Review: The Painted Drum

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Sad, beautiful and lyrical, this story revolves around a tribal drum with its roots in tragedy. This is the second book I have read by Ms. Erdrich and I was delighted to recognize the brief appearance of a couple of characters from The Round House. She manages to make the stories and visions of her Ojibwe characters completely believable, even when unbelievable things happen, like a dead girl telling her father to find her bones. At the same time, her troubled, imperfect characters are imbued with skepticism, doubt and disbelief, not only about the old traditions, but about human nature itself. The stories within the story have few happy endings, but there is clearly love and redemption at the end of it all.



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Review: Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir

Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







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Review: The Round House

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I found myself thinking about 1/4 of the way into this book, "Why the hell haven't I ever read Louise Erdrich's novels before?" The story and the writing were excellent. I have a little bit of exposure to tribal organizations through my work, and so the references to BIA and laws applying to reservations were somewhat familiar. There are several mysteries wrapped into this book, but it probably worked best as a coming-of-age tale that explored the notion of morality in the face of evil. Erdrich's characters felt true-to-life to me, and I always appreciate an author who can capture the way teenagers think/express themselves. The stories about the history of the tribal people as told through the dreams of the grandfather (Mooshum) brought the ongoing trials of Native men and women to life without being preachy. Lots going on in this book - makes me want to re-read parts of it, but first I am going to find another Erdrich novel and read that.



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No time like now to live or work in Boston

The last remnant of the elevated highway
that shadowed the North End for 50 years

I learned a new tour for Boston By Foot last year called "The Dark Side of Boston." It's a 90-minute walk through the North End, which, as the oldest neighborhood in Boston that is still a neighborhood, has a history both glorious and, well, not so much. One reason the tour was developed by our volunteer guides was to try to provide some true stories about the bad and the ugly that don't involve dubious claims about ghost sightings. As I've given the tour many times in the past year, I have a few things to reflect on about why this tour is even more important than simply not being "just another ghost tour."

Just like the rest of Boston, or any big city, the North End has had its share of crimes, disasters, inhumanity and less-than-proud moments over nearly 400 years. This isn't a tour that really picks on the North End, though, so I've learned to be careful to point out to tour participants that some of our gruesome stories are about events that took place elsewhere in Boston. I also assure them that today's North End is one of the safest and least crime-ridden places in the city. I boast to them that right now is the best time in all of history to live or work in Boston, and that is how my perspective on this tour started to develop.

I think of this tour as sort of a history of social (in)justice. I lead off by telling people that in spite of all the troubles and tragedies in our modern American society, today really is the best time to be in Boston and in America. It's because 50 years ago, and 100 years ago, and 400 years ago - things were really not all that great. They especially were not great if you were not a wealthy white male of English heritage who worshipped in a mainstream Protestant church. Sure, George Parkman (who was infamously murdered in 1849) was a well-off male WASP (as was his killer), and of course his type was not immune to tragedy. But consider the freedoms and advantages we all have a share in today!

• Be happy if you are a poor Irish Catholic woman today in Boston instead of in 1688, or you could end up hanged as a witch like Goody Glover. 
• Be happy if you are an Italian immigrant to Boston today instead of in 1920, or you would be accused of being an anarchist or worse, like Sacco and Vanzetti. 
• Be happy if you get sick with a contagious disease in Boston today instead of 1721, or you'd be told it's God's will that you have smallpox and that inoculation is poisoning. 
• Be happy if a major pandemic starts its outbreak in Boston today instead of in 1918, or you might not find out about it in time to protect yourself due to wartime censorship (and no phones, TV or internet). 
• Be happy if you like to walk through the North End of Boston today instead of in 1850, when you risked being swindled, robbed or attacked. 
• Be happy if you are an Irish immigrant to Boston today instead of in the 1850s, or you'd be jobless, homeless, or crowded into dirty, dangerous tenements. 

We still have problems today in our city and in our country, but people before us had it worse in many cases. I reflect on this every time I step onto the (much cleaner than in the past) streets of Boston to give my tours. How lucky are we that people before us and people today care enough to try to make things better for all.

Food, glorious food

This was a fun and crazy week. My Denver colleagues were in town and we went to see the Red Sox beat the Twins at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. It was gorgeous out, warm and humid, and I had really forgotten how cool it is to be at the ballpark. I hadn't been to a game there in 15 years - yikes!

Thank you to my coworker for buying me peanuts and crackerjack so I could sing the song at the 7th inning stretch and feel committed to it. I do care if I ever get back, because he also bought me dinner in the form of an Italian sausage with peppers (PEH-piz)and onions. I put a little ballpark brown mustard on it. Heaven. The last time I had one of these it was so overcooked and nasty that I'm not sure why I was wanting to have another one. This was perfect. Juicy, tons of flavor, perfectly cooked soft veggies and a beautiful soft roll (bread just makes it). I ate about three quarters of the bag of Cracker Jacks and maybe 1/4 of the peanuts (salty as hell but you do burn calories having to open them and toss the shells on the ground). I went out with more visiting colleagues the next night to Brasserie Jo in the Back Bay. Got some beef marrow bones as an app and Lyonnaise salad (better known as bacon and egg salad) as an entree to reconnect avec mes racines Francaises.

Beef marrow is sick - oily and gamy and stinky and totally delicious on little toasts. At least one of my dining companions was thrilled to share with me; another was happy when the waiter took the aromatic plate away.

Book review: American Jezebel

American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans by Eve LaPlante
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and felt the author clarified the extremely complex nuances of Puritanism in England and her colonies. As a Boston tour guide, the understanding I gained from this book will help me a great deal with my tour narratives. The author's documentation of her own footwork in England, Boston, Rhode Island and New York was fascinating. Anne's final chapter and the fate of her children is almost unimaginable in today's world.

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Getting ready for Boston walking tour season

It's been a LONG winter but signs of spring are finally here at the end of a rough March through snow and cold. I'm co-chair of Boston By Foot's public relations committee, which has ironically made it even harder for me to wait for spring. My co-chair and I have had meetings since January with the director, and two committee meetings already in February and March. I'm so excited I can't stand it! Tour season "officially" begins May 1, but already I've been on a special tour of "The Adams Family" given on Presidents' Day. February 18 (especially in 2013) is a pretty crazy date for an outdoor activity not involving a sled or skates, but we persevered and it was a great tour, frostbite aside. (Abigail Adams, above left, agrees).

I'm thrilled about the 2nd annual tour connected to April Fool's Day, that will take place at 2 pm on Sunday, April 7. "True Lies & False Facts: A Questionable Tour of Boston," isn't like any other tour offered. For one thing, some of the guides tell you things that aren't true! The fun is, you get to guess which stories are true, which are false, and test your knowledge over drinks. I walked the route with master planner Dina Vargo (talking to the guide group, right) last weekend all over Beacon Hill, but still don't know what any of the stories are.

And I'm SO excited about some new tour offerings this year, included an extended Freedom Trail walk called "Road to Revolution." I learned the tour yesterday and am eager to include it in my repertoire. I'm also giving Tours of the Month in June (Charlestown Navy Yard which I learned last year) and in August (South Boston's Seaport, which is a brand new tour for a brand new area of the city). I also want to get to two regular tours I've never been on: Literary Landmarks, offered every Saturday morning from May to October; and the Architectural Boat Tour, offered 4 times each weekend for the majority of the season.

For now, I'm cheered by the hints of budding branches on the tulip trees (magnolias) along Beacon Street and the ever-shrinking nature of the remaining snow piles around the city. Hope to see you out walking soon!

Samuel Adams: A Life - my review of Ira Stoll's book

Samuel Adams: A Life by Ira Stoll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book will actually change my interpretations of Mr. Adams when I give walking tours in Boston. He looms so large in our tours yet is all but forgotten by most Americans. I was actually frustrated reading this book because I felt the author was harping too much on Adams' religious beliefs and "Puritanism". And I had to wonder, for a man who spent so much time writing (he was a journalist and politician) why his works were not drawn on more. Only at the end did I realize that he (wisely for his time and role) destroyed volumes of his correspondence.

A few changes I will make when talking about Adams to tourists: 1) He was the much more famous Adams of his time, especially in London (younger cousin John went on to be 2nd US President, but Samuel was well known to King George III and members of Parliament); 2) He was 2nd Governor of Massachusetts only because Hancock died in office - while he and Hancock were friends, the relationship was strained because of Hancock's "extravagance" vs. Adams's insistence on not taking any more than he needed to live on in his various political assignments; and 3) He did not leave Massachusetts until he traveled to Philadelphia as a member of the Continental Congress at age 51.

A very worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Founders, the Revolution, and the history of Boston.


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Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, Sir Terry outdoes himself in this "finale" to his Witches semi-series. I feel like I know Gytha Ogg and Esme Weatherwax personally! Would love to hear recorded versions of Nanny's renditions of the Discworld's bawdiest drinking songs.

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Good Reads: The Wee Free Men

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoy Terry Pratchett's humor and point of view, but sometimes the DiscWorld series feels repetitive. This amazing book brings back a couple of familiar characters in cameo roles (Granny Weatherwax, for instance) but introduces fresh new humans and other beings in a setting that might or might not be rural medieval England. After "Witches Abroad" I was already thinking Mr. Pratchett is one of the best male authors writing from a female point of view; but this book clinches it. He also seems to remember and inhabit the point of view of a child (an extremely intelligent and no-nonsense child, of course) like no other author I've read. And the Wee Free Men themselves - a giant clan of tiny red-haired, blue-skinned maniacs also known as the Nac Mac Feegle or "pictsies" are the best invention yet.


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Questionable Tour of Boston April 1

Don't be an April Fool! Join me for a new and different kind of tour for Boston By Foot. Sunday, April 1, meet at the Old North Church and decide which stories you hear are true or false on a stroll around Boston's oldest neighborhood. Drinks, snacks, and the "big reveal" at the Bell in Hand at the end! 

Closing out season #5: Boston By Foot Tours

Serving as a guide with Boston By Foot is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I love learning about history and architecture, and I get great joy from sharing my knowledge and love of my home city.

I'm finishing up my 5th season of tours in October! Even though I was away for a big chunk of May, by my count, I will have logged 29 tours by the end of the season (Oct 31). I'm posting to give you an opportunity to come with me on the last few tours I'll do until May (gosh, that seems like a long time from now!) and also to recap some of the fun I had this season.

So - I'm leading "Heart of the Freedom Trail" at 10 am on Saturday, October 1 and again on Saturday, October 15. It's 90 minutes and covers 10 sites that connect to Revolutionary War history. $12 for adults, $8 for kids (free for members!). It starts at Faneuil Hall next to the Samuel Adams statue.

Later on Oct. 1, I'm attending (just for fun) the Tour of the Month that got rescheduled from August because of Hurricane Irene. It starts at 2 pm at the plaza across from the Somerville Theater. 90 minute, fifteen bucks ($5 for members and guides). Should be very fun - when it ends, you are in Davis Square with all the cool bars and restaurants. Not too shabby!

My last "Boston By Little Feet" of the season will be Saturday, October 8 at 10 am. I love giving this tour mainly because I never know what the kids are going to say. It's one hour and is $8 for everyone (except members who pay $0) and is geared especially for children age 6-12. ALL are welcome and I know several adults and teenagers who have admitted to really enjoying this tour! Same meeting spot (Faneuil Hall by Mr. Adams' statue) and same buildings as Heart of the Freedom Trail. Just a bit of a different take than what I talk about with grownups.

Finally (gulp!) my last North End tour is Saturday, October 22 at 1 pm. Another 90 minute tour, $12 for adults and $8 for kids. It begins on the corner of Cross and Hanover Streets near the Greenway and Mother Anna's restaurant. This is the quintessential Boston tourist tour, but even locals have told me they never realized how much history was packed into this tiny neighborhood.

Now for a few highlights from the season:

• Giving the North End tour for several co-workers and their friends/spouses
• Supporting Tours of the Month in Chestnut Hill and the Back Bay
• Doing the "real deal" of the entire Freedom Trail on the fourth of July, then watching Old Ironsides make her annual turn and cannon salute in Boston Harbor
• Taking the ferry from Quincy on a beautiful Friday morning in July and sauntering over to Faneuil Hall to start a tour
• Donning ye olde Pirate Costume to sell "Captain Kidd treasure kits" during Harborfest
• Supporting "Franklin: A Son of Boston," a special tour during Harborfest.

If you think you know Boston well, come on a tour and find out what you might be missing! If you're one of my friends who doesn't "go into town" much, take the opportunity to remember why it's so cool to live only a 20- or 30-minute subway ride away. February will be here soon enough. Seize the day!

Not in Kansas anymore

The view from my hotel balcony, Sunday morning at 6:00 - and the warning posted on the glass sliding doors:

On my way to South Africa

Wildfire 2011, the 5th International Wildland Fire Conference, starts in 3 days in Sun City, South Africa. Their website even has a countdown banner. To get there in time (and with my sense of what day it is more or less intact), I have to leave today.

Early yesterday, I got an email asking if I would speak for a few minutes at the opening of a pre-conference (Monday) workshop. I realized only then that the same workshop I'd been involved in helping launch back in 1999 was the one that the South African folks had adapted and were presenting. That workshop was my introduction into the amazing world of wildfire and was basically my life from 2002-2004, when I was part of the team delivering dozens of workshops around the country.

I'm honored, but also humbled. To think that this idea called Firewise, invented by a few incredibly creative and brilliant people, and nurtured by stubborn bureaucrats like me, has traveled across the world and taken hold in such a different culture is mind-boggling.

I am presenting for 20 minutes on Wednesday. "From an Idea to a National Movement - Firewise in the USA." The title isn't even my original thought. However, it's fitting. I hope to do justice to the people who have done the hard work of moving concepts into action, and to the wonderful relationships that have made it possible for this idea to spread not only from coast to coast, but across the globe.

Whining and Dining

In case you couldn't figure it out, I really, really, enjoy food. I especially enjoy a great dining experience, be it ever so humble. Two recent dining experiences left me whining.

I planned a lunch a few Fridays ago with one of my former bosses who's a trusted colleague and friend. Plus, he works right in the vicinity of the North End, one of the best places in the universe for a great meal. I was taking a vacation day and was between Boston By Foot tours, while he was merely taking his lunch break. We went to Ducali on Causeway Street, about which I have previously raved regarding their potato pizza.

We arrived at 11:40 am and were greeted by a friendly young hostess. We were the only ones there but were cheefully seated. I got to try Tower Root Beer (all jazzed up after reading about it in Edible Boston). I convinced my friend to split a green salad with me, which came out huge and wonderful. We each ordered a small pizza. We were both grateful for the salad, because it took nearly an hour - not kidding - from the time we were seated until the time we got our pizza. The hostess - who was also the server - visited us about 45 minutes into our wait to say the pizza would soon be ready, explaining that "you guys were wicked early, and the ovens weren't heated up yet."

Both pizzas, when they finally arrived, were perfectly delicious. But allow me this whine: Ducali -- your subtitle is Pizzeria. Your website is ducalipizza.com. It's a Friday and you are open for business. How can you possibly imply that an hour-long wait for your main menu item (which I can get in 5 minutes at 15 other places in a 2-block radius) is my fault for showing up "wicked early"?? I know the economy sucks, but trying to save money on fuel for the ovens is just bad business. I'm sure my friend, who works steps away from your shop, will avoid you for a business lunch due to the ridiculously long wait. A shame, because your atmosphere and product are fantastic.

But Ducali, you are not the only place that apparently thinks saving money is worth angering your customers. I got together with another group of friends (members of the defunct Metropolitan Dinner Club, no less) to try out Woodward in the recently-opened Ames Hotel during Restaurant Week. I guess this could be more our fault as we naively trusted that RW is an opportunity for restaurants to attract business during slow periods like the heat of summer and to show off their creativity. By some illogical accounting, dinners are $33.10 per person for RW throughout the city. At Woodward, we discovered, food is served "family-style". We were told that the 4 of us must choose just 2 appetizers and 2 entrees to share; the only dessert choices were 2 items anyway. And the chef would proportion it all for our party.

Being agreeable types over a bottle of wine, we agreed and ordered our apps (cherrystone clams stuffed with chorizo and crispy pork belly with rhubarb) and our entrees (sea scallops over summer succotash and hanger steak with fries). The clams were presented proudly on a large platter. Exactly 4 clams. We each eyed the circumference of the clams and politely tried to select one that was not too many millimeters larger than another. Some minutes later, another large platter arrived with exactly 4 pieces of crispy pork belly. My piece involved two savored bites. Very delicious! Very tapas-ish and kabuki! Where is my food, I wondered!

Now for the kicker. Our first entree, proudly placed by the smiling waiter, was yet another large platter lined with a corn-potato relish and topped by - yes -- four sea scallops. Grimly and silently, each member of our party selected a scallop and a dollop of succotash. As we scraped the platter clean of vegetation, I finally asked whether this was a joke or what.

Unfortunately for us, it was "or what". Two platters of steak frites showed up with an OK portion of nicely rare steak and giant piles of fries and dressed greens. Our waiter explained the bizarre meal as the chef's idea of what constituted a "portion" over an entire meal. Plus, he declared, look at all those fries! And that corn succotash is really filling. Ah yes, I love paying thirty-three dollars for all the fries and corn I can shovel in.

The two dessert options were provided in individual bowls (2 servings of each) so that, to share, we had to dip into one another's bowls. We stopped short of telling the server that we had communicable diseases.

Again - a fun and lovely room with a lively atmosphere, and quite tasty food (especially that damn pork belly). Too bad a stupid and petty management decision to rip off the Restaurant Week Rubes left a bitter taste in our mouths.

Free books!

Well, my "give away" basket is now overflowing. Before I donate books elsewhere, thought my friends might want them. Just comment on the blog or FB, first come, first served.

Science Fiction: A bunch of Terry Pratchett: Monstrous Regiment, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort (loved all these)

Mystery/Noir: Dennis Lehane - Gone Baby Gone (ok, it's the only noir title I have right now); Alexander McCall Smith's "Ladies Detective" series 4 thru 6: The Kalahari Typing School for Men; The Full Cupboard of Life; In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (loved all these too, though "love" is a complicated word for anything Lehane writes)

Other fiction: Colin Coterill - The Coroner's Lunch; Cristina Garcia - Dreaming in Cuban; Victor Lavalle - Big Machine; Wallace Stegner - Angle of Repose (loved The Coroner's Lunch and really dug Big Machine - weird but good)

Non-fiction reference: Saveur's "Italian Classics Volume 2" - tiny recipe booklet; Zagat 2009 New Orleans guide; Steven G. Aldana - The Culprit & the Cure (lifestyle/fitness); Kellenberg and Anderson - Before the Story: Interviewing and Communications Skills for Journalists; Witt - The Complete Book of Feature Writing; Kane - The New Oxford Guide to Writing; Meyer - Pundits, Poets and Wits

History: Bruce Watson - Bread & Roses: Mills, Migrants and the Struggle for the American Dream; Peter Earle - Pirate Wars; James Oliver and Lois E. Horton - Slavery and the Making of America

Other: Sebastian Junger - Fire (book of essays including one about wildfire and firefighters); Robert Lawson - Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin By His Good Mouse Amos (a delightful narration of some of Ben Franklin's exploits and inventions that gives quite a bit of credit to a clever rodent, written 1939).

I'll hang onto stuff til Memorial Day, but then it goes!

Good stuff cooked and eaten recently

It all started with eating Alaskan king crab for Thanksgiving. I've been cooking a lot since then, but it's been much more modest in terms of cost and complexity. And traveling way too much but managing to find some very good things to eat. Among the highlights:

• Several roast chickens, since around Christmas. Easiest non-vegetarian dinner for anyone with an oven, a pan, and a chicken. My method is to roast at 400 upside down (back side up) for about 75% of the cooking time, then turn it breast side up so the white meat doesn't dry out. You can also throw some taters in the oven at the same time. After/during carving, I eat some crackly skin on the sly and put the rest, plus the bones and giblets, in a freezer bag. Which brings us to...


• Chicken stock. A good project for a snowy or rainy weekend afternoon. Takes time but honestly not that difficult. LaVarenne is my guide. And the house smells great. And if you have at least two freezer bags full of roast chicken carcasses, it makes incredibly good stock and then you can make...


• Variations on Asian noodle soup, classic Eastern European Jewish chicken soup, or any other soup that benefits from a rich stock as a base.


• Black-eyed peas, grits, biscuits, pan-fried okra, collard greens. All eaten on a recent trip through the south. Well worth the trip.


• Broccoli. I craved broccoli after days of travel where green vegetables were not to be found. Craving - think vampire, but a vegetarian version. Lots of different methods for preparation but my fave is blanching in boiling water, draining, roasting in a 400 oven with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.


• Steamers, raw oysters, pasta with shrimp, and a steak dinner at my mother-in-law's house. I would live with her except I'd have to become a marathon runner to balance out the calorie intake.


• Turkey and black bean chili. One of my favorite easy and healthy recipes that makes a huge amount (even when I size it down). Grated carrots and chopped celery might not sound like traditional chili, but I guess turkey isn't traditional either. Delicious and makes enough for several meals. Just have to be careful chopping the jalapenos...I can eat them but I don't enjoy getting the juice on my fingers or in my eyes.


• Fried rice, lo mein, spring rolls, and curry chicken from a recent Chinese New Year celebration - all home-made. It's almost spring...time to go on a diet??

Putting the "Fun" in Fundraiser

I just finished this flyer for a fundraiser for Perry's Tae Kwon Do competition team. SUCH a good idea...

Christmas 2009

God bless us, every one!

What I did on my summer vacation

1. Used my Ellie Fund silent auction high-bid so Steve and I could spend a Friday night at the Langham Hotel downtown in Post Office Square.
2. Got surprised by Steve who used his Abe & Louie's gift certificate so we could eat a whole bunch of raw oysters, littlenecks, and (cooked) lump crabmeat while lounging on Huntington Avenue.
3. Walked all over the city between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, pausing for a nice break to enjoy drinks at the outdoor space along the Fort Point Channel at the Intercontinental Hotel, and sampling rival banh mi (Vietnamese subs) in Chinatown.
4. Enjoyed the first full week of summer weather we've had in 2009.
5. Missed the August Moon Festival on Sunday, Aug. 16 because I couldn't deal with the summer weather in downtown Boston a third day in a row.
6. Took the last TKD class until August 31 and destroyed the skin on my knuckles doing the 10-punch drill a zillion times. Can't look all girly on vacation now, can we?
7. Took a guided tour by the National Park Service of the Black Heritage Trail on Beacon Hill. And then bought two books at the Museum of African American History even though I have a huge stack of books to read right now. I'm halfway through "Slavery and the Making of America." Incredible!
8. Worked outside weeding and mulching several mornings so at least the area outside our fence looks pretty good. The rabbits have eaten not only tomatoes, beans and hot peppers, but also every flower off my aster plants.
9. Officially enjoyed a Restaurant Week menu and an unbelievable view at the Top of the Hub restaurant.
10. Guided a corporate group on the Heart of the Freedom Trail tour for Boston By Foot on Thursday morning, very glad it wasn't Wednesday because Wednesday was REALLY hot. Thursday wasn't too shabby, though.
11. Ate potato pizza at Ducali's on the edge of the North End. A new favorite dish at a new favorite place.
12. Finished reading one serious and sad novel (Obasan) and one fast-paced, violent and fun novel (Flashpoint).
13. Toured the Brandeis campus with my nephew Will, who somehow got to be a senior when I wasn't looking. Was impressed by how well he, his brother and his mom and dad held up doing college campus tours in record HHH weather.
14. Went to bellydancing class.
15. Consumed mass quantities of suburban Chinese restaurant food.
16. Sneakily did some last minute shopping for things for the surprise wedding anniversary party for my in-laws.
17. Enjoyed a cookout at my sister-in-law's house.
18. Only choked up a little when my in-laws renewed their vows for their 50th wedding anniversary.
19. Stayed off work email as much as possible.
20. Went to the movies (Julie & Julia)!