Kelly Sedinger asked a slew of questions for Ask Roger Anything. And he’s not even from New Jersey. (An old SNL reference.) This makes this a Sedingerian post. Or a Sedingeresque post. You decide.
What do you think of Spam? The actual food product! (I’m still stunned at how beloved it is in Hawaii; you can get Spam at McDonald’s there!)
When my then-girlfriend/now wife went there in 1995 with her parents, she reported the same phenomenon. By the way, I ended up going to New Orleans for work at the same time.
I’m sure I used to eat Spam when I was a kid, maybe in my twenties. As I recall, I liked it. But I’m not sure I’ve had it in the past four decades. I’ll have to try it again.
BTW, from the SPAM FAQ: The true root of the island’s love for SPAM® products goes back to World War II, when the luncheon meat was served to GIs. By the end of the war, SPAM® products were adopted into local culture, with Fried SPAM® Classic and rice becoming a popular meal. The unique flavor quickly found its way into other Hawaiian cuisine, from SPAM® Fried Wontons to SPAM® Musubi, and SPAM® products became a fixture for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today you’ll find SPAM® dishes served everywhere from convenience stores to restaurants, reflecting a demand that is unmatched by any place in the world.”
Timeshare
For whatever reason, you are required to spend one week someplace that’s no more than an hour away from home. Where are you going?
There’s a timeshare in western Massachusetts that we’ve been to perhaps 25 times in the past quarter of a century. It was initially my parents-in-law’s place, but we’ve taken it over in the place few years.
Once, we were there when our then-baby daughter got a splinter, and we couldn’t get it out. So we took her to a doctor in Albany, then returned to the timeshare the same day.
Sports report
Do you understand the rules of curling? I do not. In fact, I’m not convinced the whole thing isn’t an elaborate prank.
I looked at the rules for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. And I STILL don’t understand them.
Favorite obscure sport?
Foot archery, of course. It is something that I could never do.
Food eating contests: your feelings? (I loathe them, but that’s just me.)
It’s fairly revolting, gluttony as sport; it’s on ESPN! And yet I know Joey Chestnut’s name.
What’s one lesson you learned from any one teacher you had as a kid?
My fifth-grade teacher, Miss Oberlik, taught us to count to 19 in Russian. I can still do that.
Milk as a beverage: Yes or no?
Yes and no. Yes, when served with cookies or, I suppose, pastries. No, when on cereal.
Why is my cat such a doofus? (I doubt you can answer this, but it’s been much on our minds of late)
One of my cats is a doofus. When I come in from outdoors, he runs to the door like he wants to go out. About four years ago, he did go out, and he was terrified when he finally returned over an hour later. Many felines are doofi.
Two more questions will be answered forthwith. Or with forth.
