April 18, 2001
“The Jellybean Recovery”
Spring semester was well on its way to being completed, and everyone had Easter and summer vacation on their mind. For The Tiger it also meant it was time for spring cleaning, something TC didn’t want to know about. While their apartment wasn’t all that big, more like a college student’s apartment, it did require special attention at least once a year. TC was in charge of cleaning his room, which was furnished with a sleeping loft, a desk with a chair, small TV, and an array of posters that boggled the mind. The living room was TC’s favorite room as the couch and chairs were so comfortable you could sleep in them if you wanted. The main attraction in the living room was a new entertainment center with a large screen TV, video recorder, and DVD player. The remainder of the apartment consisted of The Tiger’s bedroom and a small but functional kitchenette. While The Tiger and TC ate out occasionally, they prepared most of their meals at home. The Tiger knew home cooked meals were healthier for TC as he used fresh vegetables and fruit whenever possible.
After a long day of house cleaning, The Tiger and TC were completely worn out and decided they would just hang out and chill. After resting for an hour, TC’s energy level returned to normal and a sudden case of boredom began to occur. ” You know Uncle, Easter will soon be here and it sure would be nice if we could whip up a batch of Mom’s special Easter eggs for our friends on the baseball team.”
“That sure sounds like a lot of work TC, and besides, we don’t have your Mom’s recipe to go by,” The Tiger replied.
” I can solve that Uncle, I have a new 10-10 – T.I.G.E.R number that I can use to call Mom, and it only costs 6 cents a minute.”
TC called his Mom and explained that he wanted to make her famous Clemson Tiger Eggs, the one’s filled with peanut butter and covered in white chocolate. He also planned on decorating each egg with orange Tiger paws and the player’s numbers. TC’s Mom agreed to e-mail him the recipe, but he had to promise not to eat too many eggs and clean the kitchen up when he was finished. The Tiger realized that without TC’s Mom around to supervise, TC would have a very difficult time preparing the special eggs and would want him to assist.
“I don’t think I want to get peanut butter all over me TC, but I have a friend on the women’s soccer team that might be willing to lend a hand.” “Her teammates say she’s an accomplished chef, and she’s so good on the soccer field they call her The Soccer Gem. I’ll give her a call and see if she has some time to spare.”
As promised, TC’s Mom sent him the family egg recipe later that night, and The Tiger true to his word delivered The Soccer Gem at 10:00 a.m. sharp the next day. Just as the Tiger had expected, TC was smitten by The Soccer Gem in more ways than one. She sported long blond hair and a beautiful Tiger smile that TC couldn’t resist. Raring to go, TC and The Soccer Gem compiled a list of supplies they would need and headed out for the nearest grocery store. They spent about an hour shopping, as they wanted to take advantage of as many specials as possible. It didn’t take long for TC to realize The Soccer Gem knew her way around the grocery aisles almost as well as the soccer field.
“I don’t know if my Uncle mentioned it,” TC said, “but he’s going to bring us burgers and fries for dinner tonight.”
“That sounds great TC, ” The Soccer Gem replied, “cooking can sure work up an appetite, and we’ve got a lot to accomplish before dinner.”
As soon as they arrived back at the apartment, TC and The Soccer Gem began the magical process of turning raw ingredients into finished Easter eggs. White chocolate was melted, blenders whirled, and peanut butter was gently formed into the shape of eggs. TC kept checking the recipe, while The Soccer Gem kept checking on TC. Slowly but surely, Easter eggs began to appear where once there had only been a solid block of white chocolate, and a large jar of peanut butter.
“I think the eggs look fantastic TC, if it’s OK with your Mom I sure would like a copy of her recipe,” The Soccer Gem said.
“They do look pretty darn good if I do say so myself,” TC replied. By the time The Tiger arrived with dinner, TC and The Soccer Gem had crashed out on the couch, and the kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off.
“What tornado came through here?” The Tiger asked, “this is the biggest mess I’ve ever seen.” ” I don’t think even your Mom would believe this.” After a few minutes, The Tiger calmed down and began examining the finished eggs as TC and The Soccer Gem dove into their hamburger and french fries. Each egg had a player’s number on the top, and there was a special egg emblazoned with Coach Leggett’s name. It was clear to The Tiger that TC and The Soccer Gem had done a great deal of work in such a short time.
While The Tiger was out, he’d purchased special orange containers for TC to package the eggs. Each container was marked with the player’s number and taped closed for safety. As the team would be leaving early the next morning for an out of town game, The Tiger suggested that they would need to deliver the eggs tonight.
“TC, if you’ll load the eggs in the car, I’ll help The Soccer Gem put the dishes away then we can all run by the stadium and deliver these little treasures to the team.”
“That sounds like a plan, I’ll load the eggs and be right back.” TC stacked the eggs up as high as could in the hopes that he would only need to make one trip to the car. This turned out to be a fatal mistake, as the stack of eggs teetered back and forth and then fell to the ground several feet from The Tigers car. The Tiger and The Soccer Gem knew exactly what had happened, as TC’s roar of frustration could be heard clear through the walls of The Tiger’s house.
“What am I going to do now Uncle, the eggs are ruined, and I don’t have time to make new ones before the team leaves tomorrow morning?” “Don’t worry TC, I know just how to solve this problem.”
The next morning TC and the Tiger purchased 20 pounds of gourmet jellybeans that they carefully repackaged into smaller bags for each member of the team. The bags were placed in a well-padded box and dropped off at the local express mail office for overnight delivery to the team.
” I guess you might say this was a jellybean recovery,” The Tiger smiled.
December 8, 2024
