(no subject)
"All right ma'am. The survey is almost over. One last question. Favorite food?"
She looked at me with a concerned look. "Oh, my. They save the hardest one for last, don't they?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's such a broad category. Food is necessary to life, and there are some foods that a good for you and some that are bad for you. Or so they say. It depends on who you ask, really. As for what food is my favorite.. I'm not sure."
This was not my first survey. Usually this question went fairly quickly as contestants offered their favorite dishes. Spaghetti, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies. Stuff like that. But this young woman seemed conflicted. I had to write something down, so I pressed onward. "Well, what food do you like to eat the most?"
Her fingers started to play with the bottom hem of her T-shirt. "Anything that keeps me going, really. If I don't eat, it's like my fuel tank goes on empty and I can't concentrate."
I wondered when the last time it was she had eaten. I was about to ask her another question, but she continued.
"I used to think ham was my favorite food, but it doesn't really appeal to me the way it used to. Lately I've been eating a lot more chicken, ever since the doctor said I have high cholestorol. I don't really like the spicy food that my husband likes, but I can't stand the grease in tacos or fast-food hamburgers. Fruit is good, but not always very filling. I tried eating only strawberries, bananas and some cream of wheat cereal for breakfast and I was falling asleep at my desk at work before 11 o'clock."
"So, would you say strawberries are one of your favorite foods?" I asked, scribbling my pen in a blank corner of my clipboard in an attempt to coax the ink back toward the tip of the pen. She'd been talking so long it'd gone dry.
She smiled. "Mmm. Strawberries. I remember my grandma used to grow strawberries. She'd pick them and put them in big bowls and then douse them in sugar. Then she'd put them in little plastic containers and stick them in the big freezer she had down in the basement. That way we could eat strawberries all year round."
"So, is that a yes to strawberries?"
"Stawberries are also good with angel food cake. Man, I haven't had that in a while. My husband doesn't really like the cake texture. He says it's too bready. Must be a texture thing. I miss angel food cake, but it's probably good that I haven't eaten it in awhile. I'm trying to eat healthier."
"So.. Would you say angel food cake is your favorite food?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I haven't had it in awhile. It seems like my tastes are changing. But I'm not really sure."
"So you don't really know what your favorite food is?"
"No, not really. Sorry. Strawberries rank pretty high on the list though, if that helps."
I nodded, and finally got the pen to work.
Favorite food: It's complicated. Strawberries.
She looked at me with a concerned look. "Oh, my. They save the hardest one for last, don't they?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's such a broad category. Food is necessary to life, and there are some foods that a good for you and some that are bad for you. Or so they say. It depends on who you ask, really. As for what food is my favorite.. I'm not sure."
This was not my first survey. Usually this question went fairly quickly as contestants offered their favorite dishes. Spaghetti, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies. Stuff like that. But this young woman seemed conflicted. I had to write something down, so I pressed onward. "Well, what food do you like to eat the most?"
Her fingers started to play with the bottom hem of her T-shirt. "Anything that keeps me going, really. If I don't eat, it's like my fuel tank goes on empty and I can't concentrate."
I wondered when the last time it was she had eaten. I was about to ask her another question, but she continued.
"I used to think ham was my favorite food, but it doesn't really appeal to me the way it used to. Lately I've been eating a lot more chicken, ever since the doctor said I have high cholestorol. I don't really like the spicy food that my husband likes, but I can't stand the grease in tacos or fast-food hamburgers. Fruit is good, but not always very filling. I tried eating only strawberries, bananas and some cream of wheat cereal for breakfast and I was falling asleep at my desk at work before 11 o'clock."
"So, would you say strawberries are one of your favorite foods?" I asked, scribbling my pen in a blank corner of my clipboard in an attempt to coax the ink back toward the tip of the pen. She'd been talking so long it'd gone dry.
She smiled. "Mmm. Strawberries. I remember my grandma used to grow strawberries. She'd pick them and put them in big bowls and then douse them in sugar. Then she'd put them in little plastic containers and stick them in the big freezer she had down in the basement. That way we could eat strawberries all year round."
"So, is that a yes to strawberries?"
"Stawberries are also good with angel food cake. Man, I haven't had that in a while. My husband doesn't really like the cake texture. He says it's too bready. Must be a texture thing. I miss angel food cake, but it's probably good that I haven't eaten it in awhile. I'm trying to eat healthier."
"So.. Would you say angel food cake is your favorite food?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I haven't had it in awhile. It seems like my tastes are changing. But I'm not really sure."
"So you don't really know what your favorite food is?"
"No, not really. Sorry. Strawberries rank pretty high on the list though, if that helps."
I nodded, and finally got the pen to work.
Favorite food: It's complicated. Strawberries.