Left at the home of my grandmother's cousin  Louise, who had agreed to babysit us one afternoon, my little brother Johnny and I were surprised to learn we should call this lady by her first name, and dismayed to discover that we were staying at her house for dinner too!

Johnny, no more than five at the time, demanded of her, "What are we having for dinner?"

"Tuna noodle casserole," she answered.

"What's that?" Johnny asked. I had never heard of it either.

"I mix tuna fish and noodles and soup and peas, and I bake it," she explained.

"Wait a minute," Johnny said. "You mean you eat tuna fish hot?"

"Yes," she told him. "I cook it in the oven."

I was wondering which was more disgusting: having to eat peas, or eating tuna fish hot, but I was old enough to know that we were guests and we needed to be polite. Not only would I have to choke down every bit of hot tuna fish and peas that Louise would put on my plate; I would also have to smile and pretend I loved it. I nudged Johnny and made a threatening face.

Ignoring me as usual, he protested, "Yuck! I can't eat tuna fish hot!" As if that weren't bad enough, he added, "My sister doesn't like it either!"

He was always getting me into trouble, and now we were really in for it! Louise would be angry with us for being rude guests, and I didn't even want to think about what my mother would say when she found out.

But Louise didn't get mad at all. "Do you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? I could make that for you instead."

Johnny and I gratefully nodded.

She smiled at us. "What a dull world indeed it would be if everyone liked the same things!"

*          *          *          *

Join us at Creek Road Gang. You may not like everything (although in adulthood, I've come to like peas, and can even eat tuna noodle casserole without gagging), but we are going to bring a variety of perspectives and experiences to your online mix. We are hoping to stir up a few new recipes, and maybe you can bring us some unique ingredients.

What could you do? Well, in addition to checking out our your writing files and our Submission Guidelines, here are a couple of ideas:

Send us a picture of your local creek, and tell us its name. (Failing that, a picture of the dry creek bed will do.) We will choose some of those pictures to put in future issues. (Send to: editor@creekroadgang.com, and put "Creek Picture" in the subject heading.)

If you're feeling really ambitious, I've just learned that October 15 is National Poetry Day AND National Grouch Day. Anyone in the mood to create some grouchy autobiographical poetry? (Send to poetrysubmission@creekroadgang.com, and put "Grouchy Poetry" in the subject heading.)

Creek Road Gang celebrates different voices, points of view, perspectives. Because everyone doesn't like the same thing, and in the interests of making sure that the world of online autobiographical writing doesn't get dull, I encourage you to get involved with our gang.

*          *          *          *