Cooking Bacon and Breaking the Rules

I am a rule follower by nature.  I teach middle school.  I married a cop.  I am early everywhere I go. 

Last night Brian and I had pancakes and bacon for dinner.   Brian took the pancake duty and I took the bacon.  He was trying out the new griddle he got for Christmas. 

Now, as Southerners we know that bacon strips are usually laid out in the pan one at a time, almost reverently.  But I have a friend who cooks her bacon just a little differently.  But then, Arlene does a lot of things differently. 

Arlene is originally from Baltimore and is a Jewish mother.  She loves shiny, sparkly earrings, the bigger the better and leopard print anything.  She loves you like her own, and makes sure you have plenty to eat at all times.  She loves to laugh and finds pleasure in life's little things.

And that brings me back to the bacon.  As a born again Southerner, she understands, despite her religion, that bacon is a staple in our diets.  Never one to be pressured by the rules, she even cooks her bacon with reckless abandon.

I first saw Arlene cook bacon for a house full of women one weekend at her lake house.  She dumped 4 lbs of it in a skillet, turned on the heat, and ootched it around with a spatula until it was perfectly cooked.  Who knew?  We all stood around the cook top mystified by this new way to perfect bacon. 

All my life I had watched it be laid out in single strips in the pan and lovingly tended to until done.  Now I see this rebel friend of mine throw the rules out the window and still create something wonderful.

So, as I stood there at the stove last night, I had a conflict.  Do I follow the rules and lay out the strips one by one, or do I just select the number of strips I want and toss them into the pan and see what happens? 

I took the road less traveled.  I took six strips and tossed them in the pan and ootched them around with my spatula until perfectly done.  And I took the strangest satisfaction from cooking my bacon "out of the box."

I couldn't help but smile to myself and look forward to the next time I can play with my food.