Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 15.2003
8 | THE MAROON TIGER
LIFE
MRS. MASSEY continued from page 7
Dining Eritrean style
seriously and considers it a full-time
job.
The average day in the life of
Morehouse's first lady is extremely
busy. By mid-morning, she has
already touched bases with her
husband to see if Hurricane Isabel has
affected his travel plans, changed
other travel arrangements at least four
times to accommodate new nuances
in his busy schedule, worked for some
time on the taxes, and still had a
couple of minutes to engage in some
friendly banter with Shirley Manor—
all the while confined to one room
with a sprained ankle.
The rest of her day would be
relatively slow going for the
whirlwind woman: going to a
bookstore to purchase a gift for a
dinner party, visiting the photo shop
to develop pictures from the Masseys’
trip to Greece, making a stop at the
tailor’s for some alterations, making
an appointment with the cleaners, and
a dash to the drug store to check on
some prescriptions. On a normal day,
if Mrs. Massey’s ankle were not
sprained, she would also have
attended her pilates class at 7:00 a.m.,
run a few errands for Dr. Massey—
perhaps buying clothes, getting his
glasses fixed, constantly confirming
and arranging even more travel dates,
keeping the household supplies up to
date, buying flowers for a variety of
functions, and picking out Christmas
gifts to send to business
acquaintances. Factor in board
meetings, social events, and college
functions, and one has an idea of her
hectic schedule.
Mrs. Massey not only manages
the budget for the Davidson House,
but she also helped furnish it with the
help Ohio-based architectural firm
Moody/Nolan Limited. A three-level
facility that serves as a venue for
official dinners and receptions,
meetings, conferences, and of course
the residence of the president,
Davidson House took approximately
two years to complete; the Masseys
are the first first family to live on the
Morehouse Campus in almost 30
years. The pair also owns a house in
Chicago and a hideaway spot in Cape
Cod, where they often vacation.
The Mrs. Massey everyone sees
during freshman orientation helping
to greet the students and parents is
more than just a hand-shaker. She
plants trees, directs traffic, hammers
nails, organizes initiatives, and raises
money. She is one of the strongest
links in the Morehouse chain and the
matriarch of a close-knit family,
somehow managing to do it all
without coming apart at the seams.
What does she do in her down
time, if such a thing exists? Mrs.
Massey loves to get massages and
adores the color green (a little tidbit
she threw in). At the end of a long
day, a tired first lady returns home to
spend the rest of the evening with her
darling: a 16-year-old cat named
Felix, who likes nothing better than
to ride the Davidson House elevator
up and down between floors.
Throughout the course of this
academic year, staffers on the features
desk will sample the food and ambience
of a number of African-diaspora
restaurants in and around Atlanta. Our
goal: to present the Morehouse
community with new and interesting
options for dining and socializing. This
week, reporter RICK BENTLEY writes
of his first experience sampling a taste
of Eritrea.
Do not plan to rush in and out of
the Shewit Eritrean Restaurant with
much success. This cozy restaurant will
impel you to settle into its subtle gloomy
atmosphere, lullling any pre-existing
anxiety. If the collection of artwork
won’t get you, then the challenge of
selecting an order on the menu will
certainly suspend your hurry.
A mixed array of Ethiopian and
Italian dishes, the food is an illustration
of the influence that each of those
countries has had on the young nation
of Eritrea in the past two centuries.
Dishes range from the somewhat
familiar—spaghetti and tomato sauce
seasoned in spices and chunks of pepper
that pop in your mouth—to the new and
interesting: the intriguing “kitcha fitfit"
is a new taste, though the texture evokes
some memories of a good stuffing.
Back in the kitchen, there are no
five star chefs; one woman who
constructs every meal with amazing
adeptness and speed, suggesting that she
has somewhat transcendeded the
astronomical rating system. Instead of
using huge amounts of oil, Etcge Abreha
cooks each meal with just enough butter
to accentuate her food and bring it to
life.
Unlike the trend in many American
restaurants, Abreha keeps the portion
sizes to a respectable level, which means
sharing is out of the question. But for a
price range that peaks at $7, the meal is
well worth its value. Among the many
items available, the Eritrean variety of
samosa, a finger-food dinner pastry
filled with beef and peas or fish
accompanied with peppers, is one of
customers' favorite dishes, says the chef.
The restaurant caters not only to
the gastronomical and the olfactory
senses, but also to the discriminating ear.
Customers are treated to a raw but
powerful performance by traditional
Eritrean singers, whose music focuses
and explains the political disorder of
their homeland. The best view to watch
the act is underneath the faux-hut
overhang at the handmade wooden bar
while looking across the glaze of the
candle-lightened room.
As soon as the performance ends,
you’ll catch Eyasu Kidanemariam, the
restaurant's manager, combing through
the regulars to greet every new
American customer. For
Kidanemariam, it is an honor to have
Americans to step outside of their own
culture and relish the food his service
offers.
“I feel blessed to have people come
and try my food because they are open
to my culture, and we’ll sit and talk
together,” stated Kidanemariam. After
leaving his war-tom country back in
1991. Kidanemariam and many of the
regulars, like the pleasant Semere
Kahsay, whose acquaintance I made,
exude an obvious aura of peace.
“We’re a bit loose with everyone."
said Kahsay before he offered to buy
me a meal. "We share our home with
anyone."
Every Saturday night, many others
like Kahsay gather in a separate room
to play the Eritrean version of pool called
"bilarbo," which involves using your
hands in place of pool sticks.
In a dark corner adjacent to the bar,
others join in a tournament of checkers
reminiscing on good times and
deliberating current events around the
world over some drinks.
After a game of checkers and
conversation, I came to understand a
comment Kidanemariam made earlier
that day: "We treat no one like strangers;
if you find a way for peace, keep it, do
not lose it.” The translation: Sweet
Home Eritrea no longer seems like a
distant nation but another home only
twenty minutes away in Clarkston.
Georgia.
Shewit Eritrea Restaurant
926 Montreal Road #6
Clarkston, GA 3(X)21
Phone: 404-294-8899
I scored a
San
DlegP
(combined
score out of
a possible
45 points)
on the MCAT
.v’MPW- ■'
‘Yvjfc -‘G ■
Class space is limited. Call or visit us online today to enroll!
KAPLAN
1 -800-KAP-TEST
kaptest.com
Scot^nT
‘MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The scores of individual students.will vary.
The experience of these students cannot be taken as an indicator of hew the average student or students in general will perform.
We have a surefire way
to predict the future.
Hire you to invent it.
Cyberspace controls and laser defense systems came as no surprise to
the U.S. Air Force. In fact, they came off our drawing boards. No winder
we re always looking to hire the best and brightest. You can leverage your
degree immediately and get hands-on experience with some of the most
sophisticated technology on earth. To find out how to get your career off
the ground, call 1-800-423-USAF or visit our Web site at airforce.com.
V
❖
U.S. AIR FORCE