What's a Slow Deli?

When I was a teenager, my parents and siblings and I would always eat Sunday lunch together. Not a fancy Sunday Dinner or anything like that, just sandwiches and chips and whatever fruit and/or vegetables were in the fridge. Basically the same kind of lunch any of us would fix up on our own, but together. That was the point: that the seven of us were all around the table, eating and chatting and being a family. I think by this point enough of us had places to be on various weeknights that our dinners, though usually eaten at home, would sometimes be staggered or otherwise incompletely attended, so Sunday at noon was when you'd be mostly likely to find the whole squad assembled.

When you spend a lot of time with the same people doing the same activity, you get a sense for each person's individual approach, and over time I developed a reputation as a... let's say unhurried sandwich constructor (I wouldn't dare call myself an artist, meticulous though my process may be). My brothers and sisters would be finished with their meal and I'd still be making condiment selections. I don't remember who first referred to my end of the table as Justin's Slow Deli, but I know it was a reference that stuck.

Because of the grace extended to me by my family, I learned how valuable that unhurried approach can be, and not just when it leads to unique sandwich ingredient combinations. I've learned that although of course there will be times when I need to hurry (ask my kids' bus drivers), there's a real pleasure to be found in taking my time.

What I'm hoping to do here is pay close attention to things that have been in my life for long enough that they've had time to grow familiar: I'm thinking especially of albums, but books, movies, and TV shows are good candidates as well. New Reactions to Old Releases. I might try to hit release anniversaries with some of my reviews, but it'll probably just as often be something I've recently encountered or otherwise been reminded of, or just a favorite that I like thinking about.

Subscribe if that sounds good to you! Tell your friends, parents, friends' parents, and parents' friends!