Prime Directive

     As any Trekkie knows, the "Prime Directive" on Star Trek was not to interfere with the natural development of an alien culture--unless that culture was doing something wrong (they always were), in which case the crew seduced their females and/or threatened to blow up their planet. Kind of like the United Nations, but with less bribery. However this illustration is interfering with the point I am trying to make, that I, too, have a prime directive--FEED PEOPLE.  It doesn't much matter who.  If an axe murderer came to my door, I would probably fix him a last meal before he executed me. I think I get this from my grandparents, eastern Montana farmers who stuffed visitors with food as if their next stop was Sudan. It was impossible to get hungry at grandma's house. There simply wasn't enough time between bites.  A hearty breakfast was followed by an equally hearty mid-morning snack.  Snacks at my grandparents' house differed from meals only in the size of the plates.  Mid-morning snack was followed by lunch, then 4 o'clock tea time snack, dinner at 5:30. By the time evening snack rolled around, so did we. Carrying on the tradition, anyone who wanders within a quarter mile of our house is offered food.  If they say they've already eaten, I reply, "What's that got to do with it?"  Appetite has no bearing on my prime directive.
     So it has been very frustrating for me here in Butte, celebrating another working holiday at our daughter's house, to be unable to fulfill my prime directive. Outside of the cookies I brought with me, I have been unable to feed people. Admittedly, part of the problem is that I have been spoiled by having luxury items like running water and countertops in my own kitchen.  Since my daughter's kitchen has been dismantled for remodel, her kitchen has been a sink and microwave in the laundry room.  Since we've been here, the kitchen cabinets have been assembled and hung, the microwave installed and a very nice sink is setting on the floor, but only the refrigerator has running water. 
    Since I possess both by nature and by choice, no building skills (more skills lead to more work), and it would be wasted effort to do much cleaning at this point, I have made no contribution to the work here besides that of my good company.  I have not fulfilled my prime directive.  On Star Trek that would lead to demotion, but it would be hard to find something lower than my unskilled labor position on the family work crew. And, as soon as I'm back in a working kitchen, I have every intention of interfering in the natural development of alimentary culture.