A rather eclectic collection of thoughts, but I thought I
would share anyway.
In the world of sizes the size medium could reasonably be
perceived as the disdained, red-headed step child. Think about it. Small comes in multiple flavors—small, extra
small, and extra, extra small. Large is
the same—large, extra large, and a number of multiples of the adjective
“extra.” Medium is simply medium. There is no additional descriptor used with
the size “medium”. The English language
doesn’t have an “extra medium”. We don’t
use the phrase, “Wow, that’s really medium.”
Like a child forbidden from the use of profane language, the size medium
has a very limited associated vocabulary.
I submit that while it may seem that medium is less, (well
more than “small”, but you know what I mean), it is actually an amazing
size. Medium is truly it’s own
size. It requires no additional
grammatical support. It is unique enough
to stand on it’s own. We should
celebrate the size medium. I do my part
by ordering most of my soft drinks and ice cream products in the medium
size. Most often medium is just right.
Since I just mentioned one of my favorite topics, ice cream,
we might as well discuss it further. A
major discussion revolves around the question of quantity versus quality. Is it better to get cheap, inexpensive ice
cream in order be able to eat to the heart’s content? Or, is it better to go the more flavorful and
unique route and enjoy the depths of the flavors more? Some people, like my father, are very much
traditionalists. He likes very plain and
standard flavors. His favorite is
chocolate chip followed closely by other standard staples. Now, don’t get me wrong. He will eat most types of ice cream you put
in front of him, but he prefers the standard staples.
Others, like me, have a more refined taste. Once I realized that I needed to implement
portion control in order to maintain weight control, I moved past my childhood
experiences and explored a variety of flavors and textures. While my father has his favorite flavor, I
maintain a little black book of wonderful flavors and brands that I like to
enjoy at different times and in different seasons. While my quantities have been reduced, the
quality has brought new experiences.
Recently we discovered a new place close to our home,
Rita’s. They serve gourmet Italian ice
and custard. One of their signature
dishes, the gelati, is a cup with a bottom layer of custard, followed by a
layer of Italian ice, and topped with another layer of custard. The common flavors of custard are chocolate
and vanilla. The Italian ice flavors are
all over the spectrum. A few weeks ago
they had Florida Orange flavor in the Italian ice. It was amazing. It had bits of orange zest in it. Mixed with the vanilla custard it was
amazing.
Tonight my wife, oldest daughter and I stopped by
Rita’s. They had a new flavor of Italian
ice I had never seen or tried before—Peanut Butter & Jelly. I thought it was amazing and tasted like the
real thing. Combined with the vanilla
custard it was heavenly, like America-In-A-Cup.
A perfect blend of peanut butter & jelly and ice cream is the
essence of Americana.
Next time, though, I’ll go with the medium size gelati at
Rita’s. The large was too much, even if
it was only 50 cents more than the medium.
The medium would have been just right
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