I was prepared. I had the event checked off on my schedule. I had scoped out the venue and had already purchased some water and a hot dog. Fairgoers planning to watch one of the daily pig scrambles scheduled during the Stratham Fair should plan to arrive early if they want a prime spot around the viewing area. The scramble is one of the highlights of the fair, and for good reason.
This is a serious event. More people apply to compete than slots and pigs are available. There is a hush in the crowd as each name is picked from a hat. Each excited youth chosen leaps over the fence into the arena and a cheer goes up if he/she is a home town favorite. I was with one of last year's winners. His one regret was that the conditions this year were not "muddy"! Children too young to compete sit attentively on top of the fence. They try to learn technique and talk dreamily about "next year". Judges huddle before the event and review the rules and safety standards. The goal is to protect each participant: human and animal. The 4-H is always in communication with the event organizers.
Some fairs may grease the pigs; others might require that you catch the pig in a sack. However, usually, those who wish to participate in a pig scramble must:
- Be interested in swine feeding.
- Be reliable and trustworthy.
- Be able to feed and care for pig for one year.
It has been rumored that William Stephen Belichick (born April 16, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee) the head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League, developed some of his offensive plays that "split the defense", only after careful observation of many "pig scrambles. I observed several people in attendance at the Stratham Fair that wore shirts with NFL logos!
You may enjoy reading: Earl, you're outta luck. Mary Anne's a 4 H'er.
Also, may I recommend for your enjoyment: Vegetable indispensable.
Whether they are made of pork, as is most often the case, or of beef, veal, buck, goat, chamois, venison, sheep, wild boar, or horse, cured meats (salumi in Italian) were born of a need to conserve meat for months after the slaughter of the animal. Salting, smoking, and air-drying are the three processes by which fresh meat is transformed into a long-keeping staple.
While all meats are salted, some are smoked, and others are simply air-dried. Italians have been making an amazing array of cured meats for thousands of years using both noble and humble parts of the animals they raise. The ancient Romans prized the spicy pork sausages crafted in the southern region of Basilicata (called Lucania then, and giving rise to sausages named Lucaniche still eaten today). And, fond of intensely tasty foods, they smoked or salted whole pig thighs, yielding savory Prosciutti not unlike those still made in mountain villages across Italy.
Two thousand years later, pork remains Italy's favorite meat for curing. Pigs are especially prevalent in areas where there is a notable cheesemaking tradition: after all, wherever there is cheese, there is excess whey, which, combined with bran and corn, becomes perfect feed for pigs.
The Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in the comic book Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc fans and historians call "The Galactus Trilogy".
Originally a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, in order to save his home-world from destruction by a fearsome cosmic entity known as Galactus, Norrin Radd made a bargain with the being, pledging himself to serve as his herald. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a silvery appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light. Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return with everlasting exile there.
Stan Lee enjoyed the character and decided to feature him in his own individual title in 1968. John Buscema was penciller for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the eighteenth and final issue. The first seven issues, which included anthological "Tales of the Watcher" backup stories, were 72-page (with advertising), 25-cent "giants", as opposed to typical 36-page, 12-cent comics of the time. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. The Silver Surfer comic book series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works. Englehart writes that Buscema and Lee were "pouring their souls into the series".
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