Re: [CH] open fields...one person's view...
Ted Wagner (trwagner1@yahoo.com)
Mon, 8 Oct 2001 13:10:43 -0700 (PDT)
Now, all we need is a guitar player to make up some chile songs we can
sing by the campfire next year! ;-)
And, Bill, again, many thanks for the refreshment Saturday. Hit the
spot!
Ted
--- bill jernigan <billjernigan@iqonline.net> wrote:
> just about everywhere i've ever lived, or even visited, the locals
> have a
> saying (the same saying): "if you don't like the weather, wait 20
> minutes
> and it'll change"...this is delivered with a deep-throated chuckle,
> and a
> smile that tells me that the person thinks it is very clever and
> original...
>
> this last weekend, i saw that old adage come true...
>
> we arrived at the waverly inn friday nite, and it was raining (to use
>
> another original description) cats and dogs...one look at the field,
> and we
> (the knoxville delegation) decided that camp super-8 was the way to
> go...
>
> saturday morning was clear and beautiful...at eight o'clock sharp,
> the
> calls began, and the shuttling process began...the road to the
> assigned
> camping area was muddy enough that those of us with small cars
> decided it
> was not practical to negotiate it...so we parked at the top of the
> little
> hill...next to the porta-potties, in the field where we camped last
> year...the very spot we had been told not to use for camping or
> parking...
>
> a steady stream of folks started arriving, tents started popping up,
> and
> soon the road was dry enough for even the rv's to move into their
> place and
> set up camp...'camps' ranged from small pup tents to rv's with
> barca-loungers in the front yard...
>
> cajohn manned the welcome tent and the poster signing booth,
> preparing a
> surprise or two for a member or two who couldn't attend, selling
> posters
> and handing out a selection of his excellent sauces and other hot
> foods...rob was in charge of handing out a selection of jim's
> sauces...
>
> everyone grabbed a bucket and set out for the field...there were
> millions
> of chiles of all colors and descriptions...some were picking the
> savinas
> and others for jim to use in his magic sauces and powders, others
> were
> picking the more exotic varieties for transport home...
>
> the most comment in the field seemed to be 'look at this one!',
> closely
> followed by 'what are these yellow ones?...are they ripe?' and 'are
> these
> insanely hot?...but there was also a lot of conversation as people
> got to
> know each other and friendships were formed...
>
> a lot of the 'regulars' were there, and there were several people who
> had
> learned about the event from the 'eat the heat' show, and had never
> met jim
> or heard of the list...they had searched for information, contacted
> jim,
> and he invited them to the field...i invited them to join the list,
> and
> hope they do...
>
> jim was kind of like santa claus...who is this guy?...generous beyond
>
> imagination but never seen...you think you see him at the edge of
> your
> vision, but when you turn, he's not there...but he was definitely
> there in
> spirit, and even those who have never met him felt his presence...
>
> backs creaked and buckets filled...the pickers hefted their harvest
> back
> toward the tent line, where food was appearing on the tables...newer
> arrivals grabbed buckets and headed for the fields...
>
> as we noshed on the great food, we were able to see faces (in the
> field,
> you mostly see the tops of peoples heads and their butts) and share
> more
> stories...the food varied in heat from mild to wild, but i didn't
> find
> anything that wasn't very good...the spam jerky was good this
> year...there
> were dozens of home made sauces and salsas of all descriptions,
> including
> scott's 'happy halloween habanero' sauce - the subject of a recent
> post...(he stressed that he washed his hands before squeezing the
> mash with
> his bare hands)...everyone agreed that it was good this year...
>
> the weather was beautiful...t-shirt weather, bright sun...rael in his
>
> chilechef's pants and hendrix blasting in his ears, talking to those
> beautiful chiles...
>
> the day passed far too quickly, with trips to pick still more chiles,
> and
> then back to the campsite for 'one more tamale' or 'another chip with
> some
> of that great sauce' or 'a little of that great salami and cheese' or
> 'just
> a little bowl of that chili'...
>
> hobby and ms. farmer were giving away some of their chile seedlings,
> and
> chile woman and her husband brought a selection of plants for us to
> take
> home...a little late for this season, but nice houseplants that will
> make
> us very happy next year...
>
> hobby had a chile roaster, and people discovered the unforgettable
> taste of
> roasted chiles that only minutes before had been on the plant...(at
> least
> one discovered that roasting habaneros does NOT make them milder...he
>
> popped a whole one in his mouth and 'first there was this incredibly
> delicious citrus/chile flavor, then it felt like i had swallowed the
> roaster's flame thrower at full throttle'...
>
> mary-ann and steve competed with riley and mary for the 'longest
> trek'
> award...tony flynn (who would have won the award hands down) was
> mentioned
> frequently, and we all wished that things could have been different
> so that
> he could have attended...
>
> as the sun sank toward the horizon, an electric generator was fired
> up,
> lights were strung, and the crowd gathered around the food
> tables...the
> temperature started dropping, so everyone added layers of clothes and
> a
> fire was built...
>
> several bottles of medicinal alcohol were produced, and samples
> handed
> out...scott's hab ouzo was good this year, there was a bottle of
> lime/chile
> infused vodka that was VERY tasty, and alex had a bottle of tequila
> containing a bit of the elixir he discussed on the list a few months
> ago...there were three flavors of chile wine, very tasty and only one
> (the
> hab wine) that was really hot...
>
> by dark, it was cold enough that everyone was around the
> fire...several
> folks stemmed chiles as they told stories and chatted with new/old
> friends...cameron's son gavin served s'mores made to order, and karen
>
> zanger topped the evening off with a delicious habanero/lime
> cheesecake...the temperature kept dropping...eventually, everyone
> made
> their way back to their tents/campers...
>
> the sun rose to reveal a heavy frost covering everything...a tv crew
> showed
> up to film a special for indianapolis tv, and among other sites, got
> rael
> emerging from his sleeping bag under the clear skies, atop his
> twister
> board/ground cover...coffee pots began perking, the fire was
> re-kindled and
> word spread that joe banero was serving breakfast for the crowd...
>
> and what a breakfast!...scrambled eggs, hashbrowns with chorizo,
> flour
> tortillas, yesterday's chili, a cajun corn/onion/chile dish cooked
> and
> dished up by cajohn and a loaf of apple-smoked savina banana
> bread...good
> eats...thanks, joe!...
>
> more camaraderie and chile pickin, then it was time for us to leave
> for the
> seven hour drive back home...a bittersweet moment, to be
> sure...realizing
> that this may be the last time we gather with these fine folks, and
> so glad
> that jim made it possible...
>
> thanks a million to jim and abby for inviting us, to cajohn, alex,
> and
> cameron for pulling this off, and all the rest for showing up and
> making it
> such an enjoyable event...wish we all could have stayed longer, but
> will
> carry the memories for a long time...
>
> and for y'all that couldn't make it, wish you could have been
> there...you
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