Live and let live, or food for thought

Published 11:13 pm Saturday, March 21, 2015

Nelson, stop being ridiculous!” my mom said.

“But mom it’s really good,” I protested.

“I don’t want to hear another word about it,” she closed with an unfamiliar finality.

Mom was usually the support base of my coloring outside the lines but this time she was adamant.

More on that later.

Last week we discussed the practice of salting sweet things to enhance their flavor. Jo said she likes the trail mix with M&Ms mixed in.

Another remembrance of mine was riding with a man delivering papers one day who put peanuts in his Dr Pepper. He insisted I try it and I did once. It wasn’t for me. I like my peanuts inside M&Ms, thank you very much.

Then Art upped the ante on my peanut butter and mustard sandwiches by recalling his application of PB and mayo. I couldn’t do it. He claims it is good.

As long as we’re talking mayo, I must say I’m firmly in the camp of Hellmann’s or Duke’s but I cannot and will not abide Miracle Whip. Merely knowing it was in my house would give me the willies.

Back to the past. We had played golf one summer day and enjoyed cheeseburgers and fries afterward. One of the boys in the group alerted us to the flavor sensation of dipping French fries in mayonnaise.

It was a revelation. We were smitten with the new combo and excited to evangelize the world with the discovery.

In my dear mother’s defense, her initial reaction probably was because we were 13 and everyone knows 13-year-old boys don’t make a lick of sense.

As the years moved by it turned out mom decided, if others wanted to eat their fries with mayo, it brought no harm to her.

Upon encountering things practiced by others she may not wish to join, she now will pronounce, “Well, it’s kind of like people who want to eat mayonnaise on their French fries. Why should I care?”