3OLZH CAMPUS LEARNING RE.,$(.•. • MEWS of Freshman Writing Volume 7, Number 1 Florida Community College at Jacksonville Spring 1997 The Salad by Kimberly Ward Thanksgiving is a holiday of paradox. We reward ourselves for our year of hard work with an enormous buffet,then com- plain about indigestion. Thanksgiving is also a day of traditions and dishes you love to hate. In my family,no dish is loved and hated more than one that appears every year on the Thanksgiving buffet. It presides amid the platters of turkey and ham,and among the sweet potato casserole and the cranberry sauce. Taking center stage,this crowning glory of the table is lovingly prepared by my grandmother each year in anticipation of this family tradition. No Thanksgiving gathering could be complete without this standard. My grandmother calls it con- gealed lime kilo salad with cabbage. To the rest of my family,it is known simply as The Salad. My grandmother resurrects The Salad every year,despite protests from her grandchildren that cabbage is best left in cole slaw and that lime Jello is best when it is left on the store shelf. Her only rea- son behind this unlikely pairing seems to be that lime Jello — by nature — is green and,thus,the perfect base for the likewise green cabbage. The two tastes certainly aren't compatible. The limpid Jello's not- quite-tart and not-quite-sweet taste adds little to the flavorless cabbage. The translucent gelatin shimmering around the chopped cabbage is reminiscent of a paperweight that can be shaken,sending a snowstorm over a tiny village. But does it go uneaten? Never. I learned at a tender age that it was fruitless to turn down The Salad. The question "Do you wantsome salad?" could more aptly be phrased as"You do wantsome salad." In my mind,impreg- nating the Jello with cabbage was,at the very least,a violation of nature. I would hold it in my mouth,feeling its cool and slippery surface slowly dissolve — until I got the look from my mother,forcing me to bite down on the cabbage. One year I tried to hurry and finish the dreaded salad first,to better enjoy the rest of my meal. The tactic backfired,however, when I was deemed a salad lover — and more was added to my plate. Thereafter, I learned to suffer through it slowly, feigning pleasure. Legends have grown around this dish. After dinner,instead of dis- cussing cousin Bill's obvious drinking problem,we discuss The Salad. We talk about the year(Oh,joy!)it slipped from the serving plate as Grandmother carried it to the table and slid like a limp,green frisbee across the floor. We also recall the year cousin David won acclaim for finishing his portion without protest — until the syrupy Jello was discov- ered oozing from his pockets. Perhaps the best loved stories, though,are about initiating new family members to The Salad. Most people will munch gamely through it,and only a few have attempted to refuse it. One left the table and never returned. The Salad has endured through deaths,births, mar- riages,and family rifts. Somehow,this green wreath with its confetti of cabbage has come to symbolize my family. All the scattered family mem- bers,with separate lives and lifestyles,are joined together by the gelatin of family and tradition. Some years it is hard to be civil to some mem- bers of the family,but The Salad is one thing we can still talk about — and laugh. It is a constant in an ever-chang- ing world. After everything is said and done,The Salad is shimmering,glistening proof that through it all,the family is still strong. I hope we have it this year. Descriptive Essay ENC 1101 Prof. N.Smith Contents The Salad 1 Dancing With the Willow 2 My Favorite Toy 3 Shortcut Through Woods 4 the Alicia's Blind Date 5 Attention,Crew,This Is the Captain Speaking... 6 The Defining Moment 6 Three Hundred and Sixty- FivelimesThree 7 Dress Blues 8 You Never Would Have Guessed 9 Looking Back at Me 11 The Volkswagen Bus 12 Tragedy in a Quiet Neighborhood 12 Gina Grant's Case 13 Modern Psychology: Beyond Abnormal 14 Earthquake 15 The Desert 15 Write Me a Picture 16 1 , OCR Text: 3OLZH CAMPUS LEARNING RE.,$(.•. • MEWS of Freshman Writing Volume 7, Number 1 Florida Community College at Jacksonville Spring 1997 The Salad by Kimberly Ward Thanksgiving is a holiday of paradox. We reward ourselves for our year of hard work with an enormous buffet,then com- plain about indigestion. Thanksgiving is also a day of traditions and dishes you love to hate. In my family,no dish is loved and hated more than one that appears every year on the Thanksgiving buffet. It presides amid the platters of turkey and ham,and among the sweet potato casserole and the cranberry sauce. Taking center stage,this crowning glory of the table is lovingly prepared by my grandmother each year in anticipation of this family tradition. No Thanksgiving gathering could be complete without this standard. My grandmother calls it con- gealed lime kilo salad with cabbage. To the rest of my family,it is known simply as The Salad. My grandmother resurrects The Salad every year,despite protests from her grandchildren that cabbage is best left in cole slaw and that lime Jello is best when it is left on the store shelf. Her only rea- son behind this unlikely pairing seems to be that lime Jello — by nature — is green and,thus,the perfect base for the likewise green cabbage. The two tastes certainly aren't compatible. The limpid Jello's not- quite-tart and not-quite-sweet taste adds little to the flavorless cabbage. The translucent gelatin shimmering around the chopped cabbage is reminiscent of a paperweight that can be shaken,sending a snowstorm over a tiny village. But does it go uneaten? Never. I learned at a tender age that it was fruitless to turn down The Salad. The question "Do you wantsome salad?" could more aptly be phrased as"You do wantsome salad." In my mind,impreg- nating the Jello with cabbage was,at the very least,a violation of nature. I would hold it in my mouth,feeling its cool and slippery surface slowly dissolve — until I got the look from my mother,forcing me to bite down on the cabbage. One year I tried to hurry and finish the dreaded salad first,to better enjoy the rest of my meal. The tactic backfired,however, when I was deemed a salad lover — and more was added to my plate. Thereafter, I learned to suffer through it slowly, feigning pleasure. Legends have grown around this dish. After dinner,instead of dis- cussing cousin Bill's obvious drinking problem,we discuss The Salad. We talk about the year(Oh,joy!)it slipped from the serving plate as Grandmother carried it to the table and slid like a limp,green frisbee across the floor. We also recall the year cousin David won acclaim for finishing his portion without protest — until the syrupy Jello was discov- ered oozing from his pockets. Perhaps the best loved stories, though,are about initiating new family members to The Salad. Most people will munch gamely through it,and only a few have attempted to refuse it. One left the table and never returned. The Salad has endured through deaths,births, mar- riages,and family rifts. Somehow,this green wreath with its confetti of cabbage has come to symbolize my family. All the scattered family mem- bers,with separate lives and lifestyles,are joined together by the gelatin of family and tradition. Some years it is hard to be civil to some mem- bers of the family,but The Salad is one thing we can still talk about — and laugh. It is a constant in an ever-chang- ing world. After everything is said and done,The Salad is shimmering,glistening proof that through it all,the family is still strong. I hope we have it this year. Descriptive Essay ENC 1101 Prof. N.Smith Contents The Salad 1 Dancing With the Willow 2 My Favorite Toy 3 Shortcut Through Woods 4 the Alicia's Blind Date 5 Attention,Crew,This Is the Captain Speaking... 6 The Defining Moment 6 Three Hundred and Sixty- FivelimesThree 7 Dress Blues 8 You Never Would Have Guessed 9 Looking Back at Me 11 The Volkswagen Bus 12 Tragedy in a Quiet Neighborhood 12 Gina Grant's Case 13 Modern Psychology: Beyond Abnormal 14 Earthquake 15 The Desert 15 Write Me a Picture 16 1 , Z ArchiveInABox,JAX,Voices of Freshman Writing,Scans,1997 Spring,1997 Spring 1 Page 1, 1997 Spring 1 Page 1