Sometimes things just don't live up to what is expected of them. We see that all the time, from a disappointing performance, an overblown restaurant, or even our initial expectations of people. I recently bumped into my old friend Margaret Anderson (remember her? - the mother from Father Knows Best) while we were shopping for groceries. Well, Margaret is a voracious gossip, who could make Perez Hilton blush with her unabashedly cruel tales.Margaret, whispered to me in the store, "did you hear about little Jimmy Arnett?" she asked. "No, I said. "I haven't heard anything about Jimmy in years." She then continued on, (almost salivating as she spoke) that Jimmy Arnett was in the slammer. "What, not Jimmy, he was such an angelic child," I responded in amazement. His mother and father were both named Princess and Prince of our town when they were teenagers. Jimmy came from a well known and respected lineage. We all expected Jimmy to grow up to be a professional athlete, businessman, accountant, and if all else fails, an attorney. We never expected Jimmy would actually be the one needing a lawyer to defend him. . . in a manslaughter case.
I was never surprised when I found out that Eddie Haskell was arrested for running a Ponzi scheme, or when Lumpy Rutherford was busted in a pornography ring. But, precious Jimmy Arnett was such a perfect child, or at least that was the hype. I do remember when Wally was 5 years old and Jimmy was 6, Wally wrestled him down for a foul ball at the baseball field. When you retrieved the out of play ball you were given a free soft drink, and Wally was competitive for all the free cokes he could accumulate.
Everyone rushed over to see if adorable little Jimmy was alright, while Wally triumphantly emerged clutching the ball in his hand. I was the only one assisting Wally, while the concerned crowd scurried to assist little Jimmy to his feet. Even though Jimmy didn't earn the ticket, one of the other parents quickly pulled the ball from Wally's little fingers and presented it to Jimmy.
As time passed, there were rumors of home burglaries linked to "Little Jimmy." But everyone said that Jimmy would never be involved with anything nefarious. He was such a good young man. Well, I guess all of that forgiving finally caught up with Jimmy. He was charged with committing a crime and this time there was no "get out of jail" card. Quite possibly, if people had been more realistic about Jimmy from the beginning he wouldn't have found himself in this tragic situation.
Even after I returned home with my groceries, I couldn't help but think about Margaret and our conversation about Jimmy. That evening, while I was preparing Dr. Alex's favorite meatloaf, I decided to surprise him with a special wine to accompany dinner. I thought it would be a real treat to open our bottle of Opus One 1998, from the team of Mondavi/Rothschild. There was so much hype surrounding this particular wine. The partnership of the Mondavi and Rothchild families had created an excited anticipation in the Wine World. I was titillated with excitement of finally drinking this highly desired wine. I opened and decanted the bottle about one hour before Dr. Alex returned after a hectic day of seeing his patients. (Remember, Dr. Alex is not really a doctor, but that is such an unimportant detail.)
We said Grace, (sometimes we say Matilda, Bill, James, any name is randomly called out, before we dig in). By this time I had poured the wine into our best Riedel wine glasses. We swirled, sniffed, swirled and then sniffed again the ruby colored wine in our glasses. There was cherry, plum and some cedar, both on the nose and palate. To my surprise, the wine was actually tasting old and had lost some structure. Disappointingly, the finish was short, not the long, lingering finish we expected. In a way, it was sad, because this highly anticipated wine tasted as though it may have met better days.
Dr. Alex and I continued to dine on our meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. We did end up finishing the bottle of the Opus that evening. As we were enjoying the apple pie I had baked for dessert I discussed with Dr. Alex my chance meeting with Margaret Anderson and her gossip about Jimmy Arnett. In his very doctoral fashion, Dr. Alex announced that "unfounded expectations of an adorable little boy to grow up to be a success, just like the over-blown hype of wine produced from very well known wineries does not always measure up." He then continued to observe that maybe we shouldn't judge someone or something until they have proven who and what they are all about. I am always amazed at how philosophical Dr. Alex gets after a nice big piece of my apple pie.
With all of that profoundness, Dr. Alex put on his velvet smoking jacket, lit his pipe, comfortably reclined into his lazy boy chair, to watched one of his favorite movies, The Poseidon Adventure.
Wishing you and your apron's expectations achieve fulfillment.
Please stop being so shy and let me know your out there.
XXOO
Mrs. Reed
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