Monday, July 18, 2011

THE LOST POSTS: Like Mama Used to Make


Do you remember that first bite of your mother's PBJ? The creamy (or in my case, crunchy) nuttiness of the peanut butter seemed to blend seamlessly with the fruity, sugary jelly. Toss in a glass of milk and everything seemed just...perfect. And each time you had it, again and again, there was just something undeniably perfect about the coupling. Every part of the sandwich just got each other – no conflicts, no discussion – just pure, unashamed perfection. It wasn't hard to figure out what's next; you just ate it and smiled.

Or maybe you didn't. Maybe for you, a PBJ was the closest thing to torture available to the parent of a 6 year old. Maybe when you ate it, the peanut butter morbidly stuck to the roof of your mouth, forcing you to wash it out with the most dreadful ice cold beverage to ever touch your lips. For you, the end could not have come quickly enough, and when it did, you ran swiftly away.

Or maybe it was just ok. Not awesome, not terrible, just...ok. Something to quiet that rumble before heading off to Phys Ed. You weren't excited to see it in your lunch box, but you weren't sneaking off to throw it away or offering to trade it with your BFF for half a Lunchable.

What about the human nature is so attracted to that which seems in most harmony with our desires? If it makes sense to us, we scramble to surround ourselves with it. We clamor after every last bit remnant; from licking the crumbs off a plate to sopping grandma's gravy with a biscuit. We become insatiable for just one more taste of that perfect something...

When it’s terrible, the decision is equally simple. Run. When a dish isn't in synch with our basic selves, humans instinctually pick up our forks and sprint to the hills. No transportation is too expensive or too slow to (shuffle) us from the worst we've had to anything else...

But what do we do when it’s just...ok?

Do you reflect and ask yourself if you're tastes are just snobbish and the Big Mac is plenty ok if billions and billions think so? Do you sit there and take it, convincing yourself that the next trip to Ambrosia is just 2 more days away so hold on! Or do you just keep eating and remember it’s just a meal, one of thousands you will have in your life...

What should you do? Does anybody ever know?

The UE

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