Caesar Salad

A Short and True Story

Bob Smith

December 29, 2018

 

Washington, D.C.

1985

Bob and Harriet sat down for dinner at their home in Oakton, Virginia. “I ran into Ron Johnson at National Airport this morning. Haven’t seen him since we were in Seattle. Hard to believe that was 20 years ago.  He has just finished a 30-year career in the Navy and he and Dottie are living over in Arlington near where they both work at the Pentagon.”

“I invited them to dinner Friday night. I will make a Caesar Salad if that’s ok with you. You don’t have to do anything except maybe pick up some dessert,” Bob continued.

“I like your Caesar Salad, but I will have to schedule the next week to clean up the kitchen. You want me to shop for the salad?  Three heads of Romaine lettuce, 4 ounces each of blue cheese and parmesan cheese, a loaf of French bread. We have everything else you need, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic, croutons, lemons, raw egg, and the large wooden salad bowl,” Harriet said.

“Great. I’ll make Martinis. We have a bottle of Belvedere Vodka in the freezer. I just need a smidgen of Vermouth and some olives. By the way they are coming at 7 p.m.”

“I always liked Ron; I really did but I’ve been a little bit jealous of him. He made Captain and I just made Commander. He retired after 30 years and I just stayed 9 years plus six in the Reserves. He had command of five different ships and I never had command of anything in the Navy,” Bob continued.

“You’ve done just fine. You did not make a career out of the Navy. He did.”

“Yea, I know, but you know me, a bit insecure.”

Friday Night

The doorbell rings at 7 p.m.

“Ron, Dottie, so good of you to come, please come in.”

“Hey Bob, good to see you again. Here’s a bottle of wine for y our collection.”

“Have a seat and let’s have a drink while we discuss what we’ve both been doing for the last 20 years.”

“How about a martini?” Bob asked.

Dottie, are you ok with a martini?”

“I thought you would never ask.” Dottie replied.

Bob mixed four martinis in his martini shaker. Belvedere vodka over ice, 2 ounces per drink. A light splash of Vermouth. Shake, not stir, and pour straight up into a martini glass with a green olive to garnish.

“Congratulations, on your outstanding career, Ron.” Bob said.

The four of them clinked their Martini glasses and took a sip.

“Tell me about your Naval career, Ron.”

“It went by pretty fast, 30 years all together and 20 since the last time the four of us got together in Seattle.

“I’m sorry to bring it up but our condolences about the loss of little Ronnie. They have some new treatments now for leukemia which might have saved him.”

“It was definitely the worst event of my life and I know Dottie feels the same. You and Harriet were a big help to us during that really bad time of our lives.”

“I did not mean to bring up sad times, how about the good old days in the Navy?” Bob continued.

“When I last saw you in Seattle, I was assigned as Commanding Officer to my first ship, a tugboat operating out of Bremerton, Washington. I stayed there for two years and then went back to the Pentagon where I worked for BuPers.”

“I knew about your tug boat command but BuPers, that’s a choice assignment. You get to tell people where to go next and then choose your own assignment when you leave.”

“That’s right, I got in that assignment in 1965 which was the main beginning of the Vietnam war. Guys always complained about getting assigned to a war zone, and I just told them, sorry, that’s the only war I’ve got right now,” Ron explained.

“You made Captain which is pretty darn good itself, but I always had you pegged for Admiral,” Bob replied.

“I might could have made Admiral if I stayed another five years, but I had enough,” Ron said.

“I am going to make a Caesar Salad for dinner. Let’s go into the dining room. I’ve got everything laid out on the table.

They walked into the dining room and took a seat around the table. Bob and Harriet sat on the ends and Ron and Dottie sat on the sides.

Bob mixed ¼ cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil into a measuring cup and added one tablespoon of Worchester sauce, three cloves of mashed-up garlic, salt and pepper, and mixed it lightly. He poured that into the large wooden salad bowl which he brought home from the Philippines. Next, he mixed in three heads of the Romaine lettuce with the outer leaves discarded and the centers broken up into bite-sized pieces. He tossed the lettuce with the dressing until every leaf glistened.

“I make the best Caesar salad this side of Tijuana,” Bob bragged.

“It sure looks like it,” Ron replied.

“Yea, but it takes me a week to clean up his mess.” Harriet interjected.

“You make a pretty good martini, too,” Ron said.

“Let me know when you are ready for another one,” Bob replied.

Next Bob added a ¼ cup of Blue Cheese and another ¼ cup of parmesan cheese and stirred that in with the glistening Romaine.

“Where did you go after BuPers, Ron?”

“I negotiated my way into another command in Westpac, a Destroyer. That was in 1969 and we were doing escort duty for the USS Bon Homme Richard out in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of Vietnam. We had almost 300 men on board my ship, the USS Warrington, DD 843. The carriers were conducting air operations 24 hours per day and it was a busy time. We were picking up downed aviators all over the place. Sometimes we would pull into shore and fire our five-inch guns at North Vietnam targets. It was all very exciting. “

Bob stirred the Caesar Salad as Ron described his adventures in the Vietnam war. Harriet and Dottie chatted on the side. Bob mixed and poured Ron and Dottie another martini.

“After my first destroyer command, I had two more every few years since then. My last command was a Guided Missile Cruiser, the USS Worden, CG 18,” Ron said.

“Wow, that’s a major command,” Bob replied.

“Yep, the best two years I ever spent, and it was in familiar territory back in Vietnam waters,” Ron said.

“Did you ever fire those missiles in combat?”

“No, but we fired them in training exercises, very exciting.”

“How did you learn how to drive a ship that big?” Bob asked.

“I had a lot of experience with my tug boat and three destroyers, so I was in pretty good shape compared to a lot of ship captains. When I took the ship out of San Diego port the first time, I went up on the deck and the XO was already there. ‘We’ve got two tugs lined up for you to take us out, Skipper,’ he said.

“I just want one tug boat,” Ron, the new commanding officer said.

“The last skipper always used two tugs,” replied the XO.

“This skipper only uses one tug,” I told him.

“I got that big cruiser out of port and into the Pacific with one tug and no trouble. The crew members were impressed, and my confidence soared. Never had any trouble or questions with my ship handling after that,” Ron concluded.

“I sliced two fresh lemons and using a fork, routed out the juice onto the lettuce and cheese. Then I tossed them again. The mixture was looking good.” Bob said.

“What are you doing these days?” I asked Dottie.

“I work for Department of Defense at the Pentagon. Administrative stuff mostly kind of boring”

“Sounds like it could be exciting.”

“Ron, I thought you were going for Admiral. What made you change your mind and go for retirement?” Bob asked.

“I was here in DC also working at the Pentagon after 30 years and I just decided that was enough. I think I could have made Rear Admiral, but it would have taken at least another five years with maybe another cruise or two to WestPac. Dottie and I talked it over and I put in my papers for retirement the next day. Even at that I get full Captain’s pay and health benefits for Donnie and me for the rest of our lives. Not too bad. We’re planning to move to Hawaii, our favorite place, probably Kona.”

I added a cup of croutons, toasted with garlic butter and tossed the entire salad again.

“This is ready. Does anyone need a restroom break before we eat? Or another martini?” Bob asked.

I cracked the raw egg over the salad and tossed it round and round mixing it well with the lettuce, cheese, croutons, and dressing.

“You know how a martini is like a woman’s breast? One is not enough and three is too many,” Bob joked.

“That reminds me of a girl friend I once had. She had three breasts. Two in the front like normal and one in the back. She was kind of weird to look at but a lot of fun to dance with.” Bob continued with the jokes.

“What about you, Bob?” Ron said.

“I got out of active duty in the Navy when we left Seattle in 1965. I got my MBA from the University of Washington and landed a job as an Operations Research Analyst with Monsanto in Greenville, SC. And then I migrated to selling and marketing mainframe computers. It’s been a good career, but I missed the Navy even though I did not miss flying off a carrier against Vietnam. Right now, I am the Regional Manager for Harris Computer Systems with offices in the Watergate. We’ve got about 30 people in the states between here and Florida. I am responsible for all new sales as well as existing computer customers in those states. We specialize in computer applications that drive cockpit simulators for pilots both commercial and military. It’s a pretty good job but nothing on the scale of your Guided Missile Cruiser.

“Harriet, what do you do to stay busy since the kids are gone and out of college?” Ron asked.

“I have nine dogs which I breed and show in AKC shows around the country and I am on the Board of Directors of the American Shetland Sheepdog Association. I have finished the championships for about 20 shelties so far. That, with about four litters of puppies per year, keeps me busy, never mind cooking and caring for Bob.”

The group finished their Caesar Salad and polished off another martini, making it three for everyone. They were tipsy, and Ron said “well, I’m about 10 on the drunk scale. No way I am going to drive home. You neither, Dottie. Bob, please call me a taxi and I will come back for my car tomorrow.”

“Your salad was as you said the best I have ever eaten. Thanks for going to the trouble and having us over. You will have to join us someday soon,” Ron continued.

Ron and Dottie got in their taxi and headed home.

“I like Ron, I really do,” but I’ve always been a little bit jealous of him,” Bob said to Harriet.

“Get over it. You have done fine and besides you have been home most of the time; you make more money than he does, and if you had stayed on active duty, you probably would be in a coffin out in Arlington. So, take what you’ve got. It was a pretty good Caesar Salad and I have scheduled the next week to clean up the kitchen and dining room from the mess you made.”

“It takes a lot of mess to make a Caesar Salad that good.”