Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Squid Mixes: Cossack

A cossack combines vodka, cognac, lime juice and bar sugar.  My recipe, as usual, came from The New York Barternder's Guide.  The lime flavor predominates.  If I've learned one thing about flavor from all of this drink mixing, it's that few tastes can compete with citrus.

I first learned about the Cossacks of Ukraine and southern Russia in my Russian history class in high school.  I wrote briefly about the class in this post from (gulp!) nearly five years ago.  The teacher was known to all of us as the Tsar.  He was, without a doubt, the best teacher I've ever had - old school, lecture style and thoroughly captivating.  Within the context of the classroom, we were all assigned roles.  We all began as peasants but those who kissed up to him became nobles.  The nobles claimed serfs - I was a serf.  A particularly artful class clown might attain the much coveted title of Village Idiot.  One friend of mine managed to become Village Priest, highly amusing as the student himself was the son of a rabbi.  The Cossack was the class military cop, the very role performed by many Cossacks in Tsarist Russia.

Late last year, the Tsar passed away.  The outpouring of grief on social media from devoted students spanning decades was impressive, though hardly surprising.  Long live the Tsar!

We had a loss in our own home this past month.  The Little Squirt in the photo above is now our only cat.  The Big Lug has passed on - diabetes took a brutal toll in the end.  He entered our family as an impulse purchase.  We walked into a pet store to buy fish food.  Instead, we fell in love with a little grey kitten, buried under a couple of his sleeping crate-mates.  He was not the easiest roommate at first.  He was obnoxious to our two older females and was the toughest sell when our human child entered the mix.  But he was unfailingly loving with us and was the softest cat I've ever known.  He and my wife had a particularly nice bond.  As she said, she always knew exactly what he wanted and to his credit, he was never an especially demanding cat - a man of simple pleasures.

Eventually, the two older cats died and he was clearly unhappy on his own.  After a couple lonely years, we adopted the Little Squirt and the Lug fared much better as an older brother.  The Squirt adored him and he was surprisingly tolerant of her.  All the manifestations of his anxiety disappeared.

Fifteen years is a long time to share a home with someone.  Indeed, I lived with the Lug for nearly as long as I lived with my older sister.   The house isn't the same without him.  There is talk of adding another cat sometime though we may try to get the current resident's weight under control first.  Unfortunately, the Squirt is no longer so little.

14 comments:

  1. What a post today !
    Love the wonderful teacher story. How lucky you and your school were.
    But the Lug's story made me cry. We all live with our sweet babies longer than many of our families and friends. They love us no matter what. And when they leave us the hole in our heart is huge.
    I know Lug was loved and you gave him the a wonderful home and life.

    cheers, parsnip and mandibles

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    1. He was a great cat. Unfortunately, the grief is an essential part of pet ownership.

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  2. Losing a pet is always rough, and it doesn't really make sense. There's always that part saying, "It's just a...," cat, dog, whatever; but it doesn't feel that way.
    I'm dreading the day when our dog gets to that point. My kids have never had to deal with that kind of thing.

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    1. The day my dog died when I was a kid was one of only two times in my life that I have genuinely sobbed. It is the reason I know the difference between crying and sobbing.

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    2. TAS: My first dog died when I was only two, and there was a long string of tragic dog incidents after that, so I don't think I ever sobbed over a dog.
      When my grandfather died, though...

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    3. We had that dog for ten years. He was a good pal.

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  3. I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your older cat. many people don't realize how fur babes are actual members of the family and we grieve for them like we do most loved ones. I bet the Squirt is feeling off and even depressed but she better not start drinking:) I will never try this drink because of the cognac...that was my poison once and never again. It's nice when we remember someone who did so much for our education..it only takes one often. As times passes, I am sure you will find a buddy for the squirt once you and your wife heal a bit more. One never forgets but it is nice when the home has fresh paws walking across the floor....or table:)

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    1. We'll add a new cat at some point. It's inevitable. For the moment, the Squirt sure doesn't seem to mind being the one and only.

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  4. I would order a Cossack!

    Very sorry to hear of the Lug's passing. I have two cats and a dog and none of them are youngsters anymore, although the dog thinks he is. My condolences to your wife.

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    1. My wife was out of town, too, when the final moment came which made it extra hard for a number of reasons. We carry on.

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  5. Our gr-daughters' dog is 17 years old, so decrepit, can barely walk. It is nearly time for them to make a decision about her.

    Cossack sounds delicious.

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    1. For our two older cats, it was a gradual descent. For the Lug, it was a long life of banner health with a miserable final year and a disastrous final week.

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  6. This sounds like a tasty cocktail.

    So sorry to hear about the Lug. I have had beloved pets pass away and it is never easy. Especially after living with them for so long- there is an emptiness that is both physical and emotional. Sounds like the last year and especially the last week was very tough for the cat (and for you). Sending hugs.
    ~Jess

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