HUNGRY GERALD

HG/BSK watched the searing Ken Burns documentary, “The Central Park Five” and, once more, were made aware of the depth of American racism and the vicious tactics of police in forcing confessions from unfortunate, young, minority men. Permit HG to refresh your memory: On April 19, 1989 a young, white female jogger in New York’s Central Park was raped and brutally beaten. Five young men, ages 14 to 16, were present in the park that night. Four of the youngsters were African-American and the fifth was Puerto Rican. Seized by police, the frightened and befuddled youngsters underwent 36 sleepless hours of aggressive interrogation. They subsequently made televised confessions to the crime. As one youngster said: “We’d say anything. We just wanted to go home.” In trials of May 1, 1989 and December, 1990 all were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms of five to fifteen years. The evidence against them was inconclusive. DNA analysis did not link any of the young men to the victim and the crime scene. Some years later, another man, a convicted rapist and murderer, confessed to the crime. His confession with an abundance of circumstantial details left no doubt that he was the actual attacker of the young woman. After rigorous analysis by then New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and his staff, the Central Park Five were freed. Later, they won a $41,000,000 suit against New York City for false arrest and imprisonment, the sum of $1,000,000 for each of the collective 41 years they spent in prison. This sad miscarriage of justice provided an early insight to the character of our so called President, Der Trumperer. In 1989, Der Trumperer was a publicity hungry real estate developer. On April 19, 1989, the future Der Trumperer took full page ads in the leading New York newspapers one month before the trial of The Five. These inflammatory ads (defense lawyers said they influenced the juries) called for the “death penalty for criminals of every age.” Furthermore, the ads stated “criminals must be told that their civil rights ended when an attack on our safety begins.” In connection with the ads, he told television interviewer Larry King: “Maybe hate is what we need if we’re gonna get something done.” And that’s the essence of Der Trumperer: Disregard and contempt for the law, glorification of hate and a huge bill at the end of the day for ignoring our Constitution.

HG/BSK have been watching the Ken Burns documentary “The Roosevelts.” HG has been pleased that the documentary stresses the originality, political smarts and racially progressive attitudes of one of the great women of our time, Eleanor Roosevelt, an HG heroine. Some writers have criticized the food at the Roosevelt White House, calling it “tasteless.” In Mrs. Roosevelt’s defense, HG cites her favorite White House supper, scrambled eggs cooked into delicate curds in a chafing dish (When was the last time you saw a chafing dish?). The secret of the comforting eggs was plenty of butter and sweet cream. Toast, sliced ham (and a few other cold cuts) completed the meal. It was preceded by FDR’s deftly mixed Martinis. The meal gets the HG seal of approval. Another wonderful woman who knows the right way to cook scrambled eggs is BSK. HG’s life companion learned how to do it on a hot plate provided by a veteran actor when BSK was a young actress in a repertory company. An electric hot plate was part of the indispensable gear of a peripatetic thespian. Today, BSK uses her favorite Paderno saucepan, uses plentiful butter but substitutes milk for the cream. HG likes these eggs topped with sour cream and red salmon caviar (from New York’s Zabar’s). In Barcelona, scrambled eggs are made table side in a Cazuela (an earthen ware casserole) and topped with various savory ingredients. Bobby Flay, the chef and TV food star, loves this Barcelona classic and has introduced it in his New York restaurant. The dish is made in the kitchen (not at table side) and waiters rush it to the table before the eggs cool and harden. Flay’s version has Spanish Romesco sauce, olives and chopped Marcona almonds. Sounds good.