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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1959-07-02, Page 6TABLE TALKS dam Andrews. Modern Etiqu.ptte by Roberta Lee Q, What tan you suggest re- gartling the wafting of the thank, sort notes by .tile bride for the wedding gifts she has received? A. First, she could write these- notes as the gifts are received in order to be prompt with her thanks, Second, ,she should men. tion the gift by name in her let- ter, This adds a personal touch to her thanks. If she just says, "thank you for your GIFT," she conveys about as much sincerity as she would in a form-letter, Q. When selecting monogram- med Itankerchiefs for a man oy woman, which initial, should be selected, that f the first or the last name? A. For •a man it is always the last. For a woman, the last is customary, although the first is permissible. Q. When a host does the carv- ing at the dinner table, does he serve the vegetables as well? A. No; usually the host serves only the meat. The vegetable dishes are passed from hand to hand, Q. Will you please settle an argument some of us are having? Is a nian supposed always to re- move his hat in An elevator? A. Only in the elevator of a hotel, apartment house, or club. He may do so in a department store or office building elevator — but convent'en does not de- mand this. Q, Are you supposed to put your knife on your plate when you have finished eating, even if you haven't used the knife? A. It is not at s.0 necessary to pick up any unusee piece of sil- ver. Whoever clears the table should ,clear the surplus silver before serving the following course. Q. My parents a ' planning an engagement party for me. Should my fiance present my ring to me at this party or beforehand? A. Before the party. Q. When a relative wishes to send a bride-elect r, check as a wedding gift, should it be made out to the girl in her maiden name or her future name? A, It would probably be better to make the check out to the girl in her maiden name, re that she will be able to cash it before the wedding. Crossing Rivers In Tibet Crossing a river in Tibet is an interesting business. Fords, rope bridges, and cantilever bridges exist only if the river is narrow. On wide rivers such as the Ya- lung or the Kincha-kiang (Yangtze) you are ferried in amazing circular boats which are really big round wickerworle baskets covered with yak-skins deftly sewn together. The middle of the circular "hull" is about six feet across, but the mouth (so to speak) and the bottom of the basket are considerably nar- rower, Into it you pile men and merchandise, and the vessel, launched upon the flood, is steered by a helmsman with a long wooden paddle, - The voyage is seldom dull, for the basket boat spins around and around and, rocks violently in rough water or eddies, It has, however, greater stability than its appearance suggests. The cur- rent is so strong that you may be carried five huficired yards :downstream before you reach the other sid,e in spite of the efforts of the oarsmen. He, when the basket boat has been unloaded, picks up and puts it on his head like an overgrown straw hat and carries it upstream for the best part of a, mile, till het reaches a place whence the cur. rent will 'carry him back 10 bix point of embarkation.— Pro* "Tibetan Marches;" by Andrli Migot: air ISSUE 27 — 1950 WRECKAGE AND-DEATH - Twisted passenger cars smoke after two trains collided near Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing scores. BADLANDS BARD — Western- clad Toni Hold, walks through Paddington Station in London, England. She was one of 30 students who presented a texas version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream: British critics applauded the effort. On Taking What Isn't Our Own First it should be established quite firmly that the lovely North Shore suburb of Winnet- ka, Illinois, is inhabited by fine, upstanding citizens. Average in- come is far above the national average. A good portion of the community provides business leadership, either at the junior executive or executive level. The very name "Winnetka" speaks of affluence, influence, and integrity. Having said this about a com- munity of which I am proud to be a part, let me tell about my boy's bicycle. It wasn't an or- dinary bicycle. He had spent hours in keeping it oiled and sparkling. For my 11-year-old it was a prized possession. On a Saturday morning re- cently he came home near tears, although he was trying to be brave about it. He had been bowling at the Community House, the Winnetka -recreation ;enter. Afterward, he found that his bicycle was missing. My first thought was that some boy had taken the wrong bicycle by mis- take. I called the man in charge of the center, "It was taken all right," the man said, "This goes on all the time. I don't know what's wrong with these kids. They are always taking bicycles, riding them around town, and then leaving them when they are through with them. Maybe you'll find it at the beach, maybe at the other end of town. Some are brought back here and thrown into the bushes," These are youngsters who have ample weekly spending al- lowances. They have their own bicycles, too, only they just don't happen to have them with them at the time. The recrea- tion manager continued: "They have no feeling for what be- longs to others. When they get elder, they do the same thieg, with autos." Checking at the police sta- tion, I found that in 1958 there *ere 64 bicycles reported stolen — With 02 eventually recovered, That ,same year there were 20 cars taken — and all recovered, All the bicycles had been aban. cloned. Six of the cars recovered were by arrest; the others had been discarded, Almost all of this stealing is classified as "'joy rides" by the youngsters involved, Usually they are caught, Those who are arrested while taking an automo, bile are brought into Chicago— and court action generally fol- lows, The result, since a first offense is ordinarily involved, almost always is probation, But since no names get into the papers — the exemplary pun- ishment doesn't amount to too much. The Winnetka policeechief at- tributes the increase in this sort of stealing to a failure on the part of the children, to under- stand values, They know they are stealing, he said. But their answer quite often is, "So what?" Or to that effect. Surprised at these law viola- tions by youngsters who- are fac from being in need, I questioned the manager of the Charles Var- iety Store, a 10-cent store here. He said that his store had a 2 per cent "shrinkage," most of it from pilfering, and that anything as high as a 1.5 per cent shrink- age was damaging from a finan- cial standpoint. He stated that the store caught one or two young shoplifters about every week, but were there many of- fenders who were not apprehen- ded, writes Godfrey Sperling, Jr., in. The Christian Science Monitor. Why should this go on in a prosperous community? He could not explain it. Before com- ing to week here, he said, he had worked at a number of 10-cent stores -- in Chicago and out into the North Shore suburbs. "And you know," he said, "the least amount of pilfering by children came in the poorer areas, The worst place for that kind of stealing, before I came here, was in Evanston." (Evanston is another prosperous suburb, close to Winnetka.) What is done about the pilfer- ing? "We have the boy write a letter to his folks," the man- ager said, "in which he admits that he has stolen certain items. He must also say in the letter that he will never do it again. This is a rather new system with us, and it seems to be work- ing. At least, we do have a lot of parents who are coming in and thanking us. On the second offense — if there is one — we turn the boy over to the police." Girl offenders? "Very few, some- times over at the lipstick coun- ter." Parental apathy also is involv- ed. The manager told of a ra- ther recent community meeting on the subject of pilfering and what to do about it, A well- known speaker on crime was brought in for the occasion. "Only a very few parents at- tended," he said. Oh, yes, the police found my boy's bicycle — after two long days of waiting. You can be sure that he is keeping a lock on his bike at all times now, Before he had been under the impression, perhaps, that it would be safe in this peaceful community. 'Why do T blink, sir? Your head 18 shining right in, my- ,. race." The Public Payroll. Gets No Smaller! In his address to the Annual 'Meeting of Shareholders of the St, Lawrence Corporation Lim. lted, .President M. Fox made some references to the full and spreading measure of bureaucra. cy in Canada, Re points out that the Ottawa government had 10 0,- 390 people on the public pay- roll in 1958: a jump of 10,000 over 1957, "In the ten years since 1948" Mr. Fox said "the number fee people on the Ottawa payroll has been increased by 62,000 or nearly 53 per cent, In the twenty years since 1938 the increase has been 136,000 or 309 per cent, Our population growth since 1930 has been 55 per cent. Through the last twenty years, in peace or war, good, times or bad, Ot- tawa thus has added to the peke, lie payroll an average, of 6,800 people every year," Mr, Fox went on to say that the Ottawa payroll is only part of our bureaucracy and he re- ferred to the multiplying num- bers attached to provincial and municipal governments. He sug- gested that as a "cautious esti- mate" ordinary government pay- rolls throughout the country in 1958, paid out of taxes, total over 400,000 people. The Ottawa fig- ures quoted do not include armed services, government agencieS or Crown corporations, such as the C,B.C. In 1958 C.B.C. alone had 6,300 employees and took $41,- 000,000 out of taxes for its capi- tal costs and operating deficit. Lets Help Those Teenagers: Parents who are prone to cri- ticize driving habits of the younger generation would do well to read the May issue of Parents Magazine. The publica- tion points out that parents who set a good example of careful driving and respect her traffic laws will have less to worry about when their children are in the driver's seat. The article which outlines a program to reduce teen.automo- bile accidents, based on the find- ings of experts in safety educe: tion, cautions parents against permitting a teenager to drive before he or she is of legal driv- ing age: "An absolute prohibi- tion on driving before the, law permits it is an impressive way of introducing him to the abso- lute nature of driving regula- tions generally." Conversely, teenagers who are not permitted to get licenses af- ter reaching the prescribed age feel cheated and mistreated, specially if their classmates ac- quire them, according to the mafiazine, How should you treat a teen- age son or daughter who has the "bug" to drive the family car? Teenagers should earn the driving privilege. They should master the rules of the road, learn to change tires, and even earn enough money to pay the higher insurance premium for cars with teenage drivers. They should learn to drive in the driver education courses offer- ed in high schools. Since these courses do not include night driving, the responsibility for this valuable experience belongs to parents. It is imprudent, in- deed, to refuse a youngster an opportunity to drive at night under parental supervision. The age-old .0 argument over who is to use the family car can be avoided, simply by schedul- ing its use in advance. Many parents make the mis- take of adopting an "anti-teen" attitude toward driving when they read of an unfortunate auto- mobile accident involving a young person. There is, of course, a degree of recklessness in teenage drivers. But speeding and recklessness belong to a small minority of the teenage set. Parents who nervously weave in and out of traffic and who fail to observe traffic laws can eXpect their children to do the same. Before condemning the teenagers for careless driving it is well for parents to turn the mire-or on themselves. Perhaps their driving routine isn't con- ducive to impreesine proper driving habits on their young. stem, America's young people are tomorrow's citizens. It is the duty of every parent. to sot a good driving pattern for the children, And proper driving habits do not result from unjust criticism or depriving young people of the opportunity to properly handle ail automobile, Patience, kindness and adequate suPerv.ision create lasting im- pressions. — San ternaclino Sun- Telegram. . t11110tt, The plane had just come to a halt and the passengers wore gratefully stretching after the long trip, when the hostess stid., dehly saw the little old man in Seat 17 teaching up for his ode, his trousers in a heap around his ankles, "Good via" she cried, grab- 4)1,4 a blanket to hide him, "1 said tin:`a,ten your safety holt!' "Here are a few recipes mak- ing use of leftovers; even if you don't plan to use them at once, they're well worth clipping and filing away. But first a word about freez- ing leftovers. According to Eleanor Richey Johnston of the Christian Science Monitor, you should speed your leftovers to the freezer just as quickly as possible,' Before freezing cooked foods, chill them (remove bones from meat and fowl and cut into 1 to 11/2 -inch pieces). Then wrap items in moisture-vapour-proof material or . put thern in some container designed for freezing. Zero or below is satisfactory for hoine freeeing — and you can keep your cooked foods for from 1 to 3 months, * * ,, Here are some good combin- ation dishes: CHICKEN, VEAL OR FISH CROQUETTES 1 cup cooled, thick white sauce 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken, veal or fish teaspoon salt and a dash of 34. pepper 1 teaspoon minced onion 3 tablespoons minced parsley (optional) 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs 1 egg, slightly beaten, mixed with 2 tablespoons water oil for frying Combine cooled white sauce with meat, seasonings and pars- ley. Mix well; chill. Shape into small cylindrical croquettes, us- ing about 34 cup mixture for each. Roll in crumbs, then in egg mixture, then in crumbs again. Chill, Heat oil for deep frying to 375° F. (hot enough to brown a 1/2 -inch cube of day- old bread in 30 seconds). Fry about 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 12 croquettes. Serve with mushroom sauce, if desired, * VEAL NEWBURG 1l72 pounds veal shoulder, cubed 5 tablespeons shortening 1% cup hot water 3 tablespoons node ye teaspoon salt 14 tea's'poon onion salt 31 teaspoon marhram 2 cups milk 1 4, cup cubed Cheddar Cheese 1.10-ounce package corn bread mix 1 la-Mince package frocit Mixed vegetables for use yam' own) Coat veal with seasoned flour (1 teaspoon salt and teaspoon pepper) Brown in 2 tablespoons shortening; add the Vfo cup hot water. Cover and cook over ,vcry low heat for 30 mitiutes. Remove meat, Add remaining 8 tablespoons shortening and stir hi flour and seasonings. Cook until- bubbly, gradually adding milk and stirring constantly, Cook until thickened; add cheese and veal: stir until cheese melts. Mix corn bread according to di- rections on package. Bake arid cut into squares; split squares and serve Veal Newburg over corn bread with sonic of the milted -vegetables, If you have leftover ham you'll need about pounds — try this easy loaf With a brown sugar-vinegar topping cooked right in. 11AM LOAF" 3 dips groinid cooked ham tablespoon prepared ituistarit I thuPpeill 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 3' cup rolled oats 34 cup evaporated milk , 1 beaten egg 1,4 cup brown sugar IA. cup vinegar Combine ham, mustard, on- ion, parsley, rolled oats, mlic and egg. Mix well and form in loaf in a 41/2 x81/2 -inch loaf pan. Combine sugar and vinegar; heat until sugar melts; pour over ham loaf: Bake in 325°F. oven for 1 hour. Here's a salmon loaf with a tart lemon sauce. It serves 6. SALMON LOAF 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flower 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk 1 tall can salmon, flaked 14, cup lemon juice 3/4 cup chopped celery • 2 tablespoons minced onion 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup dry bread crumbs 1 cup cooked peas Melt butter in small sauce- pan;.blend in flour and salt. Add milk and cook until thick, stir- ring constantly. Combine salmon, lemon juice, celery, onion, beat- en eggs, dry bread crumbs and white sauce. Bake in greased 9x4-inch loaf ,pan or a ring mold at 350° F. for 40 minutes. Serve lemon sauce over each slice. LEMON SAUCE 11/2 tablespoons cornstarch :IA' teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons cold water ?/1 cup boiling water 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon butter Combine cornstarch, salt, and cold water in saucepan. Add boiling 'water and cook until clear and 'thick, stirring con- stantly. Continue cooking slow- ly for 3 minutes. Pour some of cornstarch mixture into egg yolk, then return all mixture to saucepan and cook 1. minute longer. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and butter, "What about that five dollars you owe me?" Brown asked his office colleague. "Quite all right — it's your birthday next Sunday and I'm going to bring it to you with my congratulations," "You just bring the money and I'll congratulate myself." Harvest Time In Southern Europe The calendar of a South guro- pean village is made up by the seasonal work on the land and by the rites and festivals that correspond to it, In my village this calendar was a particularly full one because, since the win- ters were telatiVelY mild and water ',for irrigation abundant, a great variety of crops was grown, The year began with, olive pick- ing and, as this was mainly a woman's task, the olive groves were invaded by gay parties of matrons and girls, wearing white head-handkerchiefs and brightly c,o loured dresses and accom- panied by younger children, The olives were collected in. striped rugs laid out on the ground, then tipped into pan- niers and carried off to an oil mill. Here a donkey, revolving in semi-darkness in the low, con- fined space, pulled a cone-shaped stone that crushed the olives and released a stream of oil into the vats, , — In August, when all the corn has been cut, came the peeve, as it was called here, or threshing. This was the culminating mo- ment of the year, the true har- vest. . . Then as darkness fell, preparations for the winnowing would begin, A group of men and women would assemble on the threshing floor, a lantern would be lit, someone would strum on a guitar. Unexpected- ly a voice would rise into the night, would hang for a few sec- ones in the air and then Made back into the silence again. From the poplar trees close by a trig] of a nightingale answered it. And now the, wind had begun to blow. At first it came in little puffs, then it died down, then it came on again. Whenever it seemed strong enough, one or two men would take their long wooden forks of ash . . , and begin tossing up the ears. This went on at intervals all night. The wind blew most steadily to- wards sunrise, and often I would come out of my room where I had sat up reading, and climb the slope to watch the work going on. The great trough of mountains below would fill, as from a tank of water, with rippling light, the shadows would turn violet, then lavender, would become thin and float away, while, as. I ap- proached the threshing-floor, I would see the chaff streaming out like a white cloak in the breeze and the heavy grain fall- ing, as the gold coins fell on Da- nae,• onto the heap below. Then without clouds or, veils, the sun's disk appeared above the Sierra de Gador and began to mount rapidly. My Village was almost self- supporting. The poorer families ate nothing that was not grown in the parish except fresh fish, which was brought up on 'mule- back from the coast in a night's journey, and dried cod. Cotton materials, earthenwate, ironmon- gery and cheap trinkets reached us from the towns, but the vil- lagers wove and dyed their own woollen fabrics, their blankets of cotton rags and their bed- covers. In other words, the economy of an Alpujarren village had scarcely changed since medieval times. ,And the instruments of husbandry were of an even great- er antiquity. Our plough was closely modelled on the Roman plough, while a slightly different form with an upright handle which was' in use on the coast and thretigh the greater part' of. Andalusia was the same as that shown on Greek vases: No doubt this was the primitive plough of the whele Mediterranean region. Equally' ancient was the thresh, ing board• or sled — both Amos and Isaiah allude to it — and as for oue sickle, it was identical in form with those found in Bronze Age tombs near Almeria: —From "South From Granada," by Gerald Brenan, AN APOLOGY — West German Chancellor Konrad Aderiauee deft) and Ectanomics Minister tUdwig Erntiard walked together kfiter a meeting of the Christian Democratic Party in Bonn, Ger- any,,, At tile party caucus, Adenauer apologized to Ernhard r casting doubts on the rafter's views about public policy. , he apology bridged What 'appeared td be bitter differentei fW'een the two nian. KNIttitHeNett IN ALBANIA Pi-denier Nikittie Khrushchev, standing al left, in auto, acW knowledge's applause of a crowd ieja kremlin is being huth-hush about reason' foe thst lei*• s. •