Letters To Dan's Papers, June 24, 2011

WE BE JAMMIN’

Dear Stacy,

(Re: Hamptons Epicure column in Dan’s Papers, June 10, 2011)

I would be very grateful for your recipe for your rhubarb jam with the ginger or orange zest combo. I’m sure that it couldn’t be too different from the one Certo provides in their package but to read your article, it seemed like you had a secret.

Am I wrong? [expand]

Thank you very much for the column in Dan’s. Sagaponack soil provides an abundance, so one can’t help but look at what grows in astonishment. Getting it distributed is a huge challenge and Paul is near indispensible. So glad you had the opportunity to “pull” along with him.

Every good wish,

Sincerely,

Lee Foster

Sagaponack

The secret is hereby out: Follow Certo’s “Cooked Jam” directions for cooking and processing these ingredients: 1 cup freshly squeezed organic orange juice, the zest from one half of 1 orange, 2.5 pounds diced, thawed rhubarb, 6 cups sugar, 1 package regular pectin. To make it gingery, add 2 oz. minced candied ginger when you add pectin. I like to freeze my rhubarb before jammin’ it, so it doesn’t need precooking.  Love, SD

You Go Alec!

Dear Dan,

I have been your loyal fan for the past 30 years. Traveling the Long Island Expressway, from here to there, you being my social contact. Once I found a Dan’s Papers, I arrived. I am also a fan of Alec Baldwin, actor/citizen. I cast my vote for him.

Go get the Alec, “you blow my mind!”

Sincerely,

Dianne Balducci

Hampton Bays

NYC deserves a Mayor like Alec. –DR

Hello Dansiens

Dear Dan,

I am an avid reader of your excellent paper, and David’s article on basking sharks was written beautifully. As a member of the bayman culture I did giggle at the fact that such a common and harmless shark attracted so much attention. On second thought, I suppose closing the beaches kept too many people from trying to swim out and bother them, so it was still a win either way.

That being said, I do wish to point out that basking sharks and sunfish are two entirely different marine species. The basking shark is the second largest shark in the world, next to the whale shark, but compared to their toothy cousins, they are incredibly docile filter feeders. Don’t get me wrong, they do look like most other sharks and can be quite intimidating to the untrained eye, nonetheless!

The sunfish, on the other hand, is a very large, round and overall unique-looking fish that’s hard to describe in words. I urge anyone who is curious to Google an image of these intriguing creatures. They are the heaviest known bony fish in the world, reaching 2,000 pounds on average. I had the pleasure of meeting one out in Gardiners Bay on my father’s sailboat as a child on more than one occasion, and they are indeed an amazing sight worth remembering.

Send David my apologies if I seemed rude at all, I just didn’t want anyone to come away from the article confused. I hope you continue to entertain us all summer long with your great work!

Elizabeth Merrill

East Hampton

Now comes the film “Rage of the Sunfish.” –DR

A WORD FROM THE OTHER END

Dear Dan,

Steve Levy is a patriot who believes in abiding by our immigration laws. You on the other hand are a bleeding heart Liberal who adheres to selective adherence to laws, i.e., obey only those laws that suit you and your ideology. Sorry Danny boy, a civilized country does not and cannot operate that way. You just showed your true colors once again–laws exist only for those who want to abide by them. Anarchy rules the day and legal tax-paying American citizens must obey our laws but illegal aliens need not. Illegal immigrants are here illegally so stop blending legal immigrants with those who cheated their way here. Somehow we will get our lawns mowed and our food served.

James

Amagansett

I know this is illegal. But illegal isn’t everything. There is humanitarianism too. –DR

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Dear Dan,

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. During a guided tour of Ellis Island we were informed that a main concern of immigrants was disease that could be spread. As an example those with TB were hospitalized. Those with a plague type were quarantined and possibly returned to their country of origin. A known criminal could be put back on the ship that brought him here. All my relatives, mother, father, aunts and uncles came legally through Ellis Island. My mother told me how she was sprayed with DDT. Irish bugs not welcome. Today if I want to travel out of America, I have to obtain a passport. If I want to visit Guadalupe, Mexico do you believe I can just walk across the border? I am not going to stay and will spend dollars.

A few years ago I picked up a copy of the Irish Echo prior to St. Patrick’s Day. In the middle section was a picture of a large group of Irish illegal immigrants posing. I wrote to SCE Steve Levy and advised him to round up all six illegal Irish and put them in row boats each with a compass and a couple of six packs of Guinness and head them home.

If most other counties in the USA had a Steve Levy, we would not have 10 to 20 million illegals in the country. Maybe none.

Tell me one other country that promotes illegals into their country? Next opportunity ask a Guatemalan how Mexican police treat illegals coming across their southern border?

I enjoy your articles most of the time.

Very truly yours,

John Morn

Bayport

I can’t tell you another country, but I can tell you another President–George W. Bush. –DR [/expand]