[CH] open fields...one person's view...
bill jernigan (billjernigan@iqonline.net)
Mon, 08 Oct 2001 12:33:30 -0400
just about everywhere i've ever lived, or even visited, the locals have a
saying (the same saying): "if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes
and it'll change"...this is delivered with a deep-throated chuckle, and a
smile that tells me that the person thinks it is very clever and original...
this last weekend, i saw that old adage come true...
we arrived at the waverly inn friday nite, and it was raining (to use
another original description) cats and dogs...one look at the field, and we
(the knoxville delegation) decided that camp super-8 was the way to go...
saturday morning was clear and beautiful...at eight o'clock sharp, the
calls began, and the shuttling process began...the road to the assigned
camping area was muddy enough that those of us with small cars decided it
was not practical to negotiate it...so we parked at the top of the little
hill...next to the porta-potties, in the field where we camped last
year...the very spot we had been told not to use for camping or parking...
a steady stream of folks started arriving, tents started popping up, and
soon the road was dry enough for even the rv's to move into their place and
set up camp...'camps' ranged from small pup tents to rv's with
barca-loungers in the front yard...
cajohn manned the welcome tent and the poster signing booth, preparing a
surprise or two for a member or two who couldn't attend, selling posters
and handing out a selection of his excellent sauces and other hot
foods...rob was in charge of handing out a selection of jim's sauces...
everyone grabbed a bucket and set out for the field...there were millions
of chiles of all colors and descriptions...some were picking the savinas
and others for jim to use in his magic sauces and powders, others were
picking the more exotic varieties for transport home...
the most comment in the field seemed to be 'look at this one!', closely
followed by 'what are these yellow ones?...are they ripe?' and 'are these
insanely hot?...but there was also a lot of conversation as people got to
know each other and friendships were formed...
a lot of the 'regulars' were there, and there were several people who had
learned about the event from the 'eat the heat' show, and had never met jim
or heard of the list...they had searched for information, contacted jim,
and he invited them to the field...i invited them to join the list, and
hope they do...
jim was kind of like santa claus...who is this guy?...generous beyond
imagination but never seen...you think you see him at the edge of your
vision, but when you turn, he's not there...but he was definitely there in
spirit, and even those who have never met him felt his presence...
backs creaked and buckets filled...the pickers hefted their harvest back
toward the tent line, where food was appearing on the tables...newer
arrivals grabbed buckets and headed for the fields...
as we noshed on the great food, we were able to see faces (in the field,
you mostly see the tops of peoples heads and their butts) and share more
stories...the food varied in heat from mild to wild, but i didn't find
anything that wasn't very good...the spam jerky was good this year...there
were dozens of home made sauces and salsas of all descriptions, including
scott's 'happy halloween habanero' sauce - the subject of a recent
post...(he stressed that he washed his hands before squeezing the mash with
his bare hands)...everyone agreed that it was good this year...
the weather was beautiful...t-shirt weather, bright sun...rael in his
chilechef's pants and hendrix blasting in his ears, talking to those
beautiful chiles...
the day passed far too quickly, with trips to pick still more chiles, and
then back to the campsite for 'one more tamale' or 'another chip with some
of that great sauce' or 'a little of that great salami and cheese' or 'just
a little bowl of that chili'...
hobby and ms. farmer were giving away some of their chile seedlings, and
chile woman and her husband brought a selection of plants for us to take
home...a little late for this season, but nice houseplants that will make
us very happy next year...
hobby had a chile roaster, and people discovered the unforgettable taste of
roasted chiles that only minutes before had been on the plant...(at least
one discovered that roasting habaneros does NOT make them milder...he
popped a whole one in his mouth and 'first there was this incredibly
delicious citrus/chile flavor, then it felt like i had swallowed the
roaster's flame thrower at full throttle'...
mary-ann and steve competed with riley and mary for the 'longest trek'
award...tony flynn (who would have won the award hands down) was mentioned
frequently, and we all wished that things could have been different so that
he could have attended...
as the sun sank toward the horizon, an electric generator was fired up,
lights were strung, and the crowd gathered around the food tables...the
temperature started dropping, so everyone added layers of clothes and a
fire was built...
several bottles of medicinal alcohol were produced, and samples handed
out...scott's hab ouzo was good this year, there was a bottle of lime/chile
infused vodka that was VERY tasty, and alex had a bottle of tequila
containing a bit of the elixir he discussed on the list a few months
ago...there were three flavors of chile wine, very tasty and only one (the
hab wine) that was really hot...
by dark, it was cold enough that everyone was around the fire...several
folks stemmed chiles as they told stories and chatted with new/old
friends...cameron's son gavin served s'mores made to order, and karen
zanger topped the evening off with a delicious habanero/lime
cheesecake...the temperature kept dropping...eventually, everyone made
their way back to their tents/campers...
the sun rose to reveal a heavy frost covering everything...a tv crew showed
up to film a special for indianapolis tv, and among other sites, got rael
emerging from his sleeping bag under the clear skies, atop his twister
board/ground cover...coffee pots began perking, the fire was re-kindled and
word spread that joe banero was serving breakfast for the crowd...
and what a breakfast!...scrambled eggs, hashbrowns with chorizo, flour
tortillas, yesterday's chili, a cajun corn/onion/chile dish cooked and
dished up by cajohn and a loaf of apple-smoked savina banana bread...good
eats...thanks, joe!...
more camaraderie and chile pickin, then it was time for us to leave for the
seven hour drive back home...a bittersweet moment, to be sure...realizing
that this may be the last time we gather with these fine folks, and so glad
that jim made it possible...
thanks a million to jim and abby for inviting us, to cajohn, alex, and
cameron for pulling this off, and all the rest for showing up and making it
such an enjoyable event...wish we all could have stayed longer, but will
carry the memories for a long time...
and for y'all that couldn't make it, wish you could have been there...you
missed a good time and i missed a chance to meet you and know even more
good people and dedicated chile-heads...
bill (slide show to follow)...