The columns I most enjoy writing are those that include reader comments. A few recent columns have generated some reaction and response, some of which appear here.<\/p>\n
People reacted to last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s column on menudo and squash. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy to say that most of the comments agree with my stance that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d request neither item as my last meal. What would be preferable? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy. Cocoa Puffs smothered in Velveeta Cheese.<\/p>\n
But on a slightly more serious note, a large combination plate like my neighbor, Carmen Vigil, used to make, would be fine.<\/p>\n
Now to the mailbag:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 A former Immaculate Conception Schoolmate, Sylvia Korte, wrote, in part:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Loved your article on menudo. I, myself, never even heard about menudo until I moved to California. None of my neighbors or friends ever mentioned menudo in Old Town. When I did try it at my Texas-born Auntie-in-law’s house in California, I thought it was disgusting. Recently, a member of our church brought it for an ethnic dinner.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn’t know what it was and it tasted pretty good with the red chile hiding what was underneath. When word leaked out what the goo was, you could have heard the collective gasp.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You will never see me serving it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as bad as Grandma Marina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s goat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head with the eyes still looking at you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Tony Lucero, a childhood neighbor and playmate, whom I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve praised for his baseball abilities, sent an e-mail that thanked me for reminding people of games we used to play.<\/p>\n
In addition to recalling sports in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc50s, Tony made a comment about the Fourth of July parade. He wrote, in part, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The only disappointment that I experienced at the Plaza for the 4th is that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hear some good ole patriotic songs like we used to when we were younger.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153More representation from our marching bands from our local schools and Highlands would have been wonderful. Singing out and ringing out the sounds of freedom would have added so much more to the festivities.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not forget that this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parade featured no marching bands.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The column on menudo and squash mentioned that people defending the taste of either generally list a plethora of ingredients to be cooked with the tripe or squash. The suggestion I made was that it might be best simply to omit menudo and squash and enjoy the other stuff.<\/p>\n
My friend Alice Chambers promised to provide me with a recipe for squash \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even be able to tell it contains squash.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Hmmm. Sounds interesting.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 In a recent column, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Miller time,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I mentioned not knowing for sure how the moth got called the miller. Henry Rodgers e-mailed an explanation that the wings of some moths are speckled and have the appearance of the flour-coated clothes worn by real millers \u00e2\u20ac\u201d men who worked in mills.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 My brother-in-law, who visits Las Vegas only infrequently, was here last month and invited me to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153go eat at that place \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you know \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that place where they serve such good Mexican food.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That place\u00e2\u20ac\u009d could be one of several in town. Ha! Got it! He was referring to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153that place\u00e2\u20ac\u009d some of us called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tranquelino\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on the 500-block of Sixth Street. Sorry to disappoint you, Frank, but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153that place\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist anymore. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember exactly when it closed, but it was a great loss. The owners, Tranquelino and Carmen Vigil, have passed on, and the place is closed. Has been for years.<\/p>\n
It seems everybody remembers the place. Tranquelino \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Junior\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Vigil said it was originally \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Meadow City Coffee Shop,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but never bore a sign, which became part of yet another name some people gave it: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Place Without a Sign.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The plot thickens. The second-oldest, David, who worked alongside his parents for years, said most people called it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tranquelino\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one customer called it \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Burned Sopaipilla.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And Vigil Jr. said it was also called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Hole in the Wall.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
But regardless of the name, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That Place\u00e2\u20ac\u009d drew a large following, and very few Saturday mornings went by without my family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance there. The food was delicious and economical. It makes one wish a younger generation of the Tranquelino Vigil family would resurrect that place.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Optic La Gente editor Lee Einer responded to a column on the many euphemisms we conjure up for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153drunk.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lee certainly did his homework, as he demonstrated the hunting ground for the aftermath of drunkenness is indeed fertile. He provided a litany of terms, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153not just the crudo in general, but the explosive after-effects: Hurling, chumming, blowing chunks, singing to the toilet, singing to one’s shoes, serenading the porcelain god, the Technicolor burp, losing one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lunch, yakking, barfing, vomiting, regurgitating, puking, and (sorry Ralph) ralphing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
While I enjoy my colleague\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s copious research, I can only respond with an apt acronym: M.I.T.I.N., which I hope readers recognize.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Finally, not an e-mail but a genuine concern. We pay monthly fees for the operation of the transfer station in our neighborhood at Camp Luna. The charge applies regardless of frequency or amount of use.<\/p>\n
When it comes to dumping building material, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a whopping extra charge. To dump a cubic yard of material, we paid $61. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re happy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I suppose \u00e2\u20ac\u201d to pay that fee for just one load that took seconds to dispose of.<\/p>\n
But as we drove away, we passed areas that have served as dumping grounds for refrigerators, tires, microwave ovens, computers, couches and broken cinder blocks.<\/p>\n
We know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s our civic duty to pay our share for the disposal of things, but we wonder if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a connection between the extra fees and the amount of material that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s often strewn across our roadsides, ravines and rivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The columns I most enjoy writing are those that include reader comments. A few recent columns have generated some reaction and response, some of which appear here. People reacted to last week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s column on menudo and squash. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy to say that most of the comments agree with my stance that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d request neither item […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=433"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions\/437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}