What am I, chopped liver?*

Posted 8/21/12

If the old adage (you are what you eat) is true, then yes—yes I am. In point of fact, it’s one of the few things that I can cook and do so a few times a year for holiday celebrations. With …

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What am I, chopped liver?*

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If the old adage (you are what you eat) is true, then yes—yes I am. In point of fact, it’s one of the few things that I can cook and do so a few times a year for holiday celebrations. With Passover in full swing (April 22 to 30), I made sure to have the necessary ingredients in the house while checking my list of events that I intended to sprinkle in during the week. Of course, there’s another definition of the phrase, one which exemplifies life in the shadow of my sidekick (www.Facebook.com/DharmaTheWonderDog) who is constantly stealing the limelight and is the epitome of the online definition: “Chopped liver is traditionally served as a side dish, rather than the main course [and] the idea would be that sometimes a person might feel like their feelings are not being considered fully as they should, so they feel as though they are being treated like a side dish.” (www.wikipedia.com) “Cue world’s tiniest violin,” my dog suggests, while begging for some liver cooling on the counter. Wow, man—that’s cold.

Following Friday night’s traditional seder dinner, I prepared for what will likely become a new tradition in Jeffersonville, NY—the town’s first Maple Syrup Festival, which touted a 5k “Sap Run” where close to 200 people showed up bright and early (so I hear) ending in a stack of pancakes served with fresh local syrup. Dharma doesn’t eat pancakes, so she was in no rush. She preferred to take her sweet time primping for her admirers before making a grand entrance at 11 a.m. and checking out the vendors, tree-tapping and maple-candy-making demonstrations and live music. While I chatted with local author Scott Woods regarding his new book “We Hillfolk”—which chronicles a return to his boyhood home in the Catskills in order to “claim his American dream”—music filled the air as Sara Hulse and Tony Penn entertained in the park.

The duo sounded great and put me in the mood for the next night, when Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience were performing (www.bethelwoodscenter.org) as part of their week-long stay in Bethel, NY. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts Senior Director of Arts and Humanities Kathleen Christie explained that the New Orleans jazz band had been participating in workshops at local schools, including Fallsburg and Liberty, along with a Creole cooking class, as part of the center’s all-inclusive educational outreach program. “Having them here has been a dream,” Christie told me as folks took their seats in the Event Gallery. “Terrance is one of those humans who is so happy to share his experience with the world.”

Two-time Grammy winner Simien’s Zydeco Experience is the real thing.“His family is documented in history books as one of the first Creole families to settle in Louisiana’s St. Landry Parish (www.terrancesimien.com),” where he “was mentored by great Zydeco pioneers which led to great success sharing the stage and studio with Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews and Los Lobos,” to name but a few.

Zydeco, a musical genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana, is “usually fast tempo and dominated by the button accordion and a form of washboard known as a frottoir,” which were both front and center as Simien and Co. exploded on stage last Sunday. Opening with an amazing, rousing rendition of a Zydeco-infused version of The Band’s “Take a Load Off Fanny,” the audience immediately leapt to its collective feet and danced as Simien tossed Mardis Gras beads into the crowd. “This [the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival] is the most peaceful place I’ve ever been,” Terrance shared with the revelers. “It’s definitely sacred ground, a magical place —and we feel honored to be here with you all.” One can’t help (IMHO) but be invigorated by the unique sound and incredible musical style of Simien’s Zydeco Experience, and even the Wonder Dog got in on the act, joining up with some kids from The Center for Discovery out for an evening of musical bliss.

I was more than happy to be in the background during the show and allow real entertainers to take center stage while photographing the event. “It’s not always about you,” the dog cautioned, waving a paw in my general direction, and of course, she’s right. Without the never-ending plethora of mind-blowing entertainment available to experience here in the mountains, I wouldn’t have a job, and without the dog attached to my hip, no one would even notice that I’m in the room alongside world class musicians, local syrup producers, talented authors and the slew of fascinating, exciting individuals who make up the fabric of the Upper Delaware River region. I’m just happy to be a side dish in the banquet that is put forth. Chopped liver? I’ll take it.

*Author’s note: While finishing today’s column, Dharma reminded me that I had penned one before (July, 2011) with the same title. It would appear (sigh) that my status as “chopped liver” is a running theme.

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