First, this morning, I read around the internet that a popular television show called Glee did a remake or performance or something of the 1975 cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's a strange little movie with a cult following, and I grew up in a house that always contained a copy of the movie. So I don't even really remember the first time I saw it. I do remember that once my best friend Jennifer's parents traveled out of town while we were still in high school and I went to her house to stay the night with her because she didn't want to sleep in an empty house. She fell asleep early and when a television station began airing Rocky Horror at 2am, I tried to wake her up to watch it with me. The next morning she thought it had all been some bizarre, horrifying dream. But no - that's just Rocky Horror!
My first thought was that I had to track down this Glee show - we don't have cable or TV service, so I hadn't heard of it before - to see for myself. My second thought was - how the heck would I explain The Rocky Horror Picture Show to my in-laws? My third thought was "probably best not to bring it up..." Which is a weird reaction because transvestites are perhaps more common in Pakistan than in America. Well, at least I personally have seen more cross dressers and/or transvestites in Pakistan than in America. Which is saying something, actually, because I spent much of my college years attending occassional drag shows. But still, perhaps Rocky Horror is best approached at one's own pace. It does still have a lot of strange humor in it, and certain scenes that would be uncomfortable to watch with my brother- and sister-in-law.
In the evening, with no leftovers in the fridge and no desire to really cook - and Dulhan busy taking an online course, so she couldn't cook either - I had my second big flash-back to my traditional American upbringing. We had very limited quick dinner options. No frozen pizzas, no canned soup. So I decided to break out that old American staple, Hamburger Helper. I was nervous Chachoo and Dulhan wouldn't like it. I remember that my Mian wasn't a big fan way back when either, but he's learned to like it since then and we used to eat it fairly regularly before his brother came here (though he adds a spoonful of vinegar to it, which is weird beyond reason.)
Nervous though I was, that was about the only quick option we had, so I decided to prepare the in-laws for it. I told them both about my dinner plans. "So it won't be very spicy?" asked Dulhan. "It won't be ANY spicy," I replied, and told her that we had plenty of different hot sauces and chili sauces and tabasco sauces they could use if they found it too bland or whatever. And the vinegar too. "Is this something you've eaten?" she asked. "Ohhhhh yeah," I said "I grew up on this stuff." She assured me that she thought she would like it because she likes macaroni and trying new things. I went through the same spiel with Chachoo later, too, though he thinks I may have cooked this for him once before his wife came to live here.
In the end, they both said it was good. I didn't see how much of that chili sauce they put in their portions, though...
(Also: I was completely wrong about Rocky Horror being an American thing. Turns out it was originally a British play, and wikipedia says it has a large international following. Ya learn something new every day!)
