things turned out surprisingly well

today i was reading an article about a man who survived a massive heart attack. afterwards his daughter reportedly said to him: " you must have had more you needed to do on this earth." as if the people who are unfortunate enough to die don't really have much more to offer.

for some reason this reminds me of reading two interviews within a short span, in two different magazines. one was with oprah, one with gwyneth paltrow. both women expressed that they had "always known they were special." i felt the need to tell them that most children feel inside, in some secret unspoken place, that they are special and destined for greatness. for most of them, though, this dream/expectation is never realized.

i just wish people understood better the concept of luck. everybody feels they have lots more living to do and that dying now would be too soon. some people are lucky enough to survive it (the heart attack, the car accident, the pancreatitis). everybody dreams of someday being a famous movie star/published author/award-winning scientist. some people are lucky enough to have this dream come true. if only people weren't so tempted to see everything in this oprah-ish haze of deeper meaning, and a reason for everything. if only they understood what a huge part luck plays in just about everything.

i propose that the daughter of the heart attack victim should turn to her father and say:" wow, dad, things turned out surprisingly well!" or that gwynnie and oprah should turn to each other at spago and say:" wow, life has turned out surprisingly well!"

here's a dish that turns out surprisingly well. it's called

CAULIFLOWER RICHMOND

one big sweet onion (vidalia, spanish, whatev)
one head cauliflower, cut into florets
olive oil
brown sugar
tomato juice (1 cup?)
grated parmesan cheese

slice the onion
saute it in a soup pot until onion is richly browned
add cauliflower, toss
add tomato juice and one spoonful of sugar
add salt and pepper, toss again
cover, cook until tender
move it into a baking dish, cover with parmesan cheese, run it under the broiler

dig in, enjoy this dish with friends. then take a moment to think how lucky you are for good friends and good food.