And the rest is gravy.
According to the Christian Science Monitor (a source I don't reference too often), the phrase "originated from an Old English saying, which implies that life is meat and potatoes, and the luxuries are gravy.
Whether or not that reference is true is not something I'm inclined to devote time to. Though I will say this: gravy is a brilliant metaphor for the meaning of life, capturing the conflict between survival and enjoyment ... crude protein and indulgent flavor ... scraping the pan vs. washing the pan ... triple 0 flour vs. all purpose flour. You get the idea. Or, maybe you don't.
Charles Dickens wrote: "You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!" Taking Mr. Dickens advice, I'll aim to channel my inner gravy every day ... and ride the gravy train.
Even so, the essential question remains: how much gravy is required for one to be happy? A taste every now and then? A portion every day? A perpetual smothering? To determine that, we'll have to whisk it further. That, at least for now, is what I'll muse upon. (What's the connection to photography, you may ask? Absolutely none. I have a "blog" tab on the site so I figured I might as well use it.)
