Before I begin this week’s Tidbits… I need to speak a
moment–albeit only very partially–about myself. I am 72 years old.
I am a Diamond Setter by trade. I started setting when I was
nineteen… I am still setting today… and I have made a commitment
to at least one customer that I would continue till I was 90. So far
this comes out to 53 years of experience. My specialty was and
always has been pave work. And I’m still running strong. Thank you.
And now ladies and gennulmen…
Cabbages-Tomatoes-Mushrooms-and Mario
Where to begin. There once was a jeweler named Mario / who thought he
was quite a lothario… No no… not true … let me think this out
again.
Cabbages: When the lowly cabbage grows double… two shoots from a
single root… they who know these things say it is an omen of good
luck. Clearly… two is always better than one. If you don’t believe
me… ask a celebrity of your choosing. The sad thing here is that
this is all I have to say about cabbages. But take heart dear souls.
There’s good stuff a comin’.
Mario: Mario began his apprenticing career as a goldsmith in 1903 at
Beltramie Besnati in Milan and by 1919 assumed ownership of the
business, changing the firm’s name to his own.
Mushrooms: Called by some the “Sons of God”. Don’t know if the one
that grabs your eye is a good one? Not to worry. Pull the little
sucker out when the moon is full and you’re home free. Of course…
there is an old adage that guarantees the mushroom you eat is a safe
one… and this one supercedes any other bits of lore you may have
heard over the years. It goes like this: “When in doubt, leave them
out!” Ah… when confronted with the wisdom of the ages one can do
nothing but stand in awe of our elders. As to why 'shrooms are such a
desirable food… I leave you to ponder this. Is it because they
taste so good … or is it because the are considered to contain an
aphrodisiac?
Mario: Mario made jewels for such as Popes Pius XI and XII as well as
for the royal families of Italy and Spain and Egypt. He warn’t no
slouch… let me tell you. He was the pioneer of a jewelry technique
known as texture engraving. He is today–of course–of international
renown. Anyone know who he is yet?
Tomatoes: Ah… also known as the Love Apple. Tradition has it that
in some circles the belief is that it was the tomato and not the
apple that lured Adam to his exile. The French when they first began
exporting it to England- -for those of you who love French lessons–
called it the Pomme d’Amour. It was considered–at one time–to be so
strong an aphrodisiac that young maidens feared eating them till they
were assured of wedlock lest they should stray uncontrollably from
their present states of purity and fall straight into the fires of
hell. Sex can do that you know… or so I hear.
Mario: Mario made a set of silver vegetables… among them a
cabbage… a mushroom… and a tomato. I placed them on a plate of my
own choosing… for serving dinner is as much a state of presentation
as it is one of flavor. You wanna see? Go. Look. But first… who is
he… this jewelry named Mario. Anyone know?
Email me. Call. Use a carrier pigeon. Smoke signals work. Let’s see
what you guys know. I’ll let you know if you know what you know or if
you think you know what you know.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you
will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Current Tidbits… click it… and you will see represented on
our pages a plate of silver veggies made by a master.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark