Another Balcony: The Internet is for Corn

Today at work, I was talking to my favorite grill chef, Scally, as I stood in line for lunch. Scally's a big whale of a guy, even-tempered and garrulous, with a tiny little mustache under his big snout that wiggles when he smiles. He also makes one heck of a tuna fish sandwich, too. Nice and toasty, just the way Jesus likes it.

"Had a nice 4th," said Scally, wiping the blood from a fatted calf onto his greasy apron. "Served the family up some steak. Easy to make, too. Not much work, and oh, was it nice going down with a can of beer."

"Hey, Scally," I said, suddenly remembering something. "You're a good cook, right?"

Scally's tiny mustache did a little wiggle. "If you say so, Ted."

"I have a friend who says that corn tastes best when when it's boiled for three minutes. Three minutes, exactly. No more, no less. Is that true?"

Scally shrugged. "That's not how I make it. I think corn tastes best if you keep it in the husk and fry it up on the grill. Cooks in its own juices that way. All you do is to run the husk under some water, wipe the water off so that it's not too soggy, and then throw it on the grill for about seven minutes or so. Perfect that way."

"Really?" I asked.

"Nothing better. Give it a try!" he said, and gave me that day my daily gruel.

"You know how my mother-in-law makes it?" my friend David said at the lunch table, as he wrestled with a squished plum. "Places an ear in the microwave for about five minutes. Sounds scary, but tastes just fine."

Hmmm. Maybe there's more than one way to skin an ear of corn. "Interesting," I said to David. "I might just have to post about corn, again."

"You should," he replied. "After all, the internet is for corn!"