I sat in the feeble 1970s conference room chair at the lab table in the front of the room yesterday late morning. I was managing the start of six lab projects involving data from Alaska to Western New York, spanning the past 3,000 years. Different student research groups and I trotted from lab to museum to department office to other lab to other lab – up and down steps, across streets, through countless locked doors.
And I was starving. Empty bellied, weird head buzzing weakness, tunnel-visioned hungry.
The WideEyedSpouse was home from work and I sent him an email, saying I wished I were there. He replied: “I wish you were home too. Then you could have some of my fried egg, fried ham and cheese sandwich!” – kindly attaching a picture.
I leaned in close to the laptop. I could feel the crusty toast, taste the salty ham. I think I drooled on the keyboard. Bing, another email from the WideEyedSpouse – “All gone,” it said, with an image attached.
I wept.
wideeyedfunk 
I think that is grounds for divorce. Show the pictures to a lawyer.
Hah! It is even worse because I didn’t tell you about the elaborate decription he gave me of the crispy, carmelized ham slices enrobed by the cheesy egg.
First off…I did not know that you were sitting at a table starving when I sent that email. I was just excited about the deliciousness I had created and wanted to share it before devouring it. Although I did send the picture of the empty plate after having read that you were starving, so…umm, my apologies. I will gladly make you one of those sandwiches. We just need to get some more ham. Ham is a funny word. Ham. See…it’s funny.
And second….my goodness that was a good sandwich. Mmm Mmm good! I cooked up those leftover Easter ham slices in a frying pan until they had some good carmelization. Then I fried the egg in the ham fat with some added butter and seasoned it with salt and pepper and just a couple shakes of Tabasco. The bread was toasted and buttered with just a slight smear of a mayonnaise/mustard/ancho chili spread that I mixed up. I added mixed greens for color and also to make it healthy. And then of course you have all seen the empty plate so you know what happened next. I enjoyed the sandwich enough for the both of us. I am just thinking now that a little bit of bacon would have really added a nice salty flavor to the mix. I will add that next time I make it when I will of course be sure that the WideEyedFunk is home!
Good cooking brat 😉
Lol, the whole wideeyedfamily is here!!! Don’t you apologize for enjoying a sandwich while your wife is off working herself into frenzied hunger sir! It looks quite delicious! My wife and I recently put fried eggs on our grilled burgers and they were stupid good!
The WideEyedSpouse remains unrepentant. And continues to add a fried egg to most sandwiches.