NOVEMBER 24, 2020
HELLO EVERYBODY!!!
Well, Thanksgiving is upon us as we are resting our bones over here at Small World. It's been such a long year. The longest year of my life, anyway. Of all of our lives. What the heck, man...
We've all been living under the weight of Covid which has been a constant pressure over our heads. It's virtually impossible to have a conversation with someone and not mention it . Many things have been taken away from us. For some of us, it is people that we love. For some of us, it is the opportunity to spend time with people that we love. We missed out on travelling abroad. We missed out on going out to restaurants and the movies and theater or just hanging out at the bar with a friend knocking back a drink or two and having a bite to eat. Now, the thought of even going to a ballgame seems scary. Add to that an insane political environment this year and my brain hurts. Oh, and if you somehow missed the election season, here is a recap of what happened earlier this month..yeah, it was this month...Oysh...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9y9yPPQ7zo&list=LL&index=26
We can easily wallow in cynicism. In fact, for some of us, it is normal state of being. Those few of you may probably be the happiest to navigate Covid times. After all, you've been looking forward to the end of days for such a long time, you must feel so validated by now. "Aha! You see!! I told you things would turn out bad!', you would smugly say. Nothing like vindication. This guy is singing your song..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4rf7bAApM4
But, this is the week that most of us would've been sitting around a big table of people going through the ritualistic progression of what we are thankful for. And since, we can't do this the way we normally would and since nothing is normal anyway, I thought I would tell you what I am thankful for:
1. I am thankful that Covid slowed things down. Things were moving at a million miles a minute until Covid hit. Go here, go there, take one child to practice here, take another to music there, make a reservation here, fit in a run there, grab a quick bite here, etc, etc. It was go, go, go, go. It was too much. Everything was too much. Some of us even got lost in our own self importance to the point of an absurdity we could no longer see in ourselves. Kind of like this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plG2KDit-Kc&list=LL&index=6
All of a sudden, we started spending time with our families and resetting our values. Albeit it had some rough moments in the beginning as we adjusted to spacing in our homes for work or study. I even discovered spaces in my home I never knew existed because I needed to get away from everyone. But in the end, we talked more to each other and bonded in deeper ways than otherwise wouldn't have happened. We reconnected to the most important people in our lives in much deeper ways.
2. I am thankful that people in Philadelphia started to get more concerned about each other. It may have started simply on our blocks or the floors of the buildings we live in but people were thinking about how they could help another soul who needed it, especially older folk. It is quite shameful that many of us had pushed you down the list of importance and although you are at the highest risk, you are also at the greatest need of attention and many of us neglected that. I know I've spent many hours helping people figure out how to sign up online or order. Technology can be a little challenging. No worries, we are here to help you just like you are there to teach us. This is what it was like before, sadly..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKL1tNv__kU&list=LL&index=44&t=266s
We call you more now. We bring you the things you need more now. We think about you more now and that's a great reset.
3. I am thankful for all of you. People like me who need to share and bond over food, primarily, need people who can be a willing audience. People like me need to be buying and selecting and bagging and delivering and preparing and cooking and sharing and, above all, talking about it. (Too much talking my wife might say). The pivot to selling to you has been such an emotionally rewarding experience.
First off, we've met so many people in our community. Bringing fresh fish to you is more than a business transaction. It is bond that binds us together. When we first started, many of you had never cooked a lot of seafood at home. That was reserved for restaurants so we started including recipes on our website. For those who have been with us for a while, you've learned how to prepare mussels, pasta with clams, skate wing, crab cakes, halibut, monkfish curries, bronzino, tuna tartare, grilled swordfish, fluke ceviche and you even shuck your own oysters!!! We are so impressed with your culinary growth. Truly. You are pushing us to elevate things and that's what we plan on doing next month. We'll talk about it next week. And for those who are new to this, take changes. Try things. Follow some of the recipes. Don't be afraid. If you've looked at our instagram page, @smallworldseafood, almost all the photos are dishes that others have made at home. The finest restaurants in the city right now are your kitchens.
Secondly, you share back. I can't tell you how heartwarming it feels to receive emails from you all telling us about how some things have changed for the better. Like Nicole who was affected by her teenagers' isolating throughout the summer only to discover that they not only like oysters but LOVE shucking them. They now spend every Friday night shucking and slurping and laughing. Or Arielle, who's two year old son loves eating seafood and she sends vids of him. Too cute. Or Debbie who always goes in scared to cook a new fish, nails it and sends me a pic with a commentary on how much she and her husband enjoyed it. I could go on and on. And although so many of you have told us we've enriched your lives, well, you've enriched ours.
I don't know where things go from here. We discuss it all the time and try to predict the future but one thing, for sure, is that we will keep doing what we are doing and long as you guys keep doing what you are doing. If you show up, we'll show up. We will push you to elevate your game while you push us to elevate ours. We will continue to feature other small local producers of fine things because it is valuable to all of us.
We are a community. A beautiful one. A talented one. A caring one. A compassionate one. A creative one. An appreciative one. And being an active part of it is another thing to be thankful for. As we go into a holiday season like no other, I will leave you with a little poem I wrote a few years ago in order to explain to a 5 year old why many of my socks go missing. Read it to someone you love.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving anyway, everyone, and we'll see you next week.
Peace,
Robert Amar
Small World Seafood
Owner
WHERE DO MISSING SOCKS GO?
I€™M IN A STATE OF SHOCK!
I CANNOT EVEN TALK!
ONCE I€™VE TOLD YOU WHAT I€™VE SEEN
YOU€™LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN.
IT STARTED AS A JOKE
WHEN SHE AND I HAD SPOKE.
BUT IT WAS CLEAR TO ME AND LEAH
WE€™D NEED TO SOLVE A MYSTERY-A.
THE QUESTION, ONE MIGHT ASK,
AS WE SET UP FOR THE TASK,
WAS €œHOW ARE WE TO KNOW
WHERE THESE MISSING SOCKS COULD GO?€
I€™LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, HONEY.
WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY
TO BUY SOMETHING WE NEED
JUST TO DISAPPEAR, INDEED.
IN THE WASH THEY LAND.
THIS, WE UNDERSTAND.
YOU MAY THINK I€™M A LIAR
BUT THEY DON€™T COME OUT THE DRYER!
SO, ME AND LEAH WENT
AND TRIED AN EXPERIMENT.
WE HAD TO PRIME THE MIND
TO SEE WHAT WE COULD FIND.
I MOVED THE BIG APPLIANCE
WITH ABSOLUTE DEFIANCE.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND..
A BIG HOLE IN THE GROUND!
WE FELT A LITTLE FEAR.
THIS MUCH MUST BE CLEAR.
YET WE WOULD BE COURAGEOUS
EVEN IF THIS WAS SO OUTRAGEOUS.
WE CLIMBED DOWN ONE BY ONE.
WE WERE NERVOUS, LIKE, A TON.
BUT IT WAS WORTH ALL FEAR
TO SEE IF SOCKS APPEAR.
SHE HELD MY HAND REAL TIGHT
AND THAT HELPED WITH ALL MY FRIGHT.
OK, I STILL COULD FEEL A LITTLE.
OK, MAYBE SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE.
SHE FOUND THIS LITTLE CANDLE
WITH A PRETTY RUBBER HANDLE.
THIS WOULD BE MUCH EASIER..
(AND MAKE ME FEEL LESS QUEASIER).
DOWN THE PATH WE WENT
AS IT SLITHERED AND IT BENT
AND CAME UPON A SIGHT
THAT STUNNED US AS IT MIGHT.
IN FRONT OF OUR VERY EYES
AND MUCH TO OUR SURPRISE
WERE TINY LITTLE CREATURES
WITH FUNNY LITTLE FEATURES.
THEIR EYES WERE REALLY SMALL.
THEIR ARMS WERE REALLY TALL.
THEIR LEGS WERE SHORT AND STUMPY.
THEIR SKIN WAS RATHER BUMPY.
THEIR HAIR WAS KIND OF MOPPY.
THEIR WALK WAS KIND OF HOPPY.
THEIR NOSE WAS LIKE A FLUTE.
YOU KNOW? THEY REALLY WERE QUITE CUTE.
WE FOLLOWED THEM ALONG
AS THEY HUMMED A CUTESY SONG
UNTIL WE CAME UPON A SIGHT
THAT THRILLED US WITH DELIGHT!
IN FRONT OF OUR VERY EYES
AND AFTER ALL THE LOWS AND HIGHS
WE FOUND WHAT WE HAD FOUND!
ALL OF OUR SOCKS IN ONE BIG MOUND!
BUT, IT WAS STILL CONFUSING
AS TO WHY THEY WERE ALL USING
OUR SINGLE MISMATCHED PAIRS
IN THESE COLD UNDERGROUND LAYERS.
THEN WE LOOKED UP TO THE ROOF
AND FOUND THE VITAL PROOF
THAT EXPLAINS, IN REMINISCING,
WHY ALL OUR SOCKS WOULD GO ON MISSING.
YOU SEE, WHEN TREES GET REALLY OLD,
THEIR BASE GET REALLY COLD
SO CREATURES COVER THEIR ROOTS
WITH COLORFUL FUZZY BOOTS.
THIS IS ONE BIG REASON
TREES SURVIVE THE WINTER SEASON
BECAUSE LITTLE CREATURES STRIVE
TO KEEP OLD TREES ALIVE.
SO THE MYSTERY, AT ITS BEST,
CAN REALLY BE PUT TO REST.
WE CAN STOP TO BLAME OUR MOTHER
OUR SISTER OR OUR BROTHER.
IT€™S ALL FINE IN THE END
YOU MUST AGREE, MY FRIEND,
TO LOSE ANOTHER BOOTY
IN ORDER TO SAVE ANOTHER TREE.
ROBERT AMAR - 2014