(It is bogus. The casket is not filled, or at least not necessarily, and did not arrive from anywhere except the Central Identification Lab. This has been going on for seven years across the last two idiots who have occupied the White House. Photo USAF).

It had been a really odd day, catching bits and pieces about what they are doing- or not doing- downtown. I am militantly not going to go into the current fiscal lunacy. This is either going to be OK, or it is not, and I doubt seriously whether what I think about it means a great Goddamn.

I think the final straw came when a pal sent along a note from Honolulu that for seven years, phony ceremonies were held representing the return of the remains of American soldiers killed in action.

Oh, the ceremonies were all real enough, but the remains had already been to the Central Identification Laboratory, and the airplanes from which they were unloaded were not even airworthy.

Screwing around with the people who attended the events is bad enough, but to trifle with the Dead…oh, hell. Enough. I have had it with “optics” and politicians surrounding themselves with decorative citizens when they lie to us.

I was in a sour mood and worse I had a legal conference about confronting the new reality that did not wrap up until almost 1800, and the chill remnants of the tropical storm were flooding the streets of the Ballston neighborhood where I used to work. I used to have free parking under the building where the company had offices, but do not now.

I chose not to walk to Willow, since all my foul weather gear is now deployed to Refuge Farm.

Consequently, I climbed in the car and motored down Fairfax Drive toward the bar, knowing that finding a parking place would be problematic.

It was, and with no clear alternative to the long walk in the rain, I gave up and went home and hour or two earlier than normal and much more sober.

I made the mistake of turning on the television- I was confronted with the Columbia Broadcasting System’s view of the world, as articulated by Mr. Scott Pelley. I had to think hard about the last time I had watched network news, couldn’t remember, and turned it off.

I wandered back in the kitchen and remembered I had a chunk of salmon in the freezer and dragged it out to thaw in the covered Lodge cast-iron fry pan on the gas stove. Salmon is good, but it needed something to zip it up.

In the old days, I might have reached for the bottled tartar sauce, but I had a couple recipes I wanted to try. I fished out the three-by-five index cards from the junk drawer to see if I had what I needed.

White Barbecue Sauce

Southern food writer Christiana Roussel channels down home goodness for me. This recipe produces a creamy, tangy concoction that goes well with the usual barbeque stuff, but is particularly tasty on crudités. It was reportedly invented by Bob Gibson of the Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama, back in 1925.

The ingredients are simple enough and featured staples that I had on hand with no requirement to venture out into the rain. This seemed simple enough that I could whip up a batch without even having to stop at the Harris Tweeter Market for anything special.

The possibilities really are quite limitless. I like to keep a bag of that pre-cut cabbage so I an just toss a quarter-cup of Duke’s with vinegar on top and shake it up to make a nice slaw- but try this as a variation. Top a toasted piece of good French bread with a late summer tomato slice from the Russian’s garden next door and a teaspoon of white barbecue sauce.

Celery and carrot sticks love taking a dip in it too. You see where I am going here.

White Barbecue Sauce – Makes 1 cup

Ingredients: 1 even cup Duke’s mayonnaise (really, only use Duke’s)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons barbecue seasoning (like McCormick’s Grill-Mates)

Combine all ingredients and taste. Adjust seasonings as desired. There, now it’s your recipe too.

It being rainy and chill, I accompanied the salmon and white barbeque with a solid Seven Crown cocktail, and eventually (though it took a while) I completely forgot about what is really going on.

Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303