For George

Half way between high-tech and high-art, I met the ghost of George Carlin. I snapped this photo on Friday at MeMe’s Cafe in New Hamburg, Ontario, a small town between Kitchener-Waterloo, (home of the BlackBerry®) and Stratford (home to Canada’s Shakespearean Festival). Amidst cheese scones, oatmeal cookies, date bars and butter tarts, sat Tits of the Andes. I embarrassed myself laughing.

A couple of weeks ago, this post wouldn’t have happened. I’d have noticed the above item, smiled and turned my attention back to ordering my latte. But Carlin’s recent and surprising death has breathed new life into his classic routine, “Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television.” Upon hearing the news of Carln’s passing, I hopped on over to YouTube and had a blast from my past. I’d forgotten that “tit” was verboten. Heck, I’ve been a card-carrying member of the Itty-Bitty-Titty Committee since… well, since I was old enough to envy a C cup. Now, I can see how a few of the terms Carlin rhymes off would be offensive, but why on earth would the TV police target a word with all the shock value of “bum”?

So when I saw the saucily-named plate of white-capped chocolate macaroons, I just had to indulge in an impromptu photo shoot. When I asked MeMe if the dessert raised eyebrows, she told me she’s been serving them for quite a while, and despite 19 churches in a 5 km radius, no one has complained. In fact, according to MeMe, an 84-year-old church-going patron makes a point of buying two for her husband, who gets a school boy kick out of saying, “MeMe’s got the best tits in town.”

So, for the comedy and coconut lovers out there, here’s a simple recipe for chocolate macaroons. If you make them, pile ’em high and have two for George. I think he’d like that.