Jonh

I mentioned earlier there are a lot of Indian people in Hicksville. We ate at one of the many Indian restaurants today for lunch, then went to the Indian grocery next door. My wife was impressed with some of the produce, and brought home some green mangos, mint leaves, a guayaba, and two coconuts.

She had something in mind for the coconuts. I don't know what, but when she starts rattling pots and pans I just step aside and let her go to town.

She put the two coconuts in the oven. I knocked off my work early, and went to the kitchen, where an odd smell caught my nose. It didn't smell like food. My wife was in the other room, and I went and said, "That coconut smells like it's burning. You sure it's ok?" She swore it was ok.

I went back to the bedroom for something, and realized I could smell it there too, and it smelled like smoke. It was making my eyes water and my throat dry up. This extremely dry weather we've been having made it worse. From there I had to go sit outside to get away from it.

After a while I went back in, and she was pulling one out of the oven with the tongs and, holding it in mid-air, trying to whack it open with a rolling pin. She didn't want to wake up our soon-to-be one year old, but she ended up holding it on the kitchen counter and smacking it really hard till it cracked open. One whiff and she said, "Two bucks, down the drain." They were bad.

"I told you there was something wrong with them," I said.

But she and my younger girl enjoyed the green mangos.