January 2 was National Cream Puff Day and today, January 5, we celebrate National Whipped Cream Day. These days are only three days apart. I wonder if that might be a clue for me to share a story that includes both of those events. Since I’m a native of the dairy state, Wisconsin, it would seem logical that I have a fondness for anything to do with cream. I just finished off the last bit of homemade whipped cream yesterday. It was a sad farewell. The whole thing about these holidays is that they remind me of some funny stuff that happened in the past. Nothing like a funny story to start of the week.

We had just moved to the state of Minnesota. We owned a modest home, but adequate for the five of us and whichever dog we had at the time. We were making it paycheck to paycheck, but special luxuries like cream puffs weren’t really in my daily meal planning. I was grocery shopping at the local Piggly Wiggly store when my eyes were drawn to the refrigerator section of the bakery. CREAM PUFFS. The thought of Wisconsin State Fairs and the most amazing of these delicacies stirred my memory and tempted me into buying five of them. I managed to scrape enough out of the grocery budget. I could hardly wait to offer these to the family for dessert that night. I served them on a silver tray, complete with a paper doily. I could see by the reaction of my family, that everyone was excited to bite into one. We raised our cream puffs and took a huge bite. I could tell by my taste buds and the looks on the faces of my family, that this venture was a total mistake. Either the cream puffs were more than a day old, or they just didn’t taste good. I don’t know who started it, but a food fight ensued. There were cream puffs on the floor, the ceiling, the walls and faces. The dog loved it. He was the only one who did. The decadent dessert I served was a disaster, but it became one of those memories that you simply can’t forget.

Much later in my life, when I was called upon to take a pie in the face for a performance, I felt completely qualified to do so. For seven shows and numerous rehearsals, I would be covered in whipped cream as a pie landed dead center on my face. It was a scene much like the one played out in the kitchen, living room and backyard of our home. I don’t make a habit of starting food fights, but I have fond memories of those I’ve been involved in. My family has always been somewhat spontaneous. We had fun in unusual ways, but the cream puff incident stands alone. Sometimes you just have to have to be weird.

I do not recommend having food fights, unless you’re willing to clean up after them. I do recommend being weird at times. It’s good to laugh.

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” Charles Dickens – “A Christmas Carol”