Coming to the Defense (Well, Sort Of) of Ben Carson

Since I am a dyed-in-the-wool (and yes, that is neon-purple wool) liberal, I can chart the various fortunes of the Republican candidacies by who is getting shafted on my Facebook wall this week.  After the second debate, when it looked like Carly Fiorino might have a chance, there were a ton of negative stories about her.  Now that Marco Rubio is doing well, I'm finding out more about his finances than I ever wanted to know.  And of course, Donald Trump... well, he put the hit out on himself.  But anyway, I digress...

Ben Carson stories the past week or two all seem to be about him "embellishing" details about the past (or as they call it when regular people do it, lying.)  There's the Popeye's incident, that can't be authenticated by the Baltimore policy.  The full scholarship offer to West Point (again, can't be authenticated).  The saving the white kids in his class from a riot story that no one else in his high school that no one else seems to remember. 

But the thing is... as well as a surgeon, the man used to be a "success speaker".  Have you guys ever been sentenced by your boss to go to one of those full day Success Seminars?  I swear, none of the people at those seminars tells the truth.  They all live by the hype, die by the hype, and pumping up their story to keep people interested is in the job description. 

Furthermore, I suspect the same thing is true of most of our past presidents.  Does anyone really believe the whole cherry tree incident?  Writing your homework on the back of a shovel with a piece of coal?  Actually attending all of your commitment for the Texas Air National Guard?  Not inhaling?  Seriously?  It's just that now...these things can be checked.  And now that Brian Williams and Dan Rather have been brought down, I don't see the press being willing to give anyone a pass anymore. 

So, I don't really care that Ben Carson may have inflated his CV a little - Now, his words about single mothers being the root of all evil, that I care about.  His stupid ideas about getting rid of Medicare and Medicaid, that I really care about.  Him being nutty enough to think that Obamacare is worse than slavery - that I think disqualifies him.  But telling a few stories about his past - give the guy a break.

Memory Well: Cooking for Grandpa

I've never been much of a precision cook - my style has always been more jazz rather than classical.  I prefer to dump things in a pot or a casserole dish, take basic bones of a recipe and then add or subtract based on my feelings on the day (or my cupboards). And because I grew up in the 60s and 70s, I'm a firm believer in Campbells Cream of Whatever as a binder - I can make a basic white sauce, but why bother?  I know, it doesn't sound all that appetizing, but I haven't had many complaints, and I have had people ask for my recipes before (which can get a little embarrassing, but that's a different story).

But this one time, the family was gathered together in Ogden for some big event - I can't remember exactly what it was - might have been Mom's 50th birthday, but I'm not sure (my personal event memory is even less precise than my cooking at times.)  At any rate, because it was a special occasion, I decided that this one time, I'd go ahead and pull out all the stops, and actually follow a recipe for once.  I decided to make Beef Stroganoff, following the recipe exactly with the tomato paste and cooking sherry and caramelizing the onions and...  being very careful to measure everything, time everything.  I spent way too much time in the kitchen, frankly, for something that would normally take me about 20 minutes (and that includes boiling the egg noodles.)

Anyway, we sat down to eat, everyone is tucking away, having a great time, talking away, and Grandpa issues his pronouncement on the meal...  "Good gravy."  Yep.  Good gravy.  This is why I went back to Campbells.