SMALL SLICES OF LIFE, HIDDEN TREASURES

 

A series of essays….

GAVIN AND GRIMIN WAITING IN THE LOBBY OF THE 
AMWAY GRAND PLAZA HOTEL TO BE SEATED FOR DINNER

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Many of us still enjoy the tasty pleasure of eating a well cut, brilliantly cooked, sizzlingly presented steak. I do. Apologies to my dear vegan and plant based friends. I don’t indulge on a regular basis, but when I do it should meet most of the requirements stated above because it is a special treat for me and fully intended as such.

When we found out that our twelve-year-old grandson, Gavin, was feeling a little bummed by missing a trip to Disney World in May (even though he would not admit it because he’s just so darn sweet and kind), Dan and I decided to ‘cook up’ something totally special just for him. Well, for us, too, but to share it all with Gavin and have him be the center of attention. 

Call it a phase (I can recall many of my own while growing up), but he is so into having steak right now and, if truth be told, could enjoy having it every single day! He’s very picky about his choice of protein which means that mealtime selections can be interesting, as well as the exact preparation of the beef, chicken, turkey, along with his sides. His Mom often finds herself preparing something a little different for him which makes dinner prep more challenging for her. 

I have heard of this kind of eating behavior before having much to do with the texture of various foods and how individuals react to them. If children are hypersensitive to tactile input, they will be less willing to get messy, can be particular about clothing, and could be picky eaters with a strong preference for food of a specific texture only. Hopefully, this too may just be a phase that will change for him, given time.

GAVIN AND PAPA ENJOYING THE POOL

Securing parental permission first, Dan and I decided that a bit of good food and overall pampering in general was in order and made reservations for three at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Grand Rapids. With an overnight stay at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel a must, we coupled it with a ballgame the next day at the LMCU Ballpark, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, a High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The three of us were a little pumped for over a month waiting for our mini-excursion in Grand Rapids to begin!

After a long swim in the pool with Papa, the appetite for the upcoming evening meal was enormous. A quick shower and change of clothes for them and we found ourselves being seated promptly at seven for dinner. Our adorable waitress, Jen, asked if we’d eaten there before and quickly discovered that this was a first for Gavin and that he was very excited by the prospect. Well, he swiftly became a pampered young prince for the duration of our meal, getting to select his own steak knife (He chose well: a Laguiole Light Horn Steak Knife made in France with the signature bee motif) and constantly being attended to.

GAVIN IS IN ANTICIPATION MODE

PRESENTATION OF HIS PETIT FILET

YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT, GAVIN!

ONE VERY HAPPY YOUNG MAN

Having selected the petit cut filet, cooked medium well, for his meal, Gavin slid into anticipation mode, turning a bit glassy eyed while inhaling the sizzling butter aroma of each and every steak that the staff carried loftily by our table. Dan and I were right there with him. We were told that the steak selections came out on very hot plates ranging up to 500 degrees in order to maintain their sizzle and temperature for a long time. They did not exaggerate. But the accentuated aroma of browned butter and steak perpetuated by the high temperature was indeed music to our ears. We joined him in anticipation mode.

Dinner was, of course, a major success and the salad starter and side of sweet potato casserole made the meal simply devine. After Dan ordered the bread pudding with Bourbon sauce for dessert and Gavin and I declined, spritely Jen brought out a special treat especially for our ‘first timer.’ It consisted of chocolate mousse covered in fresh whipped cream and nestled in an edible chocolate cup with a side of fresh fruit and cream. ‘Congratulations’ handwritten on the plate was his badge of honor and graciously initiated him into the world of delectable but high priced steak with a staff who knew how to make each guest feel like royalty.

GAVIN’S BADGE OF HONOR - A SWEET TREAT

As Dan and I lay in bed listening to Gavin’s satisfied breathing coming from the next bed, we couldn’t help but smile remembering the good-humored banter exchanged throughout the evening and especially before dozing off. If food is love, he was very happy falling into dreamland that night.

Unanimously, it was decided to take a short walk to Panera Bread outside the hotel for breakfast. The morning was warm and sunny; a great day for a baseball game, or so we hoped. I was concerned by the sun and knew we’d packed sunscreen for later. We lost Gavin for a few moments after entering the restaurant when he held back, holding open the tall, heavy doors for a lady going out after picking up her large take-out order. She gave him an enormous smile and a genuine thank you as she slipped by him. Kudos to his parents. They are certainly doing something right.

We had already packed our small bags and left them in the room, so a leisurely walk back to the hotel was in order. Check-out was at eleven with the first pitch of the game slated for one o’clock. 

By the time we got to our designated seats, the sky had turned slate gray and lost any sunshine and pale blue sky we had enjoyed earlier. First pitch — first raindrops. The game went on and everyone sat there through two innings and a tie game of one to one before the distant sound of thunder arrived, forcing us to vacate the seats and move under the slight protection at the top of the stands. 

OH, NOOOO!!

An hour and a half later, with all hope in our hearts of continuing the game lost, the three of us, dejectedly, marched back to our car. They did not call the game for, at least, forty-five minutes after we’d left. But, a little bird had told us earlier (Mom) that Gavin liked playing the indoor games at Dave & Buster’s on 28th Street. As the rain poured in buckets outside, Gavin played to his heart’s content, high and dry, inside. 

HANGING OUT AT DAVE & BUSTER’S

Unfortunately for us, they resumed the ballgame the next day, but we had our own commitments which negated our return to LMCU Ballpark for the finish of the game.

With smiles on our faces, Dan headed back to Kalamazoo. Our beautiful memories of this time with our grandson will live in our hearts, forever. And, we hope, The Little Prince of Ruth’s Chris will tuck back some wonderful memories of his own to pull out and enjoy every now and again. After all — isn’t this what life is all about?

Thank you, Gavin. Papa and Grimin love you!

MOVING ON…..2013-2023

Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

Photo copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

THE REBOOTING OF SOCIETY

A series of essays....

YOU ARE RESTOCKING YOUR PANTRY, TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH...
ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DATA...REBOOT YOUR LIFE?

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

One of the greatest gifts you can give to someone is to cook for them.

I love to cook. I love to cook and bake for family, friends, special occasions, or a dinner for two. I’ve felt it has always been my way of showing love and affection towards others. 

Considering that we eat to live rather than live to eat, what better way to say, “I love you,” than to prepare meals for others to let them know that it’s nice to have them by our side and we want them to be there for as long as possible. The strong ties between an Italian Madre and her children, especially her sons, has been uniquely based upon the abundance of good food placed before the family at mealtimes. She consistently brings them all together at the family table to share her love for them while they return it by partaking in her grand feasts.

The recipes used are universal and yet fairly simple consisting of mounds of sustenance, filled with pinches of fresh flavors, a time rendered homage to ancestry and culture, swirls of affection, and an ultimate presentation and plating that is guaranteed to humble even the most stubborn child in all of us.

My Ukrainian Grandmother’s heart and soul survived through the knowledge that she always had enough food at any given time to treat even a stranger with her wholesome hospitality. If you were to bring a friend to visit, Grandma would have suggested it was a national holiday, created a spread of deliciousness on the long kitchen table, enough to feed the royal family, and you would ultimately leave the house with handwritten recipes stuffed into your jacket pocket.

These genuine and generous acts of pure love have served mankind well since the beginning of time. Since isolation has prompted the return of choosing our meal ingredients wisely and affectively feeding one or two people, up to families of four, six, and more, while having the time allotted to enjoy the process and art form of cooking, we are all becoming chefs in our own right. Baking delicious crusty bread, fruit pies with homemade crust, or apple cake from scratch has become a much appreciated luxury based on newly found energy and time.

Hidden talents have emerged out of sheer necessity as many of us have become family barbers and beauticians. And, doing a fantastic job of it, too, I might add! Suddenly, the retiree gardener we longed to become while daydreaming at our 9 to 5 job has become a reality. Having the time has allowed some of us to go full speed ahead and create hydroponic vegetable gardens on our back decks and multi-tiered herb gardens clinging to the exterior walls of the house all while observing the growth of peony, hydrangea, and lavender patches along the periphery of the backyard. 

We’re becoming obsessive yet productive and valuable human beings, contributing to the basic welfare of those we love, as well as our own personal wellbeing. If I had to venture a guess, I actually believe we’ve begun to care once again. Having more time for ourselves and those around us is opening up a whole new world for so many; a world designed upon the basic acts of love and kindness shared by our ancestors, pioneers of a brand new world, who knew a thing or two about survival. 

IT SEEMS WE’VE ACTUALLY
BEGUN TO ‘CARE’ ONCE AGAIN

If we put it in more modern terms and references, I would say we are ‘rebooting’ ourselves; giving fresh impetus to lifestyles that had grown seemingly robotic or stagnant. The onslaught of COVID-19 and having to isolate ourselves has been like bringing back an early black and white movie but studding it with a new cast and an updated script. 

We’ve been afforded an opportunity of incorporating a fresh, new, more stimulating and active, loving and giving lifestyle into our daily existence simply by turning-off the computer system inside of us for an indefinite (hopefully short) period of time and then turning it back on again. We’ve been given a restart and a new chance at becoming a better, updated, and more generous person. Having time to rethink our raison d’être by asking ourselves what it is that makes us happy and whole, finding new answers to old problems with new questions, and flavoring our changing world with an array of colorful spices, our unexpected reboot could just be the ‘Golden Ticket’ we’ve been searching for.

The rebooting of society, especially under the uncertain terms and rules of being governed by a virus that has no set boundaries and has been a very deadly pill to swallow, I believe, is meant to help us change our ways, rethink our old lives based on improvement, and guide us into a brighter, intelligent, and less selfish tomorrow. 

It’s about time and long overdue.

One day soon, I would like nothing more than to receive a very good explanation for what many of us have had to endure these past three and a half years, soon to be four, with this particular person in office. Unlike the endearing ways of our Italian Madre and my dear, sweet Grandmother, we have not had enough good food to feed our hungry appetites and fill us with the humble and wholesome hospitality uniquely offered by this great nation to her citizens and welcomed immigrants in the past. 

It’s time once again and long overdue.

DAN’S FIRST ATTEMPT AT HOMEMADE
FRENCH BAGUETTES 

We must continue baking that crusty bread and feeding our soul and spirit with the moral equivalence of health, love, and wellbeing. Our reboot shall be considered a blessing to all of us and an ultimate sacrifice made by many of us as new cases of coronavirus emerge and the death toll rises. Because we are not normally a nation of one-on-one, soon we will be blending back into the broader spectrum of society and activities. And, in the meantime, we are rebooting our own lives, under our own control, conditioning ourselves for the new life ahead of us. 

Let’s enjoy what our new discoveries have to offer. It’s time to take control and bless the idea of being given a new beginning and a fresh start. 

Embrace mindfulness. Stay healthy and safe. Always be kind to and understanding of others. The entire population of this planet is in this together!

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved