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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

More Free Food for Grown Ups: Fear and Trembling

Another free food event. Is this a karmic event? There are rumors flying about mass layoffs. I'm not talking about it any more.

Last night, Mr. FS and I walked down to the pretty old church where we heard a free concert. We've been attending these monthly concerts for years. Last night we heard the New Leviathan Oriental Fox Trot Orchestra.

After the concert there is a reception with wine and a smallish buffet. Most of the attendees are in their late-60s and up. Many come from a very upscale retirement and assisted living community. I must say that the attendees are big eaters!

I noticed last year that the food was getting more abundant and better. I think that a a large group of women from the church now work in the kitchen; it's something of a social event. Last night, at the first concert of the season, the food was great, so good that we didn't have to eat dinner at home.

I tried to stick to the healthy stuff: gazpacho, a great barley and lentil salad with pine nuts, and fruit salad were the highlights. I avoided the pimiento cheese spreads.

Perhaps the forces of karma were saying to me: Don't worry about the bad stuff that might befall higher education in your state. You can always go to free concerts. You will always have a healthy and delicious meal once a month.

6 comments:

Duchesse said...

The "late 60s" did not experience the Depression but their parents did, and the lessons get passed on: don't pass up a free meal.

My mother lived in a retirement home like that and would board any bus for free lunch. for example from financial planners selling products. When my father was alive, he forbade her attending the sales-pitch luncheons- concerts were OK. He thought it undignified for a well-off person to take food when people were going hungry, and he would march right up to the organizers to tell them so. GO DAD!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I hear rumours of lay offs every year...and I stick my head in the sand...it's beyond my control.
Your free food and concert sounds like fun...I see that you are "getting out" more often...hope that you are having fun!

Funny about Money said...

LOL! These two posts are entertaining.

The other evening I stayed late after a reception for our nationally recognized organist, who's leaving to take a better-paying job with the Methodists. She being much loved, the potluck was even more gigantic than usual. So much food was left over!

I came away with about a bushel of grapes. There was cheese and meats and cookies and more stuff than I can remember. The gal who runs the kitchen on a volunteer basis puts most of the leftovers aside to give to the groundskeepers and donate to charity.

Duchesse said...

We have an organization called Second Harvest who pick up any unused food and deliver it to shelters. (They have a few rules re food handling, but they pick up from any event.) That to me is a good way to deal with copious leftovers, ore than several persons could use.

Frugal Scholar said...

@Duchesse--The organizers didn't want needy people at their investment pitches! Your mother sounds so eccentric.

@Hostess--Sadly, this isn't an every year thing. I don't want bad karma to be attracted to my little blog, so all I will say is that if you do a search on higher education in my state you will see what's going on.

@funny--Nice. And you can freeze grapes. Nice that it goes to the groundskeepers. Not everyone is so thoughtful.

@Duchesse--The Food Bank can't take anything that has been opened, sadly.

Duchesse said...

Eccentric is a generous term! No, they do not want needy people there. But b/c so many were Depression era, they would not go to a seminar over lunch (and pay for lunch) when they were already paying (as part of the monthly cost) at their retirement home. What I was trying to show is that these were their values. Those unmarked by the Depression don;t seem to have this deep-DNA frugality.