curry," for instance, as exemplified by your Sue--as well as my English-born relatives--changed forever the tastes and lives of people of the West.
When I was a kid, England and her many spinoff lands, from Australia to the U.S., were infamous for our bland palates. The motherland was the worst, of course. I remember with horror my family's visits to our Sacramento relatives. They were from Cornwall, and they brought over with them one standard culinary practice. It was called Boiling.
I think they had an ingrained fear of germs, and they took it out on all that they ate. They boiled the life--and taste--out of everything. They represented pre-Raj Britannia.
Britain's experience in India opened a world of flavor to the occupiers. Curry houses gradually grew popular at home. And in countries all over the west.
I had curried goat in Jamaica. And I liked it, mon!
It was curry that led the way, but we followed with French and Italian restaurants. Spanish and Mexican.
Sue seems to have had no problem finding a readership. And at age sixty, her recipes could have been nothing new.
Only a couple of generations ago, her kitchen would have been radical, but apparently she didn't have to deal with any resistance; there were no obstacles to her popular acceptance, just smooth gliding rhymes, three beats to a line. And a pleasant read to start the day!
~ OMK
Fascinating comments about countries and their palates--something I've never given much thought recently--although I do vaguely remember that my food in native Austria tasted much better to me than food in the U.S. in the nineteen fifties and sixties. But I don't think I've ever actually cooked anything with curry. And I'm embarrassed to admit that dinner tonight will have a frozen chicken pot-pie as the main course. Hope you have a better supper than that, OMK.
I might add that the English were always (well, for centuries) aware of French cuisine, but I think it was a part of their cultural identity to despise it.
I mean, who in their right mind would eat snails, right?
The other continental cuisine that had a few followers in old Blighty was Italian. Not as bad as French, but still very suspicious.
Curry was the break-through food. Who can say why? But I remember as a grad student in England in 1960-61, I spent most of my time in Stratford, and for cheap fast food, I hung out at the Wimpy Burger joint. These were small over-cooked burgers that tried to imitate American hamburgers but were cooked grey and tasted, well ... used.
Served on dry buns.
Whenever I went up to London I hit the curry houses. And they never lacked for customers.
That's when I noticed that the French and Italian places were doing better-- throughout the year.
I tried a couple of Italian places. They weren't great, but they were OK. Anyway, they seemed to double their patronage over the 12-month period I was there.
I attributed this to the curry joints breaking the ice.
I didn't spend any time in Austria, Misty, until the early '80s. At that time, I LOVED the pasties! The Sacher Torte of course!
But there was one staple I always had for late morning breakfast--the Kaiserschmarm, a fluffy but filling kind of pancake.
Yummm. Not just for breakfast. If I could order it at any time of day, I would. I became an addict.
Back in my student days I visited Berlin but can't say I found the food memorable. Back then they were still partly rationed. I can recall that, whenever I could afford to eat at a restaurant, they always wanted me to have their Borscht.
I didn't much care for it.
~ OMK
Fascinating food memories, OMK--thanks for sharing.
Fln, do you recall my posting
"** When you solve Saturday you'll get why I chose this wording (And there's this one for him, and for her that*)
When you solved today's CC it was a hint to the tricky SW. I guess y'all missed it.
CURRY as I suspected led all the poets to culinary pursuits. OMK, I regret that I'm a big boiler guy. My mother could boil vegetables and to this day nothing matches her prep. She could use an oven and fry pans too.
But heaven forbid that any spice, not to speak of CURRY should ever darken our door
And... I agree spot-on your comment on Misty's offering today.
WC
And I'm sorry this is so late
Uncle Charlie was a jovial, peaceful fellow disdaining marital discord
Very conservative in his ways, never driving over 60 in the family Ford
But on that fateful day savory aromas ran through the house
Charlie began cursing which alarmed Nora his faithful spouse
Nora, in soft dulcet tones, spoke "Charles did you say damn?"
"We don't live in a jungle here and by the way, that's curried lamb"
Charlie was coaxed into the kitchen, "asseyez vous, Monsieur "
Charlie sat, sliced off a piece and exclaimed "C'est magnifique, mon dieu".
WC
Delightful verse, Wilbur--perfect ending to our day!
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