St. Louis Despatch No 2. (13 February 2014)

Homecoming

Richard Armour has observed that , … “ not much is known of Shakespeare’s home life, because he rarely went home”! (Twisted tales from Shakespeare)

In more or less the same logic, I have not written much, as I have not moved out much! That apart, it was a good feeling to be back with the family, especially the kids. Although there was no culture shock this time, I still could not  overcome the feeling of awe, admiration, whatever you  want to call it, at the orderliness of everything.

After tanking up the car & grabbing a Mac, we were on our way home. Much is not chronicled of the trip, as I was catching up with a much needed sleep. (dozing in the aircraft  is not really the same!) Home was reached by 11 pm, & it was dinner straightaway & off to bed. This was my first visit here after Janu, Jenny shifted from their previous home, in the same complex. This is what they refer to as a ‘Town House’, that is a basement, hall & dining & bedrooms, in ascending order.

The mercury was still way below 0 /32, yet,   the starkness of the trees & bushes, denuded of their foliage, standing in the thick of milk-white snow, was  equally a pleasure to see.

 My movements have been restricted due to the weather & body clock adjustment. !  It’s quite a wonder that migratory birds, travel thousands of miles, to the same spot, and there is no sign of any kind of lag. Are their systems more advanced than ours, or they are of a very rudimentary nature ?  The other thing that struck me again this time, was the similarity in physical characteristics of birds. I had observed last year that the House Sparrow found here is identical to what I have seen in India, except that these appeared a little ‘healthier’ in size. Same with the Grey Tit (aka Titmouse- sounds like a biological puzzle!), Red Headed Woodpecker and so many others. These species /sub-species have been separated by not only eons, but distances also. And yet they have retained their generic qualities for years on end. Conversely, humans have distinct features, which keep changing every few miles or so. Brings the same question to mind, “Is it easier to be simpler & survive or be complicated (DNA wise) and fight for survival”.

Anyway, a few short trips to the local  stores restored my confidence(!) & re-set the body clock. After the kids returned from Church , Sunday saw us headed out to town, in the hope of painting the town Red/Blue etc., anything other than White!  

Having driven through town to pick up our daily needs, it was time for lunch. This time, we headed to O’Charley’s, a typical American Diner. The décor was typical, comfortable seating,  warm ambience, made warmer by the servers, as they went about their chores & lots of Baseball memorabilia from  the 60s .

The ladies settled for a Coke, Jenny aqua pura &  for a change, I decided on a Sam Adams, Boston Lager ‘on tap’. They served us the warmest & softest of buns (repeated !) & “Potato twisters… The photograph is highly misleading and the pile that you see, was polished off by all. The other 3 being Veggies, they settled for a pasta, seeped in  a cheesy  sauce & a salad. I went for a Petite Steak (well done), with (a mountain of) fries & a coleslaw, as sides. Truly, a well-deserved tuck-in after being locked in for a while. Shades of  “Man vs Food”!

The hall in Janu-Jenny’s house has two  big  sliding glass doors, providing an excellent view of the ‘forest’ area & with a hopper being placed just outside the house, I have been able to spot Sparrows (identical to ours, but as stated, ‘healthier’), Chikadees, Nuthatches, Mockingbird (only 1), Blue Jays, Red-Headed Woodpeckers & of course my favourites, the Cardinals. 

Very shy & elusive, so it has been quite an effort to try to get them on camera. I found a lot of  Blackheaded Juncos, for the first time here, and a Hawk, but couldn’t see the markings well. Most probably, a Red Headed Hawk (?) And of course, the  squirrels. Amazing  agility, as they play ‘tag’, & taking pretty long leaps from tree to tree. The deer finally made an appearance, two days ago, on their search for some food. I was able to spot the deer (White Tailed) crossing through the thickets on 2-3 ocassions. Janu says that they’ve seen Racoons at night (raiding the trash container) but I’ve yet to see them. A Cottontail has been seen just twice. But seeing all these animals right in the middle of a residential complex, is heartening. The Robin alsomade an appearance yesterday.

But what I enjoy the most are the TV channels showing old favourites like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, & musicals. In school, History was more ‘live’ with heroes like Shivaji Maharaj, Rana Pratap & the like, being ‘shown’ to us through pictures, cinema or plays. But guys like Davy Crocket, Lone Ranger (in short, Cowboys & Indians) were restricted to what they referred to ‘Comics’& these were banned! So seeing the re-runs in all their glory, is still enjoyable. Each generation feels that “theirs was the best time”; so be it. But, whether it is India or the US of A, how do you explain the recall value & the popularity of such shows. No amount of the latest technology/CGI can give you the same feel, that you get when Ben Cartwright & his sons, let “them varmints” have it or when you see Premnath, yes, Premnath, the villain of sorts, serenading Madhubala in “Badal”.

  

Anyway, time to sign off on a bright note. The sun is out after playing hooky for the past week & the temp is on the + side! Last night, we celebrated Janu-Jenny’s wedding anniversary, with  a dinner at P F Chang’s, authentic Chinese! 

So, as I was saying, the sun is up, the hopper has been refilled,

 the birds are back…and I have a chore on hand; to shovel the snow from the patio!  There’s another small thing left to be done. My medicine box is kept in the shelf of the sideboard & right above, is a small tableaux of  “The Last Supper”! Must remove it from there!!

Cheers. TC

Warm wishes from a snow-bound  Wild Turkey Court!!

Ashok Gune