Telling you guys my muffin story a few weeks back put me in the mood for some, so, on my way home recently, I stopped and bought some, because, not only was I in the mood for something sweet, but my much-older brother was coming in from out of town and it would be something nice for us to nosh on while we're having our morning coffee. My brother loves coffee, too, but next to me he's an amateur.
When my brother comes into town he usually stays with us. He says it's because he doesn't see us often and wants to make up for lost time. I tell him it's because he's too cheap to stay at a hotel, and we both laugh.
He thinks I'm joking.
The one time he did stay at a hotel it was a real nice one that served a nice, hot breakfast. I went to see him one morning, and he took me to where it was served. I enjoyed myself so much that I still go there on occassion to eat, even though nobody I know is staying there, least of all me. My wife tells me I'm going to be arrested, and I tell her that I can't. I've eaten the evidence. But I digress...
Molly's muffins are good, in fact they're great, but they're not the only place that has good muffins. I've had some from one particular bakery that are very good, in fact they give Molly's some competition. So I bought a half dozen, and I took them home.
When I walked into the kitchen, my Dad must have seen me on the security screen I swear he has in his room to keep an eye on any activity in our house, and he walked in about sixty seconds after I did. He saw the muffins and licked his lips.
"Are those muffins?" he asked me.
"Yeah, Dad," I told him.
"Molly's?"
I had to break his heart and tell him no, but that didn't diminish his enthusiasm.
"Yeah, boy," he said, rubbing his hands together. "They look good."
I guess you could say that, next to coffee, we are a muffin-loving family.
He walked over to the container, which is made of a clear plastic like Molly's, and opened it up. Did I mention that my Dad is still recovering from that nasty cold he was suffering from a few weeks back? He's no longer sick, but he still coughs up phlegm and has to blow his nose constantly. Maybe it's just his allergies. Who knows?
So then my Dad, for some unknown reason, bends down and puts his nose right on top of the muffins, not quite touching them, and smells them. Each one.
Inhale/exhale. Inhale/exhale. Cough, cough, cough!
"Mmm..." he says, "they smell good."
Cough, cough! He covers his mouth with his hands, not wanting to spread his germs. Then he takes out his old, well-used handkerchief and blows his nose.
His nose has been running, whether due to the cold or his allergies, like I said, I don't know. All I know is that I had seen a clear liquid collecting around the rims of his two nostrils.prior to his smelling the muffins.
With a final blow, his nose is clean. He crumples up the handkerchief and stuffs it back into his front pocket.
He then checks the muffins for freshness. It's a habit he's developed that tends to ruin my appetite. I know it ruins my wife's appetite, too, although she doesn't admit to it.
What he does is he places the fingertips of his middle three fingers on each muffin and presses down. First one, and then the other, until he's checked them all. Maybe it's just something that amuses him, seeing the muffins go down and then rise back up, or maybe that's how he decides which one to eat.
One in particular he pokes with his forefinger a few times.
"Oh, yeah, this is the one," he says, and then helps himself to it. After all these years my Dad still teaches me things. What he taught me this time around is...
I've got to learn to eat my muffins where I buy them.
In the meantime, I'm saving the rest for my brother.
Raising My Father
@JimDuchene
jimduchene.blogspot.com
RaisingMyFather.blogspot.com
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