Our Hometown
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Greetings from Guam 'Its salty. Its hammy. Its soft. Its mushy, sort of, like butter.' - Carolyn Wyman, U.S. author and authority on convenience foods. The past couple of days here on Guam have been absolute bedlam - good bedlam, not East Timor bedlam. Jon Anderson, the morning talk show host of News Talk K-57 radio station, has been making radio history this past week. First, he broadcasted live from the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. But that was only the warm up show, a mere appetizer if you will, to what most radio experts consider the greatest radio event in Guam's history. After his shows in Cleveland, Jon rocked on westward to Austin, Minnesota where on Wednesday and Thursday, September 8 and 9, he made radio history by broadcasting his show live from the corporate headquarters of the Hormel Company - home to the world's most famous canned luncheon meat, SPAM. To say that the island was abuzz with excitement would be an understatement (or an exaggeration on my part, take your pick, but I was enthralled by it all.) He had all kinds of Spam bigwigs on his show, like the U.S. mainland product manager for Spam, the Rockin' Spametts, and some other canned luncheon meat honchos. Seriously, it was really interesting and informative because, after all, Spam is an American cultural icon of sorts. It has to be because it's in the Smithsonian Institution. (You won't see any cans of Vienna Sausage in the Smithsonian. ) Jon's broadcast from Hormel's corporate headquarters is kind of ironic for me because about two weeks ago, my dear mother sent me a rather large article from the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle (Monday, August 16 edition) on Spam. It was an Associated Press story they picked up, written by Bridgette Greenberg. The article was about the self-proclaimed Spam expert Carolyn Wyman and her new book, Spam: A Biography. The article was entertaining and intriguing, covering historical aspects of the miracle meat, trivia, and, of course, some rather bizarre recipes, such as Spam Scargot and Spam Cheesecake...(ahh, I think I will stick to frozen fish sticks and Twinkies, thank you.) The article also mentioned the Spam snack called 'pig newtons' but, unfortunately, it did not list the recipe...then, again, maybe that was a good omission. Although I enjoyed the article, there were a few items in it which just boiled my blood and turned it into gelatin. First off, this Wyman lady considers herself the foremost authority on Spam. That's hogwash...(get it? Hog - wash, Spam. I don't know how I do it, either. You know us Rhodes Scholars, we're all pretty witty like that). Anyway, no one can become the foremost authority on Spam if they haven't lived on Guam. Our own Dorothy Horne is the world's foremost authority on Spam along with about 100,000 other people here. Dorothy Horne is our local food critic and Spam expert, whom I believe, has written a Spam cookbook, something like 101 Spam recipes. It is a well-known fact that more Spam is consumed every year here on Guam than any other place in the world (per capita). Ms. Wyman, we know Spam, and you are no Spam guru. The second item in the article that infuriated me was one of the trivia questions, a true or false question. Here is what it said:People on the U.S. territory of Guam eat more Spam than any other people on the planet, mostly because Guam suffers frequent typhoons that leave residents without power for weeks. True. Two things about this statement. First, it's people in the U.S. territory of Guam, not on the U.S. territory of Guam. Secondly, it is true we eat more Spam than any other people on earth, but it is not because we get a typhoon whipping through here every other week. Our last typhoon was on December 16-17, 1997 and I, for one, ate no Spam during the couple of weeks we were without power after Super Typhoon Paka...well, minus that slice of Spam cheesecake. People here eat Spam because they love it - period. I mean where else in the world can you go to a Denny's restaurant and order a Spam Slam? So, in conclusion, it has been, as K-57's Myk Powell so eloquently put it, a Spamtacular two days here with Jon Anderson's live remote broadcast from Austin, Minnesota. For those of you wishing to learn more about the wonderful world of Spam, check out the Spam web page at: It is a cool site that offers a bevy of cool Spam gift products such as Spam zorries (sandals), Spam neck ties, Spam fishing lures, Spam earrings, and my favorite, the 'Spam-A-Rama' bowling shirt. Hafa Adai Copyright © 1999 |
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