Laying-Up with Bed-Warmers

It's starting to get cold and usually during this time of the year, the Colored Man's heart starts to think about finding a bed-warmer or two.  Someone to help him ward off the frigid winter weather.  But in reality I am getting tired of casual bed-warmers, and having to worry about the simple things, like clean sheets and towels, pillow talk and cuddling, the complimentary breakfast, and the cold kiss good-bye at the door, with the promise that I will call, when in reality I know that I probably won't.

This season I am seeking someone with a little more depth.  Someone who understands when it's time to be quiet and when it's time to talk.  Someone who doesn't mind if you snore a little, have morning breath, or wake up a little moody.  And I realized that the best someone, or should I say something, with all my requirements was a good old-fashioned book.

A book doesn't complain about anything.  You can mistreat it, abuse it, not return phone calls, and subject it to all the other relationship drama, and a book will still be where you left it, waiting with open arms for your return.  Here are a couple of prospects that the Colored Man thinks will fulfill his winter lusts.

The first candidate is entitled, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.  Written by Pulitzer-prize winning Isabel Wilkerson, the book follows the lives of three very different and distinct African-Americans who migrated from a debilitating Southern landscape to more promising climes in the North.  Wilkersons' Great Migration tome is non-fiction, but reads like fiction, which makes it engaging and informative throughout the 622 pages.  She manages to weave little anecdotes throughout, for example, that some migrants, unfamiliar with Northern accents, thought that the conductor said Penn Station, New York, at the Penn Station, Newark station and mistakenly got off the train.  Many decided to stay put once they realized their mistake, thus the large Southern Black population in Newark.  I think that one of the very big reasons that I am excited about this candidate is that the Great Migration touches my own family, many of whom migrated to New York from North Carolina during the 40's and 50's. My parents would migrate first to New York, then back to North Carolina, and finally landing in Maryland in the late 60's.  You probably have a similar story in your own family.

The second potential bed-warmer is, The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South, by Alex Heard.  This book brings up memories of a time in America that will at times make you steaming mad, but also make you proud of what we as African-Americans have overcome. 

Willie McGee was accused of rape by white housewife Willette Hawkins, but he claimed that his relationship with the woman was consensual; they were having an affair.  Willie McGee was found guilty and sentenced to die, which was no surprise for anyone, as Willie's fate was sealed before he entered the courtroom.

The McGee case was the impetus to lead civil rights activists to fight Jim Crow laws in the South, which were designed to humiliate and punish.  Willie McGee may have died unfairly, but his ordeal was a small piece in the struggle that would eventually lead to Barack Obama being in the White House.

My final contestant who I think is up for the job, is a cookbook.

Marcus Samuelsson is one of America's premier culinary wizards, and he fully understands that food culture from across America and the world, should be explored and appreciated.  Born in Ethiopia and orphaned at age 3, Marcus was adopted and raised in Sweden and began his kitchen travels alongside his adopted grandmother at an early age. 

This is not Chef Samuelssons' first cookbook, however, New American Table may be the one that home cooks find most easiest to replicate the recipes from, and if you don't believe the Colored Man, check out his first cookbook, Acquavit, named after his eponymous New York eatery.  I dare you to recreate a recipe from it!!!  This coffee-table sized book is for the adventurous and definitely the culinary experienced.

Samuelsson is known for his big, bold flavors in the kitchen and his cookbooks are no exception.  New American Table is full of Hispanic, Asian, Caribbean,
and African recipes, that are easy to follow and enjoy at home.  But what really makes it a good bedtime read is that with each recipe there is short essay, along with beautiful pictures of the food and related thoughts.  This is a book that will carry you away to peaceful sleep and gastronomic heaven. 

Well, there you have it.  It seems that the Colored Man will be quite busy this winter season trying out these bed-warmers, and I guarantee you that I will enjoy each and every moment of the audition process.