Peanut A A

Every family has one. You know what I am talking about: An inside joke that is told incessantly,That has every one in the family in stitches and everyone outside the family totally baffled.

Our inside family joke was absolutely original, teed up by one of my first cousins at a very young age:

Young Cousin: “Knock knock”

Us: “Who’s there?”

Young Cousin: “Peanut”

Us: “Peanut Who?”

Young Cousin: “Peanut A A.”

Peels of hysterical laughter ensue. Don’t ask. You’d have to be a family member to understand.

But it leads me into something perhaps we can all think about in a bit more detail, namely the power of early tropes in one’s life. For me it perhaps started with this connection to peanuts through this nonsensical knock-knock joke. I can’t say for sure. What I can say is that peanuts are a powerful presence in my life: 1) The Lance peanut “sandwiches” I totally craved and would buy from the snack dispenser (a version of which is pictured here); 2) The peanut butter sandwiches my mom would make for me for school lunch, replete with honey (in lieu of jam), raisin bread (in lieu of Wonder bread) , and grated carrots (her special healthy spin); myfirst taste of Pad Thai, when I went off to college. The list goes on and on.

How do we explain this embedded connection to certain foods, to certain tastes? How do I explain the strong presence of peanuts on our soul food menu today? I don’t know. But it all may have started with a nonsensical knock-knock joke over 50 years ago. Weird, no?