Remembering my Dad...

My son Joseph, me, my dad and my oldest brother Glenn He was a hard man to get to know. Stories and information never came easily to him.  He kept his own counsel and preferred to not look back, come hell or high water.  One of his favorite sayings when I was a kid. If you asked the right questions, you got the answer you so desperately were seeking, but that was the tricky part with him.  Knowing what to ask.  Maybe that’s where I got it from. He was a classic from his era.  I remember him at the barbecue years ago.  It was one of those brazier types.  You know the type... round grill, mottled silver wind shade.  He would cook in his khaki colored pants and a white undershirt.  Burgers usually, but every once in a while, steak. He was World War Two vet, a veteran of the tanker wars, on which he sailed.  After the war those Merchant Marine sailors were not considered real vets.  They sailed in service of our country, took fire, and in many cases died for the cause at the hands of Hitler’s U-Boats, but it was not until the Clinton Administration that our government righted a wrong and conferred veteran status on these brave men, but you had to apply for it. He never did.  Too much work, besides, he knew what he did as a bridge officer on those massive ships and didn’t want a fuss made.  Seems old fashioned these days. He wasn’t real good in marriage, probably because he wasn’t a real open guy.  Maybe you have to see the opening of Saving Private Ryan to know why.  Some people have seen stuff so bad they prefer to keep the doors to emotions closed.  It’s safer that way. In all my life I saw him cry only once, when his grandmother died and his brother sang How Great Thou Art at her funeral. But he made me cry a lot.  He was a hard man, sometimes awfully so.  He was from another era.  In his day if you behaved badly, you weren’t sent to time out, you got the crap beat out you... literally, and that was how he raised his kids.  That was how he raised me.   But he had a heart. I remember when he told me he and mom were getting a divorce.  That didn’t happen alot back in the early 1970’s.  I was really broken up and couldn’t stop crying.  As a 13 year old boy, my world was crumbling.  He took me in his arms and held me for hours as I cried, telling me it would be alright.  It was one of the best moments of my life with my dad. Early this morning my dad passed away, on his terms, just as he lived his life.  He was in his house, in his own bed, having avoided the dreaded hospital, nursing home, care center and countless unnecessary doctor bills. As he aged, he mellowed, becoming more reflective and the stories started to come out. Diving from the deck of his tanker off the coast of Iran to cool off in 110 degree days.  Getting his jobs at Union Oil and later the Los Angeles Times.  Working as a candy salesman for his father-in-law.  Fishing trips to the Salton Sea or the Colorado River.   He would sit in his chair and just tell me stuff.  I didn’t even have to ask anymore.  Maybe sensing the end was near, he had no reason to hold back.  But we could also just sit quietly together, content to be in each others company.  That I’ll miss.   Rest in Peace Dad Donald Treat Miller June 9, 1924 - January 31, 2013

Tlayudas Done Right... San Jacinto Amalpas, Oaxaca

The tlayuda sometimes spelled clayuda, is a handmade traditional Mexican dish consisting of a large, thin, crunchy, partially fried or toasted tortilla covered with a spread of refried beans, asiento, lettuce or cabbage, avocado, meat, Oaxacan cheese and salsa. But the above description from Wikipedia is like saying Willie Mays was just a baseball player, Josh Grobin just a singer or Michael Phelps just a swimmer.  They are all technically true, but woefully miss the mark in explaining true greatness. You see, when it’s done right, the traditional tlayuda is more than just a Mexican dish, it is one of the anchors of the gastronomical galaxy known as Oaxaca. The tlayuda is an all star baseball player, an award winning singer and a multiple Olympic gold medal winner all in one.  And if you ever find yourself in Oaxaca, you need to get a taxi right away and head over to Tlayudas San Jacinto. When you arrive the outside is going to worry you if you don’t typically eat off the beaten track in Mexico.  It’s just an opening in a residential area with blue steel doors and a banner that tells you the place has a good, clean atmosphere.  Yet, as soon as you walk in, you realize you are somewhere special, like an enchanted garden.  Lots of greenery, bamboo like plants, umbrellas and a rich almost tropical feel.  It is as if you could sit there all day, and you can because once you walk in, you are treated like family.  There’s even a playground if you bring the kids. The menu is simple and hangs from the ceiling.  Tlayudas.  Pick your topping.  Beef, pork, ribs, skirt steak or eggs from the grill.  Add your drink, soda or beer, and you’re all set. Once we ordered, it took about 15 minutes for our food to arrive. And here’s what you get.  A gigantic fired roasted quesadilla like creation stuffed with cheese, black beans and finished with your desired topping.  I had the eggs, which came perfectly fried hard.  Now, I’ve had lots of tlayudas around Oaxaca, but this one was different, because the tortilla was cooked to perfection. When I picked it up, there was no sag at all.  This wonderful creation was crispy through and through, the result of just the right amount of time over the coals.  The beans were not over the top and there was just the right amount of that great Oaxaca string like cheese, quesillo. Once I added avocado, chepiche, a Oaxacan herb, and a some roasted chile de aqua, it was off the charts wonderful. Now, I’ve got to tell you, this place can be hard to find.  It’s in the Colonia San Jacinto but it is not along the row of the other locations that sell tlayudas.  Look for the San Jacinto signs that call you to this little slice of heaven in Oaxaca and prepare yourself to fall in love with this all star of Oaxacan cuisine, maybe for the first time, or all over again. Tlayudas San Jacinto Colonia San Jacinto Amilpas Calle Benito Juarez #11 Tlayuda and a soda... $6.00 con una cerveza… $8.00

Government Socialism... I'm shocked, shocked I tell ya...

When is Socialism bad? Apparently when it’s the other guys Socialism. Here’s what I mean. Since the day he was elected, President Obama has been pilloried by center right partisans as hell-bent on making America a socialistic third world country, as opposed to the free market capitalistic juggernaut our founding fathers supposedly envisioned. Obama the logic goes, wants to see everyone dependent on government so that the government can control them and save them from their inability to make good and right decisions.  It is his desire, unsaid, but certainly evident as some claim, to crush the rugged individualistic spirit that has defined America for many years and replace it with a governmental “nanny state.” We have been told that if government gets too involved in the lives of the people, freedom will evaporate, we will cease to work hard and then we’ll just take up a chair on the front porch waiting for the next subsidy check to come via the US Mail. When government intervenes fiscally on behalf of the people, instead of the people accepting responsibility for their own lives, this is socialism.  Or so we have been told by many on the conservative right.  We should, at every turn, reject this socialism, because it is bad. But let me ask this… if government aid for the individual, who can just get a job and work hard is socialism, what is government aid to corporations that are reaping record profits at a time when America’s deficit is bursting? If a government handout to an individual causes him or her to not accept the reality of bad decisions in life, don’t corporate subsidies shield businesses across America from the same responsibilities of bad decisions? Why is it that when it comes to defining who is the evil socialist in the room, seemingly only President Barack Obama is guilty? Is it because he, along with President George Bush ordered the US government to intervene on behalf of two corporations, Chrysler and GM, saving them from near certain bankruptcy? Because if subsidizing poorly run corporations is evidence of evil socialism, then surely all of the politicians and Americans decrying the potential end of US Government subsidies for the dairy, farm and petroleum industries would qualify too, wouldn’t they? You see, Americans love socialism, when it benefits them, or more accurately, us. In the recently past Presidential elections, candidate Romney was partially derailed by his famous 47% comments that implied a high percentage of Americans had become takers. My fear is that the percentage is closer to 100% than we care to admit.  To demonize one politician or another, or one class of people over another with the charge of socialism, is just our discomfort with admitting that reality and blatant partisanship, devoid of an attitude that is truly seeking solutions.