Times are tough.

You’ve tightened your belt so much that you don’t have any notches left. You’ve cancelled everything cancelable, given up all but the necessities, stopped going out and started going desperate. You don’t know what to do next to save your un(der)employed self. It’s decision time.

“And stay out of trouble!”

There they were, the oft-repeated departing instructions from parents and teachers, grandparents and big brothers. You heard those words all your life, over and over. Stay out of trouble, as if it was easy. Stay out of trouble, as if temptation wasn’t everywhere. As if anything fun ever came from being good.

The recipe is the original, in her handwriting. You’ve figured out that a “handful” equals one cup and a “pinch” is a quarter teaspoon. You’ve measured and spooned and sifted faithfully.

“An Actor and A Gentleman” by Louis Gossett Jr. and Phyllis Karas

When you were a kid, you thought you were so smart.

Back then, you knew better than your elders, but you also knew better than to tell them that.