Jujube

Wow. It's been interesting the past few days. I've had about 4 barbecues in one week with about as diverse a crowd as I could wish. Monday, a couple a of my old, old friends came over and we barbecued some chicken--my own invention, a sort of jerk sauce emphasizing brown sugar and allspice, replete with home-made tortillas and plenty of that universal happy-sauce beer.

Then on Thursday it was more of the same, though my sister skipped out. Saturday I helped out a sister from church to move to a new place. It was actually a few guys that helped and she and her mother were kind enough to make us some carne asada tacos for dinner---so good, so very blessed indeed (the topic of another post, really)! Just as an aside, something that struck me: after I declined a roast corn on the cob from a street vendor she jokingly asked whether I was truly Mexican (having spoken to her in Spanish much of the day) I maybe-too-passionately insisted I was American with an inclination to appreciate the more "ethnic" aspects of our Southern California culture. I'm not sure how that went over, but I'm inclined to think that my reaction was appropriate for a red-blooded American. I love my country so very, very much, a counrtry that is inherently open to broad cultural influences, but a country inherently protective of its openness to differences. Well here's something different: A Spanish-speaking guy of obvious Mexican extraction who calls himself true-blue American!

Ok, I know I'm making too much of it. Certainly she meant no harm whatsoever, but I guess I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I don't think I let it show too much, though.

(Oh, and another barbeque Sunday.)