Wapsi Square Forum

Definitely have the impression that Hew has been read in on the Masquerade, and is having fun twitting Al.

And wondering if that young lady has another shape as well . . .

--FreeFlier

There's one spot in the dialog which is (in my estimation) totally unrealistic. The implications of it are... well, "blatantly impossible" is probably as good a description as any.

I mean, really.

Is there actually a single person, anywhere, who would be content with a vegetable marrow?!?

Dave wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:48 am There's one spot in the dialog which is (in my estimation) totally unrealistic. The implications of it are... well, "blatantly impossible" is probably as good a description as any.

I mean, really.

Is there actually a single person, anywhere, who would be content with a vegetable marrow?!?

Hence my point....and perhaps the city-dwelling types content with their allotments...but not a man like Hew. If you've ever been in the Dales you'll know - it's a place that gets into your soul..

I’m half-city slicker, so I can put in a little input here:

Some urban folks just ain’t got the Wild in them. They get... energy, I guess, from the life of the city itself. The bustle. The chaos. The lights and sound and all the different foods available and things happening everywhere, all the time.

And I can definitely feel it. Hell, I could probably do pretty well in a city if the air wasn’t so damned groady. I can feel the hum, the buzz. It’s... like a hive, and a person can tap into it just as someone can tap into the slow and steady thrum of nature.

It’s like, but different. Mages connect to nature to ground and purify and cleanse and recharge.

City folk tap into the hive like a bumper car connects to the electrical grid overhead. They’re kinda high on the electric hum all the time. The need for grounding is done more through doing. Literature, art, music, food... making it or consuming it. A lot of folks, especially younger ones, haven’t overloaded yet, or don’t recognize it, so they don’t find the balance of zapping themselves and brushing the slag off from all that arc welding. Some, unfortunately, get fried. Others do find that balance, though. They find things to do that calm them, help them reset, help them take a breather before they plug into the grid again and ride the lightning for another day.

Sometimes that thing that helps them come down is growing a few veggies. Or it could simply be writing stories on an iPad. It can be anything, I guess. Anything that can be a hobby, really.

Applause. You state it well, GLytch.

Hew, as a product of farm life Oop Norf, is tapped firmly into the Wild. While nothing but a box stock human he too connects to the World and grounds through it - he has the quiet in his soul.

Millicent is different - while a City person (Richmond is a suburb of London and quite urban) found the Wild when she met and married Hew - and never looked back.

It’s why when troubled I go to the ocean. It lets me ground and center more easily than trying to do so in my own garden.

Very well stated.

I should state that's one of the benefits of living in the Phoenix area - there is a distinct balance between the city bustle and the rural wilderness. Mesa is surrounded by three freeways, but its outskirts are farming communities and beautiful mountainsides. And inside the city limits... well, just a mile north of me, there is an intersection that, on the one side is the north edge of a large mobile home/retirement community, and on the other is a McDonald's, an Albertson's (with a Starbucks inside!), an Urgent Care next to a business complex, an apartment complex, a Baptist church, and a farm with a pasture that routinely has cattle grazing between citrus trees.

GlytchMeister wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 10:36 am Sometimes that thing that helps them come down is growing a few veggies.

Oh, I get that, definitely. I had great fun and enjoyment raising vegetables in the back yard of our rental house in the city, years ago, and I really wish the house we own had land suitable for a decent garden (we've got the space, and usable soil, but there are so many trees around that it doesn't get enough sun for most veggies I would want to raise).

No, the problem I have with the dialog in question is very specific: "vegetable marrow". I'm sorry, but I can't honestly comprehend how anyone could be satisfied or contented with raising vegetable marrow. Of all the wonderful, tasty, exotic, nutritious, soul-nourishing vegetables that exist... this isn't one of them.

Take this as an American prejudice if you will... but I think that summer squash of that sort ought to be picked young, tiny, and tender (baby zucchini, courgettes). Letting them grow until they're huge and tough just isn't a great tradeoff, especially for a veg which at the best of times is rather bland and insipid and lacking in nutrients. It's difficult enough to eat up a couple of plants' worth of zucchini. If you let 'em grow until they're the size of bowling pins, you'll have to try to foist them off by the cartload to your friends and neighbors, and pretty soon the neighbors will be digging moats and training their guard dogs to keep you from piling more "gifts" on their doorstep by the dark of the moon.

Now, raising really great tomatoes in the backyard, or peppers, or a steady supply greens and herbs... now that is a life-affirming pastime for a city dweller!

Dave wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:37 pm No, the problem I have with the dialog in question is very specific: "vegetable marrow". I'm sorry, but I can't honestly comprehend how anyone could be satisfied or contented with raising vegetable marrow. Of all the wonderful, tasty, exotic, nutritious, soul-nourishing vegetables that exist... this isn't one of them.

And you're expecting an argument? Never understood the liking for those things myself. Pick them small, slice and saute with summer squash and vidalia onion and you have something worth eating.

Just Old Al wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 3:26 pm And you're expecting an argument? Never understood the liking for those things myself. Pick them small, slice and saute with summer squash and vidalia onion and you have something worth eating.

Yup. A bundle of fresh herbs from the garden and you're good to go!

Recently I encountered some truly wonderful summer squash... "Costata Romanesco". They're an heirloom courgette, and when lightly steamed they taste very much like artichokes. Better than any zucchini I have ever sampled. I sliced some thinly and layered them with sliced tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and cheese, and baked them up as a sort of vegetable lasagna... turned out to be delicious.

Dave wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:37 pm

GlytchMeister wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 10:36 am Sometimes that thing that helps them come down is growing a few veggies.

Oh, I get that, definitely. I had great fun and enjoyment raising vegetables in the back yard of our rental house in the city, years ago, and I really wish the house we own had land suitable for a decent garden (we've got the space, and usable soil, but there are so many trees around that it doesn't get enough sun for most veggies I would want to raise).

No, the problem I have with the dialog in question is very specific: "vegetable marrow". I'm sorry, but I can't honestly comprehend how anyone could be satisfied or contented with raising vegetable marrow. Of all the wonderful, tasty, exotic, nutritious, soul-nourishing vegetables that exist... this isn't one of them.

Take this as an American prejudice if you will... but I think that summer squash of that sort ought to be picked young, tiny, and tender (baby zucchini, courgettes). Letting them grow until they're huge and tough just isn't a great tradeoff, especially for a veg which at the best of times is rather bland and insipid and lacking in nutrients. It's difficult enough to eat up a couple of plants' worth of zucchini. If you let 'em grow until they're the size of bowling pins, you'll have to try to foist them off by the cartload to your friends and neighbors, and pretty soon the neighbors will be digging moats and training their guard dogs to keep you from piling more "gifts" on their doorstep by the dark of the moon.

Now, raising really great tomatoes in the backyard, or peppers, or a steady supply greens and herbs... now that is a life-affirming pastime for a city dweller!

Kiddo read me the funniest bit on Marrows:

"Now I give up on you. You shall torment me no longer. I will KILL you!"

*tosses marrow which lands at Dr. Sheppard's feet*

"Sacre - ! My dear doctor, I beg of you a thousand pardons, but these vegetable marrows, they have driven me to the edges of barbarity! Ah, please to forgive me. I am ashamed; I prostrate myself."

"What's the trouble, Poirot?"

"You know, Doctor, it is my desire to cultivate a marrow of proportions giagantesque.
And you have seen how I nurse her! Each day I give to her water, each day I weed her with my very best tweezers, and when those little flowers of hers they show themselves I remove them but one, so that the strength, it may be conserved.
And does she appreciate this cosseting? Non! She grows to the size that is merely conventional and then rests upon her laurels."

-From 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd', Agatha Christie.

"...And in other news, a loud high-pitched squeal was heard coming from Maple Plain today..."

jwhouk wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:54 pm "...And in other news, a loud high-pitched squeal was heard coming from Maple Plain today..."

Followed by some amount of inspired cussing, the use of imprecational phrases such as "hide-bound bureaucrats", and the scratching of pens filling out all of the paperwork needed to ensure that a beautiful Bentley can meet the state regulations required for a vehicle registration here in the States.

Dave wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 1:46 am

jwhouk wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 9:54 pm "...And in other news, a loud high-pitched squeal was heard coming from Maple Plain today..."

Followed by some amount of inspired cussing, the use of imprecational phrases such as "hide-bound bureaucrats", and the scratching of pens filling out all of the paperwork needed to ensure that a beautiful Bentley can meet the state regulations required for a vehicle registration here in the States.

… be thankful you are not attempting this in California...

Dave/Sarge:

Actually, it's relatively trivial even in the People's Republic of California.

One of the saner bits of regulation the US has on a Federal level is a thing called the 25-year law. In short, anything over 25 years old (rolling from manufacture date) does NOT need to meet any Federal regulations as to rollover protection, safety or anything else. In short it's a collector's law - once it's of an age to be a classic vehicle you can have it.

California while strict says that it needs to meet emissions as to it DOM - Date Of Manufacture - and that all emissions equipment it came with needs to be present and functional. As Victoria is a high-level survivor, then there's no difficulty there at all.

Now, the state bureaucrats are a pain in the arse, but there are rules there. One good one is that it's not a purchase - so Al doesn't need to pay sales tax. It's a transfer, so off goes the V5 (as proof of ownership) and what comes back is a new, shiny set of Minnesota plates.

Of course, Al is going to maintain the original registration as well...which amusingly is completely legal and costs nothing as Victoria is tax-exempt.

I was going to say - Victoria's older than 25 years, so she can stay in the US regardless.

I notice a lot of drivers here in PHX keep a Euro plate on their cars, probably to advertise that they "imported" it (something frequently done by rice-burner fans). Not sure if that can be done in MN, since they have the two-plate rule.

jwhouk wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:05 am
I notice a lot of drivers here in PHX keep a Euro plate on their cars, probably to advertise that they "imported" it (something frequently done by rice-burner fans). Not sure if that can be done in MN, since they have the two-plate rule.

The EU plate is by law considered a 'decoration' or 'accessory'. As long as the state plate is set up properly for height, illumination and so on then there is no problem whatsoever with her keeping her proper tags.

I have this myself on my Series I, and inquired on it with the local gendarmes and the state registry when I mounted the US plates. In my case it took re-arranging the tall lights so that the US plate was illuminated at night - as the truck was getting all new lights anyway (#$%$#$@ previous idiot owner) this was trivial.

With Victoria I could see her getting a very tasteful bracket with a chrome light fixture attached to her rear wing(using original fasteners - no drilling!) to take the US plate. At the front a proper badge bar would be easy to add for the mandatory AA badge and could support the US plate as well.

(AA = Automobile Association - it has nothing to do with sobriety).

Just Old Al wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 3:26 pm

Dave wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:37 pmNo, the problem I have with the dialog in question is very specific: "vegetable marrow". I'm sorry, but I can't honestly comprehend how anyone could be satisfied or contented with raising vegetable marrow. Of all the wonderful, tasty, exotic, nutritious, soul-nourishing vegetables that exist... this isn't one of them.

And you're expecting an argument? Never understood the liking for those things myself. Pick them small, slice and saute with summer squash and vidalia onion and you have something worth eating.

Did not previously know that marrows were oversize zucchini.

The proper way to plant zucchini is to remove one single seed from the packet, wave said seed over the prepared bed - being careful not to drop it! - put the seed back in the packet, wrap the packet in foil, and discard as hazardous waste.

Then plant something worth eating, like butternut, spaghetti, or acorn squash, or melons if you have the climate (we never had success with melons).

We used to bake acorn squash filled with a browned mixture of sausage and ground beef . . . not sure if ground turkey would work or not.


And I see I was right about Hew being read-in! Though I didn't think of Brandi instigating it . . .

--FreeFlier

FreeFlier wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 4:49 pm
And I see I was right about Hew being read-in! Though I didn't think of Brandi instigating it . . .

--FreeFlier

Brandi has managed to irritate two women that she should not have - Staff Sergeant Damhnait and the alpha dam of the Alexander clan. I expect someway, somewhere, there is a golem that is going to get THOROUGHLY pranked.

Noting your other observation - she may not have had another shape, but there definitely was something more there that didn;t meet the eye. That work for you?

ajr

Just Old Al wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 4:54 pm . . . Noting your other observation - she may not have had another shape, but there definitely was something more there that didn;t meet the eye. That work for you? . . .

It does.

--FreeFlier

A bit late in starting to read this...

Very moving start. A touching service and all the accompanying events. But like someone said, those ninja onions ought not to have been invited, and the place really should have been dusted a little better...

As for the "Real" Al, while it was quite interesting, I felt that the buildup lead to a bit of a letdown... I half expected to not only have rose from poorer ranks, but to have led a life of (small) crime, or have suffered abuse (bullying notwithstanding), before he ran from home to join the army. I understand his concern about the difference in social standing between his origins and where Rosalynd stands, but the buildup was such that I expected things to have been far worse than they actually were.

Yes, living in relative squalor must certainly not be pleasant, and the drunken state of his parents would certainly be no trivial matter. But in the end, this was all about social classes, and him fearing she would not want to associate with such a "low-born". Yes, I also understand that this was all an irrational fear on his part, but he made it sound, building up to it, like there would have been much more sordid elements to his backstory. He made it sound like he had actually done shameful things which would cause his wife to distance herself from him, rather than "merely" (see caveats above) having been born into a poor family with a tough home life to go through.

But if I look at it, as mentioned above, as an irrational fear on his part, then the storytelling itself is quite well done and reflects that aspect well.

I am also enjoying the various outings so far, including the darts game.

I am now up to his having spoken with Alasdair, who bought the house from Hew. Looking forward to reading more.