The Curse of Indecision

This evening, while I was watching TV and winding down from a tiring day, I was given a clear choice. My mother, who was in the kitchen setting the table, shouted to me: "What do you want to drink?"

I thought about the sodas that were in the fridge. Did I want Sierra Mist or Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi? The choice was simple, but I couldn't seem to decide. "What are we having for dinner?" I shouted back, hoping that this knowledge would make the choice easier.

"Hamburger and scalloped potatoes," shouted Mother.

No good. Either of those drinks would do. Yet I was paralyzed with indecision, and too tired to be bothered with it. Impelled by a lazy desire to shirk the responsibility that had been placed before me, I shouted back again: "Surprise me."

Relieved at successfully having passed the buck, I returned to my TV-watching pursuits.

Momentarily, the call for supper was made and my step-father and I dutifully filed in to commence chowing down. I looked to the table and saw two caffeine-free Diet Pepsi colas--one for Mother and one for Father. I looked to my place setting, lazily curious as to what had been chosen for me.

There at my end of the table, standing as strangely out of place as a hippie at a policeman's ball, was a tall, cool, half-finished jar of La Victoria Thick and Chunky Salsa.

I had been well and duly surprised.