Conversation from Tokyo

Monday, November 29, 2004

No roll cabbages

The food delivery service from where we buy most of the daily fare made a blunder this week. The frozen food bag was actually destined to another customer. Being not much aware of what is supposed to come in the parcel, I threw everything in the home freezer but kept the roll cabbages outside for today's diner. I was a little bit puzzled at that bag of frozen crabs - not a usual home staple - but hey, why not, Christmas is coming, right? The roll cabbage (not either a usual staple by the way) were pretty much defrosted when the delivery company called in apparent panic and ask me to check the label on the frozen stuff bag I had not discarded yet. Indeed, that name was not ours. They said they would fetch someone to exchange the goods with our original, less expensive purchase. I told them everything whose safe and frozen except the roll cabbage. Within 30 minutes, a panicky young lad ringed to bring what was ours to swap for what was not (too bad for the crab). I was surprised he also requested the cabbage, that is at a time when your average Japanese housewife is beyond thinking about what to eat for dinner, but already preparing it. Well, I was not totally surprised. The young lad was bent four folds in apologizes so pathetic I could not help telling him that nobody is perfect, and that I was not at all angry of anything (just worried about dinner). I would have bet the price of the crab he did not understand anything.