You Are What You Eat

You know, when I was a kid and, now that I think about it, through most of my life, lemon has been my all time favorite flavor. Sure, there have been a lot of others that have come and gone, and some that have stuck for quite a while and are indeed still contenders, but lemon…. Ahhh yes lemon is the tough competitor constantly ruling the tongue and challenging all other flavors to step up to the palate. Uh Hum!

I remember way back in the day, my grandma used to make a lemon meringue that was out of this world. That creamy, snap, tang of the bright iridescent yellow stuff topped with this light, off white, sugary stuff that looked fluffy, yet had a sort of sweet crunch to it, all atop a flaky cream colored soft and chewy homemade pie crust that sort of triggered a mini Niagara Falls in your mouth. I had to keep swallowing just to contain the jealousy of my anticipating saliva glands.

Oh yes, I went through them all…. Lemon snap cookies, lemon drops, lemon ice cream (yum), and I went berserk for those lemonheads candies. Remember those, in the white box with the blue writing and the sour face picture?

So I realized this morning, when having my morning juice blend, that it’s not just lemon that gives my taste buds the excitement of a five year old going to Disneyland….It’s anything sour and tart. You see I make these juice blends, for example this morning it was 100% cranberry juice mixed with an Orange fusion-about a fifty/fifty ratio. I tried it out on some of the neighborhood kids who won’t drink juice (or anything that’s healthy for that matter) however they love sour candy. So I said “hey you kids, this juice tastes like sour gummy worms.” They loved it. Some even started buying 100% cranberry to make their own juice blends.

So here is the point of my story. If I love the Whacky, Zany, Bam, Bang, Crazy, Over the top, Zippity do da of the tongue curling effects of the sweet and sour turbulently tart, and, you are what you eat (and drink), then that explains what has possibly been the ultimate question in the universe for me…..who and why I am.

I feel better now. Have I told you my theory on colors? Well it all started when I was a little……
-Ravi C. Laird