I signed up for a month-long, email-based writing course from Cole Schafer of Sticky Notes, Honey Copy, and Chasing Hemingway fame.
He sends a lesson and prompt every day. I have 10 minutes to read and consider the prompt, 40 minutes to write, and 10 minutes to edit before posting publicly.
I’m posting here to not drown my Casey's Notes content. On to day 15...
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There are some things that belong together. Milk and cookies. Peanut butter and jelly. Chips and salsa. Cheese and potatoes.
There are also things that absolutely do not belong together. Flavored creamer and coffee. Oatmeal and anything savory. And, I used to think, fruit and pizza.
Today's prompt is to talk about something I've changed my mind about, and something happened recently that has made me question all my other assumptions.
I went with a buddy to an OSU football game in early October. Perfect weather, good enough football, and time out of the house meant a few cold beers at the game. The cold beers lead to getting pizza after the game.
After walking the ~2 miles from the stadium to the pizza place, I was ready to eat. Apparently we weren’t the only ones that wanted pizza after the game -- the place was packed. My buddy ordered while I found a table. He got to the table and I asked him what he ordered.
"Hawaiian."
"You're kidding me, right? Fruit has no place on a pizza."
"Just try it."
Thanks to the beer, and the ability to take off the pineapple if I didn't want it, I agreed to try it, knowing it wouldn't last beyond one bite. I don’t even really like pineapple, let alone the insult of having it on a pizza.
The pizza arrived. Although it was way too hot to eat, I dove in. With sauce the temperature of molten lava and gobs of cheese dripping down my face, it took a minute to register.
It was a freaking revelation.
The sweetness of the pineapple somehow perfectly complemented the saltiness of the ham and bacon. I have no idea how it works, especially when combined with cheese and pizza sauce, but my god it works. Magically.
I’d spent my entire pizza-eating life resenting the idea of fruit on pizza. And it wasn't until my mid-30s when I found my truth.
It feels ridiculous that pizza is what I've changed my mind about recently. But it is. And it has made me question all my other assumptions.
It took one bite (and probably a half dozen Hawaiian pizzas since) to prove that preconceived notions can be thrown out the window.
And thanks to Hawaiian pizza, I now often wonder -- what else do I know for sure that just ain't so??
He sends a lesson and prompt every day. I have 10 minutes to read and consider the prompt, 40 minutes to write, and 10 minutes to edit before posting publicly.
I’m posting here to not drown my Casey's Notes content. On to day 15...
--------------------
There are some things that belong together. Milk and cookies. Peanut butter and jelly. Chips and salsa. Cheese and potatoes.
There are also things that absolutely do not belong together. Flavored creamer and coffee. Oatmeal and anything savory. And, I used to think, fruit and pizza.
Today's prompt is to talk about something I've changed my mind about, and something happened recently that has made me question all my other assumptions.
I went with a buddy to an OSU football game in early October. Perfect weather, good enough football, and time out of the house meant a few cold beers at the game. The cold beers lead to getting pizza after the game.
After walking the ~2 miles from the stadium to the pizza place, I was ready to eat. Apparently we weren’t the only ones that wanted pizza after the game -- the place was packed. My buddy ordered while I found a table. He got to the table and I asked him what he ordered.
"Hawaiian."
"You're kidding me, right? Fruit has no place on a pizza."
"Just try it."
Thanks to the beer, and the ability to take off the pineapple if I didn't want it, I agreed to try it, knowing it wouldn't last beyond one bite. I don’t even really like pineapple, let alone the insult of having it on a pizza.
The pizza arrived. Although it was way too hot to eat, I dove in. With sauce the temperature of molten lava and gobs of cheese dripping down my face, it took a minute to register.
It was a freaking revelation.
The sweetness of the pineapple somehow perfectly complemented the saltiness of the ham and bacon. I have no idea how it works, especially when combined with cheese and pizza sauce, but my god it works. Magically.
I’d spent my entire pizza-eating life resenting the idea of fruit on pizza. And it wasn't until my mid-30s when I found my truth.
It feels ridiculous that pizza is what I've changed my mind about recently. But it is. And it has made me question all my other assumptions.
It took one bite (and probably a half dozen Hawaiian pizzas since) to prove that preconceived notions can be thrown out the window.
And thanks to Hawaiian pizza, I now often wonder -- what else do I know for sure that just ain't so??