Living just off Highway 9 in Ben Lomond, I often find myself stuck in traffic going nowhere for minutes on end, so I keep a notepad and pen in the console next to my seat to jot down any thoughts that come to mind.
Earlier this month, I was on my way to the market to buy a bag of pinto beans and forgot that it was SLV High School graduation day. And yes, I was sitting in my car as young men and women in caps and gowns drove and walked by.
I shook my head at the sight of so many people in open-legged dresses revealing shorts or jeans, ripped knees, logoed T-shirts, bare shoulders and stomachs, and flip-flops on their feet. Young men with long hair dangling from under their hats and pierced ears, young women with tattoos on their necks and arms, some with nose piercings, walked past.
I realized that the people not wearing gowns were friends and family, the men were not wearing suits, the women were very casually dressed in shorts and jeans, a few people were wearing dresses, many were exposing their bellies and shoulders, and of course many were wearing flip flops.
My mind immediately went back to then, and now, when a California Highway Patrol officer directing traffic waved us on our way.
As I passed the high school on my way home, I was reminded of my own high school graduation decades ago at the Visitation Villa in Tacoma, Washington.
“Villa” was a Catholic school with 32 girls between the ages of 5 and 18. Most of them were from broken homes or separated from their parents. A few were “day students” whose parents wanted their daughters to receive a Catholic education.
Graduations back then were different in many ways: our caps (then called mortar boards) and gowns were white, including the tassels, we wore our best dresses under our gowns, nylon stockings on our legs, and the first one-inch “cube” high heels on our feet.
Families arrived at the event in their best attire, wearing suits and ties and dresses under their best jackets. Men sat with their hats on their laps, women with their purses on their laps and their hands folded. People sat upright in folding chairs and whispered while they waited.
The graduation ceremony was a solemn event.
In the 1950s, graduation was on every family’s mind from the first day of high school. On that first day, we were “lowly” freshmen, then a year later we were sophomores who would move up to seniors, and finally, we were respected seniors.
That senior year, if we were “lucky,” we chose a college, wrote a class “prophecy” for the yearbook (which we wrote, typed, and printed ourselves), posed for our senior photo (which our parents took), planned our class picnic, performed in the senior class play, and finally attended prom night.
Unlike today, if Sister Charlotte had had any money in the envelope she kept in her office, those few dollars would have gone towards the cost of materials to make her prom dress. Today, these expenses would amount to hundreds of dollars.
On graduation night, six of us seniors made a solemn entrance into the gymnasium to the music of “Pomp and Circumstance” played by Sister Loretta on an old upright piano. We sat on the stage and each senior student took turns giving a speech. There was no valedictorian or vice-valedictorian. The nuns believed in equality and no favoritism.
The ceremony included prayer and benediction, and the parish priest blessed each of us with the “sign of the cross” as he handed us our diplomas.
Alas, life and values were completely different then. Was life better then, or is it better now? Readers, you decide.
With June coming to an end and Independence Day weekend likely to be filled with picnics and outdoor barbecues with family and friends, I’m always on the lookout for new dips for my favorite tortilla chips to go with my Mexican bean casserole or other make-ahead meals.
The Corn and Chili Dip recipe below is fantastic and pairs well with my Mexican Pot of Beans recipe. It’s also super portable.
Corn and Chili Dip
Char 2 poblano chiles (1/2 cup), peel and dice.
1/2 small jalapeño, seeds removed and finely chopped.
One 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese.
1/2 cup sour cream
Thaw and drain 1/2 pack petite-sized frozen corn.
1 small garlic clove
2 tablespoons coriander (diced)
Add S/P to taste.
Chill.
Adjust the amount of pepper to taste.
Mexican bean pot
8 ounce pack of pinto beans
Fill a pot with cold water and soak the beans for 8 hours or overnight.
In a large saucepan, stir fry the following:
8 slices of diced bacon.
addition:
1 yellow onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic (minced)
Sauté together until translucent (15 minutes).
addition:
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons of oregano
Rotel Tomato Original Can 1/2
Simmer over low heat.
addition:
Soak the beans in the above ingredients.
8 cups cold water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours until tender.
These beans are mashed, topped with shredded cheese, and grilled until the cheese is melted.
Corey Gurcelak of Ben Lomond loves people and loves to cook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
