The Last Slice of Cold Pizza

I ate the last slice of cold pizza.

There, I said it.

I got in trouble recently for that and it feels great to get it off my chest.

Something about getting in trouble for such a stupid thing reminds me of the wisdom one acquires as one gets older.

The person who got mad at me for eating the last slice of cold pizza is half my age and her anger hits home. Unlike a lot of people my age, I remember what it’s like to be young and so this little kerfuffle has come to symbolize — to me at least — how differently young people view the world as opposed to more “mature” people.

There is a great Rolling Stone’s song that tells us “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” And that’s how I feel about the Great Pizza Incident of 2013. When I was younger, I did not really understand the significance of the song, but now I do. That’s the thing that the wisdom associated with age brings — you appreciate that just because you want something really bad, doesn't mean you will ever get it.

But my wisdom also lets me step back from the Great Pizza Incident and realize how dramatically different young people view the world as opposed to gray beards like myself. When you’re young, not being able to get what you want is a big deal, when you’re old it’s simply expected.

Of course, the coda to this little story is the person who go so upset about me eating the last cold slice of pizza made four small pizzas herself and proceeded to make a big deal about the fact that there were “unclaimed” pizzas in the house.

I thought the point of making food was that someone else could enjoy it. But, then, I’m old.

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