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A Watched Pot Never BoilsBy Julie Zaccone Stiller
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When I heard of the Proverbial Challenge, what immediately leapt to mind were all the maxims that my mother, my grandmothers and my aunties all used. Interaction at family events for the womenfolk usually occurred within the confines of the kitchen and I heard "A watched pot never boils" many, many times. I think that most of the time it was said to keep the young ones away from the busy stove area. But sometimes the anticipation of what wonderful meals would be produced was too much to stand, and we would peek, and then it would seem to take forever or longer for it to be time to sit down and eat. My grandfather actually took a wonderful black and white photograph of a spaghetti pot "about" to boil. It was a close-up and he delighted in showing it to us unsuspecting grandchildren and asking "What do you think this is?"
Pasta formed a big part of my diet growing up, and does to this day, and it is true that if you stand around watching your pot, waiting for it to boil so that you can throw the dry spaghetti in, it really does take forever - and then you give up and add the spaghetti anyway, before it quite reaches a boil! Impatience must be a common trait. Especially when you are hungry. |