MEANDERINGS – by Peter Rocchio

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I know I should comment on Hurricane Katrina, its devastation of the Gulf Coast and especially the horrors of New Orleans but I’m truly at a loss for words.  The media coverage has been complete and riveting leaving little left unsaid or unwritten about.

I am surprised however, that we haven’t heard from the evangelical types that ‘sin city’ got what it deserved especially as we approached Labor Day weekend and New Orlean’s annual gay extravaganza, Southern Decadence. Bill and I have visited New Orleans often and love walking the 'Quarter', having oysters and Po boys at the Acme, Turtle soup and soft shell crabs at Commander's Palace; anything at Galatoire's; the mufallatas from the Central Market and the sinful beignet and cafe au lait at Cafe du Mond. Oh, I should also mention the massively inflated omelets and outrageous repartee of Earl at the Clover Deli.  The bars are interesting but once you’ve been to Montreal all other boy-bars are down hill.

Everyone should experience Mardi gras once in their lifetime. We went twice, our first and our last – it just isn’t our style. 

Our friend who has a condo on Royal Street in the Quarter was here for dinner last week - he's homeless.  Not literally since his place wasn't flooded but having evacuated to North Florida before the storm and then on to the Sun Coast Resort in Tampa he can't get back into the city. The generous owners of Sun Coast are putting him and his friend up at no cost.  If one has to be homeless I can't imagine that staying at Sun Coast Resort (West coast PH) can't be all that bad. When he gets back home and things start to return to normal (is anything normal in New Orleans?) we’ll be among the first visitors to help revitalize the economy. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Talking about things French, I recently saw a film, which you just might want to check out. It is of course, French with subtitles and is entitled, 'Just a Question of Love' and available at Blockbuster.  This ranks, in my opinion, as one of the finest gay themed films I have ever seen. What sets the film apart for me was the honesty and genuineness of the characters.  The storyline isn’t particularly unique but it's what they do with the boy meets boy scenario. If you do rent it, or have seen it, please let me know what you think.

Times they sure are a-changing.  Ellen Degeneres is credited with having opened the door to gayness on T.V. and without 'Ellen' we wouldn’t have 'Will and Grace'. And without 'Will and Grace' there wouldn't be the proliferation of gay characters among the many sitcoms.  But now comes the appearance of gays in commercials. Have you caught the Orbitz spot?  It features Wink Martindale with his orange pompadour hairdo.  He’s a game show host and the contestants are to find a gay friendly hotel in San Francisco. (duh!)

One of the contestants is apparently straight and the other is a very lovely-dovey gay couple. They win and rush to embrace/kiss Martindale to which he responds, " I liked that." Then there's the Polaroid spot advertising a plasma TV (I believe) and it shows a guy watching football but when he looks out the window across the way, this hot babe is watching figure skating so he immediately switches to figure skating.  This goes back and forth until he looks at the guy in the window of the apartment next to the girl.  He’s watching figure skating and sees the same on our main guy’s screen and believing him to be 'family' gives him a very sweet, gay and cruisey wave.  Now, I must admit I haven't seen these spots on the networks but even for cable it announces the giant strides that have been taken in recognizing the gay community as full-fledged members of society.

With the price of gasoline causing every one of us to readjust our budget and trim a bit from here and there I have a tip to pass on to you.  Forgive me if it is not new to you but it is for me and may be worthwhile to others.  If you cook you know the importance of having dry herbs and spices as fresh as possible.  We are told to replace them every six months. Well, if you do that from the supermarket spice rack you'll put a further squeeze on your already pressured food dollar. I've been there and done that.  Recently I discovered the herb/spice jars at Whole Foods. I replaced my Spice Island jars of thyme, rosemary and pepper flakes for a total of $1.98 instead of the supermarket price of $10.77.  I now know that I can rotate my herbs/spices on a timely basis and not break the bank. Remember using old herbs/spices with fresh ingredients will not give you the result you are looking for.

If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a contribution to the New Orleans relief  - go to www.RedCross.com.

Ciao for now!

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