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The Class of ‘76 Jay Kerner Publisher/Reunion Goer
It’s been forty years since I graduated from high school. The class of 1976 will gather to celebrate this summer and I’ll be there for most of the shenanigans. And for two different schools. I grew up a north-sider, all the way through freshman year at Lafayette. Then the parental units drug me kicking and screaming to Central when they moved to the other side of town. After I got over my childish crap (yeah, right!), I loved it at Central, too. I still have bunches of friends from both schools and have always felt a weird split loyalty. So I hope to see as many as I can from both, this summer. As a semi-professional observer of our species, these are opportunities you just can’t pass up. A chance to sit back and take in the human theater all around you. Everyone exchanging the 30 second versions of their lives that they practiced in their heads on the way to the event. The things to emphasize. The things to gloss over. The things to not mention. Practiced answers to anticipated awkward questions. Some of the stories are amazing! Many of our classmates have achieved fabulous heights in their fields. We’re well-represented in Medicine and Law. Business and the Arts. It used to be that reunions were the only time I saw many of these people, (even some who live here in town.) Social media has changed all that. I may still see these folks in person only every 5 or 10 years, but now I see their lives scroll by on Facebook as they unfold. And I started thinking about how it’s not unlike the reunions themselves. Snapshots of the highlights and milestones in your life and your children’s. And now, your grandchildren’s. Plus pictures of your cat. Some people share their low points too, occasionally in graphic detail. Others skip the details but let their friends know when thoughts and prayers are needed. Virtual condolences are exchanged. It used to be at the reunion get-togethers, where you couldn’t help noticing how everyone was aging. Waistlines and hairlines, expanding and receding. Now, we see it all in nearly real time, wherever we all are in the world, and can respond to every salon visit with the click of the like button. (If we like.) It’s not much on the human engagement scale, but it’s something, I guess. I’ll be curious to see how we do without Facebook between us when we’re forced to try communicating face to face instead. Where we can’t edit before we post. Can we still talk to each other without emojis? Reunions are reflective as a matter of course, and I started thinking, prior to starting this piece, about who we are, the Class of ’76? Like stacking our lives in layers, one above the other, and looking for the overlap. Because that’s pretty much who we are as a group, right? Keep in mind, none of these attributes belong to every one of us. We’re all individuals, living our crazy individual lives as we do, but like I say… there’s plenty of overlap. #1 Overall, I think we’re fitter at our age than previous generations. We’re more active than they were. We ride bikes and motorcycles. We
run rapids. We walk and jog and garden, and go to the gym. Good for us! #2 We’re reproducers! Kids and grand-kids out the wazoo. Some of us started before graduation! Many more of us probably just as easily could have. (Admittedly, a few of those are probably still inflating in memory, their one and only trip to second base. With their cousin.) Some of us have older children and mobs of older grandchildren. Some of us have reproduced much more recently, and mark my words, at least one of us isn’t done yet! (Won’t be me. The Queen had me fixed.) But somebody. Remember who said it. On the tragic side though, too many of us have had to endure losing children. I can’t imagine worse than that, and am typing one handed as I furiously knock wood with the other. #3 We’re caregivers. We’re still parenting our kids, some of us are parenting grandkids, but now we’re parenting our parents, too, who themselves are dropping with increasing regularity. We’re dealing with the aftermath of those mounting losses and cleaning out our childhood homes. This is difficult territory, but we’re figuring it out. #4 My extremely informal poll shows our class to be below the national average in divorce rate for some reason. (Though a few among us seem intent on skewing the numbers all by themselves.) Our parents’ generation was the spike in that demographic, and maybe some of our marriages stay together because of all the broken homes we came from. Whatever the reason, we’re sticker-outers, and that’s almost always good. #5 I think most of us have finally gotten over ourselves. We’re pretty much, who we are now. Not who our mamas wanted us to be or who we set out to be as kids. Not even who we told ourselves we were. For most of us, the real us has emerged. Took longer for some than others, but we know who we are now and what we care about. We’re putting our energies into those things and less into everything else. I really like that about us! Oh yeah, and I like that we’re still doing things. We’re still trying things. We’re pissed that our music is on the oldies station, but proud that our kids like much of it, (and also that we like some of theirs too.) So we’ll finish by wishing happy reunions to everyone getting together this summer, whatever the school or class. And I’ve got a deal for you if I see you at mine. If you refrain from poking me in the belly like the Pillsbury Doughboy, I promise not to tease you about your bald spots and comb-overs. Fellas, this goes double for you! And fair warning, I’ve got a color close-up from my colonoscopy, right here in my back pocket. And I’m whipping that baby out at the first word about your operation!
Dear Joe,
I’m Jackie Ross, a candidate for Circuit Court Judge Division II, and I will host a campaign event Thursday, July 14th at The Cabbage Roll, 2641 Lafay-
ette from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It will be a family-friendly event and the public is invited to attend. We will be sampling some of our Hosts’ finest cuisine; if you have never eaten here this is a great time to start; you will be back. For $20.00 you can have a belly full of joy- German Food at it’s finest and the most scrumptious desserts in town. We will have some drawings for baskets for those old and young. This will be a casual event, and a good opportunity to welcome potential supporters. Our goal is to get people talking and thinking about the August primary, and we very much want to be a part of that conversation. To make reservations for the meal, please contact Andy or Larry at the Cabbage Roll, at 233-4444. You can attend without a reservation, but you may not be able to eat, AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS FOOD. Contact me, Jackie Ross at (816) 294-1130 with any questions.
Dear Joe, For the fourth year, AFL-CIO Community Services is hosting a month-long Christmas in July FUNdraiser, to raise money for the many programs supported by AFL-CIO Community Services. Last year, more than 100 people helped to raise more than $9,700 by partici-
The Regular Joe
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pating in events throughout the month of July. Please attend one of the many Christmas in July events. The funds raised during these events all filter directly back into the programs of AFL-CIO Community Services. None of the donations leave the St. Joseph area and the funds will be used to help your neighbors who are in need. We promise attendees will have FUN! A full list of events and dates can be found below. Christmas in July Sale – July 7 – We save the good stuff for one night of can’t-be-beat bargains in the Community Clothes Closet. 4:30 to 7 p.m., 1203 N. 6th St. Trivia Night – July 16 at Green Acres Ballroom– Come test your knowledge at our holiday-themed trivia contest. Mustangs Christmas Extravaganza – July 23 – Pub Crawl & Scavenger Hunt – July 30 – For more information, please call AFL-CIO Community Services Executive Director Penny Adams or Marketing & Fund Development Coordinator Nichi Yeager 364-1131.
Hollywood Boom Operator
at East Hills’ “Dooley Room” July 15th I remember the very first adventure that I ever undertook was in St. Joe, Missouri. It must have been a wonderful day for my mother, as I remember her smiling, giggling, and joking more than usual. At the time I didn’t understand the concept and ramifications of adventures, I just kept holding on to what was important to me; my mom’s blouse. It was 1960. I was four. And she had just dropped me off at the First Presbyterian Church on 7th and Jules Street for preschool. I guess an afternoon away from me was just what she needed. We had just come from a delicious hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes at Herman’s Drug Store on Frederick. That morning I had explored the treasures that laid amongst the many floors of Townsend & Wall. She had picked out fabrics for furniture, while I played with the home accessories and tested the flexibility of the seat cushions. We were a great team. My mother was a well known interior designer, and I was her baby boy. “Little Bobby Maxfield” they would call me. I became insecure about the whole Bobby thing, so I started going by Bob in high school. In college my best buddies and I gave each other nicknames. There was Jamin for Benjamin, Tomo for Tamasi, Hump for Humphreys, and Stubs for Stubbers. Mine became Max. Back at preschool I was apparently unhappy, because for years I had nightmares about standing in the corner bawling while all of my toddler mates watched me with silly looks of, “Who the heck is the new wimpy kid?”. “He’s messing up story time”, they would say as I cried uncontrollably. “Don’t you understand I seriously miss my mommy!”, I would shout back. They obviously didn’t understand the delight of a hot beef lunch with mom. I tried to stay with Bob, as I knew it was a nice friendly name, but when I got into the film business there were just too many people on set named Bob. Every 5 minutes someone was calling out, “Bob!”. Nobody wants to get called out on a film set, especially a boom operator, as it’s usually a signal that you’ve probably done something wrong. So, I enlisted my olé nickname, Max. On mistake prone days, I feel like changing it back to Bob. I didn’t completely abandon my given name Robert, it has worked nicely in a business setting, but Max better tells
the complex story about what I’ve been through over the last 55 years. Since my early adventures as Bobby I have compiled a list of travels and travails enviable by even Marco Polo. I guess I got what I asked for, as I spent many a school hour daydreaming about going to places far away, and doing unusual activities that connected me with amazing people. Since my days at Eugene Field Elementary I have imagined myself on a stage in front of a microphone speaking about the truths I’ve discovered in the world. Since the speech tournaments I competed in at Central High School, I have embraced the recognition that comes from a great presentation. And now I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent an entire adulthood working with some of the greatest storytellers of our day. I guess having a career that involves waving a microphone around in famous people’s
faces hasn’t been so…inappropriate. Over thirty five years of radio, TV, and filmmaking has taken me to places around the country and world, where I have been privileged enough to work with over 30 award winning writers, directors, producers, and actors. I have worked on Twister, Mission Impossible III, Rush Hour III, Four Christmases, The Walking Dead, and many other Hollywood productions. It has been a long and arduous journey that has provided me with an unlimited source of great stories, like the times I worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Shirley MacLaine, Hillary Swank, Diane Keaton, Adrian Lynne, J.J.Abrams, and many others. I would like to share some of these memories with you. My 40 year class reunion is coming up the weekend of July 15th through the 17th, and it’s exciting for me to be invited by Greg Hatten, the reunion organizer, to share my adventures with the public. We are gathering in The Dooley Room at the East Hills Mall on Friday night at 6pm. There will be beverages and appetizers. I suspect it will be a lively group of people as most of the attendees will be there to see old friends from Central and other schools. I’ll have a slideshow playing with all of my best photos from behind the scenes of The Walking Dead, where I spent four years as the Boom Operator. I will ask you for your best questions, and probably have some cool stories to go with the answers. If you really want to attend you will have to RSVP to Greg Hatten immediately, as space is limited. His email is greg.hatten@gmail.com Can’t wait to shake your hand, Bobby, Bob, Robert, Max Maxfield Editor’s note: We were frankly, dissapointed, that Bob failed to mention The Operation, (the 3 minute Super 8 project that was our high school film debut together), in his list of movie and tv credits. Shot in his Dad’s Animal Clinic after hours, it remains a contraversial and rarely seen cult classic.
St. Joseph Live Music Highlights First Saturdays Downtown Brent Isom Live at The Tiger’s Den 519 Felix Saturday, July 2 at 4 PM
Eagles Lodge N. Belt Hwy. Live Country Music Most Saturday Nights
Felix Street Square 8th & Felix
July 3 - Imagine Eleven, Neely July 8 - “Sounds of Summer” - Swift Kik (left) July 10 - Imagine Eleven, Under the Big Oak Tree July 15 - “Sounds of Summer” Flannigan’s Right Hook sponsored by Ancient Order of Hibernians) July 17 - Imagine Eleven, Moonlight Serenade Orchestra July 22 - “Sounds of Summer” - Oxymoron July 24 - Imagine Eleven, Adelaide July 29 - “Sounds of Summer” Tequila Mockingbird July 31 - Imagine Eleven - 5 Star Band
Fri 7/1 Mike “Supe Granda (left) Sat 7/2 Yunguniel/Jorge Arana Trio Mon 7/4 Gastown Lamps Tues 7/5 The Motors Thurs7/7 Bill Hoffman Fri 7/8 Dixie Union w/Teddy Paxson Sat 7/9 The Motors Sun 7/11 Amalgam Jazz Wed 7/13 The Motors Thurs 7/14 Colby Walter Fri 7/15 JD Summers Band w/ Danny Rice Sat 7/16 TBA Thurs 7/21 Jeff Lux Fri 7/22 Mike Wright & the Wrongs Sat 7/23 Leveetown Thurs7/28 Jason Riley Fri 7/29 TBA Sat 7/30 TBA
“93” Flood Exhibit at Wyeth-Tootle Kenneth L. Kieser I once tried to swim the Missouri River on a warm spring day when water currents were swift and the river level was high. My two high school chums and I, all strong swimmers made it to the middle before unspeakably strong currents grabbed our then skinny bodies and washed us downstream. We were caught in the Mighty Missouri’s power and only could go with the flow. Currents finally pushed our exhausted bodies to a rocky shoreline two miles downstream. So I already had great respect for the Missouri River when 1993 news reports spoke of big water coming and probable flooding. I spent two evenings in Parkville, Missouri stacking sandbags to stop the approaching flood. We were shocked two days later when river water flowed about eight feet over our great piles of sandbags, flooding numerous shops and local businesses. Many items were left in stores because of the flood’s frightening speed. I knew several conservationists from Washington, D.C. at the time and was asked to forward flood damage pictures to them for Congress to view. I rode in boats with policemen and firemen for countless hours over a twoweek period and snapped several hundred Kodachrome 64 slide shots, our best color saturation in the days before high definition or digital photography existed. I never heard if Congress viewed my photos. What Caused the Flood: Few of us knew what caused this massive deluge. Mike Thompson, Chief Meteorologist for Fox-4, WDAF-TV in Kansas City explained: “Many factors led to the 1993 flood,” Thompson said. “Mount Pinatubo, an equatorial volcano in the Philippines erupted the year before and spewed enough ash into the stratosphere to cool the entire globe for about four years. That year we had a lot of rain in June, but even more in July. El Nino threw moisture in the jet stream, contributing to 1993’s heavy rains and the flood. ” Loss: The end result was: over 500 counties affected by this deluge and nine Midwestern states were declared disaster areas. Hundreds of secondary roads and a few major highways and airports would close. The Midwest had 17,000 square miles flooded and over 30,000 jobs were lost. The flood damage in croplands would eventually drive up world food prices and the total damage caused by the great flood of 1993 would total over 20 billion dollars with at least 10,000 homes destroyed and 50-lives lost. Railroad traffic in the Midwest stopped, resulting in over $300 million dollars in losses. Over 75 towns or cities were partly or completely flooded. St. Louis and adjacent towns received flood waters from both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The Book: Mike Bushnell, owner of Northeast Publishing—Kansas City approached me years later with an idea to create a 20th anniversary book about the 1993 flood. I added stories from up and down the river with my photos and “Missouri’s Great Flood of “93”—Revisiting an Epic Natural Disaster,” was soon finished. The Kodachrome 64 slides thankfully held their integrity and transferred nicely to the book. An Idea That Grew: I approached Sara Wilson and Sara Elder, of the St. Joseph Museum with a few blown-up photos from my book a couple of years later. Ms. Wilson and I spent the next year planning an exhibit, but I had no idea how far this lady would go. My idea of exhibiting a few pictures turned into a huge major project.
Soon we were having meetings with her talented staff. Idea upon idea started forming to educate the public about the 1993 flood and other floods. An amazing sand display, words and pictures now fill the WyethTootle Mansion’s top floor. The 1993 Flood Exhibit: The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, of the St. Joseph Museum group will host “Confluence: The Great Flood of 1993.” for three years. The historical exhibit will be a permanent fixture for the mansion that addresses the flood’s physical, economic, and social effects on St. Joseph and the surrounding area. I am proud to say that parts of these displays are based on my book that includes five chapters from the St. Joseph region, including many close calls and disasters. The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion is located at 1100 Charles Street, St. Joseph, Missouri. Admission is $6 for adults $5 for seniors, and $4 for students between the ages of 7 and 18. Children under six and Museum Members are admitted free. Kieser’s book is available at Hastings, the Wyeth—Tootle Mansion, Barnes and Nobles and from Northeast publishing—Kansas City.
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Complete Dell and Gateway Desktop Systems $129
Ruth Warrick Exhibit Now Open! Fame & Politics: The Life of Ruth Warrick exhibit is open at the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, 1100 Charles Street. In films, St. Joseph, Missouri, born actress Ruth Warrick will indelibly be referred to as the first “Mrs. Citizen Kane.� As a television actress, she will forever be synonymous with her character of Phoebe Tyler Wallingford, the wealthy, viper-tongued, manipulative, and often meddlesome Pine Valley grande dame who held court for 35 years. But she was more than that. Ruth Warrick led an amazing life. The story of her career, philanthropy, and political activism will be told in a new exhibit at the WyethTootle Mansion, which will open on what would have been her 100th birthday. Funding for the Fame & Politics: The Life of Ruth Warrick exhibit was provided by the Missouri Humanities Council. The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday from April 1 through October 29, 2016. The regular admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $4 for students ages 7 to 18. Children six and under, as well as Museum Members are admitted free of charge. Group tours of the mansion are available by appointment year-round. In addition to tours, the mansion can also serve as a special event or meeting venue. For additional information on exhibits or to schedule a group tour or an event, please call (816) 232-8471 or e-mail sjm@stjosephmuseum.org.
Mug Shots If you see anyone you know, tell them you saw their mug in The Regular Joe! Drive-In shots by George Denniston. Bottom shot from Parties on the Parkway..
Eating a pH Diet for Health You might call acid and alkaline the yin and yang of eating, and, in fact, they operate in a homeostatic balance, but that balance is tipped in favor of the alkaline for optimal health. Every food we eat digests into either an acid or alkaline “ash,” which is actually a final liquid form ready for absorption into the bloodstream, which transports the nutrients into every cell of our bodies. It might surprise you that some foods that taste alkaline (neutral) such as cottage cheese become acid in their final form, and those that taste acidic like lemons, become alkaline. Why is this important to know? Because the body operates best in an alkaline environment, measured by a value called pH in a range from 0 to 14, with anything below 6.9 being acid and anything above 7.1 being alkaline. The pH of our blood rests in a narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45 and the body will do everything it can to maintain this value, even leaching alkaline minerals from the bones if it has to. When we eat primarily acid-forming foods (most animal products, grains like wheat and corn and all processed foods), it overworks the digestive system, leading to inflammation, bloating and gas. Acidity places a heavy burden on the kidneys and liver, making these important organs use extra minerals to buffer the effect of eliminating acidic residues. Inflammation,as you might have read, has been implicated in nearly every chronic condition such as arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Alkaline foods (most vegetables and fruits, although there are exceptions) are much easier to digest and therefore keep inflammation at bay. Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson, co-authors of two popular books on eating alkaline, suggest a ratio of eating 70 percent alkaline to 30 percent acid. They emphasize the fact that we don’t have to give up some of our favorite acid-forming foods, just make sure that we’re eating lots of alkaline foods to buffer their effect. In their books, Honestly Healthy for Life and Eating the Alkaline Way, Corrett and Edgson provide detailed charts on the range of acid and alkaline foods, plus recipes that keep acidity and alkalinity in balance. The alkaline approach to eating can work for any diet, from vegan to paleo. It’s all about the overall pH of the food we’re eating which keeps our bodies in balance. The next time you prepare or sit down to a meal think pH D (alkaline diet) and you just might graduate with a diploma in good health! --James Fly Holistic Health Coach jamesfly.51@gmail.com 816-248-1656
Fat Biking in Boston Shannon Bond
We didn’t plan for this to be a cycling trip. It was actually a work trip that I happened to be on with a fellow adventurer. We were just outside of Portland Maine, so we figured we would be able to break away for some short hiking on the Appalachian trail. I’m not an avid hiker, but I probably would be if bikes hadn’t been invented. The Appalachian Trail seems to call to you when you’re near it, even if it takes an hour and a half to get there for a few hours of hiking. We managed to get 3.5 miles of pretty challenging climb, on and around the Old Speck Trail. But, when we got back to work the next day, it had only fueled our desire for more. As fate would have it, we stumbled across an awesome bike shop in Portland called All Speed Cyclery and Snow. The folks working there were super friendly and had a ton of rental bikes. When I asked about singletrack in the area though, they just shook their heads, but assured us that there was so much open land with connectable trail systems that we would easily fill a day or more with two wheeled goodness. While we were excited to ride in Maine, it wasn’t meant to be. We weren’t able to duck out of our reservations in Boston, but my mental wheels were turning. So the search for rentals in Boston began. If we couldn’t rip through the Maine countryside, maybe we could find some urban adventure. It turns out that that bikes are big in Boston. Without any trouble at all, I had a shop on the line. And, before I realized what I had done, I had two fat bikes lined up for a day of adventure. Why fat bikes in the city? Why not? I wanted to find trails, ride on the shore line, and explore parts unknown. And, fat biking in Boston sounded unique. When we got to the Urban AdvenTours shop, we were met by another friendly staff (everyone on the upper east coast seems to be friendly). They were a little mystified by the fat bike rentals but happy to oblige. A couple of fat bikes were wheeled out for us. One of them, a Reid, looked brand new. The mechanic told me that he couldn’t remember either bike being rented before. Apparently there isn’t a huge demand for fat bikes in Boston. I assured him that we would put them to good use. After a quick loop around the block to adjust the essentials like seat height and position, we were off. First, we tooled through traffic, getting the feel for the city and the new bikes. We ended up at a Beer Works
just outside of Fenway Park, so naturally, after sampling the local fair, we had to do the bike lean under a Fenway sign. Then, without really planning it, we were off to the beach. We didn’t know that Boston had such a thriving beach scene. That’s the beauty of seeing the world by bike. You aren’t separated by a windshield, as you explore, you become part of the landscape. The beach goers were amazed by our ability to ride across the sand with our giant tires. Our next leg took us on a long tour of South Boston and Boston Harbor. Some of the highlights were the South Boston World War II memorial, The James Blake House (oldest house in Boston), the New England Fish Exchange, and the South Boston Flats. As we were exploring, we stopped for some wheelie time on one of the small docks. Fat bikes aren’t fast and they may feel sluggish in traffic, but with their huge footprint, they are great at staying upright on one wheel or two. There were some amazing sights as we buzzed through traffic, feeling sorry for the folks trapped in their four wheeled prisons. The pedestrians were free to move about, but they couldn’t cover nearly the ground we could. We found the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum on the harbor, an outdoor market, watched some amazing street performers and walked through the surreal and emotionally charged holocaust memorial. By the end of our long Boston ride, we ended up at Cheers (one of the originals anyway). Boston had a lot more to offer than we imagined. I’m sure we would have seen even more if we had done a little planning. As it was, we probably rode at least 30 miles and felt like we experienced the city. From now on, when visiting a city, I think the first thing I will look for is a bike rental. Cyclists know that it’s the best way to get around and still experience the culture. This is especially true in a busy city with a rich history to explore.
Two Girls and some Leafy Greens We asked two of our funniest,favoritest people to give us different takes on the same item. I know, I know. I hear you, “Kale is bitter 2-4-1: Kale Chips (Starts Kale Chips: and tastes like dirt.” I agree, but I swear when Spreadthe kale salad in a single layer on paired with onions and bacon and piled on the with Marinated Kale Salad!) teflex sheets in the dehydrator with a little original recipe by Val Jacobson, Goode Food Nutritionist
extra dressing and lot’s of the seeds. Sprinkle with extra diced hot peppers, if you like um spicy! Dehydrate at 115 degrees until crispy. Remove chips from dehydrator, allow to cool, bag and freeze for crisp storage. (If you can stop yourself form eating them all!) :)
Kale on the Grill? by Shawn Murphy
Salad: 1 to 2 large bunches of kale (any variety) 1/4 to 1/2 of a very ripe pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces Dressing: juice from the pineapple (substitute organic pineapple nectar, in a pinch) 1/2 cup sprouted raw pumpkin seeds 1 to 2 TBS lemon, lime or orange juice 2 TBS Nama Shoyu (Raw Soy Sauce) or 1 TBS Braggs Aminos 1/4 cup unrefined pumpkin, walnut or sunflower oil 1/8 cup Grade B maple syrup or raw honey with a little warm water diced spicy peppers to taste crushed fresh garlic, to taste 2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp curry powder or turmeric 1/4 to 2/3 cup of nutritional yeast (optional) Instructions: Wisk together dressing ingredients in an over-sized bowl. (Optional: Allow pumpkin seeds to marinate in “dressing” overnight, for more flavor.) Wash kale and remove stems.* Leave some of the leaves large for kale chips and tear the rest into large bite-sized pieces. Note: Kale will soften with marinating and shrink when dehydrated. Add kale leaves and the pineapple chunks to the dressing and massage with clean hands to coat and soften the leaves. Allow to rest for 1-hour at room temp before chilling or dehydrating.
I know many of you out there (especially the men) left to your own devices, would exist on cheese and potato chips and don’t consider things like kale even real food. You dismiss this leafy green as hipster chow or woman fodder. Maybe you are a manly man or maybe you are like me, not a man, but just not all that interested in spending time in the kitchen and don’t relish the idea of scouring the supermarket aisles looking for a very long list of obscure and expensive ingredients. If this is a good description of you, I have your kale solution...four ingredients wadded up in some aluminum foil and thrown on the grill... one of those tin-foil dinners like you make over the fire when you are roughing it in the woods. Except you do it in your backyard on the grill. “Manly” food usually involves hunks of meat in some shape or form. This recipe involves bacon and is usually thought of as being something a man would eat to sustain himself whilst working on a ranch, chopping lumber, or doing some other, traditional, physical ‘manly’ job which is why you will also need some potatoes, an onion and yes...some kale. If you don’t know what kale looks like, fear not, you can do the same thing I did and ask one of the grocery store helpers what kale looks like. The guy I asked was very helpful and pointed it out to me right away, so I could make sure I got the right stuff.
grill in in hunk of foil it’s quite tasty and cheap, like five bucks.
Manly Potato, Bacon and Kale Tin-Foil Grill Packets
(recipe found at chrislovesjulia.com) Ingredients • 5 potatoes, sliced (don’t bother peeling them, but you should probably wash them) • 1 yellow onion, sliced • 6 cups of kale (the whole bunch basically), wash it and only use the fluffy leaf part, not the stems, they’re gross. • 1 cup of that precooked bacon that you nuke in the microwave. I like to use the whole package, but you be the judge. • about 3 Tbsp cooking oil • salt and pepper Important Note: Here is where I will say that it is important to use precooked bacon a little on the crispy side because otherwise the result will be kinda soggy. Create your tinfoil packet (this is the most challenging part, but if you think of it as working with metal it’s really kind of gratifying.) Editor’s note: Shawn had several paragraphs of clever details concerning the precise folding of the foil, but in the interest of space we’re jumping ahead. Assemble and Cook the packet .Dump all the ingredients together in a big bowl, toss to coat evenly with cooking oil. .Pour ingredients onto tinfoil base, lay the other sheet of tin foil over top and roll the edges of the bottom piece up around the top piece, forming your packet and creating a tight seal. .Place the packet directly over medium-high heat, and close the grill lid. Let the packet cook that way for about 15 minutes, without messing around with it. This allows time for the ingredients to release some liquid, which turns to steam and cooks the stuff through. Then, after about 15 minutes, poke a few holes in the top of the packet and cook for another 5-8 minutes. This allows the steam to escape and prevents the dish from ending up soggy. That’s it, you’re done and your friends will be super impressed with your he-man survival skills and grilling prowess. P.S. I hear that Tony Gonzalez eats kale. True Story. I swear.
The Butterfly Effect: Post-WWII Music Part 1 David Burns Music, probably more so than any other art form, is driven by technology. Early 20th century composers like Ferruccio Busoni envisioned a time when music would be able to “follow the line of the rainbow” by not being tied to any rules or the specific instruments of his time. With the invention in 1906 of the triode aubion tube, music slowly, but very surely, began losing the “weights” and laws previously applied to it. But it wasn’t until the invention of magnetic tape recording that the dream of a truly “free” music began being met. Although various forms of magnetic recording had existed since the late 1800s, it wasn’t until the 1930s that BSAF and AEG developed modern, high quality magnetic tape recording in Germany. During World War II American forces came into possession of the AEG Magnetophon tape recorder and audio engineer John Mullin shipped two of them stateside. Mr. Mullin spent the next two years working on and improving the machines, eventually demoing them for entertainer Bing Crosby. Bing Crosby was doing a live weekly radio broadcast for ABC and was looking for ways to prerecord his show to transfer the hectic live broadcast to the calmer recording studio and when Mr. Crosby heard the quality of the magnetic tape recorders, he knew this was the future. He invested in the electronics company Ampex and, on October 1st, 1947, his radio show became the first to broadcast from magnetic tape; and, maybe more importantly, the tapes were also heavily edited, allowing a flow that would not have been possible live. The ability to create a performance that was not actually possible to duplicate live had become a reality. The practice of manipulating recordings was not a new idea. Dadaists had experimented with “turntablism” in the 1920s, and composers like John Cage went further with compositions like 1939’s “Imaginary Landscape No. 1” which was “played” on two turntables, among other instruments. However it was a recording called “The Expression of Zaar” done by Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh in 1944 that laid the foundation for ways in which recordings could be manipulated. By recording
street sounds, then running the signals through echo chambers and various equalization techniques, El-Dabh was able to create something truly new and unique. At roughly the same time, French composer Pierre Schaeffer began experimenting with radiophonic techniques to explore sound-based composition, this eventually lead to musique concrete, a form of composition that relied almost exclusively on manipulating concrete or “found” sounds. Pierre Henry, a collaborator of Schaeffer’s, believed they were creating compositions much like one would create a sculpture. These techniques would eventually be utilized by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and composers like Delia Derbyshire, in unique and influential ways. Although music made by electronic means had been around since the late 19th century, the post WWII era saw an explosion in the use of electronic instruments and circuits to create both sounds and compositions. Composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen, Louis and Bebe Barron, and Edgard Varese essentially turned the recording studio into a laboratory, moving away from composing with acoustically recorded sounds and instead focusing on electronically produced sounds. It would be several years before many of these advances would find their way into popular music but the seeds were sown and electronic manipulation (Les Paul’s use of phase for example) and magnetic tape recording and its manipulation (slap back echo, multi tracking, and splicing for example) were fast becoming a part of the pop music landscape; all while other advances like improved amplifier manufacturing, Fender’s introduction of the solid body guitar and bass, and a newfound American mobility making the cross-pollination of regional styles common place, it was inevitable that new music styles and sounds would be born. Join me the first Sunday of each month, 10PM to midnight Central on 99.3FM in St. Joseph, MO, or stream live online from stjosephmusicfoundation.org and we’ll explore, as Edgard Varese said, “organized sound”.
Library Awarded Early Literacy Grant On May 1, 2016, the St. Joseph Public Library was awarded a $20,000 Racing to Read grant to promote early literacy within the local community. This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. The Racing to Read grant project was designed by the State Library to expand and strengthen the quality and availability of programs that expose kids from birth to age six to critical pre-reading skills. The Racing to Read program aims to teach parents and caregivers how to promote reading with young children using five interactive themes, and was based on a highly successful program in Springfield, MO. Funding from the grant will help the St. Joseph Public Library
improve early literacy outreach efforts as well as provide additional funding for library books, special event staffing, storytime supplies, and an interactive display at the Downtown branch. Hundreds of families participated in the library’s first Racing to Read event of the year, visiting the children’s area at Discover Downtown on May 7th. Local children enjoyed a variety of early literacy activities, including a sensory water-bead pool, lawn games, chalk art, and storytelling. Parents and caregivers had the opportunity to meet with early literacy experts and every family left with a free children’s book. Each grant-funded program will showcase early literacy related topics and will encourage parents and caregivers to play and learn with their children, putting the F-U-N back into reading fundamentals. Every family that attends a Racing to Read event will receive a free chil-
dren’s book to add to their home library. The next Racing to Read event is the 3rd Annual Early Literacy Celebration & Hot Dog Party, taking place at the Washington Park Library on August 2nd from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Families with children age 6 and under are invited to spend the evening participating in early literacy activities, enjoying a free meal, and will receive a free book for taking part in the fun. Families are encouraged to bring a blanket or chairs to enjoy a picnic-style cookout on the lawn Washington Park. For more information on SpringfieldGreene’s Racing to Read model, visit thelibrary. org/racingtoread. To receive additional information on the St. Joseph Public Library’s Racing to Read programs or for assistance with helping to get your child ready to read, please contact Children’s Librarian Jess Gould at 236-2136.
Woods & Bruce Electric “No job too small!” David Bruce, Master Electrician 816-617-1152
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