And Here We Have The Mullet

So yes, the fishermen did indeed gig some mullet last night and Mr. Moon smoked some this afternoon and this is what it looks like now. Would you like to know how it tastes? 
Well, it is absolutely one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. The meat is the tenderest, whitest, most delicious thing you can possibly imagine. He asked me to spice it for him before he put it over the fire and I brushed a little mustard and oil on it, very, very lightly, then sprinkled it with Old Bay and black pepper. 
Next time I will not bother with the mustard and oil and maybe not the Old Bay either, just salt and pepper. It is that fine. It is so fine that I am going to use a word here that I rarely ever use and that word is...succulent. It is toothsome.
And here's something I love about this particular fish cooked this particular way- human beings have been eating smoked mullet in this area for possibly ten thousand years. And I bet you that the smoked mullet they ate was just about exactly like the smoked mullet we eat and no wonder people settled here. And I imagine that many of the people who have lived here for eons got their mullet the same way Glen and his friends did- with a gig. Perhaps not exactly like the one he used, but similar. The oceans and the rivers in Florida were rich in good protein from bream to bass to mullet to grouper to snapper to oysters to clams to shrimp to scallops. Mullet can also be netted as it often travels in runs. The obliging fish leap out of the water so that you can see where they are and if you are unsure, flocks of fish-eating birds will gather and feast over a mullet run. 
Damn. I am just so happy to be able to report about how good that fish is. 

Okay. Here's a another Florida thing. How many of you know what this is?

Any ideas? Any guesses? 

I wouldn't have known, to be honest, but that is a sprouting mango seed. A sprouting Roseland mango seed. Those hair-like things are the dried fibrous parts of the mango flesh. I took two of the seeds of the mangos that Glenn, our landlord in Roseland, left in the little cottage for us to eat, and put them in a black nursery bucket with composted materials in it. Both of the pits have pushed their way up to the top of the rich, lumpy, black dirt, and here we go. 

I have another mango plant, one that I've had for years, in a pot in the backyard. I started it a very long time ago from a seed that came from a fruit that had dropped from one of the trees that Roseland kids had eaten from when I was a child. In my heart, I love to think that it was a tree planted by Chester. If you have no idea who Chester is, or was, actually, just do a blog search for that name at the top left of the page and you will find out a lot about one of the most fascinating people I ever met and whom I will never forget. Who lives in my mind like a legend, a myth, but real. 

On to more recent events- Hank went yesterday to buy a suit and have it tailored for his wedding. He and Rachel are doing this up right. And he wants a suit. He said he walked into the place and he said, "I've never worn a suit in my life and I'm shaped weird."
And the guy, the suit shop guy, said, "That is no problem at all." His name was Blaise ("rhymes with raise and praise") and he made the whole thing easy and relaxed. Billy and Mark accompanied Hank for support and fun. It sounds like a good time was had and I am sure that it was an important event for Hank. 
My boy's first suit!

May, after reading about this and seeing the pictures, said, "I've always wanted to get fitted for a suit. It seems so fancy and you know it'll fit and look so good." Hank added, "Every gender looks good in a suit."
And then our whole group went off on suit-wearing individuals whom we admired and it was so fun. 

Frida

Marlene

Angelina 

Dear Charlie

Tilda

Jodie

Keith

Also Keith

Here's something that mystifies me. Somehow, right about the time that Keith Richards fell in love and married Patti Hansen he got incredibly handsome. I mean, he always had a look and his very own Keith presence but suddenly, he just got...gorgeous. 
I guess love'll do that for you. 

And let us not forget...

Billy Porter
Swoon, swoon, swoon.

All right. That's enough for a Sunday evening. I'm now going to go cook some snapper because I'd already thawed it out yesterday and the mullet will keep.
Smoked mullet dip, anyone?
Lord, I'm rich. 

Love...Ms. Moon