The word of the day is impossible. We silly English-speakers use this word to mean all sorts of things. Let’s explore:
It is impossible that people would still desire red chili after tasting Rocky Mountain green chili. This chili has so much character, so much bite, so much depth. It’s most frequently used as a topping or sauce, but would more than stand up as a solo dish. Here, impossible means “unthinkable”.
I wanted to drop my car off today for an oil change, and possibly new brakes. The Moab mechanic is first-come, first serve, and the receptionist suggested that I get in right when they open at 8, so I pulled in five minutes early at 7:55. A sign on the door read, “We are already booked up for the day”. As the receptionist said they did not take reservations, I found this an impossible situation; impossible, of course, meaning “someone lied to me.” I called ahead to Colorado and made an appointment for Wednesday.
I took a hike through Devil’s Garden up in Arches; it was a bit too crowded to tackle the narrower areas as I would want, so I stuck to the main path. The best arch was Landscape Arch, which is gossamer thin and dainty as sandstone can be. Unfortunately it was impossible to take a picture that captured it well (translation: “possible, but really, really hard for a plebeian like me”). I settled for a shot of Pine Tree Arch instead, which ironically gives a better sense of the landscape as a whole.
Monday is my phone call day, so I returned to town early and did some shopping. Per doctor’s orders, I am searching for that elusive 4,700mg of potassium every day. This is what everyone should be consuming, and it is impossible. One banana is under 10% of the recommended daily value. An entire box of spinach is 15%. And lots of foods don’t have any potassium at all. The vitamins in the pharmacy only have 50mg each of Vitamin K. In this case, impossible reads as “possible, but I desperately don’t want to eat two bunches of bananas every day.”
Lastly, due to congestion and questionable city planning, it is impossible to take a left turn in Moab. No further clarification needed.
I sent you an article I copied from healthline.com which lists 18 foods that have more potassium than a banana. I would say, don’t go nuts trying to pack in 4700 mg of potassium daily. Just try to have some of the foods on the list frequently to get a little more potassium than you have been getting. Apparently there are blood pressure implications, and maybe that’s why the doctor suggested you try to eat more potassium rich foods. When you get home, get a good physical exam and blood work done and see if anything needs attention. I think you must be healthy enough with all of the exercise you are getting and able to do. Drink some coconut water in place of the real water you have been drinking, is my only suggestion, since it has potassium in it and won’t be flushing potassium out of you. Your picture of Pine Tree Arch is so well composed and so interesting. We had trouble getting pictures of the arches without getting mobs of people in them, climbing all over them. Had to wait patiently until people left and the arch was all by itself. It was almost impossible to have an arch people-free for the few seconds it takes to take a picture! (That’s my contribution to the “impossible” examples.) Glad you are getting your car checked out and serviced Wednesday. Love, Grandma
“It’s impossible —
Tell the sun to leave the sky,
It’s just impossible —
Tell a baby not to cry —
It’s just impossible…”
But enough of this Perry Como shit! I thought I outgrew all that stuff once the Beatles came long.
Remarkable the amount of trash I have stored up in the attic of my brain! Just wait ’til you get to be my age, Jake — you’ll have the same problem, when all these unimportant memories start coming up unbidden.
“Speak the speech I pray you, as I pronounced it to you,
trippingly upon the tongue; but if you mouth it,
as many of your players do, I had as lief the
town crier had spoke my lines…”
And on, and on, and on…
Your great-grandfather used to say, “I have a pretty good memory — it’s just that I have a better forgetter.”