SCRATCHING FOR A LIVING

Today, millions of turkeys are consumed in the U.S.A.; it wasn't always so.

One of my cousins married a turkey farmer and they literally had to "scratch out a living," until post WWII turkey breeding became profitable.

There were three reasons for little or no profit. Number one was that annual turkey consumption per capita was just three pounds! Number two reason was that turkey was eaten only during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Number three reason was that distribution was local, to individuals like my mother, or at farmer's markets.

Post WWII breeding changes produced larger birds, with today's per capita consumption at twenty three pounds! Dear wife frequently buys a six pound turkey breast and we enjoy many delicious meals from it.

I recall one time that consumption was a disaster. During WWII, my ship came into port for refueling and restocking. It was Thanksgiving time and the captain invited guests for a turkey dinner. The crew ate all of the turkey, leaving none for the captain and his guests. The captain was so d--- mad that he had the quarantine flag hoisted and we lost two days of liberty. Not funny, Magee!!

So, dear reader, "gobble up" your well-bred turkey to keep the per capita consumption high.

More, later.

P.S. I got the apple pie!

APPLE PIE

Each of you must have a favorite dessert; mine is apple pie.

It seems that in every generation within a family, there are "dessert specialists." My mother was a cake baker, her sister Sarah was a baker of fruit pies, and her sister Ellen made the world's tastiest key lime pie. Dear Wife has a reputation as a baker extraordinaire, both within and without the family circle.

At home, mother served apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese. This might have been a custom brought from Ireland. To this day, that is my preference. My Chicago granddaughter sent me this verse as a reminder:

BUT I, WHEN I UNDRESS ME
EACH NIGHT, UPON MY KNEES
WILL ASK THE LORD TO BLESS ME
WITH APPLE PIE AND CHEESE. (E. Field)

A recent news article asked, "IS CHEESE ON APPLE PIE REQUIRED BY LAW (in restaurants) ?" The answer is NO, although there once was a Wisconsin law that required a serving of butter and cheese with each meal, (a reasonable request in the Dairy State, wouldn't you say?). That law became Wisconsin's first sunset law.

I'm sure, dear reader, that when Dear Wife reads this blog she'll go straight to the kitchen and bake me a you-know-what. Oh, fortunate me!

More, later.

SHOES

"Mom, there's a knife in one of them." Sure enough, the calf-length winter shoes had an outside pocket sown on one leg and in that pocket was a shiny knife. Wow!

During the Great Depression years, shoes had to last a long, long time as a major item in the family budget. Broken laces? No problem, Mom sewed them together. Hole in the sole? No problem, Dad glued a 25 cent rubber replacement. So, dear reader, you can see why new shoes WITH A POCKET KNIFE were a big deal to me.

Speaking of big deals, did you read a recent Washington Post National Weekly article about President Lincoln's boots? On the bicentennial of his birth, the examiner, M. A Caranacchi, said, "No other garment that we wear retains such an imprint of the person who wore it."

Another recent article quoted a woman who had just received a $600 bonus and said, "I'm going to spend it all on shoes!!" What is it that drives people (women?) to excess when it comes to shoes? The late president of the Philippines, Imelda Marcus, had SEVERAL THOUSAND PAIRS OF SHOES and bragged about it, while the majority of her people were going shoeless.

Want shoes to be a big deal in your life? Let your next shoe purchase be for a person in need of same.

More, later.

LIGHTS OUT

It's true. The soap opera GUIDING LIGHT is dead!!

On September 19, 2009, the lights on the show, conceived by Irna Phillips, for radio in 1937, went out after playing 15,000 episodes on radio and television, a span of 72 years. If my Aunt Jerrie were still alive, this would have been a disaster.

When my widowed auntie retired, having spent all of her adult life in the nursing profession, she went to live with her sister Sarah. Living in a homey atmosphere for the first time in many years, she found the operas to be so relaxing and appealing, they became the focal point of her day. Her calendar appointments were made so as not to interfere with the shows, and it would take an event of major importance to get her away from the "tube."

Our family had a favorite radio serial show called ONE MAN'S FAMILY. We lived each week with Henry Barbour, his wife and five children who lived in San Francisco, agonizing with them over decisions - right or wrong. This show became the longest running radio serial show, beginning in 1932 and ending in 1959.

The state of Wisconsin Historical Society has become the depository for the Phillips and Proctor & Gambel Foundation (corporate sponsor) papers. Stop in to get a glimpse of Americana of old because you will not find it on your Blackberry!

More, later.