By JACK GODBEY

Community columnist

I went out the other day to start the lawn mower only to find that the battery had failed and the mower would not start. Instead of going to the auto parts store to obtain a new battery, I took this as a sign from the Universe that I should watch TV instead. 

I soon realized that in spite of having literally hundreds of television stations at my disposal, there was nothing on that interested me. I ended up watching a show where a loud and angry chef was teaching beginners how to cook and was yelling and throwing things whenever a mistake was made. 

This got my attention and I was glued to the set halfway hoping that at some point, someone was going to bust this guy in the nose but no one ever did. They ended up making a British dish called Scotch Eggs which is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage and breadcrumbs. 

At first, I snarled my nose and waved it off as some sort of British weirdness that I wanted no part of. After all these are the same folks that think blood pudding is an acceptable meal.

Then I realized that I like boiled eggs, I like sausage and I like bread so what was so weird about it? 

This started me thinking about the down-home food that we enjoy that might seem weird to others. For example, we might think it was weird if someone put mustard and mayonnaise on their eggs yet we will enjoy deviled eggs, which are basically the same ingredients, without a second thought. 

I have definitely enjoyed my share of bologna sandwiches in my day. As a child, I would come home from school hungry as a bear and a good bologna sandwich would hold me over until supper was ready. I find that I do the same thing today as an adult. 

I’ve never been picky about what condiment to use though. I use mustard, mayonnaise or Miracle Whip, whatever is handy. However, one thing that has always struck me as odd is the whole Miracle Whip thing. 

When I think of salad dressing, I think of Thousand Island, Ranch, or Blue Cheese. However, if you read the jar of Miracle Whip it classifies itself as a salad dressing. I don’t know about you but I don’t want Miracle Whip on my salad and I don’t want Thousand Island on my bologna sandwich. You can call them the same but they are certainly not. 

While I’ve never been that hard to please when it comes to what’s for supper, nothing made me happier as a child than to see my mother at the stove throwing some hot dogs on to cook. It would send me instantly into my happy dance. If you don’t want to see that dance then don’t feed me hot dogs because I’ll still do that dance to this day.

While I still enjoy a good hot dog today as many of us do, we may not realize that we may not be eating a hot dog at all. A look at the package will many times list the item as a wiener or frankfurter instead. 

As a former butcher, I can testify that the only difference is based on what type of meat is in it. If you’re like me, you don’t really care. Throw it on a bun with some chili on top and keep them coming.

Now if we can figure out why hamburgers are not really made with ham we would be set.