The Many Charms of Chickens

Bob and I were both tired today from spring allergies or perhaps the beginnings of a cold. We're not sure which. I went to the Alameda Library intending to write, but after I arrived, I just sat at my desk in a daze. I finally gave up, but on the way out, I picked up a strange book in the cookbook section. It was about an American family's French cook, Clementine, and the marvelous dishes she made. It had lovely little pen and ink drawings, which you used to see more often in books before the computer revolution came along. The book was written in the early forties during the Nazi occupation of France. The Beck family had been living in France before the war. When the war arrived, they went back to America, taking Clementine with them. It was a strange little book. The writer, who was the father of the family, displayed a curious mixture of admiration, affection, and condescension towards his "little Burgundian cook."

I like strange little books. It turns out that Bob had been to a library, too -- the Oakland Library, that is. While I was on the phone to my chicken-owning friend in New England, he suddenly presented me with a book about birds. The first chapter discusses the many charms of chickens. I enjoyed it, but as much as I like weird little books, I don't think I'm up to reading the rest, which covers pigeons, falcons and hummingbirds -- just like I won't actually try out any of Clementine's recipes, such as Boeuf Bourgignon or Cervelles au Beurre Noir.