Making a list

Well I've been inspired by an ice cream sandwich.

And Ray Bradbury.

Bradbury would have turned 92 last week. But when he died earlier this year, I had just finished reading Zen and The Art of Writing.

In one of the essays, he encourages readers to keep lists of things we really love as well as things we really hate. Bring the former to life by writing about it, he says, and extinguish the later also by writing about it. Write it to life — and to death.

But I like that he’s not just talking peace and poverty. He’s talking about how a single caper can pack so much punch or how a scratchy sweater can wreck a workday.

So with Bradbury in mind, here's a list of loves:

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The way chocolate wafer sticks to you fingers when eating an ice cream sandwich.

Actually saving room for dessert.

The bonus fry on your plate when you didn’t order them.

Coming back to the table to find your food has just arrived.

The first pointy bite of a slice of pizza.

The middle bite of a cinnamon roll.

The last bite of a hot dog.

The five second rule.

Wooden spoons.

The rhythm in chopping (when you’re not in a rush).

When you get an extra gumball from the machine.

When you get your favorite color gumball from the machine.

Having a favorite color gumball.

When you accidentally leave your leftovers, and the server runs them out to you.

Removing the cage from a bottle of champagne.

Pretty much everything about champagne actually.

Cracking through the sugar glass on crème brulee.

Crackers in soup at the perfect place between crispy and soggy.

Knowing when something's done by the way the house smells.

Starting with a cocktail (just one).

Ending with port (but only sometimes).

The anticipation and payoff in foods that require a little effort (peel-and-eat shrimp, crab legs, oranges, 

pistachios, fondue, s’mores).

Making space for a dish at the potluck.

Making lists of things to love.