Complex Activity

Assignment:
Write a conversation between two people who know each other very well. Have them involved in a complex activity, but they should not talk about the activity. Show how two people might think they know each other but really don’t and at times don’t listen to one another.
Response:
Before reading this piece:
[Please see DT post “Relationship via the Kitchen”] OR
[Please see GITI Education Item # 0922 and its associated Doc item] OR
[Please see Moodle Post: Story Exercise (due by July 10) » Story Exercise by me]

     “No Eric, I’ve never considered adding meatballs to my sauce, I thought you liked it the way it is” Jon answered with a somewhat flat tone. Eric’s face became still and confused as he contemplated how to better explain himself to his brother. “No, thats not what I mean, your sauce is great, I just think that something spicy could highlight the sauce a little more” he finally managed to blurt out in a single breath.

     “Well… if you think so, then we should make some, but you will have to show me how, I’ve never done it” Jon stated as his face lightened up some and he reached into the refrigerator to get some meat to hand to his brother. Eric felt bad that he had made his brother feel insulted because of his suggestion. He decided to not say anymore about the sauce until dinner was ready. Eric took the meat from his brother, peeled back the plastic from the two pound lump of cold pale red beef and then asked Jon for a bowl to mix in.

     Jon picked one of his favorite stoneware mixing bowls for his brother to use. The bowl was about twelve inches in diameter and about eight inches deep, with a white and blue glaze surface that reflected the glow of the gas range. Eric dumped the meat into the bowl on the counter-top. The silence bothered Eric, even though it seemed to not phase Jon. Eric resolved the silence by starting a conversation with Jon, “How did you learn to make your sauce?” Jon seemed a little agitated by the question, feeling as though it were just there to fill the air, but answered anyway “Oh, I sort of made it up after cooking a lot with grandma years ago. We used to make something similar for pizza. I liked the base flavor a lot, so I added my own adjustments to it.” Eric seemed genuinely interested in the topic, and continued it “thats interesting, did you and grandma cook a lot together before I was born?” Eric broke up the meat and added spices. He also went rummaging to the cabinets looking for breadcrumbs, making a lot of noise. Once he located the breadcrumbs he opened the can and pointed to the eggs in a basket near Jon. Jon brought over two eggs while answering Eric’s latest question. “We did cook a lot, but mostly desserts. Grandma loved chocolate.”

     Jon cracked the eggs into the bowl over the meat. Eric tried to control his feelings about Jon doing that, but couldn’t stop himself “Jon, not the whole eggs, just the whites! I use the yolks for breading the balls only!” Jon turned bright red, he had been cooking all his life and had never heard of separating eggs for anything except cakes. Jon immediately began an apology for his culinary error “I’m sorry bro, I didn’t know”. Eric analyzed his brother’s embarrassed face, and then boldly dove at the bowl with both hands and quickly removed the unbroken yolks from the rest of the albumen membrane, with one yolk in each hand. He laughed and commanded to his brother, “Get me a bowl for the yolks.”