» Ethiopian Cuisine is delicious and healthy!

Jun 26 2007

Ethiopian Cuisine is delicious and healthy!

Published by Ree at 2:52 pm under Real Life

With Shortman away this week, (”Mom, can you believe they went through my suitcase because Grandma put the baby’s bat in it?”), Mr. Hot and I have free run of the house. A large part of our alone time so far has been spent discussing what to eat for dinner. Shortman’s idea of dinner? Pizza. Turkey burgers. Pizza. Chicken Noodle Soup (yes, even when it’s 90 degrees outside). Pizza.

Okay, so he is 15. And Male.

So, while Mr. Hot and I were debating what ethnic group to sample tonight (Ethiopian anyone?), I started thinking about diversity. I’m considered “diverse”. Because I’m a female executive. I’m also Lebanese + Polish. I’m a Secular Humanist. I’m a Democrat. I have green eyes. I have two college degrees. I’m a step-mother.

We live within 5 miles of a very diverse city - Ann Arbor, Michigan. Home of the University of Michigan. Our town, however, is very different:

White 7,688 95.7%
African-American 45 0.6%
Asian 156 1.9%
American Indian & Alaskan 26 0.3%
Other 26 0.3%
Mixed Race 89 1.1%

Hmmmmm. Maybe it’s my frequent trips to Chicago that have blinded me to my own backyard. Or our forays into Ann Arbor. We shop in Ypsilanti - a town that is much more racially mixed. Diversity surrounds us - just not within the tax base I bought into.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this. I know that within our own family, Shortman is exposed to a wide variety of cultures, religions and lifestyles - so it’s not him that I’m worried about. But we’re at a turning point in the U.S. Will we elect a woman? How about an African-American? What happens if and when the Democrats nominate Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton? Will they have a chance against the white, WASP-y Republican candidates?

Things like this make my head and my heart hurt. I’m not sure that school yearbooks are the place to display kissing period. But if they’re going to, then they damn well better treat everyone equally. Maybe articles like this will be fewer and further between.

So, as much as I’d like to be funny today, my mind is wandering to the things that surround me that are not quite so funny. Sorry about that. But acceptance of others, tolerance and forgiveness are the things I’m thinking about today.

—- And no, people, Pizza doesn’t qualify as ethnic! Nice try though. —-

I would like to thank Bartcop for the new readers. I’m not normally this cerebral folks … if you browse around you’ll see that I have many facets that are much less emotionally draining ….