Renee writes great stuff every week, but I gotta spread the love around. Still, the story in this one was special even within her oeuvre:
Freddie's Chinese Food
Dinner for 6,Cantonese
Mrs.Ng cooked heaven.
Bar-be-que pork,dipped
In hot mustard,then sesame
Seeds,Almond chicken.
Summers, sis and I
Had waitress jobs.She flirted
With Fong,lobbed salt at me.
Chopsticks not forks flew
Clicked like castanets,shrimp
Bread goldyellow,hot.
Exotic fare for kids
Whose father stood on Great Wall
He would not return.
Little known (until now) was the effect this experience had on Renee's later work. As a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines, some passengers knew a wonderful secret: They only had to whisper "I want a number 11" to Renee at mealtime and await something wonderful. Because, indeed, she would disappear into the galley and make Freddie's famous #11, the mustard-fried pork.
Of course, it was kind of a mess, and took her out of commission for a while, and the other customers were jealous as they were served rubbery chicken, but for those few special people... well, flying was worthwhile.
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