Brick Tea

Who knew?  I always imagined the Boston Tea party as groups of men throwing tea leaves overboard.

I must have been asleep in American History Class.  The tea that they threw into the harbor was in bricks..compressed dehydrated bricks.  If you want to make tea from one of these bricks you must shave some of the brick off and steep it in warm water.

These bricks were formed because it was easier to transport that way. (By camel in the Far East)  The bricks were often used as currency.  ( I read that sometimes a filler of dung was put in with the tea..and yak blood..uffda)

I suppose this is just one more thing I will  have to add to my list of the things I should have known..but for some reason or another it has escaped me all these years.

Perhaps when China calls in their loans we can pay them with tea..guess I should keep one eye open for yaks for sale:)

Just a Dream

I had a nightmare, good thing it was just a dream.

It is very cold, the sky is bright blue, the cornfield partially harvested, snow has covered the ground. The ground is hard and frozen under my feet. Our group is only one of thousands in the field, grandparents with their grandchildren. Some couples only have one or two grandchildren with them, we have five. Our five are all dressed in warm winter clothing, smiling faces, cheeks rosy red, their breath escaping from their mouths like little engines.

We see the specks in the sky, and the sound is deafening. The high whine of the engines belongs to an aircraft I have never seen before. The specks grow larger and larger..they are huge boats...boats in the sky with headlights and turn signals. Big red boats with strange Chinese symbols. They are landing in the cornfield. I ask Far Guy, "Where is the Air Force?' I ask him once more this time screaming "Where is the Fricking Air Force?" He just shakes his head. I tell the children to run, and run we do, as fast as we can towards the woods. I look back once and what I see causes me to run faster. There are hundreds of Chinese on every boat all with machetes, massacring grandparents and grandchildren. The snow in the field is turning bright red. I encourage everyone to run faster, run faster..don't stop running..don't look back..

I awaken, exhausted, relieved it was only a bad dream, and hope it is not a recurring one. This is one of the most far out dreams I have had in a long time. No wonder some days I really need a nap. I am sure this dream/nightmare is due in part to my over active imagination, but part of it is due to the staggering amount of money that we owe the Chinese. I must be worried how this is going to effect future generations. How will they ever survive? :(