thanks to my buddy, justin... i have new reasons to avoid those lemon slices at restaurants.
imagine... even though he just got engaged... he's still looking out for us.
i guess you can take the man out of the health department, but you just can't take the health dept. out of the man.
the last line of his post is worth the click alone. read it here.
to see my original lemony snicker... click here.
when we were in warren for the 4th, we took a quick stroll down main street. if i had squinted just a bit... not much would have changed over the last few decades. yet... behind the storefronts, few of the stores remain that i remember. that's sad to me. but i guess things change everywhere.
how fun it would be to hear the door chime and the floor boards creak as i walk into coleman's drugstore and pull a cream soda out of the chilled water... and maybe browse the model selection to find the latest hot rod to glue & paint... or to spin on the stools at rexall's and order a nickel 'suicide'.
sounds & sights that dance only among my brain cells now... and maybe even more now than they did back then. sometimes i wonder if much of heaven will be re-living the simplest of things in life... and delighting in them fully because we see each one as a gift from The One Who Always Loved Us.
of course... much of what i knew growing up would be strange to you. we each had different rides on "the scrambler"... subtle differences that live on today in small ways.
for instance... when you were in high school and you stopped in at your local place of refreshment... what did you order? for me... it was "a coke". of course, that didn't mean i wanted a coca-cola... that was just the intro that prodded the server to ask, "what kind of coke would you like?"... to which i would reply "seven-up", "pepsi" or whatever it was that i wanted.
but... living in florida, st. louis, & illinois it was "soda." and now in michigan it's "pop."
what term did you use? or today... when you want your son to stop by the store to pick up a 12 pack of some non-alcoholic drink for the gang who's coming over this weekend... what do you tell him to pick up?
having lived in so many places... now i just ask for what i want specifically.
i actually stumbled onto a website that shows the research some guy did that shows what we've all experienced. click on this link and it even allows you to click on your state and see how it breaks down by county!
although... it appears that my home county has changed since i was a kid... now preferring "pop" over "coke" as the name of choice.
or maybe i was always in the minority.
breakfast is not usually my favorite meal of the day... ...which my wife resents.
you see... it is for her.
she can think of few things better than heading out for an omelet to start her day.
but over the years, with all my breakfast meetings... i'm the one who usually ends up more regularly at "the bob"... "the crack"... or "the roxy." and my selection is pretty plain & healthy... much to her annoyance.
even at home, my typical routine involves some kashi "vive" cereal. i love it. if there's some blueberries or strawberries to top it... even better. emma, my "capt'n crunch" queen calls it "sticks & stones".
but today? today's different. today we have fresh peaches.
peaches are one of those fruits that launch my saliva glands instantaneously... especially this time of year.
they remind me of many, many wonderful times at the cottage on lake simcoe during the 'dating' months... the newlywed years... and the young kid years. and i can't eat them without thinking of beth's dad... pontificating and chuckling as he peeled & sliced peach after peach for whomever may be waiting to top their shreddies and inhale the fruit of his labor.
i guess they say "vacation" to me... and "family."
of course... sometimes peaches don't deliver on their promise... and the taste is less worthy of my fantasy. oh, for the assurance that these were ontario grown!
so... here i sit. pontificating in clarke's name... delighting in the senses as each slice falls off my knife into the bowl of s & s... wondering if they'll live up to the goose bumps on my tongue.
a fitting way to start my day... and first day with no radiation.
thank you G*D for creating senses! they are the poor man's wealth, the sick man's delight, and the rich man's toy. but they invite every one of us to enjoy the wonders of this life you've created... and anticipate a time when our taste buds will explode from your very presence... ...and everything will be as you always wanted it to be.
