American Idol and Cucumbers

Ok, just a couple quick things because I have to write a post for Reflections of a Mother's Heart for tomorrow and I want to get it all done before American Idol.

American Idol - Well it's official...I'm a fan again this season. I loved it last night. There wasn't as much negativity or really obnoxious people on, except for the bikini lady and even though she was obnoxious she had a really cute butt! I can't wait to see how the blind guy does and I didn't see any of my Arizona relatives there in line or on the show!! C'mon you guys? Where were you?

And in case you're wondering about my title and cucumbers...I just wanted to find out if anyone else has the same tradition (oddities) that my family has regarding cucumbers. Ever since I was a little bitty kid, whenever my dad would prepare a cucumber for us to eat he would first cut off one tip and then take the cut off piece and rub it around and around on the cucumber where the cut part was. And then he would do the same with the other side. I never really thought about it, or thought it was weird or unusual, it just was, because my dad did it. Then he would of course peel it and cut it into slices and throw some lemon juice and salt on it and we would scarf it all up.

But here's the thing...why did he rub the cut ends around together? As I got older and more inquisitive and not willing to take it for granted that daddy knows best I asked him. He said it helps to remove the bitterness from the cucumber. Hmmmm, made sense to me. So now, whenever I eat a cucumber I do it that same way and I never get a bitter cucumber and when I don't do that it seems like the cucumber is always bitter! All in my head? Maybe so, but that's just one of our traditions. Do I have scientific proof? No, but daddy really does know best!

It kind of reminds me of this joke...
A young woman was preparing a ham dinner. After she cut off the end of the ham, she placed it in a pan for baking. Her friend asked her, "Why did you cut off the end of the ham"? And she replied, "I really don't know but my mother always did, so I thought you were supposed to." Later when talking to her mother she asked her why she cut off the end of the ham before baking it, and her mother replied, "I really don't know, but that's the way my mom always did it." A few weeks later while visiting her grandmother, the young woman asked, "Grandma, why is it that you cut off the end of a ham before you bake it?" Her grandmother replied, "Well dear, it would never fit into my baking pan."