…the Barlow-Sanderson Overland Mail Company was operating a stage line from Missouri to California, stopping at the Mahaffie Farm in Olathe to rest.
Overland Mail Company
150 years later a local sculptor recreated the stagecoach in a full-scale bronze sculpture “Going West”.
The sculpture stands out for its attention to detail, from the tackle on the horses, to the people in the scene, who were apparently modeled after some Mahaffie employees.
Free-standing figures add another dimension to the scene.
This sculpture represents Olathe among the other cities with monumental art like Dallas’ famous Cattle Drive.
I could’ve used my 800th post on something worthwhile like my thoughts on health-care or bitching about the first day of school moving even closer to the last day of school, but I’ll post another recipe. After all, the health-care is not going anywhere and school already started, but the eggplant season may be over at any time.
This is probably the simplest recipe you will find on this blog. You will need only 6 ingredients: eggplant, tomatoes, flour, (olive) oil, garlic and salt.
When picking an eggplant try to get an evenly shaped one so the slices are similar in size. Slice the eggplant in about 1/4 inch slices.
Dust with flour on both sides…
…salt lightly and place in the skillet on medium-low heat with a pretty decent amount of oil in it. If you salt the eggplant beforehand it will start losing liquid and shrivel.
Cook eggplant on both sides. It doesn’t need to brown, just poke it with a knife or a fork, if it easily goes in – it’s ready. Remove on paper towels and cook another batch.
The eggplant seems to soak up great quantities of oil, keep adding as needed. While the eggplant is cooking, slice some ripe tomatoes.
Assemble the final product-a slice of eggplant, a slice of tomato, pressed garlic to taste.
I ate everything you see on this plate by myself in one setting.
This could be a side-dish, or a Hors d’œuvre, also called “zakuska” in Russian – something that goes well after a cold shot of vodka. Just as good or better on the next day. Keep refrigerated.
Now pour yourself an aforementioned shot of vodka, drink it, eat an eggplant-tomato sandwich. Do you still want to argue about health-care or schools? Repeat. How about now? I didn’t think so. At this point you would start singing a Russian folk song but since you can’t how about this one, it sounds equally stupid.
Yes, maybe some things have changed – no one wears shetland sweaters; many teenage girls today haven’t seen a corded phone or read Virgil; “moron” jokes are considered not politically correct and no one paints eyeglasses with nail polish. But now, that I have a bona fide teenage girl in my house, I could replicate most of these photos today.
Single-person pickets do not require permission. According to the article these people were asked to leave and when they refused, were carried out and taken away. To the best of my knowledge protesters are usually let go the same day or the next morning, apparently Russian militia just enjoys the process and resulting news reports.
