Supper's Ready!

One thing we did when Mother called us to supper was go straight inside, wash our hands and sit down to eat. We didn't meander and saunter in when it suited US. We moved it mister and moved it speedy quick. I was always told that, when someone goes through the trouble of preparing a meal for you, you go-WHEN THEY CALL YOU IN- and enjoy the meal together. It was that way at my grandparents'--both sides-- houses and in my own home. If we didn't come in when Mother called, we might have had a discussion from Daddy. IF you know what I mean.

Some people are not raised that way, apparently.

I know someone who has, as long as I've know them, not gone to the table when a meal is ready. I'm pretty sure this man gets it from his father whom I watched on numerous occasions sit and finish reading the paper or watching something on television before getting up and walking, slowly, to the table to eat.

I find that arrogant. And rude. AND, I believe this attitude filters through to other areas of life as well. I'm not sure I believe people are this way in just one situation. But that is food for thought...see what I did there? LOL

I understand if a person can't stop something at that very moment. Like taking a shower. But then, why would you wait until just before supper to take that shower? Why not do it earlier so you can eat when the meal is served? With these men, I think it's a control issue.

Regardless, I find it disrespectful.

So, what has happened is that people have stopped calling this man in for supper, even on special occasions. Why bother? When you know that the person won't come when it's ready, why should you waste your time letting them know it's ready?

This has resulted in missed birthday meals - even his own, until everyone else has finished. None of his family makes the effort to let him know because he has spent years letting his family know that he won't be coming as soon as it's ready. He'll be coming to the table as soon as HE is ready.

I will always see this as a simple matter of respect. A person either has it, or they don't. But, if they're going to eat at my house, they will be eating alone if they don't possess it.

What do y'all think about this?

Forkers

What's a forker? It's someone without manners.  I wouldn't exactly call this a southern thing, just a manners thing. A forker is someone who uses their fork for eating AND for serving. I've seen this done with spoons as well. Even with knives.

And it drives me NUTS.

Hello! We have serving spoons and serving forks for SERVING. We have other forks and spoons for eating. They are different. And, to me, they are different for a reason--no one, at least no one I know personally, wants someone's germs on their food.

I live with a forker. The first time my family ate at my oldest daughter's in-laws' home, Mr Forker took the fork right out of his mouth and stuck it into another piece of beef right from the serving tray. In front of everyone. He also scraped some of the olives and gravy straight off the serving dish onto his plate. With that same fork.  

Yes, I was embarrassed. Yes, his mother would have been horrified. No, I am not ashamed to admit I was embarrassed. It just goes against the way I was raised. And it's not nice.

Mr. Forker wonders why I tend to hide certain things from him. Like olives. He can have his jar, but not the jar that others use. Why? Because the fork or spoon comes out of his mouth and/or straight out of his food and into that jar. His jar always has food particles swimming around in it. Same with honey. Peanut butter. Pickles. Peppers. Everything. And the juice that runs down the jar? It's not wiped off and put right back into the fridge or pantry or wherever. 

And the knives? I've seen them go from the butter to the toast to the jelly or honey with a lick in between to clean it off. NOT cool. 

Forkers are also guilty of double dipping. They put a chip of some sort into a bowl of dip of some sort, take a bite and dip again. The only time I can think of that this practice is truly ok is when the forker has put some of that dip onto a plate of his/her own. DoubleTripleQuadruple dip all day long for all I care as long as the dip in on their own plate. Or if they're the only one eating the dip. Which they will be once people notice they are double dipping. (Maybe that's the reason for the double dipping????)

Guess what else forkers do? They drink out of the carton. The milk carton, the jug of water, the container of lemonade, the pitcher of tea-whatever it is, they will drink straight from the container. The container that everyone else takes out, pours their drink of choice into a glass and then returns the container to the fridge.

Life with a forker is life played on the defensive.

Do you know any forkers?