Friday, April 15, 2011

The Wait List

Hi ho, crock readers. It's Friday! At last! Yay!
First, a shout out to loyal reader and author-BFF Erin for providing some follow up intelligence to my rant about how Olive Garden cannot possibly have anything in Tuscany that is a cooking school. Apparently the author of this piece was even more outraged by the notion than I was.

Second - Friday Friday Friday! Woo!
Not only is it Friday, it's the last Friday before Good Friday, which is the last Friday before Easter. Which is exciting, because I have acquired and now have in my freezer, in addition to the box of peanut butter patties (Tagalongs!) Girl Scout Cookies, an entire bag of buckeyes, ready and waiting for consumption. What are buckeyes, you ask? Delicious. And so extraordinary that they are always the basis for the only times anything related to the word "buckeye" is roundly praised and adored in my family's home, given its staunch Michigan affiliation.

My aunt makes what I do not think it would be an exaggeration to classify as the most delicious candy available for human consumption every year at Christmas. Bittersweet chocolate covers a sweetened peanut butter center. The candy resembles the buckeyes that trees produce in appearance, but they don't scatter on the ground like tree buckeyes do unless there has been some sort scuffle among siblings in attempts to get another one. Knowing how intensely they are cherished by her family, my aunt counts them so that we each get the exact same allotment at Christmas. Once they are gifted to you, it is your responsibility to defend them against errant knaves like your brothers. They're so good. Really. Probably one of the top 5 items that would comprise a dowry in my family. Buckeyes come with.
And yes THAT, that type of deliciousness, in a brother-free household, awaits me on Easter.
I'm ready!

Somehow thinking more about Easter also reminds me and makes me miss two family records: Peter Cottontail and Jesus Christ Superstar. Both have obvious relevance to the holiday, but both are delightful in their own ways. The Peter Cottontail album had the title song as it's opener (classic!) and then had an array of original bunny, Easterish-related songs involving Easter baskets and candy and forest animals engaged in fun activities. One particularly great song detailed the exploits of Jack Rabbit, a baseball player. Again, the song was catchy, but I loved it more for its lyrics than its tune as they were full of word play and a storyline. "Left field, right field, any field at all, he can hit them over the WALL yes he caaaan! Who's the greatest there, who beats 'em by a hare? Jack Rabbit, he's our man!" A good one.

And then, when you're more into feeling funky in your religious devotion, Jesus Christ Superstar and its guitar-pedaled pomposity. There are some great songs in that album, and playing it annually really did sort of drive the season home. And the urgency and confusion of the whole, hey dude, save humanity! situation that Jesus finds himself in, and then really jams about with electric guitar accompaniment, it's intense. Maybe I'll have to see if these interwebs provide a few of the favorites for viewing and singing along!




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