The recent "Feelies" incident reminds me of one of those relatives that every family has ... like my Aunt Eunice, who invariably says something bizarre whilst passing the gravy, like "Maybe those hunters had it coming." Everybody at the table drops their fork in shock. But then ignore her. They know she's harmless enough, and even kind on even-numbered Sundays that she really wouldn't smite anybody. Just blurts out insensitive stuff without thinking. And she really is an idiot, but in that sweetly offensive way. They say: A closed mouth gathers no foot. But after all these years, Eunice is a little old to learn, so we just carry on and talk about the gravy. Everybody has one of those relatives.
In answer to your other question, I have a pretty broad dinner table. First half of my life was in a pop. 500 cowtown where "modernization" means using nylon ropes for hangings. They just recently got a grocery store and a post office a few years ago! Second half has been in a trendy cosmopolitan suburb of SF. Somewhere in between, I spent years living in different uni-cultural districts. Monterey Park, for example, is not just a Chinese "neighborhood", it's pretty much a smaller version of a whole city like Taipei. The great thing about such a broad dinner table, is the great variety of culinary and conversational surprises in store.
Tomorrow's menu: a chilled dill soup in cucumber cups (with optional smoked salmon), "Buckeye" rib steaks, finished with Habanero-Lime cheesecake. I figure all of my guests will have ample opportunity to be both pleased and offended at alternately various courses. It's a pretty broad dinner table. |
