Upside Down Life

I was surprised but pleased when my youngest son requested my dad’s upside down cake for his 15th birthday dinner. So I scooped out a bunch of pie cherries from my bucket and whipped up one of the better cakes in recent history . . . the crust crisp and chewy almost like caramel, the cherries tart, and the vanilla ice cream smooth and sweet. And just now, I projected back to a cookbook I once put together and a few lines I wrote:

Just a few years back, after Austen arrived on the scene, I made a cherry upside-down cake. That night, as I was putting the ingredients together, I was struck again with the sense that I was a Dad and I began to understood how much love our parents had put on the table over the years, a labor that had gone on without much notice and even less appreciation  (at least from me).

When Dad and I were alone, a few weeks before he died, he told me “…enjoy that sweetness while you can.” And while he was referring to the love between a husband and a wife and that invisible force which binds a father and his children, I think it also applies to any offering which comes from your heart. Sometimes, when you scoop out a handful of Crisco, you can feel it.”

In Three Amigos, one of the funniest movies ever, Steve Martin’s character Lucky Day says, “In a way, all of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us.”

This has been a tough year for people I love and, on the edge of the storm, I have shared some of the turbulence and the tears. I am pretty sure they would trade in their unequal share of death, divorce, or disaster for the “big, dangerous man” in the comedy. At least El Guapo has a “plethora of piñatas” at his birthday party to help offset the pain (along with an attractive sweater). Though we are miles apart, I still feel as close as the kids in this photo and sense the unbreakable bond of true family.

Life has its downs but it also has an upside. My suggestion is to flip it over when you can and add whatever ice cream you can find in its icy cold freezer. You are also invited to come visit and I’ll do what I can to help, whatever your situation. I will also gladly make you a cake.