Let Them Eat Cake!

Cake? The people I elected to represent me at the state level are debating cake. No, I am NOT kidding. They are really debating the merits of Cake. Smith Island Cake to be exact, and whether or not it should be the “State Dessert.” So lets take a moment and think about this. It would appear that if they have time to debate such a “sweet” topic that they have already introduced (and passed on to the Governor’s desk) legislation to deal with crime, schools, healthcare, the environment, public safety, the mortgage crisis, emergency management, immigration, help for small business, roads and transportation, and any other bit of state business that is more important that completing legislation that will signal the state’s sweet tooth.

By the way, during this same session , they were not yet able to pass a ban on using your cell phone while driving. One representative from a rural part of the state tried to argue that his constituents would have to pull over on the side of a road without a shoulder to make a phone call…evidently he missed the 4 million stores and websites selling headsets for as low as $5. So he thinks you can afford a $200 cell phone but can’t shell out another few bucks for a headset or speaker. I think he’s had too much Smith Island Cake.

Speaking of the aforementioned cake, what is it? I had never heard of it until a few days ago when I first heard of the deep philosophical debate happening deep in the bowls of the Maryland State House. Smith Island Cake is not much more then its name signifies. It is a chocolate layer cake, first baked on Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay. It consists of anywhere between 6-12 razor-thin layers of yellow cake frosted with chocolate goodness. It serves, as the great AB often reminds us, as a true “icing delivery system.”

But even with all it’s deliciousness put aside, does it deserve the moniker as the “State Dessert of Maryland”? I don’t know. I guess it’s better then a crab-sicle but what else is out there. I think that a landmark decision like picking the state dessert is not one that should be taken lightly and thrown in to the mix during the end of a legislative session. It needs to be properly feted out and there needs to be a statewide taste test to make sure the will and voice of the people is heard. I would recommend you start at an address up in Gaithersburg. Just a thought, not a sermon.