BREAKING DOWN BATOn ROUGE AFTER crème brûlée 2015 - 2016 (Rev 3.0 - Dec. 2016) An inconvenient end-of-year essay of distinctly American recollections and ramblings for fireside Cognac reflections and intoxicating digestion by Don Elam California’s Finest Wine Exporter Port of Oakland, San Francisco Bay virada.com ! 2! Michelin Star “Menu” Page PROLOGUE 003 Hot Buttered & Honey Drippin’ Soul WHOLE LEE TRINITY 037 Blues on the Bayou Slathered with Abstract Southern Truth Gumbo de La Nouvelle-Orléans LAMENTATIONS OVER LINDSEY 257 A Lonesome Walk in the Woods Black-Eyed Peas Please Celebrating Sexy Women of Haute Couture in High Heels featuring Uncle Ben’s Plantation Long Grain Rice L’ Étouffée de Lafayette FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE 447 Smooth Sailing for Inclement Weather My Pappy’s Very Own STRAIGHT, NO CHASER 685 Mercy Boo-Koo Too EPILOGUE 694 ! 3! PROLOGUE The!opinions!expressed!I!entirely!take!sole!responsibility!for,!after!all,!it!was!this! damp!rainy!afternoon!of!applied!effort!that!propelled!me!to!put!thoughts!and!ideas! down!as!events!of!the!year!simply!compelled!and!cornered!me!to!get!finally! cracking.!I!looked!to!my!left!and!right!and!just!couldn’t!see!anybody!else!better! qualified!to!do!it!and!it!had!to!be!done!!!My!effort!a!year!ago!was!met!with!a! resoundingly!inconsequential!silence!as!those!who!did!read!it!were!perhaps!not! amused!of!having!historical!facts!pulled!up!from!a!deep!well!with!the!wooden!ladle! of!cool!fresh!water!passed!roundly!for!consumption;!stagnant!cold!tea!in!a!shallow! pot!that!one!knows!from!a!near!monopoly!of!a!dominant!Western!perspective!I! suppose,!is!preferred!on!many!delicate!topics.!Tampering!with!glass!stems!is! acceptable!at!tastings!but!blowing!dust!off!of!sacrosanct!subjects!and!pulling!out!a! fresh!lens!to!take!a!good!look!at!the!labels!makes!many!uncomfortable!digging!deep! in!the!cellar.!!Leave!it!alone!!That!is!precisely!the!problem:!nearly!everybody!is! addicted!to!the!notion!that!the!easy!way!out!is!feathered!by!stringently!complying!to! maintaining!comfort!in!what!you!say,!hear,!read!and!do;!ultimately!clinging!to!what! you!already!know!at!any!cost.!We!shy!away!from!whatever!is!uncomfortable!to!the! detriment!of!realizing!that!in!the!tension!is!the!opportunity!for!real!understanding! and!growth!by!recognizing!the!aggregate.!The!best!vineyards,!we!know,!have!a! terroir!to!force!the!vines!to!find!their!character,!find!their!ways!with!guidance!and! organizationI!not!just!giving!away!everything!the!vines!want!on!a!silver!platter!as! though!spoiled!children!thriving!as!bramble.!The!roots!must!mature!and!grow!up!to! work!for!it;!we!are!the!ultimate!beneficiaries!of!their!search!whom!with!each! circumspect!taste!from!a!glass,!can!value!their!intrinsic!yet!inconspicuous!hard! earned!labor.!Let!us!put!aside!the!base!pipedreams!of!easy,!which!is!oversold!as! though!free!for!all,!and!let!us!reward!craftsmanship!and!work!which!requires!skill,! thought!and!investment!as!applied!by!adults.!Free,!as!we!may!agree,!is!for!fools.! ! ! 4! !!!This!essay,!because!of!recent!horrific!events!in!France!and!California!in!diabolical! sequence,!is!extraordinarily!coupled!with!last!year’s!and!the!reader!is!forewarned! that!if!they!do!not!wish!to!know!more!than!what!they!are!certain!in!the!world,!then! they!should!defer!to!not!read!any!further!but!happily!continue!living!their!lives! unabated!in!all!the!awe!struck!pleasure!of!being!enwrapped!in!the!splendor!of!the! cornucopia!of!their!hermetically!fragile!bubbles!with!a!faithful!reliance!on!the! routine!of!their!own!known!facts,!delusions!(which!we!all!have!so!not!to!be!taken! personal)!and!opinions!that!they!prefer!to!not!be!challenged,!as!doing!so!may! otherwise!prove!detrimental!by!opening!paths!to!be!explored!on!some!long!held! beliefs!and!perhaps!gain!a!new!understanding!upon!current!topics!for!reflection.! That’s!a!tall!order!and!a!trembling!one!at!that!!!These!have!been!a!especially! uncomfortable!years!and!this!essay!highlights!this!obvious!fact.!!If!the!yellow!rotaryI dial!wall!telephone!with!twisting!extension!cord!still!has!a!recognized!dial!tone!for! ET!to!phone!home,!I!recommend!you!stick!with!it!and!keep!your!peace!please!and! stay!analog!in!a!digital!world.!No!harm,!no!foul!and!I!wish!to!not!impose!on!your! domain.!I!am!a!man!of!principles,!second!only!to!peace.! ! !!!The!world!has!proven!to!be!unpredictable!but!we!prefer!events,!people!and! opinions!relayed!to!us!to!be!just!the!opposite.!Stability!is!what!we!hold!to!be!most! precious!even!when!evidence!points!to!a!pending!teetering.!We!often!do!not!prefer! needles!pricking!what!is!valued!as!precious.!We!need!to!be!reassured,!not! challenged,!on!what!we!already!believe!we!know.!This!intellectual!complacency!that! pervades!I!most!certainly!find!pernicious!and!is!apparent!irrespective!of!national! boundaries.!No!one!country!has!a!monopoly!on!dubious!human!nature!or!conduct.! The!threeIwings!and!mashed!potatoes!with!gravy!lunch!special!at!KFC,!Kentucky! Fried!Chicken,!is!categorically!more!fulfilling!and!tastier!than!the!people!and!history! of!the!state!of!Kentucky.!People!have!sold!themselves!on!the!idea!that!living!in!a! quasiIstupor!full!of!entertaining!flashing!screens!of!distractions!with!headphones! glued!on!and!being!faithfully!reliant!on!the!notion!that!income,!neighborhood,!latest! autos,!jet!aircraft,!yacht!size,!reserved!seating!at!ball!games,!stock!options!and! smartphone!models!define!categorically!your!level!of!success!and!happiness;!hence,! ! 5! your!value!as!a!personI!shiny!silver!teaspoons!of!your!brimming!measure!of!honey! in!the!world!for!tangible!tasty!consumption!obvious!for!all!to!see.!!SelfIesteems!are! too!often!based!upon!how!others!perceive!us!and!how!we!internalize!this!external! measure,!not!upon!the!much!more!truthful!and!intimate!gauge!of!how!we!each!can! actually!understand!how!to!value!ourselves!and!gain!the!confident!clarity!of! listening!to!the!majesty!of!our!own!voices.! ! !!!!!I!am!emboldened!that!I!carry!the!weight!of!a!unique!perspective!in!this!sphere! that!I!have!chosen!to!unload!on!the!rest!of!you!to!generously!lay!my!burden!down! for!the!holidays!momentarily,!before!picking!it!back!up!and!shuffling!along!as!best!as! I!can!down!a!raggedy!road.!I!would!consider!the!option!to!be!irresponsible!if!I!did! not,!as!being!outraged!at!the!kitchen!table!at!events!yet!mute!and!fully!composed!in! public,!is!a!measure!of!complicity.!It!is!an!easier!strategy!but!hardly!the!best.!There! are!festering!cancers!devouring!upon!the!lands!and!not!acknowledging!them!aids!in! not!checking!their!progress,!even!if!they!cannot!be!entirely!caged!and!ultimately! eradicated.!These!mutations!thrive!by!codes!of!silence!often!with!tacit!approvals.!As! a!man,!some!points!need!to!be!examined,!and!I!am!far!too!seasoned!and!mature!to! be!swayed!by!fears!in!their!many!prickly!forms!to!not!lunge!bravely!forward.!!!! Nobody!respects!a!coward!and!that!applies!reflectively!to!him!or!herself.!The!old! adage!of!“a!man!dies!once,!a!coward!a!thousand!deaths,”!perhaps!is!apropos.!People! foolishly!let!commerce,!associations!and!friendships!shut!their!mouths!to!conform! when!they!should!shout!out!loud!at!what!is!inherently!wrong.!That!game!is!for! amateurs!who!drift!on!wayward!currents!as!flotsam!and!jetsam!and!not!for!salty! graying!captains!with!a!long!eye,!sextant!and!deep!rudder!to!navigate!the!rogue! waves!of!survival!surrounded!at!night!with!the!endless!comfort!and!bounty!of! sparkling!enlightening!stars,!magnificent!in!only!the!naturalness!of!their!stellar! beings!which!is!emanated!throughout!the!cosmic!heavens.!!The!wise!realize!that! energy!is!merely!transformed!and!is!never!destroyed;!death!is!but!a!technicality!of! transition!into!the!Hereafter.!The!gold!on!Earth!we!hold!so!dear,!was!born!from!an! exploding!star!that!gave!birth!to!our!Sun!and!solar!system.!Everything!we!hold! precious!is!a!beneficiary!of!events!far!beyond!our!imaginations!of!both!time!and! ! 6! scale;!we!injure!this!sacred!legacy!from!the!cosmos!billions!of!years!later!with!our! primitive!pettiness.!We!can!observe!other!lifeless!planets!in!our!own!solar!system! yet!we!still!dysfunctionally!default!to!finding!ways!to!foment!death!and!destruction! upon!our!very!own!species!for!purely!the!most!superficial!of!reasons:!we!are! deluded!that!somehow!race!and!religion!trumps!speciesI!which!is!categorically!false.! This!is!the!cart!being!way!ahead!of!the!horse!without!any!guidance!going!over!a!cliff.!! As!cliché,!its!much!like!“pearls!before!swine”,!we!don’t!know!how!to!value!what!we! do!have!until!it’s!far!too!late.!!We!enjoy!grunting!loudly!and!wallowing!in!our!own! selfIrighteous!constructs!of!squalor!even!though!we!have!a!choice!to!clean!our!acts! up.!The!idea!of!tolerance!and!compassion!have!become!extraordinarily!precious.! There!is!hope!somewhere!in!that!wretched!pile!but!we!need!to!get!busy!and!start!to! dig!for!it!with!a!concerted!effort.! ! !!!!I!come!from!a!long!line!of!victims!of!terror!and,!as!a!consequence!am!hardened!by! the!experience;!indeed,!holding!a!higher!threshold!of!being!shock!retardant.!The!Age! of!Terror!that!commenced!at!the!turn!of!this!century!is!a!recent!phenomenon!for!all! Americans!but!has!been!abnormally!normal!for!us!of!color!denied!the!same! protections!and!rights!supposedly!in!the!our!Constitution.!!The!wanton!randomness! of!the!terror!this!year!shed!light!that!anybody!could!be!fatally!put!in!harm’s!way! irrespective!of!age,!race!or!religion.!!That’s!troubling!yet!it!seems!everybody!is!a!full! blooded!American!until!tested;!caveats!crackle!and!pop!like!dormant!popcorn! kernels!exposed!to!high!heat!depending!on!the!situation!and!then!intrinsic!values!