Mood:
specialTopic: "Black Russians" (6)
There is a picture that Frodo treasures. Two very pretty young ladies stand arm-in-arm, smiling from head-to-toe, and only an alien from outer space would fail to recognize either the hair or the style of dress; definitely World War II. Blanche and Bilbo were sisters, and Frodo grew up believing that they had always been the best of friends, and he loved them both.
Blanche was a beauty for all times and places. Her dark hair, and lollapalooza build was a tribute to whoever it is that first designed the female frame. She was the first "party girl" that Frodo ever knew, and his relationship to her may have shaped both his respect for women, and his insatiable desire to participate in the chase.
Blanche was famous for always knowing in what location on our small blue planet it happened to already be 5:00 PM. Most often, she would turn to Frodo and ask him if he were ready for a "Black Russian." The concoction included, for the uninitiated, Kahlua, which Blanche made by hand and stored in every refrigerator in every house she ever visited. The major component to her Kahlua was Vanilla, but not just any Vanilla, it had to be "Mexican Vanilla." Frodo does not know to this day what it is that makes "Mexican Vanilla" different, but the proof is in the combustion.
Long after all the others of a lifetime had gone to bed, Frodo and Blanche would discuss the merits of anything from poetry to, of course "Mexican Vanilla." Blanche never went beyond the eighth-grade, but she enjoyed Frodo's company and his rant more than anyone.
Frodo's Aunt Blanche slipped from the surly bonds at 9:00 PM this past evening. Pardon Frodo for the hour soon approaches on the end of the first day in Frodo's life without her.
Time for a Black Russian.
Not much else to say, is there?
