Out of the pan and into the fire...one cook's story: The Thinking Problem

Out of the pan and into the fire...one cook's story: The Thinking Problem: “No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head. “ Terry Josephson, law professor ...

The Thinking Problem

“No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head. “ Terry Josephson, law professor

The smile:

It began innocently enough. My first grade teacher would ask us the sum of two numbers. I would think and give her the answer. I was impressionable at such a young age and by the time I graduated high school I was thinking more and more. Friends would ask me my opinion or my mother would ask how my day went, I would think and tell them.

It wasn’t long before I wasn’t just a casual thinker. I would engage people in bars, church and social functions. I talked with an elderly person on a park bench one time in an effort to gain some wisdom.

My twenties were a disaster as I was thinking all the time. My employer often reprimanded me for thinking about what I was doing, instead of just doing my job. Women were taken back because I wanted to talk and learn about what interested them. I found myself engaging in intellectual conversations with like-minded people.

I got older and my problem grew. I wondered how we got here, why we existed and what happened after death. Without even realizing how fast I was sliding into my addiction I began reading philosophy books and religious texts. I made friends with church goers and college educated people. They filled my head with all kinds of knowledge. I know I should have been ashamed. In fact maybe I was, because I would sit alone and consider questions of morality and ethics.

Thinking has become part of my everyday life! Recently I have started studying reincarnation. It could be possible for me to come back as a cow.  I can now see why they are worshipped in some societies. What do they have to think about? Maybe…one day…I can comeback as Holstein on rolling plain in Iowa. Pray for me….

 

The ponder:

IS it more important to have common sense or be highly educated, if you had to choose?

 

The Fudoshina Challenge:

 

Exercise	reps/ goal
Straight Punches	900/2000
Knuckle Push-ups	510/ 2000
Olymipic sit-ups	510/ 2000
Squat kicks	435/ 2000
Front kicks	275/ 2000
Side kicks	150/ 2000
Back kicks	150/ 2000
Upper blocks	525/ 2000
Downward blocks	525/ 2000
Inward blocks	525/ 2000
Outward blocks	5252/ 2000

 

The honeymoon is over

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, and always with the same person."
-Mignon McLaughlin

 

The smile:

 

One of my brothers decided to get married. She was a beautiful woman. I’m guessing that had a lot to do with my brother’s choice as she wasn’t known for keeping house.

The first day back from their honeymoon, I went to check on the newlyweds. I knocked on their front door and could hear a ruckus inside the house. I stood uncomfortably at the door, which was answered by my brother a few minutes later. He swung it open without any other acknowledgment than saying, “ Please get this crazy woman under control!”

I could not imagine what could have gone wrong so quickly and to such an extent. I walked past my brother into the living room to find my new sister-in-law in tears on the couch. I sat beside her not sure what to say. Finally I asked “What’s wrong?”

She wiped tears from her eyes and focused on me. She wailed, “He is VILE. The four letter words that came from his mouth. I want my momma.”

“Aw, come on.” I coaxed. “Could it be that bad? What did he say?”

She wiped the tears from her face. She took a minute to catch her breath before she told me, “He said he wants me to COOK, WASH and IRON.”

 

The ponder:

Today most houses have spouse that work. How do we determine the fair way to divide household chores? Should kids have responsibilities too? Should how much one spouse earns or other factors. over the other be a determining factor?

 

The Fudoshina Challenge:

Exercise	reps/ goal
Straight Punches	700/ 2000
Knuckle Push-ups	485/ 2000
Olymipic sit-ups	485/ 2000
Squat kicks	435/ 2000
Front kicks	275/ 2000
Side kicks	150/ 2000
Back kicks	150/ 2000
Upper blocks	525/ 2000
Downward blocks	525/ 2000
Inward blocks	525/ 2000
Outward blocks	525/ 2000

 

The Perfect Husband

“In a happy marriage it is the wife who provides the climate, the husband the landscape.” Gerald Brenan, historical writer

 

The smile:

My children as well as my nieces and nephews have been bought up as my siblings and I. Our parents did the same as well as earlier generations. We sit around kitchen tables, camp fires, coffee counters and driveways. If you are from the South, I know you know what I mean. I suspect every region has a version of what I am saying. We congregate when in circles and groups to tell stories, swap gossip and laugh with the people we care the most.

It was like any average afternoon at our family home place, Saddle Ridge. Cattle could be seen grazing on a far hillside. Waterfowl swam lazily on the lake. My mother sat at one end of the table with my brother and I on either side. We all took slow draws from our coffee cups as we laughed about years passed, recent hurdles and hopes not yet realized. Occasionally one of the kids would sit with us. The moment at hand it was two of the teenagers, my niece, Abby, and my daughter, Shiloh. The topic was marriage.

Abby, who is as beautiful as the morning sun on the Tennessee River and country as saw mill gravy, described her perfect man. She said. “He has to funny and smart. He has to keep up on what’s happening in the world, so we can have something to talk about. Oh yea, and sing. I like to sing. He’ll have to sing and play music.  Most of all no running around. He will have to stay home at night….” She sat quietly in thought to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.

Shiloh thought for a second as well before adding “Abby, you don’t want a man. You want a television.”

 

The ponder:

How can we know when we find the perfect mate or even can we know? Does our idealistic view of ourselves sometimes  get in the way of us meeting someone that we are truly compatible?

 

The Fudoshina Challenge:

 

Exercise	reps/ goal
Straight Punches	700 / 2000
Knuckle Push-ups	435/2000
Olymipic sit-ups	435/2000
Squat kicks	435/2000
Front kicks	250/2000
Side kicks	125/2000
Back kicks	125/2000
Upper blocks	500/2000
Downward blocks	500/2000
Inward blocks	500/2000
Outward blocks	500/2000

Money for nothin'

“For pleasures past I do not grieve, nor perils gathering near; my greatest grief is that I leave nothing that claims a tear” Lord Byron

 

The smile:

I was breaking down from a cooking demonstration when an elderly gentleman engaged me in conversation. He told me he began as a short order cook in a small greasy spoon, where he married the owner’s daughter. “Now,” he told me, “I own 12 family diners based on the same style food I cooked when I started.”

“That is amazing,” I replied. “I guess it shows you where hard work will get you.”

He smiled slyly and confided. “Actually it will show you where having a father-in-law with a big insurance policy and one child will get you.”

 

The ponder:

We all know you can’t take it with you. Is it better to die dead even (not debt, no assets) or leave a large inheritance behind? Why?

 

The Fudoshina Challenge:

Exercise	reps/ goal
Straight Punches	500/2000
Knuckle Push-ups	335/2000
Olymipic sit-ups	335/2000
Squat kicks	335/2000
Front kicks	250/2000
Side kicks	125/2000
Back kicks	125/2000
Upper blocks	450/2000
Downward blocks	450/2000
Inward blocks	450/2000
Outward blocks	450/2000

 

If you are in West Tennessee and interested in martial arts, come visit us at the Fudoshinka Dojo on the 45 by-pass.

Baby sister

“Parent should never forget the great excitement they felt for the birth of a new born into the world.”  Lailah Gifty Akita, author and founder of Smart Youth Volunteers Foundation

 

The smile:

It was a very exciting time when we were pregnant with our daughter. One particular day my son, Tiger, was sitting beside my wife on the couch. He asked “Why is your stomach so big?”

She smiled and patted her baby bump. She told him, “This is your baby sister.”

Tiger stared at her abdomen for a minute and inquired, “Is she a good baby?”

“Of course, “she replied

Tiger took another second to consider before unloading his real interest, “Then why did you eat her?”

 

The Ponder:

What is the right age to begin that birds and the bees conversation? What is age appropriate? How do you answer, if your child knows more than you expect?

 

 

The Fudoshina Challenge (Reps completed/ Goal to complete by 2/28/15)

Straight Punches	400/ 2000
Knuckle Push-ups	235/ 2000
Olymipic sit-ups	235/ 2000
Squat kicks	235/ 2000
Front kicks	250/ 2000
Side kicks	125/ 2000
Back kicks	125/ 2000
Upper blocks	450/ 2000
Downward blocks	450/ 2000
Inward blocks	450/ 2000
Outward blocks	450/ 2000