Peel the onion

When I'm chopping up some onion to add to whatever I'm cooking, I always peel off the dry crinkly layers of skin to get to the fresh sections. Normally that's enough to work, but sometimes there's mold on that part and washing doesn't remove it all, so I peel further.

It's the same with potatoes. When I make mashed or hashbrowns, I remove all the skin and wash it, then peel or cut away the bruises and imperfections. I can't eat a potato if I know it's not completely fresh before being cooked...or raw; I've sliced them up to nibble on. You have to do it fast, though, because they don't last long.

So...what I'm doing now is peeling into the revelation scene of "The Vanishing of Owen Taylor" and making it as clean and pure as I can. And it's taking some work, that's fer shure. However, by doing this I'm finding out what needs to be set up earlier in the story and how to handle the remainder of the mystery. And it's coming across much more honestly, now.

There's still Jake's goofiness, but it works with the exposure of what happened and not against, nor is it a distraction. It also leads to a moral quandary, which surprised me. Something that could be tragic, if not handled right.

But if I let this stand, it leaves Jake in a bad spot. Which means I'm peeling back another layer, to make certain this is right. Don't want no imperfections.

Onions are imperfect enough.