Sunday, February 11, 2007
Gil: An earthen pot to warm the heart
By Sandy Gil
Sunday Dunes
AS VALENTINE'S Day draws near, most of us will soon be struck with a shopping frenzy with renewed vigor. Red heart-shaped mobiles and holiday sales promotions will be likewise be cajoling and tempting us to join in the fray of purchasing, consuming and buying a special gift for the special love of our lives. Well, tough luck for such marketing strategies! I have decided not to fall victim to such outrageous public manipulation of our human weakness!
In fact, I did my Valentine shopping with the arrival of the New Year to avoid the crowd. Everything was on sale as a post-Christmas holiday promotion!
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Truth to tell, I did purchase a really great gift... I bought a beautiful Chinese earthen pot! Arriving home with this wonderful object, I carefully inspected it. It was then that it dawned on me that I had yet to figure out who would be the recipient of this precious gift. I myself had no use for it. Thus, I found myself in a quandary.
As I rummaged through my memory cells for the possible individuals who might appreciate such a purchase, I read the literature that came with the Chinese earthen pot. That was the deciding factor! I made up my mind with unwavering finality: I am keeping the pot!
Allow me to quote verbatim a few of the instructions for the use of the earthen pot... of course, with my comments!
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Kindly be careful when moving the pot as it is fragile. That is so touching and moving, don't you agree?
Heating the pot without water or soup inside is prohibited. This instruction appears to insinuate a grave threat! Prohibited... or else... you will be imprisoned? I would like to suggest some implementing rules and guidelines to clarify this particular instruction.
Child using the pot without adult together is prohibited. Another prohibition! This law however provokes me to wonder what "adult together" means. As far as I know, there are not even that many adults (who have their acts) together.
Wear the thick gloves on hand when move the heated pot in case of scald. The earthen pot did not come with gloves as might be presumed in this instruction. I wonder whether the manufacturers are more concerned about scalding the earthen pot or the user's hand.
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Those are the instructions that were easy to understand despite the quaint use of the English language. The following instructions are more challenging!
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Transfer the water after rinsing the rice into the pot then boil it on slow fire or cook porridge or rice when using the pot for the first time. This one totally escapes human comprehension! What do you mean? Shall I put the water in which I rinsed (the soap off?) the rice into the pot and then boil the water, which I had put into the pot in slow fire? That means I will end up with boiled water and on the side, uncooked but fragrantly clean and wet rice! Oh, but the instruction says OR you can cook porridge or rice when you are using the pot for the first time. Help!!!
Put the mat between the bottom of the heated pot and table in case of burn the surface of the table, but the wet mat is prohibited. Again, I must make it clear that the pot did not come with a mat, whether a door mat, floor mat or even a carpet. Does the instruction mean that I am to put a mat between the bottom of the heated pot and the bottom of the table? Impossible! Sigh, I am further terrified by the disallowance of using a wet mat for that matter.
Wipe the bottom of the pot with dried cloth when the pot getting wet, then heating it by slow fire in case of break. Ha! This one totally escapes me! What am I supposed to do? It seems normal to wipe the bottom of the pot with a dry cloth when it gets wet (wet inside or outside the pot?). Then confusion and wonderment enters. After wiping the pot's bottom, I heat the pot in slow fire... in case I break it? Oh dear, oh my.
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Don't you just love these instructions? Now, what do I do with my beautiful Chinese earthen pot?For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (February 11, 2007 issue)
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