The Story Behind These Recipes
The voice on the phone was without compassion.
The words came tumbling out as if said a hundred times before:
"You have malignant cancer and need immediate surgery.
Saturday at 10 in the morning is available."
The knife of fear strikes to my core.
A sentence of Death has been pronounced.
Time is slipping by...
Denial is instant:
"I'm busy on Saturday. Can I get a second opinion?"
There is no escape:
"Sure you can. Just do it quick."
I don't want to know but I ask anyway:
"How long do I have?"
The knife strikes deeper, and twists:
"A week, ten days at the most. This is serious."
Looking Death in the eye,
the sands of Time slipping through the hourglass of Life Remaining,
my attention focused on the Meaning of Life...
After much thought,
I resolved that whatever time I had left
each day would be as perfect as possible,
living with respect for each moment,
maximizing my pleasure quotient,
eliminating stress,
doing nothing trivial,
contributing the greatest good,
inspiring by example,
and achieving immortality as a good memory.
All of this was a tall order, even for me,
and Logic brought me to the conclusion:
"I need help".
And first on the list of help needed was "cook".
Hunger is persistent, nutrition mandatory,
and every day of tasty home-cooked meals
would be well on the way to perfect.
The case for a cook was overpowering.
My work was supporting me, but paying a cook was not in the budget.
However, Logic ruled that Life Without Help was unoptimized.
If each day is to be perfect, then a cook is essential.
So I did what I could in this Time Before The Internet,
I placed a classified ad in the local newspaper:
"Help Wanted: Domestic assistant to
cook soup. Call xxx.xxxx".
Janet was hired, and worked 6 months,
then moved out of town with her boyfriend,
after giving the job to her friend Carol,
who was recently married
and looking for work with flexible hours,
and low stress, in the service of others.
It hardly seems possible, but here we are, 30+ years later,
(as of 2/1/2016)
and Carol is still helping me create my Perfect Days.
As it turned out, Carol's help saved me so much time
that my newly-found extra billable hours paid for hers.
I feel certain my Survival can be credited
to clear thinking on the Meaning of Life,
and to Delegation of all that falls outside of my Perfect Day.
I can cook, shop and pay bills,
but it is better for me to spend time doing other things;
things that create each Perfect Day.
Along the way, Carol and I have developed some recipes.
Nineteen years of continuous improvement have created these meals.
Each one a potential Last Meal On This Planet.
And therefore each one as perfect as can be.
Now these extraordinary dining experiences are yours.
May your every meal, and each day of your life
be as enjoyable as mine...
Namaste'
M.
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