Right Now

What is the definition of the word "best"?

Dave and I were at dinner tonight. We were dining al fresco (albeit under cover) in a thunder and lightning storm in Milan. Fantastic. If you can manage to arrange that, I highly recommend it.

Anyway, our waiter comes to the table to take our drink order. Dave orders a glass of chianti. I order a glass of chardonnay (not your typical order in Italy). Dave says to me, "Say in Italian that you're going to drink the whole bottle!" The waiter smiles. I say, "I don't know how to say all that, but I can say bevo la bottiglia..." (I drink the bottle) and I look at the waiter. He smiles this gigantic smile and says, "tutta!" Which means all.

Thereby completing two tasks at once: the waiter knows I can speak a limited amount of Italian, and he knows to ask if I'd like a second (and third...) glass of wine. And it makes our dinner so much more fun because now the waiter is trying to speak Italian to me, and I can't really understand most of what he's saying but I can figure out just enough to keep the conversation going. Our waiter has family from New Jersey, by the way, but he's never been there and he has no interest in going to New York. He likes Milan. And he knows some English because he taught himself and he works with people who speak English. I think. That's how I interpreted what he said.

Fast-forward to an hour (and only ONE glass of wine, thank you very much) later. We have finished our pizzas (Dave ordered a prosciutto and funghi pizza--ham and mushroom, and I ordered a vegetarian pizza--melanzana and zucchini. I say, "I seriously think that was the best pizza I've ever had!" And thus starts a conversation regarding the definition of "best".

I initially offer that the word best implies that there has never been a better one. Seems logical. Superlatives and all that.

Dave suggests that it is a relative term. He thinks that perhaps it means the "most" of something in that particular moment. Not necessarily ever. Apples and oranges and all that.

Which is an interesting idea (to me), because what you can't remember--does it count? It happened. You know it did. But if you can't remember the details, if it's just sort of a fuzzy gray image, can it really have been the very best? Maybe it was at the time. And now it's just back there in your memories. You remember that you thought it was the best at one time, but you can't remember why. So it was the best back then. At that moment, in that situation.

But is now better than then? CAN now be better than then, if now and then have different circumstances?

But right now. Here in Milan. At this table. With the man of my dreams. With this waiter teaching me how to say, "I drink the whole bottle." Lightning and thunder creating a spectacular ambiance. Pizza with eggplant and zucchini and just the right amount of the right cheese and not too much sauce and the perfect, crunchy crust... I know exactly why this is the best pizza I've ever had.