Estero, Florida: something about travel, staying with friends that is crucial to the good life is that you not over-stay your welcome. I understand that from both sides and while on the road I think about it. It’s like stop eating before you feel full and take a nap before you feel tired. It’s time to move on before you get too comfortable. I’ll move on tomorrow.
Ten or twelve years ago I was telling story wherever I went, never making enough money to pay bills but it gave me an identity and a reason to be on the road. I did a several story gigs here in south Florida. Immokalee is a little, gritty town in central, south Florida where they grow tomatoes and corn and egg plant and oranges and people are almost all, all of them, Mexicans. I told story at the elementary school in Immokalee, I even had a story I told in Spanish. The kids loved it because they knew I was struggling with their language the same way they struggle with mine in the classroom. We went back to Immokalee yesterday, to the open air fruit and vegetable market. I gave $4 for a box of 7 large mangos and $3 for a dozen ears of corn still in the husk.
Last night, watching Olympic skiers and snow boarders plummet down hill we had fresh corn on the cob. The vendador selling corn told us how to fix corn Mexican style with mayonnaise and lemon pepper. We tried it that way and it was good but I think it has to grow on you. Next time I’ll try the lemon pepper but with butter and see how that goes. Not that the mayo was bad but some things take time to acquire. We are going to poach mangos in white wine and serve with ice cream tonight. I had that in Chile in 2005 and it was so good I decided to do that for myself. How complicated can it be? The trip to Baja has left me with a much greater affinity to things Mexican than I expected. Asi que lo seguiré y veré a donde me lleva. (I’ll follow it and see where it takes me.)
No comments:
Post a Comment