Crips, Bloods & Food; Sonkers; Chicken Pie Supper (1927)

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CRIPS, BLOODS & FOOD

   From NEW YORK PRESS, October 30-November 5, 2002, cover story:

_BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT_
_Bronx Gang Members Explain Their Creed_
(...)
(Pg. 10, col. 2--ed.)
   Besides the wearing of the red, some Bloods will have a triangular
three-dot tattoo (a dog's paw).  Blood affiliates called O31s sign with their
thumb and forefinger making an O, the other three fingers held together, the
hand on the stomach.
   The New York City Dept. of Corrections has online gang information that
claims that the name the Bloods came from the rite of passage called "Blood
in, blood out."  A Blood told me, "THat's not where the name comes from.  But
we do say, 'Blood in, blood out.'"  "Blood in" means a new member with no
ranking or respect has to "walk the line" abd take a beating from gang
members.  Or it can mean a new member has to go out and spill a non-Blood's
blood.  "Blood out" means you leave the gang when you die.
(...)  (Col. 4--ed.)
   "The Crips attract sick kids," he went on.  "They're sneaky and attack in
packs.  We say that Crips stands for--'Cowards Run In Packs.'"
(...)
   Some think one of the OGs (Original Gangsters--ed.) of the Crips was in
fact a cripple.  Another version is that Crip is short for Kryptonite.
   "Nah, man, that's all bullshit." one Blood told me, waving his hand.
"Crips stands for 'Christ Rest In Peace.'"
(...)
   Bloods can be deadly. (...)  "You cross me, you're food," one told me.
"Food means you're eaten.  Dead."

(A depressing addition to food slang--ed.)

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CHICKEN PIE SUPPER

   There are quite a few NEW YORK TIMES hits, and almost all are from
Vermont.

   18 September 1927, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. X10:
_OLD HOME DAYS CLOSE WITH_
_AUCTIONS AND CHICKEN PIES._
(...)
   There will be chicken pie suppers, which reach their zenith during the
effulgence of the harvest moon.

   OCLC WorldCat has one 1904 hit of "Four stanzas of poetry advertising a
public supper," in possession of the Connecticut Historical Society:

   THE GILEAD CHICKEN-PIE SUPPER WILL BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCT. 26,
'04, AT THE HOUSE OF H. E. BUELL.

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SONKERS

   Does this make the next DARE or not?
   From FOOD FESTIVALS (1997) by Barbara Carlson, Glossary pg. 395:

_Sonker:_A deep-dish pie with fruit or sweet-potato filling, sometimes served
with a sauce of milk, sugar, and vanilla.  See Sonker Festival, Mount Airy,
NC.

   There are only 32 hits on Google.  None of my books here mention it.  The
festival is held the first week in October.  The festival has some years on
it now, but, IMHO, the "sonker" hasn't yet achieved "fried twinkie" status.
>From Pg. 169:

   Sonkers are a rarity in North Carolina other than in the remote mountains
and hallows around Mount Airy, where the culture has been retained.  The
festival began in 1984, and they still haven't agreed on the best sonker
recipe, so you're on your own.