True story.

You know how kids sometimes have phrases that they say that don’t really mean anything, they just think they’re funny? My brother Peter had many, but one when he was 8 or 9 was “Chop suey!” He’d say “chop” quickly, and let “suey” drag out, like a hog call.

Once, we were at my aunt and uncle’s for a holiday dinner of some sort, and everyone was watching “Wheel of Fortune” either before or after dinner. A new puzzle had just started, and all that was known was that the category was food — no letters had been turned yet. Pete had to go to the bathroom, and as he got up from the floor, he exclaimed “Chop suey!” He walked out of the room, and the puzzle was solved just as he came back.

The answer was, of course, chop suey.