I Remember Diana …

Today, Aug. 31, is the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. The untimely and tragic death, the culmination of a tragic fairy tale life, keeps Diana in our minds as a forever young and elegant princess.

I remember that night as if it were last night. My husband called me from work, stunned as were all the journalists in the newsroom. When the report suddenly popped up on their computer screens there was a loud collective gasp. Men and women, young and old, even the seasoned and jaded journalists were deeply, emotionally affected.

“Are you sure?” was my reply in complete disbelief at the irrational news. As I flipped the TV channels in search of more details, the local evening news was mum on the subject.

Yet, it was true, Lady Diana had died in Paris, my birthplace, and the next morning at the baby shower in honor of our soon-to-be-born son, the first words out of everybody’s lips were about Princess Diana.

We remembered Diana. We exchanged stories about staying up to watch her wedding in the middle of the night when none of us owned VCRs yet. We talked about her engagement, her dresses, her charity work, the paparazzi. We chatted, we laughed, we had a private memorial in between the excitement and joy of a wonderful and unforgettable baby shower.

I remember Diana’s funeral. Again, as I had done for her wedding, I was glued to the TV screen in the middle of the night, paying homage along with the millions of other people worldwide and the thousands upon thousands lining the streets crying and bringing their offerings of flowers, cards and mementos in person.

We remembered Diana, a true princess even in her passing.

To this day, move after move, I keep all the Paris magazines about Diana my grandmother sent me when I was a young teen. Cover article after cover article, Diana graced the photos and kept the issues flying off the shelves worldwide.

I remember Diana, our English rose, today on her 10th memorial anniversary, but also everyday as I look at my rose bushes, because the prettiest of them all are my Diana, Princess of Wales roses — tall, blushing pink blooms that never grow old, keeping their petals to the end and ever-beautiful at every stage, blossoming from shy bud to confident mature rose.

Goodbye England’s Rose … for now.

Tarzan’s Cheeta oldest living chimp @ 75, active painting, exhibiting artwork

It could be a joke: “Old chimps never die, they exhibit their artwork in museums and get published alongside Jackson Pollack” — except it’s TRUE!

The same Cheeta who kept Johnny Weissmuller and other Tarzans company in 12 movies is not only still alive at 75 years of age, he is spending his retirement in Palm Springs painting abstracts, exhibiting in museums and galleries, and getting press coverage in newspapers, magazines and this blog. He also has his own star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on the West side of Palm Canyon Drive between Tahquitz and Arenas.

The National Museum of London displayed three of Cheeta’s paintings 12 years ago. Most recently, he was exhibiting this summer at the Lancaster Museum and Art Gallery in Southern California. Titled “Walk on the Wild Side — A Wildlife Art Exhibition,” the show also featured work by homo sapiens.

If you’re curious about Cheeta’s artwork, go to his website at http://www.cheetathechimp.org. Donations of $135 or more will get you your very own Cheeta art in the mail and will support him and his friends during retirement. And if you’d like to see him in action during his younger days, his Tarzan movies are available here. They’re great family entertainment.

Flavor and flowers at farmer’s market

Speaking of Farmers’ Markets, earlier this summer I went to the opening of the California Avenue market in Palo Alto, Calif. What a treat it was: plein-air shopping, great live music, friendly farmers eager to please, samples of sweet ripe fruit and the satisfaction of bringing home yummy and healthy produce, flowers and goods which are not only good for us in the short run, but good for us and the environment in the long run too. Most cities across the country have a farmer’s market or even several where, like me, you can make your weekly pilgrimage.

In Palo Alto, kudos to Country Sun, one of the California Avenue grocers (www.countrysun.com), for thinking of providing free, reuseable grocery bags. Not only was it easy to carry purchases, but it was great advertising for them as well. People were talking about it all week and hoping they would continue passing out their green bags every week. By the way, Country Sun, green was the perfect color for your “Green Bags” on the first Sunday. Black was not nearly as popular the next week. Personally, any happy color will be more than welcome, but green is the best pun for a “Green Bag.”

Also discovered a French charcuterie (deli), Fabrique Delices, fit enough for the White House, the Pope and Air France. Their duck rilliette and mousse of goose liver are simply spectacular. First of all, you just can’t find great rilliette anywhere short of hopping on a plane to France, and the mousse was almost as good as a foie gras! They also carry tiny french cornichons for the gourmets who don’t like those fat, sweet pickles. Check out their website (www.fabriquedelices.com) for more details and look for Jean-Baptiste on Sunday.

Prevedelli Farms of Watsonville had some simply irresistible preserves. A young teen handed me a sample as I walked by, I thanked him, asking what it was, and kept right on walking. But I stopped dead in my tracks and walked the couple feet right back to their stand when the real fruit flavors danced on my taste buds. I wasn’t in the market for preserves, but I had to at least look at the ingredients and the name of the merchant. The man, just as friendly as the young teen, told me his wife makes these preserves using their ripest fruit and uses very little sugar, much less than usually required in receipes. Excellent and ripe fruit indeed because they were unbelievably sweet and flavorful. My taste buds were singing “uh huh, I like it!” I could not resist buying their Gourmet Fruit Sauce and their Seedless Blackberry Preserves. I would suggest to Prevedelli that they remove the seeds from their fruit sauce too. Who needs seeds?

Forget Smuckers, with a taste this good, it’s got to be Prevedelli Farms. Look them up at www. prevedelli.com. They are a third-generation family farm and also have pear and apple orchards. They grow 26 varieties of apples, and I happily look forward to the fall harvest season. My perennially requested apple tart is going to be just out of this world this year!

If you’re not familiar with Afghan foods, you should stop by the Bolani stand for some samples. Bolanies are similar to quesadillas and are eaten with various sauces and hummus. The spinach bolani I sampled was very moist and tasty. Also ask for their “Afghan Lasagna.” It’s a spinach bolani with sun-dried tomato sauce and two other sauces combined for a very realistic approximation of flavors and texture. If you’ve tried hummus before and didn’t like it, be sure to sample it here. This is what hummus should taste like. Their website is http://www.bolaniandsauce.com.

Before you leave any farmer’s market, be sure to pick up some flowers, too. They last and last when they come straight from the grower without any middlemen.

Pesticides May Be Killing Bees — Why Is The World Surprised?

While scientists are still scrambling to figure out what has been killing tens of thousands of bee colonies nationwide and pesticide companies are busy claiming that their products kill bugs and insects yet somehow discriminate bees, beekeepers know in their hearts that they have solved the riddle.

Many of them are no longer renting their bees to pollinate farms where pesticides are used, especially ones known as neonicotinoids. It was easy for beekeepers to figure out. Their bees go in pesticide-using fields and get sick and die. Their bees go in pesticide-free and organic fields and they thrive.

So my recommendation to all of us is to rush out to our local farmer’s markets and buy organic produce and honey. Not only will we be helping the beneficial bees but also local farmers, our environment and our own health and well-being.

Japanese Centenarian Club Quadruples

According to the Associated Press, “the number of Japanese living beyond 100 has almost quadrupled in the past 10 years, with the once-exclusive centenarian club expected to exceed 28,000 this year.”

AP claims that experts believe this longevity is due to the traditional Japanese diet which is rich in vegetables and fish, but does that realy make sense? I’m no “expert”, whoever they may be — AP does not bother to specify, but I do have some common sense and I say that as healthy as vegetable and fish are, that cannot possibly be the reason. The “traditional” Japanese diet has ALWAYS been rich in vegetable and fish, has it not? So why would the Japanese centenarians suddenly quadruple?

We need to focus on major events and changes during these centenarians’ lifetimes or about the last 100 years. What could possibly have happened in Japan and in their lifetime that could have made such a drastic difference. The possibilities are many, but the most obvious of course is a very major, drastic event which happened in Japan during WWII — the Atomic Bomb. So here’s a wild thought. While the United States tried to kill the Japanese at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, did they also kill some harmful bacteria, germ, mold or such which normally prevents most human beings from reaching 100?

It’s up to the “experts” to figure out. Nevertheless I think it’s quite intriguing that not only has Japan’s centenarian population has quadrupled, but that it has done so while the rest of the world’s has not.