My Achilles' Meal PDF - Memoir

MEMOIR My Achilles’ Meal...

MEMOIR My Achilles’ Meal Firoozeh Dumas BACKGROUND READ TO UNLOCK The title of this selection is a funny reference to the expression “Achilles’ MEANING heel,” which describes a weakness that can lead to a downfall. Achilles 1. First read the text for was a hero of Greek mythology whose entire body was protected from comprehension and enjoyment. Use the harm—except for his heel. During the Trojan War, Achilles died when an Reading Strategy and arrow hit that heel. In this funny memoir, the author describes a Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Comprehension Check downfall she experienced as a child. questions to support your first read. 2. Go back and respond to 1 E very generation has its own style. One generation wears pants that are long and flared, the next prefers them pencil thin and to the ankle. One year, they’re carefully hemmed, the next year, the Close-Read notes. 3. Identify other details in the text you find they’re fringed. interesting. Ask your own 2 Mourning, like pants, is also subject to styles. Of course, I am not questions and draw your own conclusions. referring to the actual act of dying since only God, and not the Gap, has a say in that. What changes from one generation to the next is how we react to death and how we explain it to our children. 3 When I was six years old, my maternal grandmother died. We didn’t know she was sick. My mother found out through a dream. My Achilles’ Meal 15  She dreamed that her father was very upset about something. This prompted my mother to call my grandfather, who reluctantly admitted that, indeed, my grandmother was in the hospital due to complications from diabetes. My mother and I flew to Tehran from Abadan. Two days later, my grandmother died. 4 As was the custom at the time, no one told me about her death. I knew that something was wrong, since kids pick up on anything parents try to hide, but I didn’t know what death was, and nobody volunteered any information. 5 It was decided that the day of the funeral I would go to the house of my cousin Mahmood’s new wife, Farah. Farah was a graduate student in chemistry who had met my cousin in college. They had been married for a few months. I had met her briefly at the wedding before I’d fallen asleep. I had, however, heard much about her, since every new addition to the family equaled hours and hours of tea-fueled gossip, speculation, and in-depth analysis, followed by more tea. Grown-ups always assumed that I, sitting by myself in a roomful of adults, was not listening, and even if I were, I would certainly not remember anything. Grown-ups are often wrong. 6 Farah was considered a great match for Mahmood. She was smart, well-traveled, and cultivated. Our families could not have been more different. Farah’s family lived in a sprawling house in the Mahmoudieh section of northern Tehran. Their house was filled with books and artwork purchased during their travels abroad. It was, using the most complimentary contemporary word in Persian (though it’s actually French), chic. 7 In addition, her house was surrounded by a large garden filled with cherry, peach, walnut, and (my all-time favorite fruit) mulberry trees. Their garden, like other private gardens in Tehran, was surrounded by a high wall, thus giving the whole place a magical quality for those of us lucky enough to be on the inside. Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 8 The day of the funeral, Farah picked me up early. I was told that I would be spending the entire day with Mahmood’s wife. This I found extremely strange since I had never spent the day with anybody but my parents. My apprehensions soon melted when Farah mentioned that we would first go toy shopping. I liked her immediately. MAKE INFERENCES 9 She took me to a department store in Tehran called Ferdowsi. My Review paragraphs 8 only experience shopping in stores was Alfi’s in Abadan, and and 9. Why might Farah Ferdowsi was much bigger. We went to the toy section, which held have taken Firoozeh to a toy store and allowed her more toys than I ever thought existed. Farah said, “I have finals to pick out any toy she tomorrow, so I need you to entertain yourself. Pick any toy you wanted? like.” 16 UNIT 1 GROWING UP  10 I froze. There were too many choices. It was like the first time in the cereal aisle in an American supermarket. Farah quickly realized I needed help. She immediately picked a pink stroller with a ruffled top. Then she said, “Let’s find a doll to put in it.” 11 Once again, I was speechless. My father never, under any circumstance, bought me more than one toy per shopping trip. I assumed there was a law that set shopping limits. Little did I know that this rule existed only in my father’s frugal kingdom. 12 Purchases in hand, we got into Farah’s car. We drove through CLOSE READ the busy streets, surrounded by more cars than I had ever seen, all ANNOTATE In paragraph honking at once to avoid one another or perhaps honking because 10, mark the words that show a comparison. the driver next to them was honking. Amid the cacophony,1 I was QUESTION Why do you thinking about my new purchases and how I would have to point think the author makes this out to my parents that I had not asked for two toys. This was key. comparison? 13 Whenever I visited my grandfather, baba bozorgh, my mother always told me that if he ever asked me if I wanted any toys, I was to say, “No, thank you.” I found this to be a stupid rule. Here was a grown-up willing to buy me a toy, and I was to say no. So I did what any self-respecting, greedy kid would do. Whenever my grandfather asked me if I wanted any toys, I always said, “No, thank you,” just as I was supposed to. But then, later in the conversation, I would say, “Baba bozorgh, I really like those life-size inflatable elves, but I don’t want one.” This way, when my mother picked me up, along with my new life-size inflatable elf, I could honestly tell her that I had not asked for it. In fact, I had told baba Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. bozorgh I didn’t want it. 14 When we arrived at Farah’s, a very friendly woman wearing a chador2 greeted us. The woman made a very strong first impression on me. She was tiny and ancient, far older than anyone I knew. But, COMPREHENSION more impressively, she was missing most of her teeth. I had seen CHECK babies with no teeth, but never a grown-up. When she kissed me, it What does Firoozeh plan to tickled my cheek. tell her parents about the two new toys she has 15 And this is how I was introduced to Khaleh Tavoos, or Aunt received? What prior Peacock. She was not really Farah’s aunt. Tavoos’s mother had experience inspires been Farah’s grandmother’s maid, and Tavoos had lived with this plan? 1. cacophony (kuh KAH fuh nee) n. mixture of loud, harsh sounds. 2. chador (CHUH duhr) n. large piece of cloth that covers the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed, worn by some Muslim women. My Achilles’ Meal 17  Farah’s family her entire life. She was a beloved member of their household. 16 Farah later told me that Tavoos claimed that the secret to her longevity was eating sugar. Several times a day, she poured some sugar in the palm of her hand and ate it straight. Farah’s parents had purchased an expensive set of custom dentures for her, which she refused to wear, claiming she didn’t need teeth to eat sugar, and sugar’s all she needed. She lived to be ninety-two. 17 That day, Tavoos took me by her shriveled little hand and told me that she was so happy that I would be spending the day with her. She asked me if I wanted anything to eat. 18 No matter what time of the day you go into the home of an Iranian, you will be offered food. It can be one hour after you have consumed a wildebeest, but the host will still ask you. You can be bloated (BLOHT ihd ) adj. bloated, lying on the floor, clutching your extended gut, top button overfilled; swollen of your pants burst open, but the host will still offer you food or Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. drink “for your particular condition.” We are people who need to feed people. 19 “No, thank you,” I said. Then Tavoos said, “Would you like seeb zamini sorkh kardeh?” my all-time-favorite food, which my mother never made for me: French fries. Even though I wasn’t hungry, French fries do not require hunger, only taste buds. “Yes, please,” I said. 20 This made Tavoos genuinely happy. She disappeared into the kitchen while I went into an adjoining room to play with my new toys. But for the first time in my life I was not all that interested in my new toys. Being in this gigantic house with a toothless woman who wanted to make me French fries was more exciting than anything, even the revolutionary concept of two new toys on the same day. 18 UNIT 1 GROWING UP  21 Soon I heard sizzling noises as a heavenly smell wafted through the house. The stronger the smell, the more insignificant the stroller and doll became. By the time Tavoos walked in with a plate stacked high with French fries, I was ready to abandon my toys by the side of a road. 22 Tavoos placed the plate in front of me, then proceeded to CLOSE READ sprinkle salt on the mountain of potatoes. The salt clung to the ANNOTATE In paragraphs steamy stack. I could barely contain myself, but the potatoes were 21–25, mark descriptive too hot. This was like child torture. words and phrases related to the French fries. 23 (I confess. I did manipulate my grandfather into buying me the QUESTION Why might the life-size inflatable elf.) author have included these 24 The potatoes were still hot. Tavoos picked up one of the pieces detailed descriptions? of fried perfection and started blowing on it. Then she handed it to me. At my house, when someone cooled down a food, they ate it themselves. I had stumbled upon a full-service paradise. 25 I started to eat the French fries, which were not too greasy, perfectly crisp, and just salty enough. I must have been eating them with zeal, because as Tavoos sat staring at me with her toothless smile, she said, “Firoozeh joon,3 you must really like French fries.” I wasn’t sure why she was stating the obvious, so I nodded and kept eating. 26 I ate them all. Tavoos smiled even more broadly and asked me if I wanted more. 27 I had entered an alternate universe. Never had anyone offered to make French fries just for me, and now this woman was asking me the inconceivable. 28 “Yes, please,” I said, hoping the second batch wouldn’t take as long. 29 Tavoos adjusted her chador and went into the kitchen. Soon the sizzling noises began again and smells filled the house. I glanced at the stroller and doll, which looked even less interesting than before. Compared with a plate of French fries, the only way the Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. doll would have had a chance with me would have been if she had started talking, or making French fries. COMPREHENSION 30 After what seemed like an eternity, Tavoos walked in with a CHECK plate stacked high with freshly fried potatoes and sat across from Why is Firoozeh no longer me. She salted them, took a fry, and started blowing on it. This interested in her stroller time, I knew it was for me. It’s amazing how quickly one adjusts and doll? to fine service. 31 As I finished the second plate, Tavoos beamed and asked me if I wanted more. I didn’t know the phrase carpe diem4 back then, but I lived by it. And to me, seizing the day meant eating more French fries. 3. joon (JOON) word in the Farsi language meaning “my dear.” 4. carpe diem (CAR pay DEE um) Latin phrase meaning “seize the day.” My Achilles’ Meal 19  32 Somehow, the smells weren’t as enticing the third time. When Tavoos brought the plate of fries, I waited for them to cool and started eating considerably more slowly than the other two times. Tavoos continued to smile. 33 Halfway through the plate, I just couldn’t finish the stack. “What’s the matter?” Tavoos asked. “I feel sick,” I told her. She led me to an empty bedroom where I lay down, moaning and groaning. “Maybe you ate too many French fries,” she said. 34 “I don’t think so,” I replied. 35 I lay down for the rest of the afternoon. Tavoos repeatedly offered concoctions (kuhn KOK to make me various concoctions to make my stomach feel better. shuhnz) n. made-up 36 “Tea with nabat, crystallized sugar?” she suggested. mixtures 37 “No thank you” I replied. 38 “Sharbat-e ablimu ba naana? Fresh lime-aid with mint?” 39 “No, thank you.” syrup (SUR uhp) n. thick, 40 “Sharbat-e albalu? Sour cherry syrup?” usually sweet liquid 41 “No, thank you.” 42 “Dugh? Carbonated yogurt drink?” 43 “No, thank you.” 44 “Seven-Up?” 45 “No, thank you.” 46 Tavoos sat next to me telling me stories and stroking my hair. I couldn’t listen to a word she was saying. My stomach felt as if I had swallowed the doll’s stroller. 47 A few hours later, Farah returned home and was shocked to find me lying down. “Chi shodeh? What happened?” she asked. 48 “Firoozeh joon ate three plates of French fries,” Tavoos said, glutton (GLUH tuhn) n. one making me sound like some kind of glutton. who greedily consumes 49 “Why did you let her eat so much?” Farah asked, clearly not too much grasping the gravitational pull of fried potatoes on this particular six-year-old. 50 “She wanted them,” Tavoos replied, underestimating my total Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. portion (POR shuhn) n. a lack of common sense in selecting healthy portion sizes. It is the share of something same glitch that compels otherwise sane Americans to proudly declare, “Supersize it.” 51 Farah gathered up my new toys while Tavoos kissed me and told me how much she’d enjoyed spending the day with me. She hugged me tightly and told me repeatedly to make sure I visit her pantry (PAN tree) n. place again, probably making a mental note to lock the pantry. near a kitchen where food 52 On the drive home, Farah apologized for not having had more time supplies are stored to play with me. She told me that her final exams tomorrow were very important, and maybe we could play together another time. 53 We arrived to a houseful of sad adults, all trying to conceal their sorrow from me. I showed everyone my stroller and doll, but left out the part about Khaleh Tavoos and the never-ending perfect French fries. It didn’t seem right to share that with this crowd. They needed to be sad. I knew that much. ❧ 20 UNIT 1 GROWING UP