Text 4022, 134 rader
Skriven 2006-08-02 21:30:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av HAP NEWSOM
Ärende: Local yahoos
====================
 -=> Quoting Hap Newsom to Carol Shenkenberger <=-

 HN> Believe me I saw the signs...and it was Sailors and dogs stay off the
 HN> grass.  Back in those days you did NOT go around alone in uniform in
 HN> Norfolk at ALL  and you tried to go places in groups for self
 HN> preservation. Once a group of  soldiers from Ft Story up at the north
 HN> end of VB got together with a bunch of  Marines from Norfolk and had a
 HN> big BBQ which got busted up by a huge troupe  of the local Yahoo's the
 HN> ensuing melee left about 20 people in the  hospital....most of em
 HN> locals which didn't endear the military locally even  though they were
 HN> only defending themselves.

Sadly, that can happen anywhere. I used to live in the illustriously
named Grand Centre in Alberta right between the village of Cold Lake
and CFB Cold Lake. Relations between the town and the air base were
generally good, but oil exploration brought in a bunch of red necks who
disliked such people as Quebec French and Blacks (there's lots of both
in the Forces). They also thought they were tougher than the Air force
and just had to find out they weren't the hard way.

Now we have a huge air exercise every year where hundreds of Americans
join us for war games. (The terrain and climate in northern Alberta
resembles that of Siberia which was of significance during the cold War
era. (There is also a huge exercise that Canadians go to in Nevada each
summer where the weather and terrain is not unlike the Middle East's.))

During one such Maple Flag exercise a large group of American airmen
were in the same bar as the Grand Centre Chamber of Commerce and the
above mentioned roughnecks. A young Black private was flirting rather
successfully with a cute young waitress when his crew took off to
another bar leaving him alone. The rednecks, about 16 of them, closed in
on him, insulted him and eventually starting beating up on him. There
were no other servicemen, either Canadian or American, in the bar by
that time.

The bartender called the cops and the Chamber pitched in to rescue the
young airman. Being out of shape white collar guys, also about 16 of us,
we were taking the worst of it and were real happy when the cops showed
up promptly. 4 each RCMP, Canadian MPs and American MPs arrived
together. (During these international exercises they patrol together and
you have the courtesy of being arrested by somebody from your own
country). Now the local cops knew all the Chamber members on a first
name basis and they had had prior dealing with the oilmen so they calmly
separated us into two groups with a view of sending us all home if the
oilmen paid for the damages.

But the American MPs were pretty rough on the private (shoving him
around, handcuffs etc.) and we all spoke up to protest. Imagine the look
on the MP's face when he said sarcastically, "Who are you and what
business is it of yours?" only to be told, "Jim Weller, Manager of the
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bob M, Manager of the Bank of Nova
Scotia and VP of the CoC, Joe G, owner of the large Chev-Cadillac
dealership and president of the CoC, Harold L. newspaper owner/editor
etc. etc." They took the cuffs off the guy and told him to get lost,
stay out of bars and keep out of trouble. We complained again that he
was an assault victim not a bar rowdy and should be treated better.
"Perhaps we should call Charlie in on this." "Who's Charlie?" "Brigadier
General Charles S., Base Commander. He was with us all for supper at
the restaurant but went home half an hour ago and didn't come over to
the lounge for a drink. But we all have his home number." THEN there was
an attitude adjustment!

The capper of the night was when the waitress said to the airman, "If
you have to stay out of bars all night, why don't you come over to my
place instead." Happy ending!

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Dungeness Crab and New Potato Salad
Categories: Crab, Salads
  Servings: 6

      1 lb fresh Dungeness Crab
  1 1/2 lb Red Bliss or other
           -waxy new potato
      2    leeks
  1 1/2 c  mizuna or mache, or other
           -winter green
    3/4 c  citrus vinaigrette
      2 oz Osetra caviar
  1 1/2 tb olive oil
      1 tb chopped fresh parsley
           coarse salt
           freshly ground pepper

Preparation: Pick through the crab to remove any shell or cartilage.
Place in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Wash and dry
the mizuna. Set aside.

Preparation of the potatoes: Peel potatoes. Place in a medium saucepan
with water to cover. Add salt to taste and place over high heat. Bring
to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain
well. Set aside and allow to rest until cool enough to handle. When
cool, cut, crosswise, into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Set aside.

Preparation of the leeks: Trim leeks of all green parts. Cut them in
half, lengthwise, and wash well under cold running water. Pat dry.
Slice, crosswise, into very fine pieces. Heat the olive oil in a medium
saute pan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, or
until they have sweated their moisture and are transparent. Stir in the
potatoes and parsley. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and
pepper. Scrape into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or
until well chilled.

Final touch: When ready to serve, place a 3 1/2-inch ring mold in the
center of each of 6 chilled plates. Place equal portions of the salad in
each of the molds, pushing down to make the center a bit concave. Remove
the crab from the refrigerator and mound an equal portion on top of each
potato ring. Carefully remove the molds. Top with equal portions of
caviar. Arrange a small bunch of greens, leaves facing out from the
center, on each plate. Drizzle vinaigrette over the top and around the
edge. Serve immediately.

Charlie Palmer
Aureole
New-York


MMMMM-------------------------------------------------




Cheers

Jim, in Yellowknife




... Should I get a gun for crooks or a Handycam for cops?
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