Brief Brushes With Fame

          By request, I am going to elaborate on something mentioned in passing on my blog about my Honest Scrap Award answers.   As a recipient of this award I was supposed reveal ten honest things about myself.  I don't know that the things I revealed particularly revealed much about my character, but some of you requested more details about some of the things I did reveal and in doing so I guess I will be revealing something more about who I am and who I have been.

          One of the things that I revealed in that post was the following:

        5. In 1978 in Huntington, WV, I ate dinner with Rudy Vallee 
     
      Today's post will look at the incident to which I referred.

          In 1978, my wife at that time and I had joined up with a touring theater production.  We were traveling with our young son who had been born the year before.  It was a busy schedule playing one night engagements with shows scheduled almost daily.  We were young and a bit crazy on tour with others of similar age and craziness.  We all took our job on the show seriously, but always looked forward to some partying back at the hotel after the work was done.  Most days had a similar schedule:  travel in the morning, some down time in the afternoon, start setting up the show around four o'clock with the show at about seven, and afterwards it was party time.

          After the first couple of months on the road, the tour was set up so that we were scheduled to meet up with the show's owner, a well known entertainer and businessman, at Huntington, WV, where he was producing a show at an old vaudeville era theatre that had been restored.  He had assembled some top notch variety acts and had booked Rudy Vallee as the headliner.  The cast members of our show where to assist in the production in various ways.

         This break in our touring schedule was not particularly welcome to me as I enjoyed the routine of our show, but we were obligated to be there since it was our boss that ordered us to be there.  The man who owned the show had known me from an earlier time when I had worked in my family's juggling act and usually invited me to accompany him on special occasions since he considered me to be part of his "inner circle".  After the show in Huntington,  he invited my wife and I, along with our tour managers, to accompany him to dinner with Rudy Vallee.  Once again, I did not feel like his invitation was one that I could turn down--I felt like it was part of my job and I had to go.  Reluctantly we joined them while our friends from the show were back at the room partying and we could hardly wait to get back there with them.

         I had certainly known who Rudy Vallee was because I had grown up hearing his name. He was a iconic figure who was often imitated on TV and in cartoons.  I had seen him on television shows and in old movies.  But at this time I could have cared less because he didn't mean that much to me.  I was not a fan and he just seemed like some old man who was essentially a has been.  Now, after the fact, I regret my attitude at that time.  Rudy Vallee is a legendary figure of twentieth century entertainment.

Rudy Vallee was a multitalented bandleader, singer, musician and actor.

         Having grown up in the entertainment business I often was around many people who had varying degrees of fame.  I really didn't think about them because I was preoccupied with being a kid and wasn't that interested in older people I didn't know.  The concept of famous people really didn't impress me because I guess I felt like I was famous in my own endeavors or at least on the road to fame.  Legend, schmegend is the way I looked at things in the self-centeredness of my youth.

          Now I wish I had been more attentive to Mr. Vallee. The man had once been a huge star and an idol of millions.   He actually seemed like a very nice man and probably had a wealth of wonderful stories to tell.  I know now my boss was treating us to a unique situation of which we did not recognize the value at the time.  I wish I would asked Rudy Vallee questions about some of his experiences in show business and about some of the famous people he had known, and listened to some his anecdotes.

        Sometimes when we are younger, we are so wrapped up in the here and now that we don't take advantage of the circumstances that can be treasures in our future.  A smug know-it-all attitude is a hindrance to learning.  I have learned this over the years, but unfortunately too late in regard to some of the rich opportunities that I have had.  As is often said, "If only I knew then what I know now".  This is such a true aphorism that is invariably spoken with wistfulness.

          Next Wednesday I'll talk about some similar situations that I have had, so I hope you'll check back for that.   Have you had a brush with fame that you wished you had taken more advantage of?   Are you impressed by meeting famous people?    Who is somebody that you wish you could have dinner with?

          Here's an addendum to my post:  On her blog, Corra McFeydon is addressing a question to the women (although I guess men could answer as well).  This is in response to my earlier protest to her review of BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY--      you might want to go over and add your opinion.

Hot Chili for a Chilly Day

                        

           Recently I was reading a story in the Los Angeles Times about this thing called a "chili brick".  The chili brick of which they were speaking comes from the Dolores Canning Company in Los Angeles. 

           I was familiar with the Dolores pickled pork rinds and pigs feet, having seen them in the supermaket  and tempted to buy them.  However, it's one of those things I could never quite convince myself to take home with me. Years ago, back in Tennessee, I recall having tried pig's feet and liking them, but I just never got in a habit of keeping a jar of little feet in my refrigerator.  I figure if I had a jar of pickled pork rinds or pig's feet, the first few bites might be an interesting novelty, but the entire jar would never get eaten and have to be eventually thrown away.

         This chili brick was something which I'd never heard of, but it sounded intriguing.  My initial search began at a Ralph's supermarket near my home, but I did not see any chili bricks there.  Thanks to the internet I located the Dolores website to find out where I could find a chili brick.   I must have missed seeing chili bricks in Ralph's because they were listed as a source, but I wasn't going to take any chances.  I went to the Superior Market up the street from my home in Pico Rivera, since they cater mainly to the Hispanic market and I was certain that they would carry the complete line of Dolores products.

         My hunch was correct.  In a freezer case I found the 20 ounce sealed plastic tubs of chili bricks. They are apparently shipped to the stores frozen, but the company recommends that they be displayed in the regular meat counter which may have been where they were displayed at Ralphs.  A 20 oz chili brick at Superior Market was $3.29.  The brick consists of a flavorfully seasoned mixture of finely ground beef and beef hearts.  To prepare you just put the thawed brick in a saucepan and add water or beef broth and heat and stir until the brick is melted.  The pure meat mixture would be ideal for chili dogs or to add to any recipe calling for an all-meat chili mixture.

         Chili bricks were originated in the 1800s by the chuckwagon cooks on cattledrives.  They were made from dried beef and seasonings and formed into bricks for easy storage.  The dehydrated bricks would be mixed with water for an easy on the trail meal for hungry cowboys at the end of a long day driving cattle.  Dolores is one of the few remaining companies to market chili bricks.  They are primarily only available in Southern California but can be ordered online through the Dolores website. 

         I was very pleased with my first Dolores Chili Brick experience.  This was some of the best chili I've made and I have made some pretty darn good chili in the past.  More importantly though, my wife absolutely loved it.  If it pleases her palate then I think I've done pretty well.  By the way, I might mention lest any one think there is any bias here.  My chili experiment was inspired by the article I read in the paper and I was not compensated by the Dolores Company in any way.  However, if they want to send me some of those pickled pigs feet or pork rinds I'd be willing to try them and tell you readers what I think.

         So anyway, without any  further ado, here is my chili recipe:

      Arlee's Realee Tastee Chilee

                              (about 10 bowlfuls)
1  Dolores Chili Brick

1 can beef broth
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes in sauce
1 15 1/2 oz can kidney beans
1 15 1/2 oz can chili beans in zesty sauce
1  29 1/2 oz can of hominy
1   4 oz can green chiles, diced
1 or 2 chopped brown onions
1/2 cup of left over coffee from breakfast
1 tbsp  McCormick Tex Mex Chili Beef Seasoning
3 tbsp   Brown sugar
3 tbsp  granulated sugar
2 tbsp  honey
1/2 cup marsala

        As you are melting down the chili brick in a sauce pan, add in the can of heated up beef broth.   After you've let the chili and broth mix simmer a bit, put it in the crock pot and add in the rest of the ingredients and cook on high for a couple of hours and then turn down to low and you can cook it all day and get it whenever you feel like eating it. If cooking all day and leaving it, you can just start off on low and leave it there.    Refrigerate any leftovers and it'll taste even better the next day.

      Add whatever fixings you like.  It's mighty good just plain with some crackers or cornbread, but I also like to add some chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese.

       If you want to make it even meatier, throw in some ground beef, smoked sausage, cooked stew beef, or anything else.  Why you can even add cubed smoked ham or spam and that's pretty tasty.  The point is you can add whatever else you want or adjust it in any way you like.  The sugar and honey make for a sweeter chili, but if you want it hot and spicy go crazy adding whatever kinds of peppers you like.  I like it hot, but my wife doesn't do well with real spicy and I figure I can always add some Tabasco when I fix my bowl.  I made some corn muffins to go with my batch of chili.

         This is so easy because you just have to toss it all together and let it cook in the crock pot and forget about it.  I can't resist stirring it periodically and giving it a taste test, but you could put it on in the morning, go to work, and when you come home dinner is waiting.

          An ice cold beverage and some good hot chili.  There you go cowboys and cowgirls-- eat your vittles.

Persnickety Penman: How to be a Good Liar

          Are you a good liar?  If you are writing fiction you need to be.  One of the definitions of a lie is something that is not true, which is essentially the same as fiction which is a made up story.

          The difference from a moral standpoint is that the liar is intentionally twisting the truth in order to deceive others in a way that will be pontetially be hurtful to somebody if the lie is discovered.  And even if the lie is never discovered the character of the liar is weakened, making it easier for that person to fall into a habit of deception. The story teller of fiction, however, is pretending, playing with untruths as those who play along willingly suspend their disbelief in order to pretend that the lie, the story being told, is true, for the purposes of entertainment and mental stimulation.  The story teller tells untruths with fingers crossed and knowing winks to his or her audience as they consent to play along.

          Last Monday we looked at accuracy and fact in our writing.  I pointed out that fiction should contain enough fact to make it believable.  Writers should present their material in a way that it appears to be believable if they want readers to take them seriously.  Even the most far-fetched fiction should be grounded in something that the reader can relate to.  If you want to take a reader to a fantastic realm where they've never been, then you have to provide them with a touchstone from which to begin, otherwise you may as well write your story in your own made up language and hope at some point the reader will figure out what you are saying. 

        When I attended the University of Tennessee in the early 1970's, I was very fortunate to have taken two writing of fiction classes led by the notable Southern fiction short story author and Flannery O'Connor scholar, Robert Drake.  At that time, my writing interest often leaned toward surrealistic fiction.  On one of my stories his notes read, "Boo! What is this all about? Even fantasy must keep one toe on the ground."  Other stories that he returned to me had similar notes, and in retrospect I understand why.

        How does a con man-- be it a politician, a religious leader, a crook, or what have you--win us over?  They have to sound like they know what they are talking about.  In order to do that they must have a fairly good grasp on facts and figures, they must be reasonably familiar with their topic, and they must come across as sincere experts in their fields.  If you can see through a conman it is difficult to be duped.

          As writers we are like actors or magicians or any master of illusion who is trying to win an audience to believe that what we are doing is real.  We are pulling a con to deceive the imagination of the reader to believe in the worlds, the characters, and the situations the we have created so that they walk away amazed with what they've just read.  We scare them, thrill them, or move them to tears because we have made the imagined so real that the reader really wants to believe that our story is true.

       How good of a liar are you?  What do you think makes your made up stories more believable?  Can you think of a fiction that has seemed so real to readers that it has been mistaken for truth?