Oddest moment at the Food Show

[gordonzola]

At the beer and cheese tasting that I was working, I got cornered by a couple of higher-ups at a local cheese distributor. They were grilling me about why I buy this from one company and that from another one and basically why I don’t buy everything from them. They seemed hurt when I told them I think of them as a commodity cheese seller first and a specialty one second. And geez, it’s not like I didn’t order half a pallet of Basque sheep cheese from them last week.

Anyways, one of my favorite cheese folks walks up and I introduce everyone. The main distributor guy is probably younger than me by the way; the guy who just walked up runs a store in Milwaukee and I would take to be a just too young to be a real hippie back in the day. When I tell Distributor Guy that this person is from Milwaukee he responds with, "Oh wow, my brother is a weatherman in Madison."

Now, I know it’s probably a function of age and whether one did college-based activism, but this is the kind of statement that lets you know who you’re dealing with. Milwaukee guy and I almost jumped in surprise.

"No way!" I said. "What did he bomb?"

"I didn’t think there were any left. " Milwaukee guy said.

Now, we were joking. But Distributor Guy had no idea what we were joking about.. Even as we tried to explain it, he just got more confused and, I think, a little horrified that a group of old underground revolutionaries popped into our heads so easily. Obviously, this had never happened to him in his usual circle of business associates and friends.

His brother was not Karl Armstrong, for the record.

Comments

[unspuncapricorn.livejournal.com]

That is awesome. I encounter the generation-geographic gap on a daily basis at CCSF. On a side note, I've been meaning to thank you--I jumped on the bookslut bandwagon after finding it through you and then I joined 50bookchallenge which was referenced therein and I'm having a fun time with those guys, so (inadvertenly) thanks!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

hey, raid my friendslist anytime!

[grapesoda.livejournal.com]

hilarious

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

Thanks Grapey.

[dcart.livejournal.com]

That's damn funny. And I really need to ask my dad sometime about this topic. I have a strong impression from my childhood that dad knew some of those people. I know he had underground acquaintances throughout the upper midwest. But I don't have any real detail to that memory, so I'm just gonna leave my speculation at that.

Sheesh...

[imnotandrei.livejournal.com]

...now *I* feel old, even though I know it's really just feeling historically-minded. ;)

[barthanderson.livejournal.com]

Hysterical.

FYI: Leo Burt makes a cameo in my next book!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

ha. I couldn't decide whether to link him or Karl Armstrong. The fact that Armstrong has/had a sandwich shop called "Radical Rye" tipped the balance.

[masscooper.livejournal.com]

1. I thought of you the other day when I was on the Division bus and passed a store called "The Cheese Stands Alone." I wanted to check it out but a) I was on the bus b) I have no money and c) I can't eat cheese.

2. Oh man. The weathermen. I went to school with a couple of weathermen progeney, and regularly heard my mother's spiels on the class issues of who got put away and who didn't. Awkward!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

2. so true. Where's the radical miss manners when you need her.

[vestalvixen.livejournal.com]

I understood!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

You're precocious.

Cheese-Related Question

[cuervolinda.livejournal.com]

There is a supermarket cheese you can buy here that is one step up from Velveeta, but has horseradish mixed into it and is delicious. Is there any "real" cheese that is flavored with horseradish? I'd be up for that.

I was thinking of you this morning in the shower. Remember that song by Jim Carroll "People Who Died"? I had it in my head and immediately knew you'd be the one LJ friend who could sing it along with me in a bar.

Re: Cheese-Related Question

[gwenzilla.livejournal.com]

The organic cheese folks who sell at our farmer's market [Spring Hill?] have a very tasty horseradish jack...

I'll sing with you, too.

Re: Cheese-Related Question

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

well, there may be other ones local to your area but off the top of my head there's Harlech, which a Welsh cheese (and overpriced imho) and a Valfrais with horseradish. Gwen's right about Springhill but i don't know if they get out to NY.

but if you like what you're eating go for it.

and yes, I used to know all the words to that song.

[felicks.livejournal.com]

Did you say that the cheese higher-ups were 'grilling' you?!

I skimmed that Armstrong article. I hope he's just kind of inarticulate because "I feel real badly that Bob Fassnacht died in the bombing." is a pretty weak response to murdering someone.

[gwenzilla.livejournal.com]

*groan*

[susannochka.livejournal.com]

mmm, grilled gordonzola sammies.

[barthanderson.livejournal.com]

To look at it another way, Armstrong gets interviewed at LEAST once a year about it and always has a host of Freshman-class, would-be Che Guevaras chasing him around Madison now. After 20 years of that and doing time for the murder, the dude might be a little jaded by the question to begin with by now.

On the other hand, he's also been accused of working his fame (infamy?) in Madison, so you might be right. All too blithe...

[felicks.livejournal.com]

Ya, it would be unfair of me to put to much on a pull-out quote from an article. Who knows what context that was taken out of, what was happening for him that day, how accurately the reporter conveyed the conversation, etc.

Still, if you've been speaking about the issue for so long, I'd hope you'd have a pat line down along the lines of "I'll never be able to make up for killing a human being that day" somewhere between the "we were desperate to end the war in any way we could" and "why don't you shove that Che t-shirt right up your own ass".

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

hee hee hee on the first sentence. Ugh on the second.

[gwenzilla.livejournal.com]

I think of them every time I check the weather.

There is a small cheese thread this morning on boinboing. Cheese food is for cheese!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

the third post got it right but it's almost one of those distinctions without a difference. "real" american processed cheese might be functional but it's nothing to be proud of.

[tubyred.livejournal.com]

was his brother bill ayers? he's still in madison, but teaching at the university and writing books about educational theory.

anyway, who was the milwaukee cheese guy? do we know him? what shop does he run?

(that's far too hilarious that the guy said a weatherman in madison and didn't know what you meant!)

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Karl Armstrong run a sandwich shop there? Google says he does.

It's a guy named Steve from Larry's Market. He's a sweetheart.

[tubyred.livejournal.com]

Yes! For some reason, I thought it was Steve you were talking about, as he's totally got that vibe of coulda-been-a-hippie. He's an awesome dude. If you see him again (or is this all over with?), tell him Nate from Downer Wine says hi.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

He's back in Illwaukkee by now. Say hi for me when you see him.

[loolica.livejournal.com]

heh. it's the first thing i thought, too.

[nunofthat.livejournal.com]

Your stories are forever cracking me up! Thank you. :)

retarded sales rep?

[(Anonymous)]

Dude, (if that doesn't tell you who I am it is probably a good thing)

What is up with that? The lack of knowledge on activism is fitting for such a young buck, he is just thinking of what his douchebag bosses tell him, he doesn't live in the outside world. Probably never has.

As for the "One Distributer must rule thing all" That is just the stupidest thing to date. Your place cannot buy from just one place, even I can't supply you with everything your customers need... come on already. I actually think your selection is better and you get better service because you remind me that you get better pricing from other folks out there.

stinky love and hugs

Re: retarded sales rep?

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

oh hello there. I'm sure you can figure out who it was. He wasn't a sales rep, he was higher up the food chain. And he got jealous of our love at another cheese event awhile back. (and hey, people tend to be quite sensitive to the mis-use of retarded these days so you might wanna lay off that insult)

And seriously by next week I will have bought like $8000 (wholesale) of basque sheep cheese in a 3 week period. WHAT MORE CAN I DO?

once a copy editor,

[chitinous.livejournal.com]

Ha! When I got to the last sentence in the second paragraph, my first thought was "Why didn't he capitalize the W in 'weatherman?'"

Re: once a copy editor,

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

I actually had to edit it cuz i kept wanting to put it in there.

[dairryiere.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed that you remember this story at all given how much beer you had at that function.


Speaking of cheese, would you call me up north sometime with Drunkypants' # so I can pick up that goat cheese on the way to work? I don't have it on me.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

The cheese is at Vella in the walk in with our name on it. Drunkypants is at the Eco Farm confernce down south.

[crabbypattie.livejournal.com]

My smart-ass jokes get missed all the time at SFSU because I'm the classroom old lady.
Did you happen to see that "The Weather Underground" documentary that came out a few years ago?

[ex-alouiciou779.livejournal.com]

HA!
there was a grad student in one of my theater classes who was the high school chem partner of the woman who blew herself up.

she said she wasn't very good at chemistry back in the day, either.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

obviously! ouch though.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

Oh yay, the "everyone in the Midwest knows everyone else in the Midwest" syndrome! I love that.