We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

I've never been a big fan of "spirit" myself. You know, school spirit, or that can-do spirit, or American spirit (except the cigarettes, because I really liked those for a while.) It's a curious emotion, or whatever "spirit" is. A sentiment? A state of mind? I just don't find all that much to get spirited about, overall. Unless you can substitute "spirited" and "pissed off" in equal measure, because I find myself gripped by pissed-offedness at least twice an hour.

I know, however, that for many, spirit comes all too naturally--the pom-pon wavers, the church bakesale organizers, the glee club members, fitness guru Jack La Lanne (that could just be the Juice Tiger doing its work, though.) Anyway, the list goes on. And though I haven't spent too much time on the dude ranch circuit, I am at least marginally aware of what some call the "Western spirit," exemplified, I suppose, by the pioneers, and people who still wear Chaps cologne. I did not, however, realize that there was such a thing as a "Western spirit of deliciousness."

But then I heard an advertisement for LongHorn's Steakhouse. I was curious, since I didn't realize that there was a particular cuisine associated with the Western spirit. I mean, beans cooked in a can over an open fire maybe, but that doesn't exactly scream "deliciousness." Maybe it's not a cuisine? Maybe everything in the West is delicious? Like in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with its yummy chocolate river, and tasty candy flowers.

In this specific case, however, LongHorn's is referring to "a tender LongHorn Flo’s Filet paired with a golden, oven-roasted, cold-water lobster tail," which they note "couldn’t be more different, yet they come together in the Western spirit of deliciousness." Besides the Western spirit of deliciousness, about which it taught me, I like this campaign because it seems to imply somehow that LongHorns alone created the concept of pairing beef and seafood. I believe this combination has existed outside the Western spirit of deliciousness, where it is sometimes referred to as surf and turf. But I'm a vegetarian, so what do I know, besides this: listening to commercials on the radio can be very, very educational.