"Why don't you get rid of that piece of junk?"
That is what one of my kids hinted a while back. My oldest - the fashionista - replaces her phone more than some people change their underwear. She has a device that allows you to talk, text, surf, video and go broke all at the same time. Me? I'm still using a flip phone, one of those cheapies that hang near the cash register at Walmart or Target. You know your phone is crap...when they no longer put anti-theft locks on the display rods.
I am not an early adopter of anything. Call me slow, but I'd rather let everybody else wrestle with version 1.0, while the bugs are still being worked out. Then, around version 4 or 5.0, when the prices are cheaper, I dive in. This approach has worked well for me; to this day I have never lost a job or a freelance gig because of an antiquated phone.
Still, I will admit that looking cool as Captain Kirk isn't cool at all...especially when you have a lame ring tone.
RINNNNNNNNNNNG!
Yes, I use the traditional, old fashioned telephone sound. And it went off while I was in the library.
"Yes, what'sup?" I said, trying to whisper into my dork-o-phone.
"Oh Dad, I just wanted to ask if you were coming home soon" my middle daughter said.
"Sure. I'll be home in an hour."
"Okay. I'm cooking dinner! Soup and sandwiches!"
"Thank you!" I said. But snapping the phone shut, I thought And thanks for burning up my prepaid minute!
I later learned that she had cooked a magnificent feast of grilled cheese sandwiches. The browned and buttery triangles were picture perfect, crispy and still warm under a transparent cover. As for the soup, it was literally a can of Progresso New England style clam chowder. Unopened. I warmed some leftover vegetables to complete the color scheme.
More calls came in, from people needing my freelance help to friends asking if I had an extra hard drive or some other techno-garbage from my collection. But now my phone was on vibrate; voice mail would pick them up. There would be other opportunities to make money or to play junk man. There would be other chances to feed my addiction to pseudo-urgency.
But there would never be another opportunity to enjoy that mismatched meal prepared with love, to which I had been summoned by the prepaid annoyance, which I temporarily ignored.
Always B Positive!
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
A Little Chicken and Jerkie Turkey
Pot pies.
The American derivative of older, meat filled pastries found the world over but mostly in Europe. I had never contemplated them, until recently. In the 1970s they were all made by Banquet (at least those were the only ones that my mother bought). We just about lived on those salty, doughy meal substitutes when my mother went back to college. You see, processed and fast food were (and still are) abominations from my mother's point of view, so my sister and I considered such things to be treats.
Fast-forward forty years. My wife rarely buys pot pies, and when she does they have to pass her usual standards: Low salt, no modified corn starch or hydro- oils, no pesticides, no dog hair, no rat droppings, no flavor, etc. I can take them or leave them (with or without the rat droppings); however my kids seem to have taken a rather intense interest in these culinary anti-wonders.
"Why are you looking under the crust?" I asked, as my daughter tried to slide a knife under the edge of one.
"Because he doesn't like Turkey".
"He" refers to my son - her brother - who wasn't in the room yet. So naturally taking the bait, I asked "What difference does it make?"
My crust-lifting teen launched into a detailed, fully rendered analysis that explained the differences between a Chicken Pot Pie vs Turkey, even delving into the tastes, textures and even the composition of the meat. Soon, my son arrived and I watched the two of them continue with their gravy-soaked philosophizing. I thought it was a stupid subject and I told them so. I allowed them to continue on their ruminations; however, I was ready to pounce upon their shallow, vain, vacuous reasonings. But I didn't. While they were busy licking their lips, I realized that they hadn't cooked one for me!
From this experience I learned two things. The first is that every subject close to one's heart is worthy of in-depth study.
...And second:
Be careful of always trying to be the smartest person in the room. You might end up with nothing on your plate!
Always B Positive!
The American derivative of older, meat filled pastries found the world over but mostly in Europe. I had never contemplated them, until recently. In the 1970s they were all made by Banquet (at least those were the only ones that my mother bought). We just about lived on those salty, doughy meal substitutes when my mother went back to college. You see, processed and fast food were (and still are) abominations from my mother's point of view, so my sister and I considered such things to be treats.
Fast-forward forty years. My wife rarely buys pot pies, and when she does they have to pass her usual standards: Low salt, no modified corn starch or hydro- oils, no pesticides, no dog hair, no rat droppings, no flavor, etc. I can take them or leave them (with or without the rat droppings); however my kids seem to have taken a rather intense interest in these culinary anti-wonders.
"Why are you looking under the crust?" I asked, as my daughter tried to slide a knife under the edge of one.
"Because he doesn't like Turkey".
"He" refers to my son - her brother - who wasn't in the room yet. So naturally taking the bait, I asked "What difference does it make?"
My crust-lifting teen launched into a detailed, fully rendered analysis that explained the differences between a Chicken Pot Pie vs Turkey, even delving into the tastes, textures and even the composition of the meat. Soon, my son arrived and I watched the two of them continue with their gravy-soaked philosophizing. I thought it was a stupid subject and I told them so. I allowed them to continue on their ruminations; however, I was ready to pounce upon their shallow, vain, vacuous reasonings. But I didn't. While they were busy licking their lips, I realized that they hadn't cooked one for me!
From this experience I learned two things. The first is that every subject close to one's heart is worthy of in-depth study.
...And second:
Be careful of always trying to be the smartest person in the room. You might end up with nothing on your plate!
Always B Positive!
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