Mississippi Sesame Crop

According to the 9/20/13 Clarksdale Press Register, Mississippi farms are planting sesame for the first time. “Thomas Jefferson said the sesame seed ‘is among the most valuable acquisitions our country has ever made.’”

I love them. We eat a lot of hummus with fresh veggies and sauté with it. I see them on hamburger buns and crackers. I’ve bought jars of toasted and plain for salads. Halva is worth traveling miles for. We bought it in the refrigerated section of a Middle Eastern store in Omaha, NE. Krysia and I would slice off tiny slivers and eat them unadorned. La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil is in my cupboard. The label states, “Handcrafted in Japan with 270 years of tradition.” I could leave a bowl of oil out all the time. The fragrance strikes a deep note of satisfaction and reminds me of hot dry days, something we don’t have in Mississippi, simplicity, minimalism, natural fibers, dates and figs, huge tents with Persian rugs on the sand, Sultans, belly dancers, and camels - a mini-vacation.

CPR, "In Middle Eastern and Asian countries sesame seeds are a staple that is hand-picked. The US has few growers which requires importing 75%. McDonald’s is looking for American grown seed. Thanks to some recent engineering, a new variety of sesame that was developed around the turn of the last century now exists and this variety has a thicker pod that doesn’t easily break apart. They are drought tolerant, so it didn’t matter that the summer was long and dry. They can be harvested by machine."

One of the growers brought a sesame plant to church this morning. It stood about 4' high with numberous branches covered with pods about 4" apart. A pod has four chambers of 10 seeds each. He said he will harvest them with the same combine head he uses for soybeans.

Go growers! I am crossing my fingers and stacking up prayers for you.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

July 4th Gunshot Celebrations

    image courtesy of nirots/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Clarksdale Press Register article 6/26/13

   "It's something that we've grown accustomed to during the last few years. The 4th of July and New Years being rung in by the sounds of gunshots mixed in with the bottle rockets, Black cats and Roman Candles. The sheriff's deputies and Clarksdale police officers alike will surely be chasing calls in the hundreds as citizens make reports concerning the celebratory sounds they are hearing next week.
   "Not that the geniuses that actually decide it's a good idea to fire weapons into the air are actually reading the newspaper, but hopefully others that can pass on this message, 'GUNSHOTS FIRED INTO THE AIR HAVE TO COME DOWN SOMEWHERE! THEY DON'T JUST DISAPPEAR!'
   "The bullets travel up to a mile into the air (depending on the angle) and fall back to the earth at terminal speed.
   "If we're lucky enough not to be hit by the returning bullets, they can still damage property and cause major repair bills.
   "We celebrate the 4th of July to honor those who had to fire guns in order to protect our freedoms. Don't dishonor them by firing yours needlessly."

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Master Sergeant Derrick V Washington retires

The 5/29/13 issue of The Clarksdale Press Register announced "Master Sergeant Derrick V. Washington is  to retire from the United States Marine Corp after 24 honorable years of Service. The ceremony will take place at Quantico Marine Base, Virginia May 30, 2013."  Google or Bing his name and find his list of degrees, campaigns and medals.

Master Sgt. Washington is a credit to his country, his family and community. I pray his life inspires our undirected youth.. Life exerts itself in poverty. There's nothing to do. Testosterone rages. Lines drawn. Guns drawn. Another young life is cut short.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

MS grown well-known actors

MS grows more than cotton.

Per the Clarksdale Press Register, the most famous Mississippian is Morgan Freeman.
Elvis is 2nd.
Oprah Winfrey is 3rd.
James Earl Jones is 4th.
Stella Stevens is 5th.
Sela Ward is 6th.
Parker Posey is 7th.
Gerald McRaney is 8th.
Cassi Davis is 9th.
M.C. Gainey is 10th.
Mary Ann Mobley, Gary Collins, Diane Ladd, Johnny McPhail, Joey Lauren Adams, Finn Carter, Lacey Chabert, John Dye, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Cynthia Geary, Garry Grubbs and Robert Earl Jones are also Mississippi actors.

I met Johnny McPhail at a local Tennessee Williams event. He was excited about his next movie. I stood right next to him and craned my neck. He's 6'4". Meeting Morgan Freeman is on my Bucket List.

2013 Red Convertible Travel SeriesClarksda

Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly's "Titled World"

According to The Clarksdale Press Register, "Tom Franklin and his poet wife, Beth Ann Fennelly, co-wrote the novel 'Titled World' set in the April 1927 MS Delta flood. He read a portion of it here last week."

Franklin said, "The tension of rising waters in the book provides an effective metaphor for rising human tensions."

CPR, "The size of the flood was the costliest disaster to ever hit the United States. It guaranteed widespread misery and hardship and those things provided the well-spring of concern. With so many people drowned and others displaced, there is no end to the possibility of stories. It inspired dozens of blues songs, William Alexander Perry's classic memoir 'Lanterns on the Levee',  and the novel 'Southern Cross the Dog' by Chinese-American Bill Cheng."

Clarksdale hosts at least one author a month promoting their new work. We are fortunate to have a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation with support from the Delta Bridge Project, the Friends of the Library and KCP & L, and partnership with the Coahoma County Higher Education Center. Hors d'oeurves by Alexander Pretti & Co.

The MS River is six miles from us and held back by the Levee. Locals pay attention to the Helena, AR MS river stage. Excessive rains in Ohio and Illinois and up the Missouri keep us on our toes. The questions on everyone's mind is: Will it flood behind the Levee and how high? Do residents need to evacuate?

In 2011 the Hamburg, IA Missouri River Levee breech sliced off the Levee like meatloaf. The Missouri flows into the MS near St Louis. The Mighty MS is a force with a mind of its own. It bears watching.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series