Kapusta-Head

On top of Mammam’s refrigerator – on the edge, just within her reach – was a thing that defies categorization. It was plastic and its base resembled a terracotta plant pot. From the textured plastic that tried to imitate soil in the pot sprung a plastic plant/figure. All its parts were shaped like vegetables but configured to look like a person – celery arms, cabbage head, but yet black eyes with long lashes that looked like no part of any vegetable. It was meant to be funny and it was.

Mammam would see it on the fridge, grab it and set it on the kitchen counter so I could see it better. She did this often. A single visit might involve several exchanges regarding the figure – sometimes it would never be mentioned; its frequencey had mostly to do with whether or not she happened to see it.

“And did you see my Kapusta-head!” she would say. She would laugh. She laughed often. We would stray away from the topic and she would return when she spotted it again. She’d laugh, grab it and say, “And did you see my Kapusta-head!”