May 14, 2004
Home is Where the Beef is
My parents don't eat a lot of meat anymore, but every time I visit they make every effort to accommodate my voracious appetite for blood. I bought lbs and lbs of Amish dried chipped beef, bundles and bundles of little beef sticks, and even had some filet one night, among other more down-to-earth beef meals while I visited Pennsylvania:
While I feasted on Dad's home-grilled filet, I thought of my opponent, so far away from his parents, so distant from the warmth of a familial meal back in the Midwest, the scent of cooked meat lingering in the air. For that matter, how long ago was it that he swung through these United States to visit old friends, and to share meat at their table? I wondered what he was eating, with whom, and whether he has shed any tears over his long separation from kith and kin back here.
I was so grateful for this tender moment, particularly as the moment's tenderness was eclipsed only by the tenderness of the filet I could have eaten with a paper fork.
I can hear now hear the ringing in my opponent's ears: "Guy, come home!" But he'll make do, I'm sure, as home is where the beef is.
Posted by eric at May 14, 2004 11:53 AMI am indeed on my way to the states, to the hearth- and heart-land. My only problem is that, when I was in Singapore dining at the black angus, I noticed a sign on the tables, informing their clientelle that since Singapore had instituted a blanket ban on US beef products, the fine products they normally serve were being replaced by australian meat instead. Interested, I asked the waitress if she could tell any difference between the former US meat and the current Aussie meat.
"Definitely," she said, "for the same weight, the american meat is much much bigger." It turns out that Aussie cows are denser than their american cousins, which I consider to be a tactical advantage, allowing me to consume more mass more easily.
So you can see my reluctance to return home. But return I will, to the States and to the midwest, where I'm scheduled to be in mid-july. Just in time for the "unveiling".
I'm holding my breath, I can tell you.
Posted by: guy at May 17, 2004 09:57 PMI am most certainly looking forward to seeing you.
Posted by: Eric at May 17, 2004 10:11 PM