Saturday, February 04, 2006
The Secret Ingredient
Sometimes it's just too easy to embarrass your kids. Even when your not really trying, which is probably most of the time.
One night I was settled in to watch Iron Chef. This is not always easy in our household, wife D. is no big fan of it, and would rather watch a movie instead. When I really want to watch it, I point out that everyone we know watches it, including her sister and nephew, if the movie is not so great, I'm in with a chance. So it turned out.
The best part of the show is the unveiling of the secret ingredient, the host dressed in outrageous clothes that were once fashionable, theatrically rips away the cloth covering the ingredient while shouting the name of it in Japanese.
Usually I can't catch the Japanese pronunciation, but on this particular night I did. The secret ingredient was asparagus and the pronunciation was like asparagoose, with the emphasis on the goose, at least that's how the host said it, I think.
My sixteen year old son A. watches Iron Chef too, so after the secret ingredient was unveiled, I called him. Ring, ring, my son's voice answers,
"Who is it?"
"ASPARAGOOSE," I yell into the phone.
"Yeah, who is it?"
"ASPARAGOOSE," a bit louder
"Who is this?"
"ASPARAGOOOOOOSE,"
I'm probably getting carried away with my one word of Japanese, but I had a head of steam, a couple more queries, a few more asparagooses, then,
"Come on, who is this?"
It was not my son's voice
"Is A, there?" I sheepishly ask. A.'s voice comes on the line.
"Who is this?"
"It's me, mate."
"Dad?"
"Yeah, who is the other person?"
"My friend."
"Suppose you've got some explaining to do."
"Yeah dad, I've got to go now."
"Is it that bad?"
"Yes, bye dad." Click goes the phone.
It transpired later that A.'s mate had called over to play computer games, and they weren't watching telly. A. had answered the phone and thinking it was one of his mate's friends playing a joke, had passed the phone over to his mate. Now his mate thinks I'm mad.
Of course it doesn't help that whenever I see A., I always yell, "ASPARAGOOSE," at him.
One night I was settled in to watch Iron Chef. This is not always easy in our household, wife D. is no big fan of it, and would rather watch a movie instead. When I really want to watch it, I point out that everyone we know watches it, including her sister and nephew, if the movie is not so great, I'm in with a chance. So it turned out.
The best part of the show is the unveiling of the secret ingredient, the host dressed in outrageous clothes that were once fashionable, theatrically rips away the cloth covering the ingredient while shouting the name of it in Japanese.
Usually I can't catch the Japanese pronunciation, but on this particular night I did. The secret ingredient was asparagus and the pronunciation was like asparagoose, with the emphasis on the goose, at least that's how the host said it, I think.
My sixteen year old son A. watches Iron Chef too, so after the secret ingredient was unveiled, I called him. Ring, ring, my son's voice answers,
"Who is it?"
"ASPARAGOOSE," I yell into the phone.
"Yeah, who is it?"
"ASPARAGOOSE," a bit louder
"Who is this?"
"ASPARAGOOOOOOSE,"
I'm probably getting carried away with my one word of Japanese, but I had a head of steam, a couple more queries, a few more asparagooses, then,
"Come on, who is this?"
It was not my son's voice
"Is A, there?" I sheepishly ask. A.'s voice comes on the line.
"Who is this?"
"It's me, mate."
"Dad?"
"Yeah, who is the other person?"
"My friend."
"Suppose you've got some explaining to do."
"Yeah dad, I've got to go now."
"Is it that bad?"
"Yes, bye dad." Click goes the phone.
It transpired later that A.'s mate had called over to play computer games, and they weren't watching telly. A. had answered the phone and thinking it was one of his mate's friends playing a joke, had passed the phone over to his mate. Now his mate thinks I'm mad.
Of course it doesn't help that whenever I see A., I always yell, "ASPARAGOOSE," at him.
2 Comments:
Hahaha! That's hillarious! But if parents didn't make their children's teenage years just the slightest bit embarassing.....we wouldn't be doing our jobs right! What was more difficult for 16 yr old A. to explain.....that his dad is crazy or that he watches a cooking show? Too cute!
Hi Cin, Yeah, it's a bummer when you miss it. On our set up, we can only record the program we are watching, so when D. wins the day, no Iron Chef at all for me :-(
Hi Angela, it's a tough gig, but someone has to do it.
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