Ten Foods

When I was just out of college my parents moved to Washington DC.  They lived in a one bedroom corporate apartment for the first few months while they renovated a house.  The apartment was in Crystal city, which my father loving called the “Houston” of Washington due to its apparent lack of zoning.  They had a tiny balcony that pointed toward Potomac, but they could not see the river, just the airplanes landing over it into what was then National Airport.

One Sunday I went to see them and I knew they needed to get out and meet some friends because I found them sitting on the balcony, watching the planes land, silently scribbling notes on paper, dressed in clothes that I am sure they did not wear out in public.  This was the conversation I walked in on.

Mom:  “If I pick beef do I get a whole cow including steaks and ground beef?

Dad:  “No, you either get hamburger or steak.  You have to pick each cut individually.”

Scribble, scribble, scribble…

Dad: “Does milk count as one of the ten, or did we decide drinks are free?”

Mom:  “Drinks have to be free because I need both milk and wine.”

More writing and crossing out, as I silently stand by…

Mom:  “Can we choose complete dishes like spaghetti and meat sauce?

Dad:  “I can’t remember what we decided about that?  I think if you chose creamed spinach that is OK, as long as you never get to separate the ingredients into spinach, cream, butter, etc.”

Mom:  “Ed, you are making this too hard.”

After witnessing this conversation and having no idea what they were doing I announced my arrival to which I was shushed.

Dad: “Ok, here are my 10; steak, chicken, cheese, bread, eggs”

Mom:  “Oh no, I forgot eggs.  I need to redo my whole list.”

Dad:  (with shock in his voice) “How could you have forgotten eggs?”

Mom:  “I was still on the ‘A’ vegetables, avocado, asparagus and artichokes.”

I tried again.

Dana:  “What are you doing?

Mom:  “We are trying to figure out if we could only eat 10 foods for the rest of our lives, what would they be?”

Dana:  (With more than a little bit of disbelief) “How long have you been doing this?”

Dad:  “All weekend.  It is really hard.”

I don’t know if they ever finished that exercise because I think they all of a sudden realized they had lives to live, but it was an interesting question.

So if you could only eat ten foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?  Now please don’t ask me the rules to this game.  That is a negotiation that requires Mother Teresa, Gandhi and George Mitchell to work out.