The Japanese Redneck Caterer

 

redneckhiro cooking while lying down

It was cold December night-about week before Christmas in 1985. December is a bad month for a poor redneck. I had four kids waiting for presents but no money, no outside work. I told my landscaping customer, I cook for party. Mr. Steele is my landscaping customer. He gave me a catering job cooking for a Christmas party. I drove my Ford pickup truck with daughter #2, Sayoko and daughter #3, Yuri. Sayoko was a freshman at Appalachian State University and Yuri was a senior at Starmount High School. They not so happy because they work for free. Just when I start cooking, I had something happen to my back. I fall down to stone tile outside the house. Try to get rid of pain but pain wasn't going anywhere. So I lay down on stone tile 15 minutes. Mrs. Steele worry about me and told me I don't need to cook but I need the money for my son's bike for Christmas and I already buy food to cook. So I rolled on my side and start cooking. I cannot see inside the wok. I ask Sayoko, "Is it done?" She gave me spoonful of whatever was cooking and I taste it, then we serve. I clean fish and made sashimi too (lying down). I may took twenty extra minutes to cook everything but done. When finish, lot of people come outside and clap their hands for me. Make me feel good. Freezing cold night but I was work hard. Did not feel cold. I lay down back of the truck come home down the highway freezing with thin blanket on.

日本語 

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