A quiet spell, and peanut butter

After many days, the Muse is back in circulation. Our overseas visitors have left for home, the countless dinner parties and dances and get-togethers are now no more than pleasant memories. The large platters of feijoada, diabo, boeuf bourgignon, capela, curries, the offerings of chilicotes, samosas, shrimp toast, flan, bebinca de leite, coqueiras, and other sweetmeats, not to mention the succession of restaurant meals, have added to our avoirdupois and pumped up our blood sugar levels, while the dancing and singing and laughter of the past week and a half, added to the long drives to the far corners of the Bay Area, have left us in a breathless state close to exhaustion.

This reunion was akin to an alignment of the planets, as these longtime friends came from several continents to join together for the same reason as they had in years past – simply to celebrate their long friendships and chat and laugh about old times. And so, the ten days went by in a blaze of picture-taking and videotaping for the benefit of those who were not able to be here to participate.

And now we are, to the best of our ability, once again ready to resume our lives in the manner to which we are accustomed. At our age, you really can't keep up the hectic pace of daily parties for long, even though dancing is good exercise (or so I'm told).

***

My wife bought this jar of peanut butter. Peanut butter comes in plastic jars these days, not glass ones as in the past. I sort of miss the glass jars – somehow plastic does not seem right for peanut butter.

The jar has a label which says "Made with U.S.Grown Peanuts" and that the product is "organic", which appears to be an adjective that's highly valued by manufacturers of foodstuff these days. Now, I ask myself, are U.S.-grown peanuts superior to those coming from other countries, say, in West Africa, for example? Does this label contain an implicit message that this is the case, and that, as patriotic Americans, we should buy this brand (which, by the way, is the brand of one of those "big box" warehouse stores)? The label sure has a faint tinge of xenophobia to it, IMHO.

Is "organic" more desirable than non-organic? And what's the difference, anyhow?

In today's newspaper there's a story about a new movie that's coming out tomorrow, a documentary called "Food, Inc."

Food, Inc.

I intend to see it, if only to satisfy my curiosity.
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