Is it okay to post when you feel like crap?

Probably not, but it’s a first for me, so why not give it a spin? I did write once jocularly about gurus getting the flu, but that was in retrospect and not current. Today, I’m in the midst of some attack by an unknown miserable microbe that had me up half the night doing things that need no elaboration. And now, mid morning on Sept. 28, all I want to do is go back to bed. Unfortunately, “sleep” in this condition is infected with microbe-driven Kafka-esque dreams and one sort of kaleidoscopic unpleasantness or another. Skip the nap.

So everything shrinks to mini-reports of news and insights that should be uncorrupted by a slight fever. We’ll see.

Billy Buck

My new novel (see below) is out and getting decent sales and good response. Red Sox fans beware, because my protagonist and voice of the novel, Billy Buck, lays the blame for the 1986 Game Six World Series 10th inning loss to the New York Mets squarely at the immobilized feet of catcher Rich Gedman, missing a “wild pitch” by Bob Stanley that could easily have been stopped had Gedman moved just two lousy inches. As a result, the Mets tied the game and the Sox crumpled as if shot through the heart by the “Curse of the Babe” (Ruth), followed, famously, historically, legendarily, by Bill Buckner’s error at first base a few pitches later that allowed the winning run to score. It was Gedman who blew it through lack of effort; it was Buckner who erred as many an infielder has through the ages.

Billy Buck and Buckner bonded, and not just through their identical nicknames. The baseball story is embedded in the novel, but otherwise it is a journey across the country with forays into the starkly unknown – a man and his two teenage kids confronting profound weirdness.

At nedwhiteboks.net, via Amazon or PayPal

“Wild Thing” singer went weird

Reg Presley, “Wild Thing” lead singer for the Troggs – who also wrote and sang “Love is All Around Us” – took time off from the group in the 1990s to put his time and money into researching crop circles and other weirdities in England. After several years, his conclusion was that many of these circles were not made by humans.

“I don’t believe that crop formation was a hoax. I think somebody was trying to tell us something… the whole thing’s bloody weird.”

Reg in a crop circle. He died in 2012, too soon.

Failure is an option

I have a dry-witted friend who’s a fisherman and clam digger in Massachusetts. Well into his fifties, he was asked one day by another friend, “Joe, when are you going to make something of yourself?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “I hope to become a complete failure.”

So far, he’s short of his goal. He’s building a house not five miles from us, and he’ll be worth reporting on from time to time to see how close he gets to his desired end.

And how was your childhood?

Well, this could be a 300 page book, but let’s cram it into this tiny space here and identify four parenting styles now generally accepted as different ways for kids to be raised. There’s some overlap among them, but you can figure it out. Fascinating stuff.

• Authoritarian: obey my rules, do as I say, toe the line or suffer the consequences. You’re in the Army now…
• Authoritative: this style results in (studies have shown) the best adjusted children. Using authority to direct, encourage, inform, educate. Kids are more confident and competent. This style is widely regarded as the best and most effective.
• Permissive: like, indulgent. Warm and caring, but quite lenient. Some permissive parents seek to be “pals” with their kids. I find this kind of icky.
• Uninvolved. like, disengaged. Indifferent to what the kids are doing, saying, feeling. I’d say, loveless. Boo, bad.

More cool stuff about this at http://theattachedfamily.com/membersonly/?p=2151

I’m familiar enough, as a young sprout, with the first and last of these, and as a parent (I believe) with the second one. But each to his/her own.

A good childhood needs a good breakfast!

This is a repost, but quite popular…

You’d be surprised how many people don’t know this way to cook eggs. They either fry or scramble or poach them or maybe bake them if they’re feeling adventuresome, but if you tell people about steaming them in milk there’s no telling how they’ll react.

These are store-bought eggs, sadly, and not as fresh as I’d like. Our usual fresh egg source wasn’t plowed out at the time I wanted to cook them and photograph them, so I got them at the store and of course they appear a bit wimpy, with spread-out whites.

It’s real simple:

Start with eggs in a hot teflon pan…

I throw in a pat of butter, but you can use oil. Fry them over medium low in a nonstick pan until the whites are about half finished.

I also sprinkle on some fine-grated cheddar, but this is optional.

… add some milk…

You only need about a quarter cup – you don’t want to drown them! The milk actually adds some richness of flavor to the eggs.

… cover loosely…

When the milk bubbles up, throw on a loose cover of some sort, and keep your eye on the clock. It only takes a minute or two over medium low heat.

… the milk steams the eggs! No flipping!

I throw on some cayenne pepper, because my wife likes it too. See the nice milky coating on the top of the egg? Delicious! Serve on toast, English muffins, with sausage, bacon, whatever…

More later after my recovery. Thanks for reading.

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