Chapter 4: Titling the Titles
The next day, I met up with Sarah, James, and Henri, as well as some of my other best friends, Alex Russo, Justin Evans, and Max Greenwald at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill to talk about titling the titles. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "I'm sorry you couldn't take us out for Sunday brunch, Alex," I told my friend. "That's okay," Alex stated. "I was busy doing a lot of things at church." "So, that's what you guys are all dressed up for," I stated. "Uh-huh," Alex replied. "I'm glad that you guys were able to take me to the Eat n' Park down the street for brunch to make me feel better," I thanked my friends. "Thank you!" "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Today, we are talking about titling the titles," I told my friends. "That reminds me," Henri stated. "One time, when I was in a support group in elementary school, John Quincy referred to me as 'The Smartest Kid Ever'," Henri told us. "I was like that, too, in my elementary school book club," Max agreed. "Did anybody give you a hard time about it, Max?" Henri asked. "Not really, Henri," Max replied. "However, a lot of people were jealous of me." "Isn't that the same thing as giving people a hard time?" I asked. "We can also think of titles given to things like books, songs, movies, and TV shows," I added. "Let's talk about teaching," James pointed out. "Since I am a fully grown teacher and have a driver's license, minors must refer to me as 'Mr. Hiller'." "I am a music professor at the University of Pittsburgh," Justin added. "So, Professor Evans is my name!" "Did you do anything special to earn that title, Justin?" James asked. "Yes, James," Justin replied. "I received the John Philip Sousa award back in high school for all the different band ensembles I was in!" "I remember that," I remarked. "That was amazing!" I turned to my female friends. "Sarah, Alex, do you girls have anything to say about this subject?" "Yes, Angel," Sarah replied. "Since I work as a teacher's aide, my clients must refer to me as 'Miss Phillips', unless, of course, they are adults my own age." "Really?" Alex asked. "That doesn't happen to me." "How does it not happen to you, Alex?" Sarah asked. "Well, Sarah," Alex explained, "I work as a director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, and I must admit that it certainly is an honor!" I sighed. "Boy do I miss working full time," I stated. "When I work as a production processor at Goodwill in Lawrenceville, people just call me Angel. My job requires sorting, tagging, cleaning, and hanging while playing the Name Game." "What is the Name Game, Angel?" Alex asked me. "It is where I think of a certain name while I hang clothes, while I think of 11 other names," I told Alex. "Okay," Alex agreed. "I get it now." "I don't have as much money as you do now," I told Alex. "So, I can't afford to do all the things that I like to do on weekends with you anymore!" After the discussion group, we went to Panera Bread in the Waterfront for dinner and hors d'oeuvres, too, of course. For fall produce, Sarah chose purple potatoes, spaghetti squash, and savoy cabbage, and for winter produce, she chose grapefruits, rutabagas, and kale. For spring produce, Alex chose asparagus, leeks, and broccoli, and for summer produce, she chose green beans, poblano chile peppers, and blueberries. For cheeses, James chose Swiss cheese for a semi-hard cheese, blue cheese, and monterey jack cheese for a semi-soft cheese. For cheeses, Justin chose Asiago cheese for a hard cheese, camembert cheese for a soft-ripened cheese, and ricotta cheese for a fresh cheese. For pastas, Henri chose medium egg noodles, tortellini for a filled pasta, and farfalle, or bowtie noodles, for a shape pasta. For pastas, Max chose long ziti for a tube pasta, fettuccine for a long pasta, and orzo for a tiny pasta. Besides our hors d'oeuvres, we all made a YouPickTwo combo of what we liked. I chose a macaroni and cheese bowl with bacon to go with my stir-fried green beans, and a chocolate chip cookie for a pastry. Sarah ordered the strawberry poppyseed salad with chicken, since it was also made with savoy cabbage and kale, and a soup with spaghetti squash inside, and an oatmeal raisin cookie for a pastry. "So, you don't consider potatoes a vegetable, huh, Sarah?" I asked my female friend. "No, Angel," Sarah replied. "Potatoes are more of a starch than a vegetable." James ordered a four-cheese grilled cheese sandwich with fontina, cheddar, Swiss, and monterey jack, and of course, blue cheese on top of his salad, and a sugar cookie for a pastry. "You must love your cheeses, don't you, James?" I asked. "Absolutely, Angel," James replied. "Cheese has lots of calcium and protein." Henri ordered a bowl of chicken tortellini alfredo, along with a soup with egg noodles inside. "So, do you like tortellini as much as egg noodles and farfalle noodles, Henri?" I asked. "Oh yes, Angel," Henri said, licking his lips. "Pasta is one of the best foods to ever exist!" "Where are Alex, Justin, and Max?" I asked. Pretty soon, Alex, Justin, and Max sat down at the table with their meals. "What all did you guys get to eat?" I asked my friends. Alex ordered a turkey sandwich and a salad sprinkled with broccoli and a muffin, with of course, blueberries inside for a pastry. "That looks like a healthy dinner, Alex," I remarked. "Except for the muffin, of course." "Yes, it does, Angel," Alex agreed. "I remember before my graduation ceremony, it was important to fuel my body with healthy food, but not from Panera Bread, of course, but rather at home." Justin ordered an Italian sandwich with asiago cheese and a salad sprinkled with fresh ricotta cheese on top, and a chocolate croissant for a pastry. "Let me guess... you were in the mood for some Italian food, right, Justin?" I asked. "Yes, Angel," Justin replied. "Italian food is yummy, especially Italian cheeses!" Finally, Max ordered a Mediterranean veggie sandwich and a soup with orzo inside, and a cinnamon roll for a pastry. "Not much luck finding any pasta today, huh, Max?" I asked. "No, Angel," Max replied. "I would have to go to an Italian restaurant around here to find some of that stuff." We all ate our meals. "I like all the choices you guys made with your meals," I remarked. "As they say, variety is the spice of life!" "That's what I learned at my high school graduation ceremony, too," Alex stated. "Wow, you must have been one of the top students in your senior class, Alex," Sarah remarked. "Yes, I was, Sarah," Alex replied. "I got high school Valedictorian." "I got high school Valedictorian, too," Sarah pointed out. After dinner, Sarah, James, and Henri drove me back to my mom's apartment in Highland Park. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"
