Wherein Lunch Wrestles for Dominance
Posted by Moose on August 8th, 2006. Filed under: I Live to Eat.I desperately want to tell you about the ridiculous array of food surrounding me. Because food is very important to me. Ergo, food must be very important to you. My world view is somewhat limited. But my ecstatic descriptions of shoving chocolate into oranges and plunging my face into the sticky mess are stalled by the wisdom of a woman who knows whereof she speaks.
Maggie Mason, aka Mighty Girl, recently wrote a book called No One Cares What You Had for Lunch. I dread reading it, in case it tempts me to rewrite a year’s worth of posts where chocolate chip cookies are prominently featured. Which would be cheating. Also a lot of work. Using time that would be better spent making myself a little snack. I admit that I was shocked to learn that no one cares what I ate for lunch. But…but…I care what I ate for lunch! Lunch was the highlight of my day. And no one wants to hear about it? Pause while I slip into a brief and overly italicized bout of despair.
So I won’t tell you about the startling buffet of fruit and tea bags that make it near impossible to put anything work-related on my desk. I won’t tell you about the stash of snacks in my top drawer. Or about the mustard pretzels that you really have to jump up and put on your shopping list right now, lest you live your entire life without snacks that taste like joy dipped in oil.
I won’t tell you about it but I won’t like not telling you about it. Cue more pouting that really needs to stop clicking that convenient slanty I button that exists because wordpress enjoys it when I italicize.
Then I read this and realized that maybe there are more important things than my lunch. Things like the lady in the tailor shop who, when asked to replace a missing button, stared at me with all the pity of one who knows she’s looking at someone with no life skills – and didn’t charge me anything for sewing on the button. Like the boy who rarely cries shedding a few tears over Bend It Like Beckham. The dog greeting me at the door with a ball in her mouth.
Maybe the unexpected disaster is precisely when lunch is important. Enjoying all those lovely lunches you have left with the people who love their lovely lunches almost as much as they love you.
Go forth and eat a nice lunch, people. Sometimes that’s the best thing you can do. And, while we’re on the subject, may I recommend a roast beef sandwich with avocado and hummus? Because that’s what I had. And, man, was it tasty.
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August 8th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
And in return I won’t tell you about the jar of Nutella residing in my cupboard as we speak, pining for the graham crackers purchased to consume it with.
August 8th, 2006 at 10:04 pm
HEY! *I* care what you had for lunch! I check your site COMPULSIVELY to see what you had for lunch! Though, I must admit, it causes me a teeeny tiny bit of angst because dude – I gain 1290837102937 pounds just reading about your culinary exploits!
and joy dipped in oil? I mean SERIOUSLY – WHY wouldn’t I want to know of that? Figures like this are MADE, dammit, not BORN!
August 9th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Finally! Someone who feels about food the way I do! I will have to try roast beed with avocado and hummus. I highly reccomend a BLT without the L but WITH a nice triple creme cheese spread on it. Or grilled tuna and cheese, when the tuna salad is made with saffron.
I need a snack.
August 9th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
I care what you had for lunch, especially when it gives me good eating ideas. (avocado + hummus? new to me!)
Me, I had two small zucchini-orange-chocolate-chip muffins–delicious–and a slice of less-than-perfectly-ripe-but-still-okay watermelon.