Wednesday, may 26, 1982
emerald arts & entertainment
PICNICS:
A tasty venture
into the great outdoors
A Book of Verses beneath the Bough
A Jug of Wine, A Loaf of Bread and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
Edward Fitzgerald
For some, picnics bring back images of the
"Ozzie and Harriet" suburban weekend where all the
kids piled in the back of the station wagon with
imitation woodgrain siding, then drove to a nearby
park where everyone ate cold chicken and potato
salad around an old wooden picnic table with chip
ping green paint
The type of picnic Fitzgerald had in mind when
he wrote his oft-quoted verse in slightly different It
involves two people, a nice, quiet outdoor spot and a
basket of specially chosen goodies to set the mood
for discussing the Universal Truths, Deep Thoughts
and Why Autumn Leaves Sound like Potato Chips.
The first necessity is the spot. Conventional
picnickers will probably flock to local parks, but
interesting alternatives exist. Almost any area of
forest or grass will do, although picnicking on a golf
course is dangerous Those with a flair for the
romantic can paddle the Millrace for an hour in a
canoe rented from The Waterworks Canoe Co. for
$2 80. In general, privacy is desirable, so the choice
of location is an important one
Picking the perfect partner will probably be
relatively easy, so ihe next topic for consideration is
entertainment Students facing finals may find that
studying is the only way to justify eating outside,
but, as usual, more interesting alternatives can be
found The canoe types will probably want to take
along a guitar, ukelele, harmonica or kazoo to
serenade their partners. For those less musically
inclined, a cassette recorder with appropriate music
(probably not Led Zepplin) or a portable radio will do.
Or there's always Fitzgerald's favorites, a book of
verse to be read in the shade of spreading chestnut
tree (whoops, wrong poem)
The main consideration is What to Pack. While
the suburban cold chicken and potato salad is fine.
picnics provide a chance to get really creative in the
culinary department.
If you can swing it, a pre-made fondue could be
stored in a Thermos heated over a can of Sterno.
There are also a number of cold soups that can be
packed for a gourmet lunch. Cold sandwiches are
sufficient for the studying student, but a loaf of
French bread and a hunk of cheese are even easier,
and much more European. Add a few cholcolates or
an imported candy bar, and you can pretend you’re
in Switzerland.
Another important decision is that of beverage
selection. Harried students will proabably either
avoid alcohol entirely or emerge themselves in it,
depending on just how harried they are. Soft drinks,
beer, wine or harder stuff are all viable alternatives,
and should be selected with the overall mood in
mind.
In all these departments, individual tastes are
the most important consideration, and creativity
counts. The main thing is to get outside and enjoy
yourself. After all, nice springtime weather usually
lasts only two or three weeks in Oregon.