On the glorious Fourth I was at the country club in Old Lyme, CT, with my nine-year-old godson watching the fireworks and other entertainment laid on for wholesome all-American denizens of the Nutmeg State in a tranquil setting of big swimming pool, golf greens and tennis courts. What could be more WASPy American than that? My good pal the writer Dominick Dunne will be in attendance.

So, this year I have to interrupt my work week to spend a holiday on a Wednesday near the Connecticut River. But it will be worth it because I grew up thinking country-club cuisine  was the world’s greatest.  As my friends like to make fun of me – “Or anything smothered in mayonnaise or chocolate sauce!” Oh well, we can’t all grow up to be eclectic.

I guess I should add a P.S. that I am not a member of this country club.  But I did lecture there twice and raised the money for them to buy their new pool outdoor furniture, so I am a kind of insider-outsider.

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