Cage Free Eggs Revisited

Earlier I wrote about cage free eggs with a rather sarcastic tone. I assumed caged in this context meant the chickens were confined to a chicken house but able to walk around. This morning, the Diane Rehm Show had a guest who talked about cage free and what it meant.

Here's a link to a video showing hens in laying cages. Apparently, they're confined like this most of their laying life.

Commercial Chicken Laying Cages

Deception

If you try hard enough,

you can convince yourself

of anything.

Taxes

The other day, we were down at Texas Medical Center and while I waited for my wife to bring the car around I noticed all the plaques and pictures on the wall in the lobby remembering those who'd gone ahead of us and reminding us that they helped create that facility. The buildings have names that enshrine their memory, too. Like Brown, Alkek, Fondren, Dunn, Smith, Scurlock, and Mary Gibbs Jones. And that's just the part at Methodist Hospital. Other areas of the Center have their own memorials.

With Tax Day falling in this month, many have no doubt expressed their disdain for paying taxes. That sense of frustration is understandable. It's quite an eye-opener to see how much money the government gets from our hard-earned income. But this week I've also been thinking about another aspect of the tax system. The Estate Tax and all of those plaques on the wall in the hospital lobby.

Under US law, a federal tax of forty percent is imposed on all estates valued above five million dollars. That's a much higher rate than the federal income tax, but there are ways to legally avoid that tax. One of those ways is by giving everything above the five million dollar limit to a qualifying institution or entity - a charitable cause, your alma mater, the church you attend, or by giving it to a foundation of your own.

As I thought about that and the plaques on the wall in the hospital lobby I realized the federal tax code actually pushes us to give away our wealth. The law forces us to think about our estate in terms of others. To address those needs, issues, and causes that are dear to us. To start or join a work that takes more than a single generation to accomplish.

Texas Medical Center was started by Monroe D. Anderson, a cotton broker who created a foundation to avoid federal taxes on his estate. The money that went to that foundation after Mr. Anderson died bought the land for the Center and helped fund construction of its first hospital. His vision was an inspiration to those who carried out the mission he started and that vision still drives the current generation of leaders who manage the Center today.

Yes, the federal government takes a big chunk of our income. And, yes, the federal government is far more intrusive than our Founders ever imagined. But the Estate Tax is one thing the tax code gets right. It encourages us - forces us - reminds us - to think of others. To build toward a future with dreams and visions bigger than we can accomplish in our lifetime. To join with those who've gone before us. To add our efforts to their's and to remind those coming after us that caring for others is their responsibility, too.

Everyone uses unisex restrooms at home.

Aspire to goals and dreams that are bigger than one could achieve or complete in a single life.

The Smartest Places On Earth

 If you're interested in our economy - where it's headed and what's really happening - you need to watch this webcast from Brookings Institute.

The Smartest Places On Earth - Brookings Institute

Cage-Free Eggs

Caught a blurb a moment ago about a grocery store that will move toward selling 100% Cage-Free eggs soon. Cage-Free eggs. Hmm.

Now, Cage-Free Chicken - I see that. A way for some to feel good about eating chicken. At least it wasn't confined to a cramped coop and force-fed steroids to make it grow into a giant chicken breast with a beak before someone killed it, plucked it, gutted it, and wrapped it for display in the store.

But Cage-Free eggs

When I was a boy I had a dozen yard hens and a rooster. They wandered free and wandered everywhere. So did their nests. And when I found their nests, I gathered their eggs and took them in the house to the refrigerator. When we cooked them, they tasted like whatever the hens had eaten - bark from the camphor tree is the flavor/scent I remember most in the scrambled eggs - there was a camphor tree behind the garage and they routinely pecked at its roots.

So, if you like Cage-Free eggs, help yourself. I prefer the consistency in flavor of whatever's in the bright white cartons with the brand logo stamped on each clean, smooth egg. But I do wonder how they get the eggs so uniform in size and shape.

Health Care

I don't know the total number of people living in the United States who do not have medical insurance coverage, but I know this - whatever the size of that group might be, it's large enough and pervasive enough that doctor's offices and related businesses (medical imaging, testing facilities, etc.) have self-pay (cash) fee schedules.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, if Donald Trump gains the Republican nomination and wins the general election, we could face more than just the bungling missteps of an uniformed politician.

All of Trump's leadership experience comes from the private sector where he has been CEO of private corporations. As a CEO he could say, "Do this," or "Never mind. Let's do that." And he could give those directions at a moments notice.

He could do the same with the corporate budget. "Spend here." Or, "Take the money from that account and use it on this one." The president of a business corporation might have that authority. The president of the United States does not.

So, the question becomes, what happens when President Trump's ideas and plans run headlong into the constitutional process?

Republican Presidential Debates

The Republican Presidential Debates were a success. They convinced me that I really am a Democrat.

Moving On To A New Line Of Articles

I began the current series of articles by proposing to visit hamburger restaurants around the city of Houston and report about our experiences. These articles were to detail actual trips my son and I made and the food we consumed. We made those trips and I wrote a couple of articles about the first two places where we ate. But in the process of preparing a third article detailing our experience at the next stop I became convicted about two things.

First, I am overweight, and not by a small about. Recreational consumption of food is a huge problem in the United States - for me personally and for millions of our fellow citizens. Meanwhile, much of the world goes hungry. We eat for entertainment. They eat only to survive. That's not right. I'm not a Catholic but the Catholic catechism defines gluttony as a mortal sin. That is as true today as it has ever been.

Second, not all the food we ate was of equal quality. All of it was good, but some was better than others. However, each of the people operating the restaurants we visited worked quite diligently to earn a living. They need all the customers they can get and don't need someone criticizing their work.

So, I'm not going to finish the current series of articles. Instead, I'm going to focus on not eating so much. If you enjoy hamburgers and are curious about which kind is best, take a trip around your own city or town and decide for yourself. As for me, I'm pushing myself toward salad and apples.

Burger Tour of Houston - Second Stop - Hubcap Grill

Our second stop on the Burger Tour of Houston took us to Hubcap Grill. They have several locations around the city but we visited the original site, located at 1111 Prairie Street, downtown. This is another of the hamburger joints in the "store-turned-cafe" genre and as you can see from the photo below, the interior is quaint but cramped. (They have outdoor seating on one side).

The hamburger I had that day was hand-patted - which is the first step beyond the "machine burger" served by fast food restaurants - but beyond that I found it . . . unremarkable. Good, but not outstanding and lacking a noticeable  "wow" factor. You can see part of one on Jack's plate in the photo above. He gave it his typical, "better than McDonalds" rating. I gave it the, "Okay, but let's try another place" response.

Hubcap Grill is a favorite for many Houstonians and has a strong reputation. If I were already downtown for another reason and wanted a hamburger, I would go there. But for a special trip, I would go somewhere else.

The thing that did catch my interest and would take me back there on a special trip was the story of the original owners - Italian immigrants who came to America in the early twentieth century and opened the location as a store. Photos of the couple hang on the walls and the current owners were more than willing to talk about the history of the place. And though I might not drive down there solely for the burger, I would return especially to hear more of the founders' story and this time to take notes.

Hubcap Grill - 1111 Prairie Street, Houston, Texas

Burger Tour of Houston - First Stop - Lankford Grocery and Market

Our first stop on the Burger Tour of Houston was at Lankford Grocery & Market - part of the Texas grocery-store-turned-cafe restaurant sub-genre. All the Houston food web sites and eatery referral places rave about this place so we began our quest for the definitive burger here. Our first experience rated an "okay" from me. Jack gave it his usual "better than McDonalds" but really, I was underwhelmed. The burger was big, which is good, and loaded with whatever toppings we requested, also good, but I thought the flavor of the meat was flat - it didn't appear to be hand-patted - and lost in the add-ons. 

This place is known far and wide and the general public talks about it all the time so we went back for a second taste after visiting several other eateries. This time I ordered my burger plain - meat and bread. Jack still gave it a "better than McDonalds" rating and I still found the meat lacking, but the atmosphere was better and the place had that "grows on you" feel.

The story of the business is rather interesting - family owned for multiple generations, began as a grocery store now just a restaurant. Still operated by a Lankford. An in-law was manning the cash register on our most recent stop, which I suppose said something about their trust in him. It also told me the owners placed greater emphasis on the food and service than on the money, which goes a long way toward explaining why this place is always packed. They serve many other dishes besides hamburgers, including breakfast, which we intend to try, but that's for another tour.

The picture below shows the interior.

Lankford Grocery & Market is located at 88 Dennis Street in the Montrose section of Houston

Burger Tour of Houston

The picture above is a shot of Callaghan's Irish Social Club - a bar on Charleston Street in Mobile, Alabama, and home of the best hamburger on the Gulf Coast. From Corpus Christi to Apalachicola, you can't find a place that beats the taste of their burger. Jack and I have eaten there many times and when we're in Mobile we do our best to go there for lunch.

Since moving to Houston we've tried to find a burger joint with a comparable taste and similar ambiance. We've been aided in our effort by Jack's gift of "Burger Bucks" - money he gave me last Christmas to help cover the cost of a burger tasting tour of Houston. Two men with an appetite and cash, in an '85 Mercedes with a broken air conditioner - we've sweated our way through some interesting experiences.

Over the next few weeks, I'll show you pictures of the places we've visited so far and catch you up on or assessment of the flavor.

Grand Bay Elementary School For Colored

This is a picture of the Grand Bay Elementary School For Colored. It was constructed with help from the Rosenwald Fund and used to educate African-American children in the 1920s. The site is along U.S. Highway 90, east of Grand Bay, Alabama. Classes for grades one through six were conducted there until the 1940s when the school was consolidated with the school at Dixon Corner (photo from Fisk University).

Daryl Hall and Cee Lo Green

Last night, Daryl Hall was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (along with John Oates of the combo Hall and Oates). So, continuing with the Daryl Hall - Live From Daryl's House emphasis, this is Daryl singing Crazy with Cee Lo Green.

Daryl Hall and Todd Rundgren - Live From Daryl's House

Most of you have probably already seen Daryl Hall's show Live From Daryl's House. This is Daryl singing with Todd Rundgren from an episode several years ago. I think the versions they do on this show are better than the originals.

Can We Still Be Friends

Same-Sex Marriage

Last fall, George and Barbara Bush attended the wedding of two friends in Maine. The friends were two women who were marrying each other. This is old news, but I refer to it now to say that same-sex marriage, like many other so-called polarizing issues, is easy to discuss in polemical terms in the abstract - “we ought to do this” or “we ought to do that.” But the issues become something else when the people involved are our friends.

I don’t know about you but when issues like this touch the lives of my friends they also touch my life as well - in a personal way - and my reaction to the critics who attack my friends is usually something like, “kiss my ass.” I think George and Barbara would give a more polite “none of your damn business” response, but the point is still the same - political issues divide us in the abstract, which is where politicians want to keep them so they can use those issues to manipulate us. But our personal reaction to those issues, when we encounter them through our own lives or the lives of our friends and family, tells us more about where the country is headed and how those issues will finally be resolved.

 

 

 

 

An old postcard advertisement 

 

 

A barn in Grand Bay Alabama