(actual brick, not the frozen chili brick, but a very close resemblance)

—

it was a blustery night

mg and i had gone out early for a bit 

then later

as we settled in

for a movie

and a place on the couch

in warm pajamas

we had the great idea

to make

something

to eat

that was

‘quick ‘n easy’

we were 

too tired

to even

make sandwiches

and

that’s when

we found it

the massive

frozen brick of leftover chili

the perfect solution

no effort involved

no trouble at all

but

first

we had to get it out

of it’s plastic container

and thought

it would pop right out

but

it was frozen solid to the sides

we used hot water 

and knives

and all kinds of sharp objects

and we wrestled with it

and looked for the scissors 

to cut the container

off of it

and finally

coaxed it out

and

into the pan

where it refused 

to return to it’s original form

and we scraped it

and flipped it

and splashed stuff all over

and tried to chop it up

and chipped away at it 

yet

the brick held fast

and i wished 

we had

a blowtorch

and we were almost sweating

from all the exertion

and we could not stop laughing

at this quick ‘n easy solution

and i heard things like:

‘maybe a sandwich would have been easier after all’

and 

‘i think we’re making some headway with the edges’

and 

we laughed even harder

as it steamed

and simmered

and sputtered

and finally:

‘i want to be positive and not negative, but there is still a lot of it that is frozen…’

and 

it held fast

and we decided to walk away for a time

and when we returned

it had

somehow

transformed

back

to its 

liquid state of being

at last

and 

we poured it into bowls

and it was hot as all get up

and our tongues were on fire

and it 

hadn’t exactly been

‘quick ‘n easy’

but 

it was so worth it.

——

leftovers in their less visible form are called memories.

stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart.

-thomas fuller