Lemon Taco (without the taco)

“When life gives you lemons, toot a tuba tune or two.”

Back in in ‘99, my parents ran a car lot.  Not a new fancy one but one for used ones.  It was hard to find dealers willing to give such a small business their nicer cars, so we had to settle for the most used of the used.  Well, this meant we didn’t see much business.  My mom, being a resourceful cook, managed to get a whole pile of ingredients for one giant meal of... some sorta.. Taco casserole.  Well we stretched this meal out for a full quarter of a month on account of the empty funds, and I’ve gotta tell ya.  There are only so many things one can do with a bonafide taco casserole.  Boy was I tired of the monotony!  We’d sit there in the car lot hut, eating taco casserole out of red solo cups, staring at the restaurant glowin’ at us from across the street.  One of these days I chose to stare at my tuba instead.  He looked at me sadly from his velvet-lined case and said, “you know, it might shake it up a bit if yeh just add some lemon.”  The rain on the roof dampened as his words warmed the cold air.  The air was cold on account of the lack of funds, you know.  “But I ain’t got no lemons!”  I guess life forgot to hand those over.  “Never fear,” chuckled the tuba.  I heard a semitoned BRRRrrPP!!!  And out from the lead pipe snaked a trail of taffy strings.  Well I grabbed my lemon juicer and squeezed those danged taffies right over my taco casserole.  Lemon drizzled over the taco stuff, causing it to glow a storm.  And I must say!  Those heavenly bites thereafter were so exquisite I could’ve eaten that ol’ taco casserole for any number of quarter months.  Now, that taco casserole is long gone, but I’ll tell you those taffies pack a punch on their own.  And if you ever find yourself short of flavors, just reach into your pocket and pull out your emergency lemon stash.