Tartar Sauce Drama+ First Thoughts on Kamala

Fat Tomato Summer 008

As someone wittier than I wrote on Threads today,

“I can’t believe it’s only been two months since last week!”

What a week it was. I worked every day while our kitchen manager was on vacation. I spent my time obsessing over tartar sauce (it’s a long story) and making meatball stroganoff from scratch for 150 after a pallet of egg noodles was donated and there happened to be some mushrooms lying around. I had the best conversation today with someone who struggles with communication. I worried about some people who are struggling more than usual. I made some rookie mistakes and owned each one. As the neighborhood graffiti artist would say, “Live Life Love.”

Running the kitchen was physically and mentally demanding, and a full work week meant my writing/online work would have to wait. At the end of the day today, our ragtag bunch took turns spontaneously thanking the others for our hard work and fun atmosphere. This work that might look small and hidden is a culture that’s actively shaping and reshaping me.

They say politics is not meant for polite company. While I work with the biggest-hearted people I know, polite probably isn’t our best descriptor. We speak freely about current affairs while elbow-deep in onions or cottage cheese or dirty sheet pans. We run the gamut in terms of race, ethnicity, sexuality, socioeconomic status. We fortify our shared trust over food prep and dining room chisme. Over time, we portion out more of our personal backstories – the traumas that hold on, the ways we’ve learned, the ones we’ve left behind.

It was big kitchen news when Biden dropped out of the Presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris all but officially secured the position. We were collectively jazzed.

In the spirit of our wonky squad, I’m calling it: Kamala Harris is the juiciest tomato of the summer.

Of course, not everyone agrees.

In the parallel portion of my life, someone sent an Instagram DM: “I would love to hear your perspective on why you want her as our next President. Yes, I think differently. But I genuinely want to hear in love, especially another sister in Christ’s viewpoint.”

I so appreciated her kind curiosity. My reply: