WORLD HISTORY: Typos and trivia in a history textbook

I just finished editing a textbook on world history since the end of World War II. It was an interesting and mostly well-written project, but I caught quite a few mistakes missed by the spell-checking program. Two examples: "NFL" instead of "NLF" (for the National Liberation Front in North Vietnam) and "libation theology" instead of "liberation theology."
I had to give the author credit, though for the use of the word "pell-mell," which you just don't hear anymore. It means rapid and darting. He used it to describe the past few decades of economic development in China.
Naturally in a book of this type, the names of many world leaders were given, and I checked the spelling of each on line. I found out that along with capsule bios, Wikipedia also gives the height of prominent people. Did you know that Nikita Khrushchev was only five-foot-three? And Iranian politician Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is only five-foot-two?

TALKBACK: Aiken has a hyper-local columnist, too

A West Marlborough friend who is in South Carolina for the winter sent me a copy of the "TalkBack" column from the "Aiken Standard" newspaper. I had to laugh at how familiar it sounds: the writer opines about dog mess in the park, illegal parking in handicapped spots, gender discrimination in golfing tournament fees (the men are charged more than the women!), and the correct placement of surveillance cameras. One item, however, was definitely jarring: the writer wonders what she should do if she comes home and finds her ailing, elderly mother dead: "She is not a hospice candidate, and calling an ambulance seems pointless."

HOOD'S UPDATE: They're making good progress

Four construction guys were hard at work this frigid morning at Hood's BBQ when we stopped by for our breakfast sandwiches. The outside renovations are done and now they're working on the inside. Larry Jr. told us that he hopes the project will be done in March and they'll be able to move back inside from the trailer where they've been doing business.
As cold as it was today, when the wind stopped howling there were actually a few nice moments -- like when I was standing out in the dogs' yard with a pit bull snuggled against my leg and the warm sun on my face. Two days in a row I've spotted a hawk, with his feathers all puffed up for warmth, sitting on the same fence line along Route 842 near the Stone Barn.

SOLDIER JAM: Second annual music fest features great local bands

Davey Dickens asked me to give a mention to the second annual Soldier Jam, the music fest he is producing (and performing in) at Thorncroft Therapeutic Riding Center, 190 Line Rd., Malvern from 4 to 10 p.m. March 28. Performers are Hezekiah Jones, Mason Porter, The Griz Band, Manatawny Creek Ramblers, Tin Bird Choir, Kevin Killen, Ted the Fiddler and Hellsaddle. Admission is $25, $10 for veterans with ID. Tickets are available through www.frenchandpickering.org.
Davey, an Army veteran and fishing guide, writes that all proceeds will go toward building "an all-access dock and recreation area in the French Creek Watershed. This will allow for Veterans in wheelchairs to fish in a private wooded setting and also we will be constructing outdoor counseling areas to provide an area for Veterans to receive therapy outside of the walls and restrictions of hospitals."

WINTER FIXES: A hack for fruit that's reluctant to ripen

In the summer, fruit ripens too quickly, and seemingly overnight you have a surfeit of black bananas sitting on the counter, suitable only for smoothies or banana bread. In the winter, just the opposite: my avocados and kiwis just sit there and simply refuse to ripen.
I looked online and found an answer: put the stubborn fruit in a brown paper bag with a banana, and close the bag. It works! Within a couple of days, the fruits were perfectly ripe.
I still haven't come up with an answer for a few other chilly-house irritants though, like toothpaste and lip balm that want to stay in their tubes.
But looking on the bright side, the chilly indoor temps are keeping my paperwhites in bloom and fragrant for much longer than usual (I spotted two stink bugs nestled in a blossom the other day).

HALF-MOON: Lunch with a view from the top

A friend and I had a nice lunch today at the Half-Moon, upstairs in their roof-top dining area. The wind was howling around and, because we were at tree-top level, we got a great view of the bare branches whipping to and fro and the clouds zipping across the blue sky. Plus upstairs was the warmest spot in the restaurant and the heat was blowing right on us. Delightful!

AVONDALE: A new health-food store, bakery and juice bar opens its door

Avondale Natural Foods, a new health-food store, bakery, café, and juice bar, opened in Avondale on Monday, Jan. 26. You'll recognize the manager, Art, who used to run the now-closed Spring Run health-food store on Route 1. As soon as I walked in he gave me a hearty welcome and enthusiastically pointed out the shop's features, like the organic produce, the café and the fresh-baked bread (Elon is the baker).
The store, located in in a renovated bank building, is well stocked and carries everything you'd expect: snacks, soup, coffee, tea, pasta, baking ingredients, jellies and nut butters, vitamins, personal care items, "green" cleaning products, frozen food, nuts, berries, juices, grains, and lots more. I even found the coconut oil that I'm going to use in a recipe for "healthy fudge brownies" that Barbie Vannote shared.
I bought a round loaf of sourdough bread, and it was wonderful.
The store's juice bar/café offers coffee, green "shots," juices, smoothies, chili, soup, sandwiches and salads. You can even eat at a table in the old bank vault, which has a wonderfully ornate metal door.
The store is at 122 Pennsylvania Avenue (Route 41), next to the Avondale post office. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

REST IN PEACE: A fate that no one could have foreseen

I just got word that a guy in my high-school class died in December in the wake of long-term mental health issues. It's so completely senseless. Bill was a funny, nice, smart, gregarious fellow; we first became friends in junior high because his locker was next to mine. He wrote in my yearbook that it was nice to have me as a friend even though we were in rival academic sections (I was 8-1; he was 8-2).
It's hard to believe he's gone, and so sad to think of the years of suffering he and his family must have gone through.
I paged through our high-school yearbook after I heard about his death. One photo shows him in calculus class standing with his arms raised like a monster and grinning at the photographer. He's wearing a tie; probably it was the day of a sports competition. Other photos show him competing on the rings and the parallel bars.
And in the most ironic photo, he's sitting amidst the ivy on the ground of our "senior court" with another classmate, Beth. According to the caption, they would be remembered for telling the worst jokes of anyone in our class. And now both of them are dead, in their mid-50s.

THE LADEENS: Irish music played by two high-school students

This afternoon we went to West Grove Friends Meeting to hear Irish music played by two local high-school boys, the Ladeens. Alex Weir (on fiddle) and Keegan Loesel (on the uilleann pipes) are really talented: they traveled to Sligo, Ireland, this past August to compete in the Irish Music International Competition.
I had never before seen, or heard of, the uilleann pipes (pronounced "illin"), and Keegan was good enough to explain how the instrument works. It's a lot like a bagpipe, but instead of lung power it uses a bellows controlled with one elbow. The sucked-in air expands a reservoir, which the musician controls with the other elbow-- all the while playing complicated tunes on the vertical flute part. (It reminded me a little of the pectoral machine at the gym.)
The Ladeens' website is theladeens.com, and there are some videos of their performances on YouTube videos.

FOOTBALL: Pregame preparations for Sunday's "Big Game"

I am not much of fan of watching sports on TV, but it's hard to miss the fact that some manner of major sporting/cultural event is coming up Feb. 1. It's amusing that advertisements have to refer to it as something like "The Big Game"; even though everybody knows what is meant, apparently the contest's "real" name is trademarked by its owner, all rights reserved.
Anyhow, at the Kennett Giant today, I overheard a fellow on his phone, and I suspect he was making preparations for his own "Big Game" party.
"OK, so are they big beer drinkers?" he asked the person on the other end.

PANTOMIME: Because two Dames are always better than one

This year's Kennett Amateur Theatrical Society pantomime represented the height of silliness -- which means, of course, that it was a completely delightful evening.
"Comedy of Errors and Pirates," written and directed by Chris Ramsey, was KATS's 14th annual production but the first to feature TWO dames. Yes, believe it or not, the producers located another local man, in addition to Kirk Fetters, willing to don indescribably over-the-top women's clothing and wigs. Both Kirk and Mike Ferry totally rocked their roles as the Widows Twanky. I loved the rainbow-striped socks and workboots they both wore (I was going to say "matching," but that word is wholly inappropriate in this context), the flouncy tulle petticoat that Kirk jettisoned during one scene ("It was coming off anyway") as well as the Unionville Community Fair "Best of Show" ribbon that adorned one of Kirk's wigs.
When the Dames sashayed out into the audience at one point, their eyes fell on an audience member named Dave. He got ample attention from both as they tried to arrange a rendezvous with him "after the show."
Part of the fun of the Panto is the audience participation, like booing the bad guys and singing the "silly song." The family next to us was new to the tradition, but within just a few scenes the two kids were hollering at the fiendish, plotting privateers and giving them a vigorous thumb's down. Speaking of the privateers, during intermission we were peacefully chatting and enjoying refreshments in the cafeteria when they descended out of nowhere, wielding their swords, and ordered us back into the auditorium. The nerve!
There is always a Children's Chorus in the Panto, and this year the kids played sneaky, scruffy-looking pickpockets. They were simply too adorable to boo at. I'm always captivated by the little ones whose energy knows no bounds and who don't appear to have a shy bone in their body.
The plot of the Panto was ridiculously convoluted, as always, and involved two twin brothers named Antipholus (played by Beth Holladay and Hadley Ramsey), raised by two twin sisters (the Twankeys), who were separated at an early age. You can imagine the mix-ups that ensue when the Jersey Antipholus/Twankey duo show up in New Castle, home of the New Castle Antipholus and Twankey, but all is resolved in the final scene. As it always is.
We loved the show, and thank everyone who was involved in putting on this wonderful production!