How many times in life can you actually say that you experienced something truly "new"? How about something innovative? Maybe even revolutionary? Where were you when the light bulb was invented or reinvented again, and again, and... again? I am not talking about "new for YOU" such as a used car being resold to a new buyer. Nor am I referring to the next latest and greatest smartphone, tablet, or other technology designed to keep us distracted and ever more in touch with one another on an electronic or digital social level. Remember the old monster brick cell phones from the 80's? If not, Google it! For those of you who have an inherent need to give in to your inane desire for instant gratification, and to save you the trouble of typing it in the search bar, I have included a photo of the behemoth below. It weighed about as much as a real masonry brick, hence the nickname. Remember when we had our cell phones mounted inside our cars and trucks? There was no such thing as texting and driving because it could not be done. Texting? Don't you mean beeper messaging? You received a "page" - or rather a beep - on your beeper requesting you to call the sender from a nearby phone, pay phone, or your mobile phone. Having a mobile phone that was a "car phone" as we called it, was like having your house phone installed into your car. It was great, you sat in a comfy seat looking all cool taking that important call in the confines of your automobile like a true high powered executive wannabe. You were having your important conversation on a true "mobile" phone, unless your phone bill was so high each month that you did not have enough money to fill up the gas tank. True, gas was around 89 cents a gallon back then, a far cry from the prices we pay today, but we paid for our phone service on a per minute basis also. The beeper service cost you $19.95/month additional. Saved you money on phone calls, though. Boy, how times have changed! It seems that this dependency that we have created for "more" social media is just that - more media, and is it ever NOT social. Sure, we get to keep in touch with the hundreds of people we are connected to on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Instagram and Pinterest have made our lives into digital collages. Since when did our familial lives become defined by a true lack of physical interaction where our cell phone rings unanswered more than our doorbell does? Question is, would we even bother to answer it? The doorbell, I mean, not the cell phone. Excuse me, smartphone, with its dizzying array of beeps, ringtones, and alarms. (No matter how "smart" the phone, it's still not smart enough to answer itself, is it?) Chances are, you only do when you know it is the pizza delivery guy at the door who cannot wait until you sign the slip for the $20.00 worth of shingle he's had moving around inside the insulated container during Mr. Toad's wild ride to your house. But, you probably received a text alert when he left the pizza shop with your order, or you tracked him with the cool handy "pizza tracker" app which alerted you that someone named Doug thoroughly enjoyed handcrafting your assembly line produced slices of heaven before it was dispatched to Chateau Shang-Ri-La. Either way, when the doorbell rang, you were expecting his arrival, anticipating it, because no one just "pops in" on anyone anymore, including our "friends" on Facebook who actually are our friends in real life who live within the same city limits. Why not? I, for one, miss it! We used to have a sense of neighborhood. The old Welcome Wagon - again, for those of you who are too young to remember this, Google it! - has been replaced by the kind of wagon those who choose to guzzle their stresses away refer to as falling off or getting back on! We have gotten in the habit of either being trapped by our smartphones and tablets thanks to all of the wonderful little gadgets and apps each contains to organize our family, friends, and secular contacts into groups mediated by frequency of contact, "friend" status, or the good old alphabet. Or, we are so consumed by the pocket-sized hand-held device that our very existence would cease should it be accidentally left behind at a store or movie theater. How would I function without it until I get a new one in as little as 24 hours or less? Will I actually have to come out of my turtle shell and be forced to interact live and in person with someone else? And, no, I am not speaking about interacting with the salesperson at the local mobile phone kiosk who is about to sell you your new replacement phone. That is just purely pathetic. What is a human being to do? Now, understandably so, I am not bashing the technology itself. I love technology for its advances that have made certain aspects of life easier. For technology has indeed made staying in touch with distant friends and family, for example, a wonderful experience as many a grandparent living in another state or another part of the world is now able to "watch" their grandchildren grow up on screen rather than on a piece of Kodak paper developed at the local FotoMat that was then mailed to them. What a cumbersome practice that was! You mean I have to purchase a postage stamp, write the words "Do Not Bend" on the outside of the envelope so that the uniformed Postal Worker - i.e. mailman - who had to be intelligent enough to pass the civil service exam did not attempt to bend the envelope and shove it into my recipient's mailbox. Ah, what fond memories of a simpler time! Was my sarcasm noted in those last sentences? Inevitably, I am becoming just like my parents, something I said, and just as we all say, would never do. Seriously, though, did you notice that I said "distant" in the previous sentence? This means that you would have to travel a great distance in order to physically visit with the other person. Now, I will let you decide for yourself what the term "great distance" means to you, however, I will inform you about what it does not mean. Today, we can have video chat sessions in a few swipes and keystrokes of a qwerty keyboard and "see" one another smiling, albeit it sitting right in the next room. We can schedule specific "face time" with each other thanks to the task manager or virtual assistant that alerts us that it is time to do so exactly 12 minutes from now. Or, rather than actually have a conversation, we may just text each other from the next room. However, amid all of this great technology, one very specific integral part of the family unit has been altered and continues on a path to extinction. "What is it?", you ask. "Family Time" - straight up and simple. I am sure you have snickered or even laughed at the different television commercials that satirize the way families interact with technology in their hands. Oh, that's right, thanks to the invention of the DVR, we don't even do that anymore. Thank goodness for that little fast forward button on the remote control!
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| 80's Mobile Phone (aka The Brick) |
Growing up I can remember that all of our family problems were solved right around the dinner table each and every night. Yep, I said it... family problems. We all got 'em. We all never want to deal with them. Can you say "al-co-hol"? We used to call our family "dysfunctional" if it did not exactly measure up to the "public eye-deal". Now the politically correct label society has placed on it is "family challenges". "We are experiencing family challenges at this time.", some say. Why don't we just re-coin the phrase, "We are experiencing technical difficulties" because we have not found an adequate app on our smart-phone that will deal with our issues for us? What would we even call such a revolutionary app? Ther-App-Y? (Attention any app developers who read this: You may send all royalty checks to Let's Fork Tonight!, ATTN: Chef Michael.) Apparently, the very term "problem" is too negative in this modern age of euphemisms. It seems the human race can no longer bear the fact that we each create our own problems, excuse me, challenges. Well, hooray for rewarding mediocrity once again! Why, the topography of a modern day "family" has completely transformed into something network television is still able to satirize and capitalize upon. No longer does it consist of Mom, Dad, Johnny, Susie, and Comet the Golden Retriever. That may have been the case while growing up. However, the reality is that today families are increasingly busy; many struggling to eek out a living and put food on their table. Mom and Dad may be working two jobs, even three in some cases, just to provide the essentials. Mom and Dad may be divorced. Mom and Dad may actually be Mom and Mom or My Two Dads. Or, it may even be Mom/Dad in one person as a single parent attempts to assume both roles. My little girl is truly the greatest gift that I have ever received. Whatever your parental structure, I applaud all parents for making the necessary sacrifices to shoulder the tremendous reward and blessing that it truly is to rear and lovingly care for a child. Although after-school care and nannies have become an essential part of the new normal, children are being raised in many more single parent environments which places a huge responsibility on the one parent to care for the needs of the child(ren) without receiving the necessary strength and support for themselves that is generally derived from the other parent in a dual-parent household. Still, other family topography is made up of different individuals and different couples who share a desire to raise children in an environment that otherwise would not have been accepted as little as five years ago despite so-called social acceptances of diversity. These loving environments can also use some help when it comes to feeding their families, providing proper nutrition, and doing so on a predictable budget. Whatever the case, and whatever your family looks like, what is truly important in each and every one of our individual families is that we make the time to eat together, around the dining room table without the TV, smartphones, tablets, etc. at the very least once every day! I do not care if it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sundays were always "family day' in my house growing up. So much so that it always became "extended family day" as time went on. That same tradition still occurs in my home today. It could exist that way in your home, too. And, further, at least once per week, Fridays perhaps, get together as a family unit and do something constructive together. Not another movie or a trip to the local video game store. Get those brains working and create some lasting memories enjoying an activity that stimulates togetherness in the family! (I will provide you all with one such suggestion that we at Let's Fork Tonight! have recently created to assist you in planning a family activity. I will clue you in on this a little later.)
"The great thing about problems is that they teach you how to find solutions." is something my grandfather, who was himself a master tinkerer, always used to say, " He taught me not to fear them. Each and every day a new one could surface, big or small. It didn't matter so much that the problem was there. What did matter was how we worked together to solve the problem - as a family. Literally, decision-making 101. Today's largest family problem in my opinion, or challenge, if I may be so politically correct, is to answer the never-ending question that plagues so many families on a daily basis. The dreaded "What's for dinner, Mom (or Dad)?" Imagine.... You open the freezer door to the refrigerator and see that freezer-burned package of frozen chicken nuggets, swallow hard and breathe deep, thinking and believing that this is the best you can do for tonight. It's easy, quick, and simple. And, the kids will like it. That last part may be true, the kids just might like it. But, are you kidding me? Nutritionally you have done each and every one of them a terrible injustice. In the same amount of time it takes to re-heat frozen chicken nuggets in the oven, how would you like to cook them a nutritious meal in minutes that not only tastes incredible, but looks like something that came from a quality restaurant? Better yet, what if you never had to go to the grocery store to food shop each week attempting to plan meal after meal for the week? Still better yet, what if you had your own personal chef who designed your or your family's meals each month and shipped directly to your front door all of the pre-portioned ingredients, including spices, and an easy to follow recipe card? You would have everything you need to be Chef Mom or Chef Dad for the evening. "But, I can't cook", you say. Guess what? If you can read, you can cook! And, cook, you shall indeed! No more thinking, no more shopping, no more clipping coupons - not that there are that many anymore, no more whining about what's for dinner tonight, no more fast food, no more rushing around. Instead, you have eased the extra stress of the day knowing that the fridge is stocked with meals designed and produced by your own personal chef - that's me - Chef Michael! You did not have to sit in traffic and go to the grocery store to search for the finest and freshest farm-to-grocer-to-table ingredients. I already did that for you. You do not have to think and prepare a recipe. I have already done that for you. You do not have to worry about what's for dinner tonight. I have already done that for you, too! In fact, all you have to do - and I encourage you to do it together as a family one evening per week - is place an online order for all of your family's weekly or monthly lunch or dinner meals from my weekly online menu - and we will ship everything right to your front door ready to be placed in the refrigerator or freezer. Created from the healthiest, freshest, finest quality ingredients, each meal is already pre-portioned, ready to cook quickly, and completely affordable so that your family can eat a meal together and enjoy some family time each and every night. In fact, the recipes are so straightforwardly simple that an average pre-teen or teenager can cook the meal for the entire family that night. It just might inspire your family to take turns in the kitchen!
Therefore, it is with great pleasure, that I officially introduce to you my brand new line of Chef Prepared pre-portioned meals available exclusively to you at www.MyOwnPersonalChef.com! Available meals will consist of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free varieties as well. We will begin taking orders online starting October 1, 2013. Be one of the first to try it out and see for yourself just how simple, easy, and affordable cooking fantastic meals at home can be for you and your family.
Let's Fork Tonight! was created by Chef Michael to promote healthier eating habits, but also to do so while spending quality time together as a newly dating couple, a couple who has been together for decades, a group of friends, parents and children, and single people alike. That is why Let's Fork Tonight! has designed an inviting alternative cooking and dining experience at each of its locations to provide an experience unlike any other. Our recreational hands-on group cooking class activities bring people together to share an afternoon or evening together while enjoying one another's company and learning some tricks of the culinary trade that are skills for life. To eat is human. To eat smart is essential. To eat deliciously is living! For more information about Let's Fork Tonight! and the services we provide in your area, please visit www.LetsForkTonight.com.
Good Eating!
Your Own Personal Chef
~ Chef Michael
Chef Michael's weekly blog will contain excerpts from his new cookbook entitled, Keep Eating...You Fat Bastard! available soon. He will be sharing one special recipe per week for several weeks as he encourages families to pursue what it means for them to eat smarter, healthier, and gain a better knowledge about how and where their food is produced.
