I like to sit in the back of the bus. There are usually more seats there. I get a nice long gaze at everyone who steps aboard. Also, I occasionally get an earful of some very interesting conversations.
So I sit down, back-most, passenger side bench. On this model bus the two last benches face each other, with one long bench along the back wall of the bus. So, I sit down. Five men along the back and opposite bench are already engaged in a conversation. I wish I could remember more lines from it all, but it quickly became obvious what they were talking about: guns. Buying and selling guns.
One of the men seated directly to my left had a gun for sale. I couldn't exactly determine what kind of gun it was, but I certainly caught his asking price.
"I can't take less than a bill for it, man."
This was repeated many, many times to a man to his left who seemed to want it for something less than a bill. I think that a bill indicates a $100 bill. My associates generally confirms this suspicion.
The conversation ran along these lines for a while:
"Hey man, how much you want for that piece?"
"I can't take less than a bill for it. I can't take less than I paid for it, man."
The man on the far side of bench and the man facing opposite me were having their own conversation. I couldn't really pick all of it up and, believe me, I really wasn't trying to appear interested. I had reflective sunglasses on (aviators, if you must know) and I was watching out of the corner of my left eye. Out of the corner of my left eye I was watching when the man seated opposite me pulled a loaded magazine out of his pocket to show the man next to him.
Whoa. Cool.
They kept "haggling" over this gun, dancing round that urban maypole. Then this precious gem was uttered:
"Hey, you know my boy Face?"
I don't know who Face is, but he must be the guy to know. Since that day I have seen his "tags" on a number of buses. My boy face. I love it.
That night, late, faintly, but not very faintly, I heard gunshots.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Beef: It's What's Rotting in Your Colon
This post is going to be a post about me trying to not eat meat. I am not trying to reject carnivorousness as bad or wrong, nor am I promoting vegetarianism as enlightened or moral. This is just something I've been doing.
Last January Sarah and I didn't eat meat for a month. It was a planned challenge to ourselves but I can't remember exactly what prompted it. We bought a vegetarian cookbook and really stuck to it. Well, I flinched once. I was working at a hotel at the time and after a particularly awful banquet night the only food I could get my hand on was some gumbo with sausage. Other than that, meat free for a whole month. After the month was up I promptly ate a hamburger, but I think Sarah tried to keep it up for awhile.
I suppose I should clarify what I mean when I say "no meat." What I mean is no walking or flying meat. So I guess I have a Catholic view of what it means to not eat meat.
When I moved back to Columbus (almost exactly a year ago) I took the opportunity to tweak some personal habits. I tried to work out more, manage my finances, and I also decided to stop eating beef. I kept to this when I could. I wasn't (and still am not) totally in control of what I ate, and I do enjoy the taste of beef. So it was not a total conversion, but it was a shift in my gastronomic outlook. Gradually, and without any clear decision on my part, I phased out of eating meat regularly as well.
There was never any moral impulse in any of this. I have no problem with killing animals. And I fully enjoy eating them. I am mainly concerned with my own health and also with the effects of meat production on the environment.
Lets start with health. Most commercially raised animals are chemically treated in one way or another, hormones, antibiotics, steroids, and who knows what else. That can't be good for anything but the bottom line. Meat also is high in cholesterol, which isn't so good in large quantities, especially for someone who has not yet been able to quit smoking. There are also links to colon cancer, and probably some others. Now, I don't think that any of these are really good reasons to cut out eat meat entirely, but I have eaten a lot of meat in my life. Probably more than anyone should eat in a lifetime, really. So I think it might be time to lay off a little bit.
Since I have been a "vegetarian" I have thought of lots of ways in which I am saving the planet. I don't think that cattle themselves are a major contribution to global warming (I'm talking about farts here) but it is something. Also, speaking anecdotally here, it takes a lot more energy to bring meat to market than it does grains, fruits, and vegetables. Meat has to kept cold and quickly transported. Consider this, also. Say a community has a quantity of corn, for example. Now, that community has the option of either eating the corn, or feeding it to animals and then eating the animals. The loss of nutrients (this is according to my geography professor in college) is about 90%. I would humbly suggest that reduced consumption of meat will be necessary to feed the perpetually exploding world population.
So today I don't call myself a vegetarian. Just yesterday I ate some sausage gravy (it was delicious). But I do try. I have taken to making my own hummus, which I love. I order vegetarian dishes at restaurants and it is a lot cheaper. I get my protein from eggs mostly, but also cheese and mushrooms. I now know the meaning of "regular" when it comes to my digestive tract. It has been a haphazard journey, but it has kept things interesting.
Wallace's Hummus (measure ingredients according to taste)
Chick Peas - two cans
Tahini - about two tablespoons
Garlic
Cumin
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Lemon
Olive Oil
I think its important for the lemon and olive oil to balance each other out. Cayenne pepper is also a nice touch if you have a taste for that kind of thing.
Last January Sarah and I didn't eat meat for a month. It was a planned challenge to ourselves but I can't remember exactly what prompted it. We bought a vegetarian cookbook and really stuck to it. Well, I flinched once. I was working at a hotel at the time and after a particularly awful banquet night the only food I could get my hand on was some gumbo with sausage. Other than that, meat free for a whole month. After the month was up I promptly ate a hamburger, but I think Sarah tried to keep it up for awhile.
I suppose I should clarify what I mean when I say "no meat." What I mean is no walking or flying meat. So I guess I have a Catholic view of what it means to not eat meat.
When I moved back to Columbus (almost exactly a year ago) I took the opportunity to tweak some personal habits. I tried to work out more, manage my finances, and I also decided to stop eating beef. I kept to this when I could. I wasn't (and still am not) totally in control of what I ate, and I do enjoy the taste of beef. So it was not a total conversion, but it was a shift in my gastronomic outlook. Gradually, and without any clear decision on my part, I phased out of eating meat regularly as well.
There was never any moral impulse in any of this. I have no problem with killing animals. And I fully enjoy eating them. I am mainly concerned with my own health and also with the effects of meat production on the environment.
Lets start with health. Most commercially raised animals are chemically treated in one way or another, hormones, antibiotics, steroids, and who knows what else. That can't be good for anything but the bottom line. Meat also is high in cholesterol, which isn't so good in large quantities, especially for someone who has not yet been able to quit smoking. There are also links to colon cancer, and probably some others. Now, I don't think that any of these are really good reasons to cut out eat meat entirely, but I have eaten a lot of meat in my life. Probably more than anyone should eat in a lifetime, really. So I think it might be time to lay off a little bit.
Since I have been a "vegetarian" I have thought of lots of ways in which I am saving the planet. I don't think that cattle themselves are a major contribution to global warming (I'm talking about farts here) but it is something. Also, speaking anecdotally here, it takes a lot more energy to bring meat to market than it does grains, fruits, and vegetables. Meat has to kept cold and quickly transported. Consider this, also. Say a community has a quantity of corn, for example. Now, that community has the option of either eating the corn, or feeding it to animals and then eating the animals. The loss of nutrients (this is according to my geography professor in college) is about 90%. I would humbly suggest that reduced consumption of meat will be necessary to feed the perpetually exploding world population.
So today I don't call myself a vegetarian. Just yesterday I ate some sausage gravy (it was delicious). But I do try. I have taken to making my own hummus, which I love. I order vegetarian dishes at restaurants and it is a lot cheaper. I get my protein from eggs mostly, but also cheese and mushrooms. I now know the meaning of "regular" when it comes to my digestive tract. It has been a haphazard journey, but it has kept things interesting.
Wallace's Hummus (measure ingredients according to taste)
Chick Peas - two cans
Tahini - about two tablespoons
Garlic
Cumin
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Lemon
Olive Oil
I think its important for the lemon and olive oil to balance each other out. Cayenne pepper is also a nice touch if you have a taste for that kind of thing.
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