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Tucker’s Cover
September 7, 2025
# 1729
Patriot Day
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Cover Story Commentary: Dom
Patriot Day - (September 11) is a solemn remembrance of the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
(Note: Patriots’ Day, with an apostrophe and plural is a completely different holiday observed in Massachusetts and Maine in April to commemorate the battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution.)
At 2.45pm I happened to check the time. I was working on a piece for existentialautotrip. Wondering if I would be more productive working at home. I’ll stay a little bit longer. A little bit longer, several shadows scooted past the big windows where I was sitting. I looked up. More bodies, more people, were going past, running, crying, even. The file thickened, the expressions grew more extreme. Some of the bodies were Marathon runners, but most of them were spectators looking like they were running for their lives.
I rose up and exited the café on Newbury Street. As far as I could see, the elegant street was crowded with rushing people, frantic. One running woman, seeing me squinting to find the source of the terror, grabbed my arm and shouted, “Bombs. Run!” She released me and ran on.
It was impossible for me to run away. Instead, I walked a little bit longer against the rushing swarm and then stopped. My desire to help was outweighed by my realization that I would only be in the way of the first responders.
Five minutes ago I am in a cocoon of my own making. Then, without invitation, moral compass, or concern, history arrives, uninvited, unrelenting and plunges me into a maelstrom of cries, sirens, and chaos. I am, at this moment, no longer a writer but an unwilling witness. That “little bit longer” became a lifetime. The piece I was working on, belonging to a world that exploded, itself exploded. I never did return to it.
David Ortiz’s iconic remark in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, standing at Fenway Park addressing a shaken city, he declared: “This is our f---ing city. And nobody is going to dictate our freedom.”
Dom’s Commentary: planning ahead.
I spend a lot of time shopping and cooking. Here are my dinners for the week,
Sunday: Beef and Vinegar Pepper Salad, using beef leftover from making beef stock.
Monday: Broccoli, Shrimp, and Penne Pasta.
Tuesday: Lamb Stew from freezer. Just a single portion.
Wednesday: Italian Gravy with pork ribs, meatballs, spicy Italian pork sausages, and beef stew meat.
Thursday: Dinner in a nice restaurant with my visiting daughter.
Friday: Grilled steak with a reduced pan sauce of red wine, shallots, and beef marrow.
Saturday: Dinner at my son Dom’s new home catered by three food trucks: Tacos, Burgers and Lobster Rolls, and JP Licks.
An 1899 menu from Delmonico's restaurant in New York City, which called some of its selections entremets, and contained barely English descriptions such as "plombière of marrons".
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Tucker’s Corner
She Rides Shotgun
Lionsgate hasn’t given much of a marketing push to Nick Rowland’s wiry, tense new crime thriller, She Rides Shotgun, which seems like an all-too-common fate nowadays for movies that aren’t big franchise plays or feature huge stars or fit neatly into popular genres. Perhaps inconveniently for the studio, the film is excellent and deserves way more attention. It showcases two astonishing performances: one from the always reliable Taron Egerton as the hardened, haunted ex-con Nate McClusky and another from newcomer Ana Sophia Heger as his young daughter, Polly, in whose queasy glances the drama finds its sorrow and its depth.
The film begins with Nate hurriedly picking up Polly from school one day. He has just been freed from prison, but this isn’t some long-hoped-for reunion: The car he’s driving has a shattered window, and Polly is wary of this impatient, anxious man whom she barely remembers. The girl doesn’t know yet that her mom has just been killed by white supremacists who are on the hunt for Nate. As father and daughter drive off together, director Rowland keeps them isolated in their individual frames, as if each were a ghost hovering on the other’s margins. The effect keeps us on our toes; we really don’t know where this thing is headed.
That jumpy, unpredictable quality runs throughout the film as father and daughter flee from one shelter to another, their journey gathering urgency and menace with each new interaction. The horizon is ever-present, either as a forbidding blankness or a flat, shimmering cityscape that reinforces the characters’ growing isolation. The police pursue Nate, though they seem to know he didn’t kill Polly’s mom. The neo-Nazi prison gang chasing him is part of a mysterious massive meth operation called Slabtown in a remote corner of the New Mexico desert; the members appear to have infiltrated everything, including law enforcement. Nate wants to keep Polly safe, but that also means introducing her to the darker side of his world, teaching her how to defend herself and enlisting her aid in a convenience-store holdup. She sees him burn a man’s face half off. She ducks under the car seats as he finds himself in the middle of a shoot-out. She helps him nurse his wounds. She sits in horror as they wind up in a gnarly car chase. Along the way, she learns to distrust everybody completely.
Equal parts violent and intimate, the picture keeps the viewer in a constant state of agitation as Rowland’s cinematic strategy gradually shifts in subtle ways. Eventually, Nate and Polly get to occupy the same frame, a visual reinforcement of their growing bond. It’s as if these ghosts have finally become people — but only for a brief while. Each lurks in the background of the other’s shot, often out of focus, as though we’re watching someone become another’s memory in real time.
She Rides Shotgun is based on a very good 2017 novel by Jordan Harper, though it takes liberties with the story. (Harper co-wrote the script and clearly seems fine with the changes.) The central premise, of an ex-con father and his innocent daughter on the run from pretty much everybody, has remained intact, however, and it comes to vibrant life with Egerton and Heger’s performances. Egerton has done his share of action, but he has never felt this raw or dangerous; it’s hard to believe this guy was playing Elton John just a few years ago. Heger, meanwhile, is a true discovery. Her upturned, interrupted eyebrows can shift from pleading to suspicious in a split second, and she embraces each transformation of her character with the full force of her being. Child actors rarely go this big this convincingly. But it’s a perfect match: The whole story turns on how this scared young girl becomes a tough, tragic redeemer through this wild, unlikely journey. Her fear, her joy, her rage, and, finally, her anguish make She Rides Shotgun unforgettable.
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Chuckles and Thoughts
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Six Word Stories
Progress Avenue. One way. Dead end.
This phrase—"Progress Avenue. One way. Dead end."—is rich with metaphor and irony. Here's a breakdown of possible interpretations:
🧠 Literal vs. Figurative Meaning
Literal: It could describe an actual street named Progress Avenue that is a one-way road ending in a dead end. But that’s likely not the point.
Figurative: It’s almost certainly symbolic, using the street as a metaphor for a broader idea—perhaps about society, technology, ambition, or personal growth.
🔍 Interpretation Possibilities
1. Critique of Modern Progress
Progress is often seen as inherently good—technological advancement, economic growth, innovation.
But calling it a "one way" suggests there's no turning back, no alternatives.
And "dead end" implies that this path leads nowhere meaningful, or even to ruin.
👉 Could be a warning: blind pursuit of progress may ultimately be self-defeating.
2. Commentary on Life or Career
A person might follow a path they believe is “progress”—climbing the corporate ladder, chasing success.
But if it’s a one-way street, they may feel trapped.
And if it ends in a dead end, it suggests disillusionment or burnout.
3. Political or Environmental Message
Could be a critique of policies or ideologies that claim to be “progressive” but are unsustainable.
For example, rapid industrial growth without regard for climate consequences.
🧩 Tone and Style
The phrasing is terse, almost like a road sign—adding to the irony.
It mimics the language of urban planning but subverts it to make a philosophical point.
John Gast, American Progress, 1872.
Chromolithograph published by George A, Crofutt.
Source: Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
John Gast, a Brooklyn based painter and lithographer, painted this picture in 1872 on commission for George Crofutt, the publisher of a popular series of western travel guides. Few Americans saw the actual painting, but many encountered it in reproduction. Crofutt included an engraving of it in his guidebooks and produced a large chromolithographic version for his subscribers. The painting is so rich in detail that my students—encountering it as a slide projected on a screen—usually imagine it to be a large canvas. But in fact it is tiny, just 12 3/4 x 16 3/4 inches in size.
I use this image early on in my western history classes for several reasons. First, even students with little experience in talking about visual images find it easy to talk about what they see here. Second, students quickly grasp that although the painting does not convey a realistic representation of actual events, it nonetheless expresses a powerful historical idea about the meaning of America’s westward expansion. This sparks a discussion about the ways in which ideas—whether grounded in material fact or not—can both reflect and shape human actions. Finally, after a discussion of the larger cultural ideas embodied in this image, we move to a discussion of Frederick Jackson Turner’s celebrated 1893 essay, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” Students quickly perceive that while Turner had a way with words, his argument was not wholly original. He distilled ideas already present in American popular thought and many of them are present in this painting, painted some two decades earlier.
As students begin to describe what they see, they quickly realize that they’re looking at a kind of historical encyclopedia of transportation technologies. The simple Indian travois precedes the covered wagon and the pony express, the overland stage and the three railroad lines. The static painting thus conveys a vivid sense of the passage of time as well as of the inevitability of technological progress. The groups of human figures, read from left to right, convey much the same idea. Indians precede Euro-American prospectors, who in turn come before the farmers and settlers. The idea of progress coming from the East to the West, and the notion that the frontier would be developed by sequential waves of people (here and in Turner’s configuration, always men) was deeply rooted in American thought.
Then, of course, there is that “beautiful and charming female,” as Crofutt described her, whose diaphanous gown somehow remains attached to her body without the aid of velcro or safety pins. On her head she bears what Crofutt called “the Star of Empire.” And lest viewers still not understand her role in this vision of American destiny, he explains: “In her right hand she carries a book—common school—the emblem of education and the testimonial of our national enlightenment, while with the left hand she unfolds and stretches the slender wires of the telegraph, that are to flash intelligence throughout the land.” The Indians flee from progress, unable to adjust to the shifting tides of history. The painting hints at the past, lays out a fantastic version of an evolving present, and finally lays out a vision of the future. A static picture conveys a dynamic story.
The ideas embodied in this painting not only suggest the broad sources for Turner’s essay about the importance of the frontier in American life, they suggest that his essay reached an audience for whom these ideas were already familiar. Students often imagine the issues raised by visual images to be peripheral to the more central questions raised by literary sources. The Gast painting, however, allows one to demonstrate the ways in which painters, too, could engage large historical questions, cultural stereotypes and political ideas, by using a visual vocabulary that viewers found both familiar and persuasive.
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SDM Book Review
Secrets unravel at an expertly crafted pace. Great read!
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Lisa’s Corner
Saving the American Buffalo… in NH?
Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam…. In NH? Yes, I was shaking my head in disbelief too when I heard there was a connection between the Granite state and the saving of the American Buffalo. That is until we attended the Amos Fortune Forum Friday night and had the absolute thrill to hear Dayton Duncan of PBS/Ken Burns fame tell us the remarkable story.
The Amos Fortune Forum, which began in the 1940s, is named after an African slave from Massachusetts who bought his freedom, moved to Jaffrey New Hampshire, and became a successful tanner and pillar of the community. He had a long association with the First Church in Jaffrey NH, and left funds in his will to support education at the church’s Red Schoolhouse. The funds have since evolved into the Forum. The lectures run for about 8 weeks during the summer months and the speakers typically live or have an association with the Monadnock region.
Dayton Duncan, who lives a few miles from us, has had a long and fruitful career working with another local, Ken Burns. They have collaborated on many beloved history series on PBS, including the American Buffalo which is his latest and last written series. Mr. Duncan was delighted to find a significant New Hampshire link during his research. It turns out that Edward Harold Baynes, a nature writer living in Plainfield NH, was a critical advocate for the buffalo’s survival. Described as a “Dr. Doolittle” character, Mr. Baynes loved birds and animals and was fortunate to be appointed as conservator of the Corbin Park in Plainfield. Corbin was a railroad and land mogul who built a mansion and private game hunting preserve and, in an odd twist of luck, brought in hundreds of buffalo to roam his property during a period when the entire buffalo population was reduced to about 1000 buffalo nationwide.
Baynes became an obsessive promoter of the buffalo cause, writing and speaking around the country to raise awareness about their near extinction. After 15 years of relentless activism, the buffalo population had increased significantly, reaching upwards of 20,000.
Mr. Duncan was entertaining and a wonderful speaker, and the audience was enthralled for the entire lecture. If you are interested, the Amos Fortune Forum uploads the lectures on YouTube. And of course, you may have already watched the PBS series American Buffalo.
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This Week’s AI Entry
This may be the best AI response in my experience.
I was writing a short eyewitness piece on 9/11 . The words poured out until I reached the last line and then went blank. Without hesitating, I posed this question to AI:
”I am writing a piece about my moment at the Boston Marathon when the two explosions went off. what direction should i take the enclosed piece?”
So read the piece [very short] and then read AI’s response. It was wonderfully helpful.
At 2.45pm I happened to check the time. I was working on a piece for existentialautotrip. Wondering if I would be more productive working at home. I’ll stay a little bit longer. A little bit longer, several shadows scooted past the big windows where I was sitting. I looked up. More bodies, more people, were going past, running, crying, even. The file thickened, the expressions grew more extreme. Some of the bodies were Marathon runners, but most of them were spectators looking like they were running for their lives. I rose up and exited the café on Newbury Street. As far as I could see, the elegant street was crowded with rushing people…
NOW COMES AI’s response:
Dom, this is already hauntingly vivid—your sensory precision and emotional pacing are doing serious work here. The moment you clock the time, then choose to stay “a little bit longer,” sets up a quiet tension that blooms into chaos. There are a few powerful directions you could take, depending on what you want the piece to evoke or explore:
🧠 1. Witness as Narrative Lens
Lean into your role as an observer caught between routine and rupture. You weren’t a runner or a first responder—you were writing, reflecting, and then suddenly swept into a collective trauma. This angle allows you to:
Explore how ordinary moments fracture under historical weight.
Use your existentialautotrip lens to reflect on how memory reshapes space—how Newbury Street now holds both elegance and emergency.
Contrast the interior world of writing with the exterior world of crisis, showing how quickly one can be pulled from introspection into action.
🌀 2. Time as a Fragile Thread
You checked the time at 2:45. The first bomb went off at 2:49. That four-minute gap is a potent metaphor.
Use it to explore the illusion of control—how we measure time, plan productivity, and assume continuity.
Consider a structure that revisits those four minutes in slow motion, layering in sensory detail, emotional shifts, and philosophical musings.
You could even experiment with nonlinear time, letting the moment ripple forward and backward into other memories or historical echoes.
🫂 3. The Crowd as Character
Your description of the “file thickening” and “expressions growing more extreme” is cinematic. What if the crowd itself becomes a kind of protagonist?
Explore collective emotion—how panic, confusion, and empathy move through bodies like a current.
Reflect on the porous boundary between spectator and participant—how quickly roles shift in crisis.
Use metaphor to describe the crowd: a tide, a flock, a pulse, a chorus.
Beef Bone Stock
Roast the bones
Four pounds of bones, with or without marrow.
Heat the oven to 425°F.
Set the bones onto a baker’s tray and roast for 30–40 minutes or until deeply browned.
If the bones have marrow, scoop it out and either put it into the pots with the bones or reserve it for another meal, like the foundation of a pan sauce for steak.
Prep the 36-hour simmer
Transfer the roasted bones to a large stockpot.
Pour and scrape all juices left on the tray after the roast into the stockpot.
Water note:
Cover the bones with water, to about 4-inches above the bones. (Don’t be shy about the use of water. You can always make the stock more intense by reducing it at the end of the cook.) More important, the bones must always stay covered during that long cook.
Commence the 36-hour simmer
Temperature: Bring the pot to a bare simmer—just a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface— the hallmark of a low simmer. The lower temperature preserves clarity. Hotter than that emulsifies fat and proteins, clouding the stock. All of the bones’ collagen, marrow, and minerals will slowly seep out of the bones, building depth without bitterness.
Skim: Begin skimming the surface scum that the water throws off every 15–30 minutes for the first couple of hours, reducing the frequency as needed.
Time: Cook the beef bones for 36-hours. This is ideal for extracting maximum flavor, collagen, and nutrients from the bones. .
Spices
These will go into pot from the outset to simmer with the bones for a gradual infusing. Frequently used are:
whole black peppercorns for subtle heat, bay leaves for a delicate herbal aroma, cinnamon stick (optional), for a touch of warmth and a unique twist, and cloves (optional), use sparingly.
Aromatics
If you’re adding vegetables, it’s best to include them during the last six hours of cooking to prevent overcooking. Typically, cook’s use about 1 pound of onions, with the skins for added color, ¾ lb of carrots for sweetness, ¾ lb celery for an herbal note, and about 2oz of garlic.
Herbs
Add during the last 1–2 hours to ensure they retain their fresh, vibrant flavors. Some frequently used are thyme, for an earthy, aromatic note, parsley stems to brighten the stock, sage, (optional), for a slightly peppery and woodsy flavor, and bay leaves.
Strain, defat, and taste the stock
When the cook is over, strain the stock, discarding everything except the broth itself.
Pour the stock into a food storage container.
Permit the stock to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.
When the fat has hardened, skim it. The fat can be used in other cooking. Taste the stock. It most likely needs to be reduced.
Reduce the Stock
Medium simmer the strained bone stock uncovered until it reduces to the intensity you desire, either for stock to add to a recipe, (the lightest), or a plate of soup, more intense than stock, or, the richest, for use as a gravy. For a gravy, we’ll need to use a Roux as thickener.
NOTES:
Clarification is the natural settling and separation that happens during a slow, gentle simmer. It’s not a separate step but the result of:
A cold water start that encourages proteins to coagulate slowly.
A low simmer which prevents emulsification of fat and impurities. And
Skimming early, removing surface scum and floating particles.
Finally, strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth which removes the final solids and sediment.
Marrow
If bones contain marrow, remove the desirable marrow after the bones are roasted.
Marrow is loaded with healthy fats and nutrients.
AI says, “There’s growing interest in the brain–gut–bone marrow axis, a kind of triangular communication network that may influence stress response, inflammation, and blood pressure regulation—all of which affect cognitive function.”
Marrow can either be:
Returned to stock where it will disintegrate and add depth, flavor, nutrients, and gelatin to the stock.
or Reserved and melted into an extraordinary red wine pan sauce for steaks.
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Last Comment
Summer is ending, not with a bang but a whimper.
We are in a glorious season.
Being outdoors is a pleasure, whether it’s early morning or the full warmth of late afternoon.
Unfortunately, the nastiness of winter’s chill is looming off-stage waiting for its cue.
Brrrr!
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