I’m excited for the first time in almost four years: I might receive a Medal of Freedom. I got so worked up that Momo, my wife and a retired RN, had to put me on a Valium drip.
I penned a letter using my Parker fountain pen and had it delivered to the White House via FedEx special D. This morning, I received an email from someone who didn’t use spell-check or Grammarly: What is it with the youngsters working for the old guy? No one can spell.
The young lady, a staffer named Maya Sharona, said someone might consider my request and somebody might be circling back to me. Wow, there is a chance?
I thought my correspondence was professional and heartfelt. It went something like this:
Dear Mr. President Demento,
Since the once sacred Medal of Freedom is now nothing more than a Holiday Inn key-chain hung around one’s neck: the traitor who left behind our patriots in Benghazi receives the medal from the traitor who left behind our patriots in Afghanistan, a Nazi collaborator demonic Hell-Hound, a few half-assed actors, the grumpy old fashion designer, a fake science guy, the monkey whisperer, filthy-rich insider stock trader, backstabbing traitor warmonger, retired basketball player that gave women aids, talk show host, chef, fry cook, and Marty McFly get one, then I should too. Give my best regards to the babysitter.
Not my mother, but the Tupperware and the fridge look about right. Ain’t AI fun!
It takes guts to admit to a phobia. I have more than one, but this one will do for now. I can’t stand to touch plastic ware, mainly Tupperware or any brand that resembles that sturdy piece of American culture from the 1950s.
My mother, rest her sainted soul and bless her heart, was a Tupperware lady. During those years, she hosted numerous parties in our and her friends’ homes.
It wasn’t until years later I learned the truth about these parties. They were a front for gossip and cocktails. In her old age, she admitted it was a sham, and the girls used it as a front to get away from us kids and husbands for a few hours and get sloshed on Manhattans and Gin and Tonics. It was the perfect set-up. She made a small amount of money, had some good hi-balls, and caught up on the neighborhood gossip. They were the forerunner to ” girls night out,” which started in the 90s. I sometimes wandered into the room hoping to find a little finger sandwich or a Vienna sausage on a toothpick. Instead, I found a pack of “big-haired” gals holding a cocktail glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other. My mother was a world champion smoker and would have a ciggie in hand and one perched in her ashtray. Mothers back then were tough gals.
Our kitchen was stuffed to the point of bursting with the plastic-ware. It filled every drawer and cabinet and was neatly stacked to the ceiling on top of the ice-box. We ate on paper plates and drank from aluminum glasses. There was no room for real dishes or glassware; It was all Tupperware everywhere. The ice box was neatly arranged, with meals sealed in Tupperware. We didn’t call them “leftovers” in our home; they were called “future pre-prepared dinners.” Some of those dinners were on-call for a year or more. That’s the beauty of Tupperware: if properly sealed per the manufacturer’s instructions, the food will last for years.
Now, the explanation of the phobia. It’s complex and involves many layers of childhood anxiety. My therapist said it started with an incident when I was five years old. I don’t remember what I did, but it was severe enough for a butt-whooping from my mother. While trying to escape, she grabbed one arm, a classic move that only mothers use, and wielded the nearest object she could find, which was an 8×10 Tupperware slimline cake storage container. I had no idea plastic ware could hurt so damn much. The impression of the insignia on the bottom of the container lingered on my butt for days. Of course, I showed it to all my buddies, and they were pretty impressed and worried because their mothers owned the same Tupperware containers.
After that incident, I couldn’t bring myself to touch plastic ware in any form. That brought more punishment because when helping with the dishes, I would retreat from the kitchen sink when a dirty piece of Tupperware was to be washed. There was nothing that could make me touch that vile object. That plastic dish scared me as much as the monster under my bed. My father realized that his only son was becoming a child neurotic and stepped in to help my mother with the dishes, thus allowing me to enjoy a somewhat normal childhood.
Not much has changed in 65 years; I can’t touch the stuff. My wife, Momo, loves her some Tupperware. She has a beautiful assortment of colored containers that, when soiled, she puts in the dishwasher. That is another layer of my anxiety. I cannot take them from the rack. I use a set of tongues to grab the cursed piece and then lay it on the counter for her to put away. I don’t care to know where she hides this stuff as long as I don’t come into contact with it.
My therapist is a cheeky fellow. He told me that being spanked with a Tupperware dish and all the problems it caused me could have been worse. My mother could have grabbed a PYREX dish.
Troop of Texas Boy Scouts marching to the El Paso border.
There has got to be a better way to secure our border. Our illustrious governor of Texas sent the state National Guard to help the border patrol, but they were issued only one bullet, which is to be carried in their shirt pocket, like Officer Barney Fife. Now we have Venuswealean gangs attacking our officers and guards with knives, broken bottles, and tire irons, and our boys can’t shoot back to protect themselves.
Problem solved: send in a troop of Texas Boy Scouts armed with Daisy pellet rifles. Those pellets may not kill the invaders, but damn, they hurt, and those Boy Scouts always save the day. Be Prepared!
Notes From The Cactus Patch 