Flashback the second.

I might have started at the beginning, but I can't possibly do these in order.

This one is from college.

For a year I lived life in a fraternity. I know, you're shocked but it's true. We didn't have Greek letters I was an active member of Triange fraternity. We have no Greek letters and yet we were a member of the Greek society. People would ask us if were "Delta" etc. There was much confusion.

We were geeked out beyond being geeked out. I could give examples but it would hurt.

I only lived there for a year. The year before that I pledged. I spent a week living in the house in the spring of 1989. This week was by design "hell." I'm not here to go into that either. That would be an entirely different flashback.

That year we had a cook. Her name was Idealia she was in her 40's and she worked strictly for cash. I imagine it would mess up her other forms of income to have a 10-99 from us. Part of her compensation was dinner. She would take enough with her to feed her family. She would only cook for us when her son was in jail. If he was out of jail she had to keep an eye on him and keep on the, "straight-n-narrow." She'd take a year off from us when he was out of incarceration. The year I lived there she didn't cook for us. He must have made parole.

Idealia was not educated formally. She could freakin cook though. This woman could take the crap ingredients we would give her and turn it into the most wonderful meat loaf you have ever seen. That might sound oxymoronic to you, but in fact it was good food. All the time.

We used to have to do "waiter duty" which put us in the kitchen washing stuff. During "hell week" you might imagine that those of us who were in hell would do all of the washing. You'd be right. I can remember her saying every single day as she cut out her portion for her and her grandson to take home, "It sure smells good! I sure hope it eats good TOO!" and she'd leave. Everyday she said that. We said it a lot at dinner. It did eat good. Of course I was very hungry by then.

One day I was making my lunch while Idealia was working on dinner. We had to cook our own lunch and breakfast was just cereal. That day I had a box of mac & cheese and I wasn't looking forward to it. I was kinda bummed in fact. I actually missed my dorm lunches (speaking of oxymoronic that food was BAD). I was talking to Idealia and I complained, "They never put enough cheese in!"

She replied with wisdom that has stuck with me to today, "Well then put some cheese in it!" She might have tacked on a "child" at the end but I can't remember.

I stood there stone still. It was likely a few seconds that seemed like 10 minutes as the sound of her words echoed through my head. "Put some cheese in it!"

It had never occurred to me to mess with what was in the pot after the box had spoken. I was a pure powdered cheese mild and a pat of butter guy up until then. No experimentation. No solving the problem. No proactivity. Zero zip. I went and got some American cheese (because I have no class) and dropped in not one but three slices of it! It was wonderful.

Idealia's words have stuck with me. When facing a problem where I feel like I've got nowhere to go I will some times chant to myself: "Put some cheese in it!" I will often add the word "moron" after just for my own satisfaction.

This flashback has been brought to you by Triangle fraternity.

Sure smells good, I sure hope it reads good too...