Three Old Friends Having Lunch Together In Small Town USA

Trips to the boundary waters canoe area (BWCA) have always been great fun for us three. Even as we have aged, we have continued. Not as often or even not the same trip, and yet, we still go. This year two of us are going.

Today we had lunch. The friend in the photo came to visit yesterday and went home today. Last night we had dinner in one of my favorite spots. The only place in town that serves popovers.

The most important thing served there will no longer be served there and that is brussel sprouts. I described this vegetable after my first meal at that restaurant as orgasmic brussel sprouts.

Even though they won’t continue to serve brussel sprouts they did agree to give me the recipe. I told the waitress that I have been spreading the word about this particular vegetable and she informed me that many ask but they have been taken off the menu.

My friend loved the conversation, and she had the waitress pose in shock and repeated a different version of what happened on Facebook. When she told our other friend at lunch today, she gave her version. I suppose her telling is funnier and maybe by now, she believes her version is the truth.

Here is what really happened: the waitress had no problem understanding what I was saying and tried to get me a free meal due to the absence of brussel sprouts. Short, simple, and true. Anyway, we laughed until we cried and we cried until we laughed.

At lunch the next day, it appeared as though everyone lost weight and was thinner than in the photos above, except for me. (Note: no photos of me!) That is okay as seeing them and hearing about what they are doing was a good enough incentive to lose a few pounds myself.

I start physical therapy (PT) this week and that should help. PT is twice a week during July.

We talked about children, grandchildren, friends in common, and community news for Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth. Each of our reservations. And we talked about retirement and how for the two of us in retirement, we are as busy as when we were working.

Again we laughed until we cried and cried until we laughed. There has been so much death and dying during the pandemic.

It is so important to have friends that you feel you can tell everything and anything. And better yet, these friends may already know everything as you have told them so much through social media and on quick conversations between visits.

A couple of us younger ones have some memory issues. I kept hearing, did I already share this with you? Yes, you did was my response several times.

Now, I know everyone has waited for this, so here is the brussel sprout recipe I was given:

Brussel Sprouts

Sautee sprouts in olive oil

add bacon

pour in heavy cream

cook down to a sauce

add seasoning (salt, pepper, etc.)

You can see why the brussel sprouts were a best seller, as what doesn’t taste good in bacon and cream! It was never enough either and sometimes a taste makes you want more, right? That taste brought me back!

I am looking forward to our trip to the BWCA. We will be meeting with some workers up there that are from Pine Ridge. It should be fun. I miss my sister-friends and love taking trips and spending time with them, even if it is just for a lunch visit.

Our next planned visit is to meet at the Inger Powwow, on the Leech Lake reservation in about two months! Our lives are busy enough and we live far enough apart that it makes it difficult to get lunch very often.

So it is good that even though we haven’t seen each other much, we continue to communicate.

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First published by Mercury Press, on Medium

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