Sam I Am

“Don’t worry; we have in and out privileges. You can come back as many times today as you want.”

You probably had to be there. It was a very funny thing to hear. Not if you were in a public parking lot, of course. Then it wouldn’t be funny; it would be like a small gift from heaven. But we weren’t in a parking lot. My wife and I were in a Williams & Sonoma store in Walnut Creek California buying some pumpkin bread mix. (I know, I know.) Of course we could come back. That was the point, and of course, that was what made the remark so amusing.

The quip came from a perfectly jolly looking older fellow named Frank who wore his life experience and obvious love of food and cooking with pride and panache.

“You know,” he confided, patting his rounded midriff as he did, “There was a fella in here the other day that looked like a professional football player. Big, strong. He was looking at that same mix trying to decide if he wanted to buy it. I told him, ‘you have to really work at it to have a figure like mine.’”