Albert Einstein wisely stated: "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
The Christmas of our first-grade year, Ronnie and I both got matching bicycles for Christmas. I remember the surprise of that Christmas morning as though it happened yesterday.
Throughout the day, my dad and uncle, who lived two houses down, assisted us in learning to ride our bicycles. Of course, Granddaddy was also in the mix. He and Granny lived between us and my uncle's family.
Whether they didn't exist or my folks thought we didn't need them, our bikes were not fitted with training wheels. We received all the help we needed to master the balancing act and learn the importance to keep moving on Christmas day.
Of course, the fact that the bicycles were identical should have come as no surprise. Ronnie and I were a matched pair, and mother never purchased one shirt without buying a second identical shirt. Ronnie and I lived our lives together as twos.
Recently, in reminiscing on our friendship, Wayne Terry, who has been a friend since the first-grade, said he went home from school that first day and told his mother he had made a new best friend and that there were two of us.
Isn't riding a bicycle one of those things you never forget how? If you got it down the first time, the imprint of that experience is automatically triggered anytime an opportunity presents itself.
Actually, I thought the same phenomenon would be true of grilling a steak. If you learned how to do it once, you'd never forget how. If that's your mindset, your thinking could be flawed.
My grandsons will tell you that Granddad's burgers and steaks are really good. Both grandsons tend to be carnivorous and they don't say "No" to a New York strip.
While we were in temporary housing, I went for 21 months without using my cast aluminum charcoal grill. The grill cooks hot, and it cooks fast. I've owned and tried other grills, but the cast aluminum grill is my favorite.
The one I use was purchased about fifty years ago. I bet you thought I was going to say, I bought it in the first grade.
We recently had friends over for dinner. Whenever I grill, I always ask guests how they like their steaks? Do they want medium, rare, or burnt? I can assure you, I always get one of the three. I wish I was more skilled in delivering what is ordered.
So how long does it take to grill a perfect steak? In my mind, I was thinking six minutes of each side. When I took the steaks off the grill, the outside of the steaks were seared perfectly. Obviously, it is true that grilling a steak is like riding a bicycle. You never forget how.
Obviously, my memory was flawed. Maybe it is three or four minutes on each side? Six minutes left what could have been a picture perfect meal anything but.
Of course, like riding a bicycle, when you fall down, you get back up and get back on. I will grill steaks again this week just to renew my confidence that grilling a steak is like riding a bicycle, you never forget how.
All My Best!
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment