May 2007 - Posts
I headed out to Czech Village for the annual Houby Days celebration Friday. It was my first exposure to the festival, which is in its 30th year. My mission was to ask people about their family's heritage.
Some people needed an explanation about what I was asking. A couple people dialed up their parents on a cell phone. One guy said he was Czech and Bohemian. After talking to his mother, he changed his answer to English.
I was surprised by the variety of the answers. Call me ignorant, but I guess I assumed most of the people celebrating the Czech heritage would have roots in Czechoslovakia. Some did, but certainly not all.
There was no check-in process on C Street, and no guards stopping the non-Czechs. That was a good thing, because I'm German, with a sliver of Irish, and I had a job to do.
My grandmother is one-eighth Irish, so does that make me one-sixteenth Irish? One-thirty-second? Either way, it's reflective of my amount of luck lately.
Although I'm mostly German, I am by no means a fan of sauerkraut. I say this having never tried it (that I remember), but that's just fine with me. I'd say my food preferences follow my dash of Irish heritage more than my German ancestry.
But, I am a proponent fairness and all that good stuff. So, if you must, call me Germish.
If asked I'd be hard pressed to name a vegetable I didn't like. Even those that most turn up their noses to, I love 'em. Brussel sprouts, spinach, asparagus, lima beans, green beans. Mmmm. Delish. And I love the old stand-bys too like peppers, tomatoes (yes, I realize it's a fruit) and mushrooms.
My parents fostered my love for vegetables. Growing up, we always made sure that we had dinner as a family every night. And that dinner almost always included a vegetable and a salad. My dad called the salad "rabbit food." And he relished it, big chunky pieces of crunchy carrots, juicy tomatoes and crisp lettuce.
We also always had a big garden where my mother planted rows of radishes, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and lettuce. Throughout the summer, she'd send us out to the garden at night to pick what we needed for dinner. And at the end of the season, we'd harvest tubs of veggies.
Not having my mother's green thumb (or patience) and living in a townhome that's not conducive to vegetable gardening, the closest I can get to home-grown veggies is at a farmer's market. I figure it's still home grown, just not at my home. Wandering around the farmer's market Tuesday afternoon in Cedar Rapids, I loved seeing all the bright luscious veggies. There were tomatoes the size of softballs in reds, yellows and greens and asparagus stalks as long as my arm.
After talking with farmer's market shoppers Tuesday I soon realized that I'm not the only one that loves my veggies. Four people named asparagus as their favorite vegetable. One woman's theory: it's only in season for such a sort time that we cherish the time we have to enjoy it. Interesting. Three more said sweet corn, which is to be expected in Iowa. I also got a brussel sprout answer. I guess it makes sense, though, farmer's markets would attract the veggie lovers among us.
Next week Jeff will catch up with folks in the Czech Village for Houby days. Beyond the obvious question: What's a Houby? He'll be asking about everyone's family heritage. Til then ...
As a journalist, I'm very aware of the importance of spelling. We're talking Day One of Journalism 101 here. It's the first and foremost rule, especially with names. Misspell a name in this business, and you will hear about it. If it happens enough, it could cost you your job.
This week's On the Street was all about spelling. What better place to ask a spelling question than at the Catherine McAuley Adult Spelling Bee. We asked people if it was important to spell correctly, and why or why not.
I was a little worried that we wouldn't get enough variety for the answers. We were at a spelling bee, for crying out loud. Who's going to say no? Well, the first person I spoke with did, citing the popularity of spell-checker.
Everyone else said yes, it was important, and their reasoning was interesting. The most common reason was the impression that one can give off if he or she spells incorrectly. One guy took mercy on the spell-checker, saying it's important to spell well so the spell-checker doesn't have to work as hard.
I also got a kick out of the last guy I talked to. His team had made it deep into the spelling bee. I think they were in the top five out of 22 teams. He said it was important to spell well, because it can make or break how well you do at a spelling bee.
With computers now automatically changing most of the words I spell incorrectly, I'm not sure how proficient I am as a speller. We've become so used to it. I think it's safe to say that spell-checker hasn't made me a better speller. By now, I do get a little nervous when I type something official without a spell checker (such as this blog).
A high school girlfriend of mine was a spelling whiz. She always gave me a hard time about spelling, especially when I wrote her a letter. I always signed it "yours truely." If you don't see the error there, consult the dictionary. Give the ol' spell-checker a rest.