Late Discoveries

I spent 15 years of my career working two jobs.  When that came to an end in December 2020, I have to admit, I kind of felt like my life was over.  I don’t think it had to do with age, although this change certainly came late in my career.  More of it had to do with the change of pace, where everything went from Get. It. Done. Now. to “Wait.  There’s another episode of West Wing?  Sure, I have time for that.”

My path on the road to employment recovery continues, and I’ve discovered some of the many, many things I’ve missed along the way.  Few who know me aren’t surprised several of these have to do with food, and many will likely say “You didn’t know that?”  In any event, here are recent discoveries that, I hope, get you to thinking twice about what you may not know, and what you might want to do about not knowing.

Cheeseburgers  I’ve eaten and loved them forever, and they were the staple as a graduate student, when every 90-minute drive home from East Lansing (“Go Green!”) featured three or four McDonald’s cheeseburgers.  (It’s the best driving food from the Ethnic Scottish Restaurant, since the melted cheese holds everything together.  The lettuce from a Big Mac goes everywhere in the car.)

Imagine my surprise when I ran into a slew of restaurants where their “cheeseburger” consisted of a cold piece of cheese stuck on the cooked hamburger once it was off the grill.

That’s not a cheeseburger.  That’s a hamburger with cheese. Barbarians.

I also discovered the mother of all cheeseburgers, the Jucy Lucy, where the cheese is inserted in the middle of the burger before it’s cooked.  I haven’t had one, but I’m eager for the chance to see if it’s better than the best Olive Burger in the universe.

Eating versus dining 1  Rushing between jobs gave me little time to eat, and too many opportunities to refuel. This meant I saw any chance to chew somewhere besides my car as a dining experience.

No more.  I now realize there are three kinds of eateries:  Refueling stations (#holdthepickleholdthelettuce), bars that serve food, and restaurants. If linen isn’t involved in the dining experience, I likely won’t be back—and that’s not easy in the town where I live, where people spend way too much money on glorified bar food. (Friends in the area—this the only real restaurant in our fair city.) Save your money for the real food and the real dining experiences.  $15 for a hamburger is kind of kookie.

Leisure Reading  I learned the skill of reading early in life, but never really got the hang of reading for fun.  Part of that was youthful impatience (“OK, so get to the point!”) and part of it was job related, as I still have to read about 60 essays every week and grade them.

Reading still isn’t an anchor of my life, but thanks to a high school friend (whose book you really should buy), I’ve rekindled my interest in poetry—plus, it’s generally easy to read.  Another friend introduced me to this beauty, leading me to wonder what else I’ve missed in the world of the written word.

Eating versus dining 2  The larger metaphor, I suppose, is that I may have refueled too much in life so far, not taking the time to dine.  As a magnificent poet once said, here’s to being able to come to the table, simply glad that you came.

April Snow

The roads are wet
Not slippery
The schools are open
And every tree is frosted.

The daffodils may
Be feeling burdened
But the fireplace is beckoning
For an encore tonight
Of literature of the heart
And flame lit dreams.
Go ahead
Take a bow.

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