I love to kid my big sister. She’s a jewel, and we’ve become good friends in our golden years. She was, by far, the smartest one in our family. She once got a A+ on her report card because her teacher, a football coach and Navy Cross recipient, (not an easy man to please) said it was the highest grade he could give her.

This is a cute story and it goes way back to when girls took a class in “Home Economics,” not by choice if I remember correctly.

Anyway, she came home one day with this assignment to cook something or other. I don’t remember what, only that it involved hot water. Accordingly, she put a pan of water on the range, intending to return shortly. Something happened, maybe her friend Bobette Piper called. Anyway, our Sainted Mother found the pot later, the water having all evaporated, the pan dry.

It gave SM a great deal of pleasure for years to point out that she had raised a daughter that couldn’t even boil water.

Hey, I love kidding my sister. She’s actually a good cook now. She can make a tortilla soup that would make Rudy Giuliani tell the truth. She gave me a great recipe for chili. I had lots of fun with it, especially after I realized that it required almost all of the ingredients needed for a Bloody Mary. She also taught me how to make mashed potatoes like SM used to make, a secret that should be recorded ere the “instant” brigands take over the culinary world. My Sis is really one of the world’s great treasures.

Of course, there are no stories she could tell about “Perfect Child.”

It's harder than it looks.
You should see me try it.