The Big E – Everything Has a Price
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By Elaine Lessig
Finally, after several weekends in a row of family events and dog show commitments, my husband, Marvin, and I were both at home at the same time. For us, yes indeed, this is a very special event. What better way to celebrate than to have Chinese take-out? There was just one issue to be resolved, where to order the food. Confused? Aren’t there tons of Chinese restaurants all over New Jersey? Yes, but not where we live. In our quaint river town in the wilds of western New Jersey, there are exactly two–both tasteless and greasy.
In the electronic age we all live in now, how is an issue like finding a restaurant resolved? We both grabbed our “smart” phones and raced each other to find a place. Marvin asked his personal assistant, Siri, and I checked in with my pal, Google. Guess what? Simultaneously, we found a third Chinese restaurant in a nearby town. “Why not give it a try?” we quickly agreed. I put down the “smart” phone on the kitchen island and opened up my laptop. Current technology allowed me to swiftly find the online menu for Chinese restaurant #3. We huddled over the computer screen with surprise and delight. Just one town over and a world away, we were excited to find chow mee fun and ho fun, rice noodle dishes, and a whole lot more. After an extensive trip through the large menu, the order was placed by phone, as there was no online ordering available yet. House special soup, bar-b-q spare ribs, Singapore chow mee fun, and a chicken ho fun were packed into the paper bag along with crispy noodles, hot mustard, sweet sauce, and–fan favorite–four fortune cookies. We liked everything, ate with gusto, packed up the leftovers, and put them in the refrigerator. Now, it was time for the grand finale, the fortune cookies. One by one, we opened them and read each aloud. Marvin’s were a positive, lighthearted message suggesting he look around the corner for a wonderful surprise followed by another commen-ding a life of simplicity. On the back of each fortune was an offer for a second one, available by going to the website listed above our lucky numbers.
It was then my turn to read the fortunes from inside the remaining cookies. The first shared a joke that wasn’t funny. The second one made a profound statement, “Your path will be arduous but will be amply rewarding.” “Well,” I thought, “Yes it has.” After all the vapid fortunes, this one totally resonated with me? We went on to clean up from our feast. The containers, paper bag, cookie wrappers, and paper fortunes all went into the trash. I did not give it another thought until I was getting ready for bed. Then, it came over me like a flood. I was awash with emotion. I ran down the backstairs, into the kitchen, retrieved the fortune from the trash, stapled it to a large notecard, and left it next to my laptop.
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Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=181360
Posted by AnthonyA
on Apr 10 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Featured.
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