MY FAVORITE RECIPE (ONE OF THEM, ANYWAY)

Imam Bayaldi (Eggplant and tomato appetizer)

The literal meaning of this Middle Eastern dish, which I first encountered at a Serbian wedding celebration that lasted three days is: "The Holy Man Fainted," presumably from the deliciousness of the dish. This dish, like revenge, is best served cold.
Ingredients:
Two large eggplant, firm and deep purple
Too much olive oil
Too much crushed garlic
2 diced fresh tomatoes (or two cans of crushed tomatoes)
2 diced onions
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (optional)

Score eggplant and sprinkle with salt. Allow to weep for half an hour. Scoop the contents of the eggplant out and run through a food processor. Add the onions and garlic.

Transfer contents to a skillet and fry in "too much olive oil" for about half an hour. Add the tomotoes and raisins and fry for another ten minutes or so. Transfer the contents to a casserole dish. Bake for about three hours at very low temps, about 300 degrees. During the last half hour top with the cheese and or bread crumbs. Let cool and then serve as an appetizer or with pita chips or spread on bread.

The other item that was served at this three day wedding was a lamb, whose throat was cut and the lamb immediately put on a spit and roasted all day long while being basted with beer.

Lordy! What a feast!

PHONES FOR CLONES

The state legislature is considering banning the use of cell-phones in cars by those 18-years-old and younger. Normally, I hate the kind of nanny-state legislations that this Democratic legislature is famous for. But I think they are on to something here. I would take it a step further and make it illegal for those who are 18 or under to even USE a cell phone except in an emergency.

"But Dave, don't you think that kids have rights?" Generally speaking, no, I don't, and since one of the things that we try to do for children is instill in them an appreciation for culture and gracious living and getting along with others, as well maybe occasionally picking up a book, the first place to start is for them to start paying attention to people who are talking to their face!

The plague of children, particularly teenagers, constantly on the phone with each other is one of the banes of modern civilization. Children will pay more attention to their friends on the cell phone than they do to people who are physically standing in front of them. This is a plague that should be stamped out mercilessly. Then we go after young adult women who talk on cell phones while they are crossing the street.

THE GOOD SIDE OF SWEATING

There actually is a good side to all this heat and humidity. It's kept us from having any devastating fires, according to Valley Center Fire Chief Kevin O'Leary. "We've been lucky this summer," admitted the chief, attributing the lack of fires to the weather, which kept accidental fires from blazing into catastrophes. So you see, sweating like pigs has its good points!

THREE CAR FATALITY

There's a lot of interest in the accident that occurred Sunday night. Here's what The Roadrunner has on it so far:

THREE KILLED IN COLLISION SUNDAY
A Labor Day weekend collision on Lilac Road killed three people and sent three to area hospitals.
Two cars collided on Lilac Road just west of Anthony Sunday evening, about 7:20.
A 1994 Ford Explorer, driven by Albert G. Lovelady, 70, of Escondido, was eastbound on Lilac when it collided with a 1995 Cadillac driven by Carlos Mere, 56, of Oceanside.
According to the California Highway Patrol, witnesses said that Lovelady was weaving erratically moments before crossing the center lines into oncoming traffic.
Lovelady, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead on the scene.
Mere also died, as did a passenger in the back seat, Lourdes Bacilio, 55, also of Oceanside.
Three other passengers in the Cadillac sustained major trauma and were still in critical condition on Monday.
They are Isabella Mere, 55, of Oceanside, Carolina Cornejo, 52 of Texas and Victor Medina, 22 of an unknown city. Medina was transported to Scripps La Jolla, while the other two were taken to Palomar Medical Center.
The accident is still under investigation by CHP.


Mr. Lovelady, although not a Valley Center resident, was well-known in the area for his involvement with the Valley Center Vaqueros horse club and for his involvement with local 4-H clubs. He was known in that group as "Bud" Lovelady.

Services will be held for him on Saturday, 11 a.m. at Oak Hill Church of Christ. (Oak Hill & Ash), Escondido. The family requests in lieu of flowers, to send contributions to the Valley Center Vaqueros at Valley Center Vaqueros, Inc., P.O. Box 617, Valley Center CA 92082.

We expect to have an obituary on Mr. Lovelady in the Sept. 12 paper.

TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Ten years after the death of Princess Diana, with all of the books, TV specials and coverage on the Internet, all I have to say is this: I find this woman's life to be tedious, boring and meaningless. I have no interest in her and would find it hard to stay awake if somebody tried to explain to me why they find her significant in any way. What's more, I have a hard time imagining a universe where her life would rate more than the ripple that a drop of water creates when it falls in pool. Only people with pathetic lives waste this much energy on celebrity worship.

YAKITY YAK (DON'T TALK BACK)

There's a study out by a psychologist that says that what we've always been told about women: that they talk more than men do, is false. According to this study, which was done on several hundred college students, men talk just as much as women.

Well, whoever did this study obviously didn't include women who use phones, specifically cell phones. Specifically young women. Stop at a busy intersection and see teenage girls crossing, their right hands glued to their ears. Their lips a blur. Have you ever been caught in a line to buy gas at the 7-11 with the woman carrying on a conversation with her "girlfriend" while she tries to negotiate the gas purchase, and the line builds up behind her? Or, in the booth next to you in the expensive restaurant with tons of atmosphere, the young thing in a clingy cocktail dress sobbingly breaks up with her boyfriend-- for all to hear? A man would never do that. A man would leave a tip and then just jump out of a four-story building.

But, in fairness, it's not ENTIRELY a woman thing. The main exception appears to be airport waiting lines where self-important men in Armani suits ALWAYS think that everyone around them wants to hear about how "You damned well better have the Baker account done in time for the meeting on Tuesday or I'll have your blankety-blank for breakfast," or "That wasn't a real diamond, she's just an associate, she doesn't mean anything to me." It's the one time that I wish young mothers would encourage their babies to cry.

It's all well and good to require hands free cell phone use in the automobile. How about mouth-free cell phone use in the airport?

Leaving phones behind for a minute, what about the fact (and I've verified with several women friends of mine that I'm not picking on women about this one) that women tend to congregate in doorways, office halls and grocery store lanes, and clog up the throughput? Recently I was at a movie theater and wanting very much to get into the men's room, and there were a couple of women blocking the entrance, gabbing about something! Why couldn't they block the women's room?

There's a good argument for locating office water coolers in the parking lot, where we don't count on traffic to move very fast. Men don't park their grocery carts next to each other, blocking all traffic, while they gab about the latest American Idol in front of the baby food.

I can hear what the women will say in their best imitation of Hillary Clinton (i.e. fingernail on chalkboard) "You shouldn't be in such a hurry at the grocery store!" Or "Why don't you just ask politely to go through?" Or "What are YOU complaining about? You don't have to go through child birth!"

Well, actually I did go through childbirth. But fortunately I didn't have a twin sister, or else I still might be there, waiting to come out.

CELEBRATING LIVE EARTH

While the Live Earth concert featuring Al Gore is saving the earth from global warming this weekend, I'm going to do my part. First off, I'm going to go through the house and unscrew my fluorescent curly-cue bulbs and replace them for the day with energy devouring Edison bulbs. I also plan to drive my gas guzzling SUV Jeep at least 50 miles more than I normally do on weekends. I plan to smoke a couple of cigars to put a little extra CO2 and Carbon Monoxide into the atmosphere. I'm going to leave the TV on all day, tuned to the Live Earth concert, although, alas, I won't be there to watch it.All the while I'll be relaxed with a mixed cold drink, watching the ice cubes melt while I reflect on the snows of Kilamanjaro and the South Pole icepack. Things that YOU can do to celebrate the Live Earth concert include insisting on paper when the supermarket clerk bags your groceries, lighting your barbecue with lots of lighter fluid, and finally, eat lots of beans so that you contribute the earth's methane levels. Remember, anything that gives you pleasure is probably bad for the earth! Viva La Live Earth!