Showing posts with label Remembering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Remembering. Show all posts

20061115

The Raisin Theory


Instead of going to aerobics tonight, I decided to sit at home and eat the rest of the Halloween candy. Rockets were the only ones left over. I love rockets, a bit sour, a bit sweet. Yes, I feel guilt ridden (actually,not guilty, just missing adult interaction), but between dogs and kids and laundry, I just didn't have the inertia to do the Grapevine, or the Pony. I still am having trouble with my coordination. It is hard being so freaking fantastic and, yet so clumsy. Adding to this, none of my shoes seem to fit anymore, and this includes my workout shoes, which are falling apart. I have glued the soles on with Goop & Carpenter's Glue, and the buggers still seem to fly off. They weren't cheapo shoes either, Nike's, I am so dissapointed.

As I recall, the molasses candies were always the last to go. Wrapped in orange and black paper, they practically extracted most of my teeth growing up. I am sure they still sell them, they were so sticky and gross, I don't know why anyone bought them. I feel the same about raisins, as my brother says "they are unwanted grapes". I ate a box (like a kilo), of raisins as a child (sitting under the counter), and try to avoid them now at all costs. Again, with jujubes, I over indulged and ate a whole bag,(hiding behind a chair at the cottage) and will not eat them now.


Raisin, what a funny sounding word. Raisin. Raisin. Raisin. Say it three times. Who ever thought of the RAISIN? Here is my theory.

Ronald was an old man, who busied himself by picking grapes during the day for his wife, who would then stand in a barrel, and pulverize them with the large bunion, that grew out of her right foot. He was a wine maker by trade. Growing up in the hills of Italy, he picked the bulbous fruit from the vines, and strapped them on his back. He was also a recovering alcoholic, and although temptation was always there, he stayed away from the vino, and was content with the collection of the FINE fruit. (It comforted him to be close to the primary ingredient of his old vice). One day, in the heat of the sun, he was stung by a vicious fire ant and had an anaphylactic reaction. His face swelled up, and he was unable to breath. It was also unfortunate that a large grape was stuck in his throat. He passed out, and remained in the scorching elements for hours before his wife noticed that he had not returned home.

"Ronald! Ronald!" His wife called. She had become worried and angst. Through the vines she ran. . .faster . . .faster. The vines lashed out at her swollen ankles, and the perky fruit that hung heavy, stained her dress. "Ronald! Where are you? Have you taken up the drink again?". . . And there he was, lying in twilight, barely breathing. His wife sniffed his breath. . . the bastard had been drinking, she thought. He had fallen off the wagon! What a blight on the family! She thought she smelled the remnants of fermented grapes. But wait, what is this? Beside his gasping mouth lay a wrinkled, turd like, crusty brown thing. Anna had discovered the RAISIN. She quickly realized that the amylase (an enzyme in your saliva) mixed with the juice of the grape, gave off a pseudo booze odour. Simultaneously, the grape had lost some of it's precious juices, and after dropping out of Ronald's mouth had dried in the sun. She popped it in her mouth, and kissed her precious Ronald on the mouth, and revived him.

Ronald and Anna became raisin makers, and Ronald did not have to live so close to his temptation. They threw out the vats, and got drying racks instead.

The End

20061029

My Great Quote of the Day

I had an epiphany driving back from Goderich. Since moving from London, relocating to Strathroy, and now to Huron County, I have found that I am a social orphan.
I feel marginalized, isolated from old friends and the social circle that I left behind. I feel different, I do not have the security blanket, that comfort of being myself, being accepted, being "normal", being understood. In it's place is more apathetic, and more gaurded self, that either emerges in your early thirties or is a result of a defense mechanism. It may be the fact that I am starting to not give a flying turd what people think. (I refuse to join Coffee Break).

Well, after much ado:


"I certainly haven't made many friends here. . . but I haven't lost any".

(Well, at least as far as I am concerned, if I have lost some, they didn't mean anything in the first place).


Nice. Nice. Almost as good as "that man smokes so much, you could pave a road with his lungs".

Or (this one is from my Dad). . . "Those idiots have left their Brain Packs at home". This was when we were in Owen Sound and my father was trying to park, when suddenly a van load of geriatrics blocked him. I could envision battery fueled bathing caps left by the front door with wires hanging limp beside them.


Hmmm. . . deep thoughts.

I was just thinking about the Oakridge bus stop in London, usually on a cold winter day, I would forget to wash my face. Or if I did "lavez", my mother did not feel that I was squeeky enough. She would spit on her hand and strategically spot treat. Then I would feel very stiff and unable to smile, it seemed to always happen in the dead of winter, so between dry air and wind chill, my skin felt tight.

Another deep thought I recalled was sterile agar and petrie dishes. We had to use them at Riverside Public School. We would shake are heads over the dishes and see what kind of mutant strain of penicillium mould would grow.

I will rant more about Riverside later.

20060815

Monday







Mondays. . . I remember Mondays with fondness.

Growing up, my Dad had to work on Saturdays, instead his weekend was Sunday and Monday. Monday became the day that Mom would take a day for herself and take the Oakridge Bus up to Fairweathers in Downtown London, or go to the old Central Library.

My brother and I would come home from school for lunch, though howling winds and torrential downpours. Dad would always serve us either grilled cheese sandwiches (gurl cheese. . . that's how I used to pronounce them), or ham and mustard sandwiches (ick), sardines and tomato soup.

The bread had to be white, at this time in his life he had not caught the fiber buzz. The mustard, an electric yellow smear.

I can only now imagine him taking the time, degreasing his hands from the Mini, the MG, Mini Wagon, or the Austin America that he was working on (we used them for daily drives, the mini's), and then making sandwiches that my brother and I despised. My brother had a large head in his early years and he was short. I remember him sitting in front of his sandwich and picking at it.

It is odd how you remember things as a kid. When I talk to my father about the Monday Lunches now, he gets a bitter look, and then softens. "Those were darn good sandwiches, I made them for you"~~~~~~~Thanks Dad. :)
Oh crum, it's Tuesday, not Monday.