What a beautiful statement. Let me make you a sandwich.
I just listened to an episode of the Wiser Than Me podcast, hosted by Julia Louis Dreyfuss, in conversation with Patti LaBelle.
Patti’s sister, who died at 44, asked Patti to make her a fried egg sandwich the day before she died. Patti, just home from a tour – just, asked for a day to recover and then the sandwich – you know it would have been delicious! – would be made. Opportunity lost. Not throwing any shade because – obviously – no one knew that time had run out.
Apparently Patti LaBelle is a comfortable, happy, generous, capable cook and she is called upon to feed and nurture all those who know her. Lucky them.
Patti went on to talk about – and this has been documented in many notable forums – her guilt, regret and sadness about not making the sandwich. She was haunted by a sandwich not made. Understood.
Dilemma. Powerful.
Need I mention that a sandwich is the conflux of all things human? Of course not. Bread, the “staff” of life , holding/cradling/securing the necessary stuff, the essentials. And Patti cooks. She has authored countless cookbooks. Book covers hold/cradle/secure the necessary stuff, the essentials. Staff? She must have staff. The staff of life. To do what she does would require STAFF.
Dilemma. For me, if I ask you for a fried egg sandwich, it is the asking that matters. If you agree to make it, that is more than enough. The actual making? Not so much. Should we run out of time, for whatever reason – on to other things, sudden thunder storm, overflowing bathtub – it’s the sandwich thought that matters. Always.
The Lunch Encounter 