Cowardice in the Kitchen

 Cowardice in the Kitchen



    Once more I find my thoughts drifting East as I recall seeing the shimmer of Squam lake reflecting off the ceiling of a little guest room behind the perfect shoeshine chair at Bear Cove. It is that time of year when the Sheehy family travelled East and vacationed in tranquility underneath a clear sky and open bar. The stories are abundant there and I don't want to spoil possible posts by listing too many. I have my favorites, some are written about in this space but some are just moments in the good life found beside beaver cove or in a snake resting between the paws of the legencary pug Harvey. Some of them took seconds but may last forever in lore such as the time I stood out on the deck beside a bbq being performed by master chef Greg looking into the kitchen. There a nice lady known as Prune was holding a glass of scotch n' soda and glancing about the room to see if she was being observed. The coast was clear and the lady surreptitiously gripped the large bottle of Dewars and "topped off" to inhance the power of the drink without admitting to the increase in booze percentage. Little did she know that I was like a cop on the other side of a two-way mirror watching the act in perfect detail. I took the tale directly to my pal who was so delighted he called the act of adding heft to a cocktail "pruning." That well-lit kitchen was the scene of many laughs and even a dance party back in 2000. However, today's story is about the good character of another Sheehy man named Ed. Because I was always included in Greg's family life I have a bond with his kids who I love like they were my own. Part of that affection comes from a event in the kitchen where I finished my coffee  and just rinsed the cup and popped it willy-nilly into the well-loaded dishwasher that was the guarded domain of one Roy Ziesing, the all-powerful patriarch. Roy had a system and god help you if you violated his dishwasher matrix. When he readied himself to close the iron door of final washing he spotted a cup placed all  wrong in the upper level. His face reddened and he demanded to know who pulled such an idiotic stunt. The unflappable Edward just nodded at him since he knew he had grandchild immunity.   Roy huffed in ire that was meant to be a lesson to his blood kin. I stood aside in a coward's pose and was never brought to justice.



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