It’s quite the project over at the 333. That’s all I’ll say about tha today, because we have more important things to discuss.
Ketchup.
There was a sale on ketchup-plus at Lundsenbyerly’s, so I decided to try the Jalapeño variety. The Habanero? I love them, but when you put them on something you’re telling all the other flavors to get lost, or bow down. Today at work I tried the ketchup on a hamburger patty - one of those meals I have that make me think I should also have cottage cheese and a peach slice and a cup of black coffee at the drug store luncheonette. I’m reducing!
Let me tell you about this ketchup. Imagine someone standing in a valley in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by mountains, talking on the phone. He feels a sneeze coming on, so he is careful to issue the blast into the crook of his elbow, which by the way is swaddled with the sleeve of a heavy wool sweater. The person with whom he is engaged in a phone conversation is sitting in a building across the street from you, both of you separated by soundproof windows and the din of traffic. You are more likely to hear the Swiss sneeze than you are likely to detect the taste of jalapeños in this ketchup.
Heinz Jalapeño ketchup was a little underwhelming in that it was fairly difficult to find that grassy, slightly bitter note of jalapeño pepper in the sauce.
I have japalenos many mornings in my omelette. It is never fairly difficult to detect their presence. We continue:
When I did notice it, I certainly appreciated it, but Heinz ketchup has a pretty strong flavor to begin with,
I have never found myself searching for a word to describe ketchup and eventually landed with relief and satisfaction on “strong.”
and its strength steamrolled the poor jalapeño. I've been struggling with ideas for how to use this one in your cooking, since the chile flavor is so muted.
If you supplemented it with finely diced fresh jalapeño, I'm sure it'd be great on something like meatloaf, but having to add extra peppers sort of defeats the purpose of a premade spicy ketchup in the first place, doesn't it?
Why yes. Yes, it does. Apparently the Habanero is a bit more piquant, so I might try that. The review went on to slog Heinz 57, which I have long described as Lutheran Tabasco - the reviewer didn’t like the spicy version. Well, it’s 100X better than the ketchup, and because it has a different flavor profile, it works better than “ketchup with extra ground black pepper in it.”
The only reason I bought it was the low price. While I was at the grocery store I picked up some milk. It works like this around here: I buy milk, it’s opened about two days before the expiration, it’s barely used, it gets tossed before it transforms to spackle. Since we don’t use much I buy the smallest possible container, which is unaccountably equal in price to the single quart. When I got home I noticed I was leaving white drops as I walked up the steps, which meant I either I was a Weyland-Yutani synthetic who’d snagged his artificial skin on a nail, or the container was leaking. The seal wasn’t broken on the cap; it just wasn’t a good seal. I put it in a plastic bag with the receipt.
Wednesday night I made a special trip to exchange it. They asked no questions. It was wise that I’d chosen this night, because there was a 12 hour window in which a certain pizza was marked down seven dollars, for members. And I am a member! In the end I spent $13 and was informed I had saved $16, so I’m clawing back some of those stock-market losses.
So! What's the journey that takes us from this image . . .
. . . to this one?
The other day I saw a peculiar plane fly overhead. Because this is the 21st century, I looked at an app on my phone to see what it was. A little picture of a plane was passing over my location, so I tapped on that. Ah: it’s a fractional jet!
It’s an Embraer, which, as you may know, is a Brazilian company. Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica, or Brazilian Aeronautics Corporation. Its Wikipedia page says it was founded by the government, but there’s also a fellow listed as its founder. He was appointed by the government.
His Wikipedia page notes:
Ozires Silva was one of the first witnesses to report the May 19 1986 Brazilian UFO incident, when he was flying on an executive Xingu turbo-prop plane.
Well now. Well well well. That raises an eyebrow, right? Wikipedia:
The official Brazilian Air Force report on the incident was declassified on September 25, 2009. In its final considerations, the document stated, among other things, that the unidentified aerial phenomena were capable of:
Varying their velocities from subsonic to supersonic, as well as hover
Varying their altitudes from below 5,000 to above 40,000 feet
Emitting white, green, and red lights, or emitting no light at all
Sudden acceleration or deacceleration
Turning with constant radiuses as well as sharp 90 degree turns
Showing intelligence in their capabilities to maintain distance from the observers as well as flying in formation, though not being necessarily crewed.
Anyway. Because this is the 21st century, my phone app tells me the registration number for the plane. It belongs to Flexjet, a fractional ownership company located at 26180 Curtiss Wright boulevard.
Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and various supplier companies, the company was immediately the country's largest aviation firm and built more than 142,000 aircraft engines for the U.S. military during World War II.
Today, it no longer makes aircraft but makes many related components.
If you’re wondering, yes: the Wright part goes back to, well, those guys. They merged with another guy to form Wright-Martin . . . and yes, the Martin name survives in Lockheed Martin.
Kenneth Douglas, Glenn Martin and Mary Pickford in the silent comedy A Girl of Yesterday (1915). A Martin Model TT biplane is behind them.
As for Kenneth: “In issue of Variety Magazine dated October 25 1923, it's stated that Kenneth Douglas died from alcoholic poisoning while at a Mrs. Alston's Sanitarium.”
Does the movie exist? It’s not on YouTube, but a search for Pickford turns up a home movie . . . where Chaplin prefigures The Great Dictator by 11 years.
And that's our meandering journey for today.
We continue with our survey of Pauls Valley, and if you are new around here and are asking "why?" Becauese! When was the last time you ever spent a few minutes looking at the downtown of a little town whose existence was news to you just minutes ago? It's a survey of America, what's common, what's unique. That's why. We learn a lot.
Such as the tendency to top small stores with ungainly crowns. Those name-block caps look a bit fussy and unnecessary.
Shumate . . .
And Patterson & Conner.
I suspect they were pals with Mr. Shumate, and they coordinated their new stores.
The second floor could’ve been better, and the stone and brick doesn’t work well, if you ask me. But it's a solid newspaper office. Just the facts!
Double facade rehab, I’d say - once in the 30s or 40s, or maybe even later, then a regrettable 60s makeover..
Plenty of room for those essential downtown planters!
Double facade rehab, I’d say - once in the 30s or 40s, or maybe even later, then a regrettable 70s makeover.
Swoon:
The brothers show up in the paper as the sponsors of a local 4-H concert. That's about it.
Remodel the current building or tear down for prime commercial location. Has previously been a hotel, offices, and has had a restaurant on ground floor, or could renovate into upscale loft apartments.
Hotel, eh. Let’s see if the newspaper records help . . . ah. It was the Moody.
Then . . .
And now.
They seemed to have planted bushes to disabuse people of the notion of "going inside."
Oh my no
At the time, I'm sure, it was seen as a sign that the town was On the Grow.
Buildings like this can sit like this for decades. And never return to occupancy.
At least nothing will go in upstairs. As ever, we wonder: what is up there now?
Finally, the bank we saw last week in an old ad.
Still stolid, still a landmark, still eternally Roman.
That will do. The last, or perhaps penultimate Main Street Google or Google Main Street until we pivot to restaurants. Regrettable Food for the paid subscribers, and if you're one - thanks!
We continue with our survey of Pauls Valley, and if you are new around here and are asking "why?" Becauese! When was the last time you ever spent a few minutes looking at the downtown of a little town whose existence was news to you just minutes ago? It's a survey of America, what's common, what's unique. That's why. We learn a lot.
