PAPA don't preach

So, last night we were meeting some friends and decided to visit one of those buzz-worthy new crazes that pop up now and again. It happened with Krispy Kreme, before they EXPLODED and became commonplace. It's happening again in the form of rice pudding with "RICE TO RICHES". And it's also happening with a distinctly Japanese import with the curious name of "Beard's Papa". What does Beard's Papa serve?




CREAM PUFFS...

Don't ask me why it's called "Beard's Papa". The mascot they've got looks like an older man with a puffy beard that resembles, I guess, their cream puffs.

(he also resembles the gorton's fisherman, but I digress...)

Puffy beard. Puffy beard of papa. Papa's Beard? No... the beard should be first... Beard's Papa. The beard is so puffy, it is in possession of papa -- not the other way around. Just as our cream puffs will be in possession of the throng of humanity. [In any case, that's the train of Japanese business logic that I assume occurred -- much in the way the man who established "SONY" was going for a very American-sounding name and thought of "sonny-boy"...]

C. and I had never been there but we'd read about it, and we decided to do something nice for these friends we don't see so often and buy everyone some fucking BEARD PAPAS...!

Now, granted, cream puffs are not everybody's cup of tea. Just as rice pudding and even doughnuts are not everybody's cup of tea. Cream puffs are one of those distinctly fringe desserts that, through marketing and *buzz*, can potentially become mainstream.

That being said, even if you do NOT care for cream puffs, if it is given to you as a gift there are still some basic guidelines for social etiquette that you should follow. And to be fair, everybody seemed very appreciative of our Beard's Papa offering...

Everybody, that is, except *one*...

For the sake of anonymity, let's refer to him as... Ignatius...

Ignatius threw his away. After trying to give it away to random people, Ignatius threw it away without having taken a bite. Ignatius didn't even bother to lie to us.

He didn't bother to try to give it back to us, politely saying something to the effect of, "I'm sorry -- that was exceedingly thoughtful of you, but I do not personally care for cream puffs and I do not want to waste the $1.25 you paid for each one of these cream puffs, so I would like to give you this cream puff back..."

No. He just threw it away. And sheepishly confessed to it later in the night.

Is it any wonder why I'm so misanthropic? When I do something nice for someone, they throw it in the trash... Papa's Beard would be livid...