Thursday, December 3, 2009

Random Acts of Thursday - Now with More Random!

I saw something earlier this week that triggered a potentially cherished but previously forgotten childhood memory.

Before I was the Nerdy Fat Guy, I was a nerdy fat kid, so not much has changed, apparently. Several of my friends were also poster children for the National Fudge and Bacon Coalition, despite our running around like mad fat fools much of the time, riding our bikes wherever we wanted to go. Of course, there was also a lot of time spent on lower impact activities, like Hot Wheels and Legos and other things that allowed us to remain stationary, thus reducing chafing.

The other day, I suddenly remembered that we had a club. A gang. Our own chubby wolf pack.
And just how cool were we? Our club name was The Wrenches.

All manner of predatory beasts, fast cars and wicked cool '70's television to choose from, and we called ourselves The Wrenches. I remember us drawing up a logo and everything. Believe it or not, it was a wrench.
Yep, we oozed cool originality.

Our club never actually did anything other than the same things we did before we organized. We didn't have a rule book or charter or matching jackets, because the Seventies were lean times for all of our families. Seldom were hand-me-downs going to match across families.

And now here I am, 25 or 30 years later, still friends with one of my fellow Wrenches. He's still nerdy, too, but I'm the only fat one.
Speaking of fat, how great are mashed potatoes and gravy? I made gravy last night with the beef roast drippings, and it was nearly everything I hoped it would be, with sour cream mashed potatoes. Always reminds me of my grandmother, whose pot roast is still unequalled, 18 years after she passed away. (And I just shuddered with delight to think about making gravy bread as a kid. Really, does anyone wonder why I'm plus-sized?)

And now, today's quiz (segue implied):

The following movie characters have two things in common, once based on actions, the other based on a mutual co-star. Name one.

~ Roy Neary, willing alien abductee
~ Randy Parker, fussy eater

Either answer will suffice, thank you very much.

And be sure to participate in Ask the Nerdy Fat Guy, by clicking the icon in the upper right of my page. Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell strange people in the elevator!

And go have some mashed potatoes. You know the fat kid inside you wants some.

10 comments:

Mary said...

mmmm- mashed potatoes...
My mashed potatoes are awesome- really, just the best. But once I got to feeling a little guilty for feeding my family essentially butter and sour cream with a little starch and announced we wouldn't be having them as often.
Why? the kids asked.
Because they are not good for your health, I replied.
Max looked at me and said, but mama- they're good for your soul...
back on the menu they went :)

MJenks said...

Darren McGavin?

Elliott said...

Mashed Potatoes - good for the soul. You should call the Idaho people, that's marketing gold. In fact, I just had mashed potatoes last night and I want them again.

Mjenks, I can see where the guess came from, and you're not far off base, but sadly, no.

Bev said...

I have no guess for your quiz, sorry.

But I do love mashed potatoes. MMMMMM! And gravy, too. Also, The Wrenches? Abso-fuckin-lutely adorable! Loved the line about "chafing," too!

Stuart said...

This post calls for some sweet music.

Which is also the obvious answer to the quiz. From dinner-table art to squealing like a pig in a non-anal-rape way.

wv - peade: twas what Sir Robin dyde in his armour

Elliott said...

I'll have to check out Brak later, someone might discern that I'm not actually working if I had speakers on. But you are correct, sir. This does, in fact, mean something.

That Kind of Girl said...

omg, what in the world is gravy bread? It sounds amazing.

Elliott said...

Gravy bread is a product of my childhood. There was always more gravy than meat, and with my love of sandwiches and all things bready, I'd just butter sliced bread and ladle on the gravy, beef or pork or turkey, doesn't matter. Picture a savory version of French toast, gravy running down and mixing with the melting butter.

There's that tingling in my left arm again...

Unknown said...

I'm not only a member of the National Fudge and Bacon Coalition, I'm also the president!

The delightful Melinda Dillion is the mutual co-star.

Elliott said...

Woo, Kari! There's our other answer!

Y'all are getting smarter, this is the first quiz where we've gotten both answers inside of a week.

{sniffle}...I'm so proud of you all!

Be nice and share!

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