The joke…

It’s Day 4 of the Movement Control/Restricted Movement Order and yesterday morning, the Chairman of our local municipal council posted on Facebook that the crab seller at our wet market was selling the crustaceans at half price. Jokingly, I commented and tagged my friend, Eric, saying, “Go, Eric, go! Grab some and send to my house!“

The weather was good and I spent the morning, like on all other days, doing my gardening. I finished past 10.00 a.m. – I usually do that as it would be a little too hot by then. I went upstairs, bathed and changed and rested, my regular routine.

Later, I came downstairs and my girl told me that somebody sent something to our house and she did not bother to go and have a look. By the time she did, whoever it was had left and she saw a black plastic bag hanging at the gate…and it was still hanging there when I came downstairs! Sigh!!! I went out to take it in and when I opened the bag, I was stunned to see what was inside…

*photo taken using my cheap antique handphone*

Crabs!!! I knew straight away who was behind it! Eric!!! I checked on Facebook and yes, he replied to my aforementioned comment saying that he had left the crabs at my gate and did not stay as he was not wearing a mask and was practising social distancing!

I took them out and tried to take a nicer photograph but they started crawling all over the place…

…so I quickly put them back into the bag.

It was the 3rd Friday in the season of Lent yesterday , a day of fasting and abstinence, so we decided to save them for dinner. My missus cooked them in exactly the same way my mum used to cook crabs and prawns all throughout my growing up years…

…and according to her, her mum, my mother-in-law, would cook them that exact same way too. Perhaps that was the traditional way, how everyone would cook crabs and prawns at home way back then, I wouldn’t know.

We sure enjoyed our crab feast…

…to the max that evening.

The last time we had any was way back in August, 2018 when my girl was still in her school in the jungle and in need of food therapy when she came home on weekends and that day, she felt like having crabs. We do not usually go and eat that outside nor do we buy our own to cook because they are mighty expensive. My friend/regular reader in Perth, Australia said that when he came home for Chinese New Year earlier this year, he had to fork out RM260.00 for three like the ones Eric gave me, over RM100 a kg so even at half price, that would be over RM100.00.

Thank you so much, Eric! I must make sure not to crack any more jokes from now on – my girl was somewhat embarrassed and was grumbling yesterday, “Next time, don’t go and ask anybody for anything!” The last time I did that back in 2015, the same thing happened and you said these exact same words, “Ask and ye shall be given!” Talk about History repeating itself, eh? LOL!!!