Notes from Nan: Let the Sun Shine In!
BY HF Contributing Writer, Nan Parati

When I was fifteen my parents took me to see the Broadway touring company production of “Hair.”

I remember three things most distinctly about it:

1. Berger (the main guy character) was the epitome of cool, the attention of that cool a guy I would never, ever be hip enough to attract.
2. The entire Tribe up there on stage was soaked in self-assurance, dyed to the bone in Truth and Knowledge. Once again, I knew I would never grow up to be that strong.
3. The famous nude scene was way, way too short.

This weekend my little brother (now in his forties) took me to see it again in New York! And these are the things I saw this time:

1. Berger could not be more of a mocking, insecure, self-centered girlfriend-using jerk. Unfortunately within just a few years of fifteen I was able to be cool enough to attract that kind of guy ALL the time! Two late-high-school-aged girls stood ahead of me in the bathroom line and I asked them what they thought of Berger.
   “WAY cool!” they chorused. “We are willing him to us! We’ve seen it four times!”
   “You know he’d break your heart,” I said. “No he wouldn’t,” they said together. “He’s SO COOL!”
   The overwhelming draw of the jerkwad guy has not changed in thirty five years!
2. Oh my goodness, what a flimsy group of children those poor kids were! Chrissy the unwed pregnant mom, Sheila the politically charged world-changer (whose heart is publicly stomped on by boyfriend Berger), Hud, the coolest-of-all black Jimi Hendrix look-alike, Claude, the poor child who goes off to Vietnam; I saw them this weekend all thirty five years later, who they would be thirty-five years later. Some would be funny and wise, full of sardonic and hilarious tales of the hippie years, others would be angry, broken, disillusioned, disenchanted. And then, others would still be at it, trying so hard to find truth for the whole world. And then others still would have just moved on up and out and into the changing world with all of the doubt and reality it carries with it after all. All of us ended up in some way; I just could not have imagined anything less than future nirvana for all of those hip characters up there on that stage in 1972 at the still-beginning of the age of Truth and Knowledge. (“He’s SO COOL!”)
3. Now, having seen at least 27 grown, naked people in my life, I thought the naked scene silly and gratuitous—and SO LONG!

Peace,

Nan

Here is our dinner this week!

Thursday:

Pasta Night!  Penne Pasta with your choice of:

• Creole Cream cheese with crab and crawfish
• Pesto Chicken Sauce
• Pesto Garden vegetable
• Pomodoro Sauce with Sweet sausage, onions and peppers

Friday:

• BBQ Ribs
• Corn on the Cob
• Greens
• Dirty Rive
• Corn Bread

The Farm Report

I am getting a lot of calls from local farmers. They have a wealth of produce harvested and ready for the store. We are stocking as much as we can fit in our cooler. I have the list of local produce below for easy reference.

LOCAL PRODUCE

• BASIL from Springwater Farm, Ashfield
• BEETS from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
• BLUEBERRIES from Bear Mountain Apiary, Ashfield
• CABBAGE from Paddy Flat Farm, Ashfield
• CARROTS from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
• CHARD: RAINBOW from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
• CURRANTS from Springwater Farm, Ashfield
• KALE: from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
• HARICOT VERT from Springwater Farm, Ashfield
• LETTUCE: RED LEAF from Paddy Flat Farm, Ashfield
• LETTUCE: ROMAINE from Paddy Flat Farm, Ashfield
• MESCLUN from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
• RASPBERRIES from Alex and Joe Osterman, Ashfield
• SCALLIONS: PURPLE from Paddy Flat Farm, Ashfield
• SNAP PEAS from Springwater Farm, Ashfield
• SUMMER SQUASH from Paddy Flat Farm, Asfield

LOCAL MEATS

• BEEF: GROUND, SHANKS, STEW, STEAKS, LIVER, ROASTS from Steady Lane Farm, Ashfield
• LAMB: GROUND LAMB, KABOBS, BREAKFAST SAUSAGES, LAMB CHOPS, SHOULDER CHOPS, LEG STEAK from Carter’s Farm, Ashfield
• PORK: HAM STEAK from Manda Farm, Plainfield

LOCAL GROCERIES

• ANNABREAD: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday: Baguettes, Daily Bread, Country White, Whole Wheat, Rosemary and Olive, and Rye.
• GRANOLA: MAPLE AND SAVE THE FOREST NUT from New England Naturals, Greenfield
• HERBS: DRIED. Basil, Cayenne Peppers, Celery Leaf, Cilantro Leaf, Parsley, Sage, Thyme, Lemon Thyme from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
  HONEY: WILDFLOWER, BEE POLLEN from Bear Meadow Apiary, Ashfield
• MAPLE SYRUP: New Crop Half gallons, quarts, pints, ½ pints, 100ml from Gray’s Sugar House, Ashfield
• MISO: ADUZI BEAN, CHIC PEA, SWEET WHITE, GARLIC RED PEPPER, HEARTY BROWN RICE from South River Miso Company, Conway
• PICKLES: ASIAN CABBAGE, SAUERKRAUT from Real Pickles, Greenfield
• SALAD DRESSINGS: HONEY DIJON, BUTTERMILK RANCH, GINGER MISO, CILANTRO LIME, CHIPOTLE RANCH from Appalachian Naturals, Goshen
• SALSA: MILD, MEDIUM, HOT from Appalachian Naturals, Goshen
• LOCAL DAIRY
  ICE CREAM: VANILLA, CHOCOLATE WITH RASPBERRY, MOOSE TRACKS, MINT CHIP, VERY LOCAL BERRY from Bart’s Ice Cream, Greenfield
• CHEVRE: PLAIN, DILL, CHIVE AND GARLIC from Sangha Farm, Ashfield
• YOGURT: WHOLE MILK PLAIN, LOW FAT PLAIN, MAPLE, VANILLA, APRICOT ALMOND from Sidehill Farm, Ashfield

Elmer’s Store | 396 Main St. | Ashfield, MA 01330 | (413) 628-4003
www.Elmersstore.com

Nan Parati

Nan is the proprietor of Elmer’s Store in Ashfield, MA. A New England transplant from the Deep South, Nan shares her southern wit, wisdom and charm every week in her column, “Notes from Nan.” Share dinner with her every Friday at Elmer’s. Menu’s are posted with her column. nanparati@aol.com