A Man and His Chips – The Joy of Snacks

It all begins when a man reaches into the bag of chips to put them in a bowl.

It’s a talent perfected over the years. The man’s handful, which to an outsider appears to be a haphazard grab, fills the bowl perfectly – not too many or too few, but just the right amount that the bowl requires.

And so the ritual begins. First, deciding where to sit, the chair or the couch. Once he’s made his selection, like the remote, a man makes sure that he and his bowl are never more than an arm’s length apart. It needs to be close enough for beeline access without the remote or his beer blocking the path.

And to test it, he reaches for the top chip. If it adheres to his distance requirement, all is good and he settles in. If not, proper adjustments are made.

Eating begins casually. One chip at a time. No rush. The bowl is full and time is abundant. The man chews while watching his favorite team, occasionally glancing into the bowl to assess progress.

At some point, the man may opt for a dip.

This decision is made with optimism.

The first chip breaks.

The man attempts to rescue it using a second chip. That chip breaks. Now there are two chip fragments submerged in the dip.

The man pauses. He considers using a third chip. He decides against it. Too much work. Too much concentration. Too much hand eye coordination.

He abandons the dip entirely and eats the remaining chips without recognizing that dipping is not worth the effort. The dip is left behind, damaged and unresolved, for someone else to deal with.

As the level of chips drops, the man hastily fishes for the remaining larger chips first. Smaller ones are ignored until they become unavoidable.

Also unavoidable are the crumbs. On his shirt. In his lap. Laying in formation on the cushion.

And once he’s done, the man wipes his fingertips on his pants which were already compromised.

The man then cleans up the crumbs by wiping them to the floor, knowing that they’ll just disappear into an abyss like they always do.

Rick Morgan

Rick is the Founder of hamandtees.com where he shares his perspective on all things ordinary.