Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
The Braselton News
Page 7A
Opinion
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Meg Vuillet
PARIS, France - The mood in the City of Lights is never
ambivalent—it is always festive and electric. It is diffi
cult not to enjoy oneself in the capital of France where
food and wine are never without compatibility. Hard to
have a bad experience here, based
on one man’s exposure.
However, there are the many who
castigate the French, citing arro
gance as justification for finding
fault. Methinks it has to do with
the fact that there is a sophistica
tion which has an overt expression
of contempt for the American tour
ist who saunters up to a French
man and initiates conversion with.
“Hey, you speak English?”
Over the years, there have been
many landings here, a statement
spoken with appreciation. In all
those years. I have never had one single bad experience.
If I am to enjoy an evening in your home, good footing
with the host begins with good manners and politeness.
You never tire of a walk along the Seine where monu
ments abound including one to Thomas Jefferson, the
author of the Declaration of Independence. This time
of the year, the queues are extended but returning to the
Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, and smil
ing at the Mona Lisa again—is an encore to be treasured.
The Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Musee D’Or-
say, still hold sway with visitors from the world’s four
comers, but you can walk out of your hotel go right or
left, walk a couple of blocks and happen upon a brassiere
for an impromptu lunch, or dinner that leaves the senses
charged and fulfilled. This is what is noteworthy about
Paris traditionally. Sidewalk cafes and street scenes—
professional women, smartly dressed, casually pedaling
bicycles or darting and sauntering about on motor bikes
for their next commitment; pedestrians thronging the ave
nues and side streets, a housewife walking briskly with an
armload of French bread.
Two hour lunches seem to always be in progress,
often starting before noon. Redundancy in Paris remains
fraught with magical moments. Did I say how good the
wine is?
Suddenly, it is early evening and a familiar face wel
comes us into her real estate office. Meg Gibson Vuillet,
who grew up in Athens, did as so many do—when she
and her husband, Nicolas, became empty nesters (there
are four kids). There was an urge to expel boredom. Real
estate in Paris brings about an exposure to upscale clien
tele, which means you are interacting with the sophisti
cated, accomplished and cultured. “Life in France,” she
says, “is always fascinating.”
Friends back home come to see her. She is happy to
show off her adopted city. She is happy to connect them
to the Eiffel Tower when it is all lit up at night—nothing
could be more spectacular—the countless museums, the
Tuileries Gardens and an off street cafe which only locals
know about. She can be a tour guide, she can be a host
ess; she loves the French food tradition and she likes to
cook. She enjoys company and has adjusted the Parisian
lifestyle of parties which begin at 8:30 p.m. and end at
midnight.
Developing an affinity for good taste and sophistication
was easy to come by in that her parents George and Patti
Gibson were imbued with cultural leanings. Although
her parents have passed away, she still returns to Athens
and Atlanta to see family (a brother and a sister) and
friends. She is happy to have grown up in a university
town which helped make easier the transition of settling
in an international city.
After majoring in early childhood education at Clem-
son, Meg enrolled in the Gemological Institute of Ameri
ca, then located at Santa Monica, Ca.. which is where she
met Nicolas who is an expert in antique jewelry.
Her life as an expatriate has been rewarding and fulfill
ing. She puts in long hours, catches the Metro and goes
home to organize dinner. Many working women in many
places in the world do that-but their cultural options pale
to that of Meg’s when the sun sets.
Loran Smith is a columnist for Mainstreet Newspapers.
He is the co-host of the University of Georgia football
tailgate show.
The nonsense behind
Trump’s military
transgender ban
announcement
By Scott Thompson
I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad the “generals”
and “military experts” President Trump was referring to
last week, when he announced a ban on transgender people
serving in the military, have their priorities in order.
I don’t think we should really be as concerned with the
fact that a maniac in North Korea threatens on practically
a daily basis to destroy us, obliterating our allies in east
Asia along the way.
And it probably shouldn’t be of concern that ISIS and
similar organizations, operating under a sick perversion of
Islam, seek to destroy the West.
Of course, those statements are dripping with sarcasm,
but apparently what really burdens the military are several
thousand transgender people serving their country proudly.
So much so that Trump took to Twitter the morning of July
26 to announce the ban.
Yes, Twitter. Trump’s favorite social media platform to
get on every morning, once he rises from his slumber, and
launch personal insults, stroke his fragile ego and spew
general nonsense.
In this case. Trump wrote, “After consultation with my
Generals and military experts, please be advised that the
United States Government will not accept or allow Trans-
gender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S.
Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and
overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the
tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender
in the military would entail. Thank you.”
No, thank you, Mr. President, man of five draft defer
ments yourself, for relieving the burden of those who
proudly volunteer their service to our country.
His announcement on Twitter apparently caught White
House and defensive officials completely off guard and
there was no established plan for how to carry out the ban,
much like when he first announced a ban on people from
six countries in the Middle East traveling to America.
Some kind of businessman, huh?
The notion that transgender people are a financial burden
on our military is preposterous — or, as Trump might say,
fake news. A study commissioned by the Pentagon and
published by the Rand Corporation last year notes that out
of the approximately 1.3 million active-duty U.S. military
members, between 2,000-11,000 are transgender.
According to a report from the New York Times (Yes,
I know, fake news!), the study also found that allowing
transgender people to serve openly would increase health
care spending from $2.4 million to $8.4 million for trans-
gender members, or no more than 0.13 percent of the $6.2
billion increase projected overall.
For a little more perspective, the Washington Post (Will
you stop it with the fake news already?) cited an analysis
by the Military Times that total military spending on erec
tile dysfunction medication is around $84 million annually,
or 10 times more than $8.4 million. Spending on Viagra
alone is $41.6 million annually. And just to put a bow on
this, $8.4 million is 0.001 percent of the Defense Depart
ment’s annual budget.
A ban would reverse the Obama administration’s deci
sion last year to allow transgender people to serve openly.
It would also effectively quell debate in Congress over a
$790 billion defense and security spending package that
included taxpayer money to pay for gender transition and
hormone therapy for transgender people in the military.
Trump, of course, couldn’t outright oppose the package
because it also included $1.6 billion for a wall along the
Mexican border. So, he just goes for the outright ban to
guard against losing his wall.
But the real issue here is the president’s absurd claims
of financial burdens in an attempt to mask bigotry. It’s an
attempt to score cheap political points and appease many
social conservatives.
It’s also a direct contradiction of Trump’s vow during his
campaign and in his nomination acceptance speech to fight
for and protect the LGBTQ community.
It’s impossible to know what really is going on in
Trump’s head, if he’s really bigoted or that he’s just using
this ban as political maneuvering. But what he has demon
strated is a strong desire to control the news cycle at all
times.
A Republican-controlled Congress has failed to achieve
one of the chief goals of his presidency — the eradication
of Obamacare — in embarrassing fashion.
Trump shuffles staff around like deck chairs.
The cloud of the investigation over whether people in his
presidential campaign colluded with Russia and the probe
into whether he attempted to obstruct the investigation
with his firing of FBI director James Comey continues to
loom over the White House.
Attorney General and former Sen. Jeff Sessions, a mem
ber of Trump’s campaign and one of his earliest political
loyalists, recused himself from the investigation and has
been publicly lambasted by Trump for doing the right
thing. That has understandably caused unease around
Washington, but especially among Sessions’ former Senate
colleagues, Republicans and Democrats.
So, it’s definitely conceivable that this latest action is an
attempt at appeasement.
In the meantime, the policy allowing transgender people
to serve remains in place until the White House officially
issues a directive to not allow it. If that does happen, expect
lengthy court battles.
But ultimately, to prohibit anyone who is capable of
doing so from serving their country is shameful. It’s a
disgrace. It’s an embarrassment. And we shouldn’t stand
for it.
When will Republicans turned off by Trump’s actions
stop shrugging their shoulders and refuse to stand for a
president who behaves this way?
When will enough be enough?
Scott Thompson is editor of the Barrow News-Journal,
a sister newspaper of The Braselton News. He can be
reached at sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com.
Cooking in Connecticut
It is well known, by this point,
that I married a Yankee from Con
necticut. One who never knew the
joy of comfort foods until he came
South.
John Tinker,
who adored the
ground his impres
sive mother, Miss
Ruth, walked on.
is honest about her
shortcomings as a
cook.
“She wasn’t a
good cook. We
mostly ate food
from a can. But
we didn’t starve.”
To this day. Tink
loves to eat toast like his mother
made it: burned absolutely black.
In fact, at times he will say. “Oh,
I’m craving a piece of really burned
toast.”
One of my dear Southern friends,
and one of the best cooks I’ve ever
known, told the story of the first
time she made oatmeal for her Cali
fornia-raised husband. He ate a few
bites then looked up and said, “This
is okay but where are the lumps?
Oatmeal is suppose to have lumps
in it.” That’s the way his mama
always made it so that’s how he
thought it should be.
When a family death took us to
Greenwich, Connecticut, I decided
to do what all Southerners do in the
time of sadness: cook a big meal of
comfort foods.
“You’re not going to use Velveeta
in anything, are you?” asked one of
the concerned Yankees.
Well. no. But one of the most
comforting dishes my family enjoys
is a pot of chicken noodle soup
delivered from a made-up recipe
of Mama’s that includes egg noo
dles, Campbell’s cream of chicken
soup, milk, and plenty of Velveeta.
Yummy.
It was not easy to take Southern
cooking north of the Mason-Dixon
line. Have you ever tried to buy
Crisco, Duke’s mayonnaise, and
buttermilk in a fancy town where
yoga classes are attended as reli
giously as we assemble at church
and white flour is considered “junk
food”?
After three grocery stores, I said
to Tink, “I can only find ‘healthy’
flour and mayonnaise and there is
not a can of solid Crisco anywhere.
I guess I’ll just have to make-do as
best I can.”
I did find buttermilk but I reason
that’s because it’s probiotic and
someone figured it was healthy and
should be stocked.
With solid butter, I made biscuits,
then used the mayonnaise paste in
Aunt Ozelle’s macaroni and cheese.
I whipped up okra coated in flour
and scrambled with chopped up
nuts. Just as I was preparing to fry
it. Tink said, “I don’t think they’ll
like the smell of grease in the air.”
So, I baked it. They loved it but
I said, “You oughta taste it fried.”
I placed all the food on the stove
and said to those who gathered,
“Dip you up a plate as we say in
the South.”
“What s this? asked someone as
he lifted a spoon from the pot.
“Pinto beans. They’re good for
you. A staple of the South. They
kept my people from starving
during the Depression.”
To be honest, it looked real good
but it was only so-so with the imita
tion ingredients and Tink’s restric
tion on my frying. But to the Yan
kees. it was like manna sent from
above. They ate and they greatly
enjoyed.
Several days later, I got an email
from a doctor who was there for
dinner. He lives in northern Florida
where rules of civility dictate that
Duke’s mayonnaise be sold.
I had told him that Duke’s was the
secret ingredient for the macaroni
and cheese.
He went home, Googled my reci
pe. and made it for his family.
“This is the best stuff I’ve ever
tasted,” he wrote. “Yours was
superb but what a difference Duke’s
made.
“This will surely be served in
heaven and no one will care about
the calories.”
The next time a bereavement calls
us out of the South’s land, I will
have an emergency kit ready to go
with us.
I will not be leaving home with
out solid Crisco and a jar of Duke’s.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling
author of What Southern Women
Know. Visit www.rondarich.com to
sign up for a free weekly newsletter.
loran
smith