>  >  ML> fiddler is more along the lines of a dream or hallucination.
>  > That's somewhat the implication, even on the movie...  
>  ML> I've not experienced any but the musical version;
>  ML> back in high school I read Tevye's Daughters but
>  ML> have no distinct recollection of the details,
>  ML> especially whether there was a dream scene in it.
> I don't think I've read the story... a Jewish friend of ours loved the
> movie so much he got the video of it and played it a lot...  

Like Sound of Music, it seems to strike a chord with
more people than you'd expect it to. And being a
product of that tradition, he was probably even more
affected by the whole gestalt (sob).

>  > According to the script, it's symbolic of the precarious balance of
>  > life between tradition and modern forces... 
>  ML> That seems compatible with my idea. Not having had 
>  ML> the script, the nuances may have escaped me.
> It may have been more obvious in the movie version...?

Could be. Were there woozly camera effects and stuff
like that?

>  > As to boomboxes, that breakdown has continued to happen... it was
>  > cars that functioned as boomboxes, driving through the neighborhood...
>  > and now it's whole houses booming out the sound.... We can hear the
>  > neighbor's "music" booming through their and our closed windows at
>  > times.... 
>  ML> See, the researchers and inventors who worked so hard to
>  ML> make energy efficiency a reality didn't count on our 
>  ML> infinite capacity to create waste and annoyance.
> You mean transistors instead of tubes, and so forth...?  No doubt this
> sort of thing never entered their minds,,,,

Miniaturization leading to more energy efficiency, so
where people used to dream of a Cray on a chip, you
now get a bunch of Fenders on a chip.

>  > I've seen only a few plays/musicals on stage over the years... not from
>  > lack of inclination exactly, just haven't done....
>  ML> Oh, my own experience with the genre is limited,
>  ML> except at that professional level, where insight and
>  ML> enjoyment just simply are not part of the equation.
> Hard to see the stage when one is in the pit, eh....?

And hard to care!

>  > I expect that I'll not run out... but I'm not really thinking much about
>  > it now... We've done our saving and collecting, and there are cushions,
>  > even if relatively slim... 
>  ML> I don't have much of a cushion, but then I've
>  ML> always been a shoestring person.
> Richard tends to be more the savings type... but he encouraged it in
> me... It's rather ingrained now...

I figure if I survive past my money (a decade)
I'll have someone start a GoFundMe page for me.
In theory, I have a place at the Actors' Fund
retirement community, the catch being that they
think I'm already dead.

>  >  ML> Beyond that level are
>  >  ML> respected, eminent, renowned. I'd say Kreisler
>  >  ML> was in his day those things, but calling him
>  >  ML> accomplished is like calling Ralph Terry 
>  >  ML> merely accomplished because he wasn't Whitey Ford.
>  > OK...  You do remember that I have a talent for understatement...?  (G) 
>  ML> There's understatement, and there's understatement.
> OK...

AND THERE'S OVERSTATEMENT. ALL THE TIME. EVERY TIME.

>  > Apparently, as in the hospital settings, rules are there to be enforced
>  > only when the situation would otherwise get way out of hand....
>  ML> Well, Rochester must be more enlightened than Boston,
>  ML> where "standard procedure" is applied at the earliest
>  ML> opportunity.
> Possibily.... or I've had exceptionally good luck staying under the
> radar when pushing the limits...  

Knowing you, that's a possibility.

>  > Being able to stretch out the legs completely is a Very Good Thing... I
>  > find that more and more important as my knee joints tend to tighten and
>  > need to stretch out and "click" to keep from hurting...
>  ML> Sounds almost like a Hanschka complaint.
> Probably for similar reasons... 

Ouch. Today my knees and back almost prevented me
from going downstairs when I heard a crash, so I'm
learning from you guys. Turns out it was a pile of
trivets being dropped on the floor.

>  > ... I want to be what I was when I wanted to be what I am now
>  ML> There's really not much point in wanting to be anything.
> I suppose...  

Nohow.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.00

      Title: TAMALE INSTRUCTIONS
 Categories: Mexican
      Yield: 50 servings

      2 pk Dried cornhusks                          Warm water

  Contributed to the echo by: Leti Labell Prepare the corn husks: First go
  through the corn husks, separating them, and removing pieces of cornsilk
  (and also dirt, etc.) that you find. Then place them in a large bowl and
  cover with tap water. (I put several plates on top of the corn husks to
  hold them down, because they have a tendency to float.) Let them soak for
  at least half an hour. Rinse the corn husks several times, to clean them.
  Then drain them well. Next, dry off the corn husks. While you do this,
you
  can separate them into piles: big husks, medium, and too little to be
worth
  using. At this time, you can also prepare some thin strips of corn husk,
  that you will use to tie the tamales together. (This is where you you the
  little pieces too small to make a tamale.) (I found that the pieces
weren't
  long enogh to tie around the tamales, so I tied two shorter pieces of
thin
  husk together. More on this later.) Make the tamales: Hold a large corn
  husk in your hand, with the narrow end pointing to the right. Take a
  spoonful of dough (I used a serving spoon, about 2 Tbs or so) and spread
it
  on the corn husk, about 1-1/2 inches from the wide end, and about 4
inches
  from the narrow end. Spread the dough right up to the edge of the corn
husk
  on one side, leaving enough of a flap to wrap around the tamale. (If the
  husk isn't wide enough for you to be able to wrap it around, you'll use
  another husk - more on this later.) Next, spread a spoonful (again, about
2
  Tbs) of filling down the middle of the dough. Roll the sides of the corn
  husk in toward the center, bringing the edges of the dough together,
  enclosing the filling. Wrap the rest of the corn husk around to the back.
  If there is not enough husk to wrap around to the back, place another
corn
  husk around the tamale, to hold the edge closed. Now, wrap the top (broad
  end) edge down, and flip the bottom part (the narrow end) up, so that it
  covers the edge of the broad end. Then, using the thin strips of corn
husk,
  tie across the middle to hold the top and bottom flaps in place. Steaming
  the tamales: Stand the tamales on end in a steamer. If you don't have a
  steamer, you could put the tamales in a metal collander, and place the
  collander in a large pot. Just be sure that the tamales do not touch the
  water below. Bring the water to a brisk boil, and steam the tamales for
at
  least an hour. I did it for an hour and 15 minutes. You can test one to
see
  if they are done: the dough will easily separate from the husk. Just be
  careful - don't burn yourself on the steam! You can reheat tamales in the
  oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. (Don't try to re-steam them.)
If
  you freeze them, you can reheat them by putting the frozen tamales in a
  casserole dish, covering with foil, and heating in a 350 oven for 30-35
  minutes. This was a lot of work, but it was well worth it!

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