Popcorn

Please don’t tell my dentist, but I eat A LOT of popcorn.  I like it the old school way, popped on the stove in coconut oil with lots of salt and butter.  And I mean lots of salt and butter.

Popcorn originated from wild grasses in Mexico some nine-thousand years ago and was also popular in Peru around 4700 BC.  It appears as though some crusty, old cobs were found in some archaeological digs which led scientists to believe that people enjoyed popcorn as a snack even back then. 

Despite it’s early origins, popcorn didn’t make it’s way to the United States until the early 1800’s.  Wire handled poppers were crafted to enable would-be snackers to pop the corn over an open flame without starting themselves on fire.  The first popcorn machine made it’s debut at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and in the late 1890’s, Louis Ruckheim introduced the world to Cracker Jack.  (You can still get Cracker Jack today, thanks to my good friends over at Lay’s.  While I never much cared for it, I loved getting the prize inside when I was a kid!)

During the depression, popcorn and Cracker Jack were sold outside of movie theaters and was one of the few items of that era that actually had an increase in sales.  Then, in 1938, Glen W. Dickson started installing popcorn machines in the lobby of his chain of midwest theaters and popcorn has been a movie staple ever since.

If your weekend itinerary includes a movie, whether at home or at the theater, I highly recommend some popcorn.  Even if there’s no movie in your immediate future, it’s a pretty tasty snack with a glass of apple cider!  How do you like your popcorn?

Popcorn Ingredients

Gathering up the ingredients

Melting the Oil

Melting the oil

Heating the Kernals

Heating up the kernals

Before Butter

Freshly popped

Melting the Butter

Melting the butter

After Butter

Snacktime!

Hannah Waiting for Corn

I’m waiting . . . 

Popcorn Hulls

All that remains

Sources:

History.com Staff 

Wikipedia 

PBS: Tory Avey 

Traveling

This week I’ve been away from home on business.  The meetings went well – we built some bridges, shared ideas, solved some problems, and even had time for a little fun.  Still, I can’t tell you how great it felt to put my key in the front door, walk over the threshold, put down my bags, and be back home.  It seems like Hannah felt the same way – she had to go lay in her crate for a few minutes and then systematically take every toy out of her toy basket and play with it a little bit.

When I was much younger, I thought it would be fun and glamorous to travel for work, that it would make me feel important and significant.  I admit I was a little envious of those folks that traveled in first class, all decked out in their business attire.  I imagined them running successful businesses, making important decisions, living glamorous lives. 

Like so many things I once believed, that’s not really how it is. Traveling is exhausting, unpredictable, and is subject to weather and the abilities, moods, and cooperation of many different people. A lot of people I talk with say they would prefer not to travel for work, they only do it because they have to.  There are others who enjoy that life, however, I’m not one of them.

Even though we ate at nice restaurants, (we had a lovely meal at Terra Preta and it was a delightful surprise to find that the Detroit Street LunchBox at the Detroit airport features Zingerman’s products!), I feel like I need to fast for a day to let my body recover.  I’m looking forward to eating meals I’ve prepared with my own hands and having some time for contemplation after dinner while I do the dishes. 

There was also the problem of trying to find places to patronize that had a positive rating in the Better World Shopping Guide.  One day the only lunch option we could find was Panera, with a D+ rating.  They did send me a survey after the visit and I took the opportunity to add a comment asking them to please make changes that would change their rating.  Marriott is one of the preferred hotels for my company, so I stayed at the Courtyard, which has a B rating.  Unfortunately, the gas station where I filled up on the way to the airport was an Exxon station, which scores an F and is rated as the number 1 worst corporation on the planet.  Yikes!  There were probably other stations I could have stopped at, but since I was running a little behind schedule and hadn’t planned ahead to find a preferred station, I opted for convenience. 

Now that I’ve got my bags unpacked, my lunch ready for tomorrow, and my slippers on, it’s time to relax a bit in the recliner and say a little prayer of gratitude for all the blessings and comforts of home. 

How do you feel about traveling for work? 

In Honor of Our Veterans

On November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson said, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.” 

At the time, I suspect that he and the rest of America truly believed that World War I was the “war to end all wars.”  It’s sobering to realize that there will likely always be war between nations, and that young men and women will continue to stand up and serve in one of the branches of the military.

Veterans receive more honor and respect today than they have at different time periods in American history, but I’m not sure we really think about the price that so many have paid to be on the front lines.  An estimated 3.6 million veterans have some type of service related disability.  Almost twenty percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and serious depression

There are a lot of fine organizations out there that serve our veterans, but since I’m an animal lover, I’ve got a heart for organizations like America’s VetDogs, a subsidiary of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. 

VetDogs strives to meet the needs of our veterans by providing guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf, service dogs for those with disabilities, and PTSD dogs to help servicemen and women cope with the trauma of their wartime experiences and provide emotional and physical support. 

I’ve known Ken Kirsch for over 35 years.  He’s a former serviceman himself, and a gifted dog trainer.  He was kind enough to share more about America’s VetDogs with us today. 

As the Director of Service Dog Programs here at America’s VetDogs I am especially proud that we are NOT an era specific organization.  We serve all eras: WW2, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War and all the current conflicts since 1975. AVD is a world class organization that is one of only two organizations that is dually accredited by Assistance Dogs International and the International Guide Dog Federation in the world. All the AVD Instructors are ADI Accredited Instructors. 

There is no cost to the Veteran at all to receive one of these Assistance Dogs. AVD flies the Veteran to Smithtown for classes, each Veteran has their own room in the student residence, and all meals are prepared by our chef. While here the Veterans learn and put into practice the Foundations of Service Dog work, public access training, laws and Learning Theory as well as advanced Learning Theory that empowers the Veterans to add more tasks that will help them live their lives without boundaries.

Each class is like a homecoming for Veterans who often times miss the military and find it difficult to adjust to civilian life. They come to AVD and here are other Veterans from all eras and it is a safe place to be with people who understands who you are, an American Veteran.

AVD trains and offers Service Dogs for PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Every day in the United States, twenty-two Veterans commit suicide! These dogs are trained specifically for tasks that help mitigate this horrible disability. AVD receives over twenty-one requests a week for these dogs. AVD is very much aware we can not help every Veteran but we can most certainly make a difference and that is what we do at AVD.

Everyone at The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and America’s VetDogs is helping Veterans “LIVE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES.”

It’s my hope and prayer that you would honor our Veterans today and that you would also consider making a donation to America’s VetDogs or another organization that strives to assist those who have served in our armed forces.  You can donate to the Guide Dog Foundation here

THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY!!