FADED DISTANCE

Something involving garlic, the precise proportions of spices in a curry mix, and briar with pinkish hues. Dinner at Eldin's house with Pauline and Jack, a long time ago. It's a nice memory, but not a very intense or important one. The food was good.
Curried something, can't remember what.

I can remember the light and the smells, though.
The tobacco was probably Drucquer's 805.
Medium-full English-Balkan.
No longer made.

Two of us smoked our pipes after dinner, Jack lit a cigar, and Eldin didn't smoke. There was coffee. It was wettish outside, and Cara came over. She didn't smoke either.
But she had coffee with us.

If I remember correctly, Pauline was puffing on a Wilke Bulldog she had picked up during a trip to New York the previous year. Hence the pinkish hue coming to mind. Likely Algerian.
Sorry, Jack, I cannot recall what music you put on the record player.
That seems important, as you were always particular.
But, as you know, I have no musical ear.

We were all so much more neurotic about coffee, garlic, and cigars then. That has probably faded, but given that I haven't seen any of the others in many years I don't know. Because of Jack I know about Vorticism, Pauline introduced me to Northern Chinese food, as well as several fine tobaccos, and Cara demonstrated once or twice that white people should probably not cook cauliflower or broccoli.

The year after that I permanently left the East Bay, and for several reasons all of those people faded out of my life. The keenest memories of that time are rotten weather.
Such as we had last week, and are having this week.



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