Profiles in Pancakes

I guess the new film "Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs" got me thinking. That was one of the books Sandi and I read to the kids as they were growing up. I think they requested it several times. My youngest son just turned 23 this week and the days of reading to the boys are as gone as rotary dial phones. As I was waxing nostalgic I remembered a game we used to play at breakfast when the boys were little. It was called "Designer Pancakes."

Saturday morning was always pancake day for the boys. It was a morning when there was time to do a more extensive breakfast preparation without having to rush to school. I am pretty sure the game started the day I made "Mickey Mouse" pancakes. That is a large pancake for the head and two smaller ones above for ears. It was fairly easy and entertaining for a moment.

The next week, Brandon, the oldest, decided that he did not like Mickey Mouse as much as he liked Donald Duck so he requested a Donald Duck pancake. I discovered that if you use a spoon and guide the batter carefully onto the griddle you can create a shape of sorts; certainly enough of a duck profile that would satisfy the request, and so it began "Designer Pancakes"... pancakes by request.

As weeks went on we quickly ran out of easy shapes like balloons and hot dogs so the boys decided to try and top each other with bizarre requests. (The apples do not fall far from the tree) At one point I thought the game should be changed to "stump the cook". Any request would be attempted with what ever success you can achieve as an artist, working in the medium of pancake batter. Some of the more interesting requests were: The solar system, grand canyon, Sherwood Forrest, X men and the state of Texas.

Eventually the game was played with words rather than good pancake art. If the request was "A screaming Tasmanian devil eating a hot fudge sundae" then I would craft a square pancake. I would tell the boys this is the box that the hot fudge sundae was in when it was delivered to the Tasmanian devil. A conversation of this sort would ensue.

"Yeah, but where is the hot fudge sundae?"
"He ate it already." I might say
"But where is the Devil?" the boys would say
"Why should he hang around after he has already eaten the sundae?" I would say.

One time Taylor, the youngest, wanted to me to do a portrait of his face. I created the letter "U" out of batter and said, "Here it is, this is You."

Eventually the contest was judged on the explanation rather than the strange shape pancake. The game/contest was ultimately discontinued because of time restraints. It takes too long to play when there are soccer games to attend, appetite will trump art any day.

After looking back yesterday, it was time to look back a shorter distance today. Don't know where the time went. I thought the kid phase would never end. It did. Then I thought the boys would never get out of the teenage (let's give Dad a lot of shit) phase but it did. Now in perspective the "give him shit" phase probably started with "Stump the cook" and "Designer Pancakes". It did not last very long looking back. Definitely not long enough.

If you have been blessed with kids... don't blink. One, because they grow up that fast... and Two.. because in the length of time it takes you to blink, they have fingered a $20 bill out of you wallet.
As you were,
Jay