and
a Moment of Zen
Today’s walk took Tessa and I downtown and past the local businesses. I was intrigued by one store that now looks to be leased with an “opening soon” sign in the window. I peeked inside and saw little progress, but given current Covid restrictions, I was not surprised. The sign announced the name of the store “The Dough Hook”. It sounded intriguing so when I came home, I looked at Facebook and there appears to be other “The Dough Hook” businesses in neighboring towns. If that is true, we have a bakery coming soon that will be selling Bread, sweets, and donuts! A good donut shop is something we don’t currently have in downtown Albany and something we don’t need with all of the Covid quarantine weight we’ve gained. However, it is up to all of us to support our local businesses during these tough times, so buying and eating donuts would be doing our civic duty!
The word “donut...or doughnut (which is how I learned to spell it) transported me back to my 8th Grade Junior High year and my first Home Economics class. Everyone wanted to take Home Economics (even the boys) because it was an opportunity to not only cook food, but eat it at school and get a grade for doing so. Of course, the inclusion of sewing, fashion, and other feminine additions to this particular class reduced it to “ladies only”. Had the boys realized how learning the art of sewing and fashion could catapult a man to fame and fortune, we probably would have had more sign up.
On one particular day our teacher announced we would be focusing on cooking and handed us all a recipe to make “Delightful Dunkers”, a donut that sounded like a true winner! We had a lot of fun making them in class and got to eat them when we were done. We even handed out a few to boys that had sniffed them out and were now waiting for the classroom door to open. Personally, I think we should have sold them to the boys and made a bit of money. They were delicious!
I took the recipe home that day and asked my Mother if I could make some for the family. She rarely allowed me to cook in the kitchen. She said I was disorganized and messy. It is true that by the time I was done cooking, every pan, bowl, and utensil was dirty and the kitchen was destroyed. She always made me clean up afterwards, but it was never to her standards. Having said this, I was very surprised when she said I could make the Delightful Dunkers when I returned home from school the next day. I came home and got right to work! The kitchen was a mess when I was done, but I cleaned it up and put my beautiful Delightful Dunkers donuts on a pretty dish. Mom said none of us could eat any until after dinner so off I went to brag to my girlfriend about how I had made donuts all by myself.
When I returned home for dinner, every single donut was gone and only a few crumbs were left on the plate. I asked Mom where the donuts were and she apologized and said when Dad got home he was hungry and her and Richard (my brother) decided to join him in having some. She said “Well...they were so tasty, I hate to tell you this but we ate every single one.” Sure, I was a little disappointed, but the three of them were telling me how fantastic they were, so it was hard to be unhappy about that. I said I could make more, but Mom said we couldn’t have them again for a while or we would all get spoiled and expect donuts every night.
Later that evening, after dinner, Mom saw me sitting on the couch. I was not a child that self-initiated when it came to work. In fact, it seemed whenever work was to be done, I had to go to the bathroom and thus I would camp there with a comic book, hoping the work would be done by the time I got out. It was a ruse that often worked well for me. I wasn’t quick enough this time and Mom yelled to Dad to empty the kitchen trash and for me to help her clean the kitchen. Dad ignored her so I decided to seize the opportunity to empty the trash so that I could escape kitchen cleaning and go outside. It was a new version of the bathroom ruse and I thought it just might work. Mom was distracted and didn’t notice. It was a beautiful summer evening and I thought it best to empty the trash first, then fool around the backyard for a while until Mom had finished the cleaning.
I gasped as I poured the contents of the little trash can into the garbage can. As the items rolled out into the black cavern of the garbage can, so did my Delightful Dunkers! With a simple pause to count them, I observed it was every single one I had made. My mind raced as I tried to figure out why they had been tossed. My first thought was to confront them all immediately and take the soiled donuts with me as my proof. I decided that was not a good plan, as then I would be trapped into cleaning the rest of the kitchen. I mulled the mystery over a bit more and thought perhaps they had fallen off the plate and onto the floor, a plausible theory because I knew Mom did not allow the “5 second rule” in our house. She worked in Food Service and was a cook at the Officer’s Club on base.
What to do… Well, I just wandered into the backyard. We lived on the Air Force Base and our house abutted the flight line/runway. It was a wonderful summer night and because there was a crescent moon the sky was dark and full of sparkling stars. Our yard was covered with plump, pink clover, large in size and very fragrant. I laid down on the lawn and looked up at the beautiful sky. It was magical. There was a gentle breeze, the ambient temperature was absolutely perfect and I could hear the music of the crickets and frogs as well as the tinkle of the dishes that Mom was washing in the sink under the opened window.
In that moment, I found myself swept by a feeling of complete comfort and perfection! The warm air enveloped me and the breeze stilled, I could hear the crickets, frogs and my Mother working in the kitchen, but the sounds became faint and slowly faded away. It was not a distressing feeling, it was a feeling of complete connection to the Earth, the universe and to God. The only thing I was conscious of was the vast, black sky with the shimmering stars and I felt as if I were floating upwards to join them. I wasn’t thinking of anything, just lying there in total peace and freedom from everything. I had never felt that way before, so connected to the universe. It was a totally wonderful experience. I don’t know, maybe I had drifted off to sleep, but I felt awake and aware. Time was nonexistent for me during this experience.
I rejoined “planet Earth” when Mom pushed the curtains aside at the window and yelled, “Janie, what are you doing out there, it’s dark, come inside”. I sat up and said, “Ok” but stayed a bit longer thinking of what I had just experienced. I felt so good afterwards, so calm, so loved and headed back inside.
The kitchen was clean (dodged that bullet) and everyone was in the living room, Mom, Dad and Richard. Now was my chance to question the suspects. I revealed to them that I knew what they had done...or at least what one of them had done. All parties quickly donned a guilty look. Dad, smiled and looked at Mom and Richard and said “I’m telling her the truth”. Mom said “Harold” in a very threatening way. Clearly she was trying to protect my feelings. Richard and Dad laughed and Richard chanted “Tell her, tell her”. So, Dad began his confession. Mom wasn’t too happy, but she joined in.
Mom said when Dad got home, they decided to try a little bite of a donut before dinner. Both agreed the donuts were extremely heavy and were suspicious about how palatable they might be. One bite and apparently Dad had them renamed “Delightful Doorstops”. Dad had false teeth and he claimed he almost lost them taking his first bite. Mom and Dad laughed and Richard asked for a bite. He was an 11 year old child that liked just about anything he could eat, but apparently not my Delightful Dunkers! He said he thought he may have broken a tooth and wondered if I had received an F from the teacher! We all started laughing hysterically.
Mom continued her confession and told me they had to think fast because she had just called me at my friend’s house and knew I was on the way home. What to do… so the three of them had decided to dunk the donuts into the garbage can and Mom asked Dad to get rid of the evidence.
Apparently, he heard “trash can” not “outside garbage can” so unbeknownst to Mom and Richard, that is where he hid them. He was very careful too, he said he first spread a few crumbs on the plate to make it look like they were enjoyed, and then hoisted the daily newspaper and a few other items on top to hide them properly. Their plan might have worked had Dad listened to the exact instructions Mom gave him (something he rarely did).
The good news is, the wonderful, perfect, zen experience I had following my discovery of the “dumped donuts” left me in a very good mood and we all had a good laugh over my culinary skills. Throughout the years, no one ever forgot about my “Delightful Dunkers” and it became a family joke.
Given that my donuts were both very hard and heavy, I have decided I should have named them Biscotti and filed a patent. Oh well, that ship has sailed.
As far as my perfectly timed “zen” moment, I have had that same experience about 5-6 times throughout my life. I cannot even begin to explain what an entirely perfect event it is and hope each and every one of you have experienced it as well, at least once. And for my friends experienced in neurology, no, I don’t believe I had a neurological “event” LOL. As a final note, if any of you come across the “Delightful Dunker” donut recipe, please send it my way, I’m willing to give it a go after all these years...but I will keep the garbage can in close proximity...just in case!
Peace out!
Note: I searched but could not find the “Delightful Dunker” recipe. The pictured donuts were made by me and are very tasty. The Pumpkin Spice Baked Donut recipe is here: https://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com/how-to-make-best-pumpkin-spice-cake/?epik=dj0yJnU9elJ5NDltNjBXS2o1UTNnazFUNzBSVDgyZkJvcFFTVFUmcD0wJm49aThaY2ZOR1dvRjJXczRkbzlqdS1YdyZ0PUFBQUFBR0FVeEh3
I used a Maple glaze on mine. Easy to make and won’t be thrown away. Best eaten fresh from the oven, otherwise things like powdered sugar on top will become moist. Enjoy.
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