Friday, August 17, 2007

[Fiction] Friday Aug, 17/07

[ Fiction ] Friday Aug. 17/07

Pick an adult character (it can be a new character, an established character, or even a famous character from fiction) and write a scene where the character demonstrates one of the following child-like habits:


John was amazed at how something as simple as watching his grand-daughter liberally apply ribbons of ketchup to her mac and cheese could bring back such wonderful memories of his father.

He must tell her how her great grand-father used to put ketchup on everything except for his steak on which he applied the 'King of Sauces'.... HP.

He remembered his father telling him as a small boy that the man who invented HP sauce should have been knighted because HP was the King of sauces. If Hp was the King then ketchup must be his Queen because he ate it on everything including rice.

He remembered his wife being so devastated because she had meticulously prepared his father a birthday feast of Indonesian dishes only to have him go to the cupboard and retrieve his beloved ketchup and to her horror without taking a single bite of the food apply gobs of it on his rice. He then proceeded to eat everything, go back for seconds and praise her for cooking such a wonderful meal.

He remembered the ride home that night most of all. How his wife in tears of rage could not believe what he had done. It was like he had defecated on her gift to him. She eventually calmed down after He had explained to her that his Father puts ketchup on all his food but he had to admit that seeing him put it on his rice was even new to him. She eventually forgave his father and could look back and laugh at her reaction but she never forgot it, for every time he picked up the ketchup bottle she would remind him that he was just like his father.

He looked at his grand-daughter's ketchup smeared face and smiled. "Have you ever eaten ketchup on toast?" he asked her; "It's much better then Jam. Your great-grandfather taught me to eat my toast that way. Maybe on your next stay-over we can eat toast and ketchup for breakfast?" he said; smiling at her and silently thanking her for the memories of his father.


7 comments:

jeni August 17, 2007 at 12:07 PM  

I just love pieces like this. Evoking such powerful memories for both your character & your reader. Wonderfully written piece.

Cheers,
Jen

Paul August 17, 2007 at 12:21 PM  

Nice piece. It made an enjoyable read.

Anonymous,  August 17, 2007 at 3:20 PM  

This is such an endearing entry. I can see this moment (and the ketchup). Nice job!

Dale Challener Roe August 17, 2007 at 6:24 PM  

Up until now, I was surprised no one had picked the ketchup...very nice.

paisley August 17, 2007 at 6:40 PM  

that was wonderful... especially because my grandfather,, poppy we called him used to put ketchup on everything too.. even soup!!!!!

PJD August 18, 2007 at 12:25 AM  

Lovely characters.

I heard recently that the founder of JC Penny back in the 1800s would invite job candidates out to lunch. If they salted their food before tasting it, he would not offer them a job. I would guess the same would be true for ketchup.

Boricua in Texas August 19, 2007 at 8:41 AM  

That felt very real, and it brought a smile to my lips.

Thanks for checking out my story and for your comment.