Picky Eater

“What does this look like?” My friend, Kim, delicately picked at her salad as she asked the question.

My friend, Amber, and I looked at each other uneasy before our eyes darted to her salad. The object in question did not look like lettuce or any other vegetable. What set it apart from the usual salad contents was the eyes. Yes, eyes. Oh, and the antennas.

She carefully removed the insect from the salad and laid it on the table. After a closer examination, we determined that it was a grasshopper.

Several days ago I had a similar experience as I sipped soup from one of my favorite restaurants. First, I found what I thought was an eyelash and removed it from the soup. I told myself not to panic because it very well could have been mine. Plus, I was so hungry and my lunch break was nearing its end. Then, a couple of minutes later, I discovered a dead insect in the soup. That’s when I put the top back on the container and threw it away.

Now, most people probably never would have found the insect in the soup. It was tiny and very well could have been mistaken for one of the soup’s ingredients. As a worrywart, though, I take the label “picky eater” to another level and examine my food before I eat it.

I’ve tried to trace this obsession with ensuring my food is safe to eat, and I think I’ve traced it. About ten years ago, my friend, Rosie, and I were eating at a restaurant where I had a fish sandwich. After I had a few bites, I noticed fuzz on the bread. There was just not one piece, but so much of it that Rosie and I joked that there must be such a thing as “hairy bread.”

I casually pushed this incident aside, thinking that it was an isolated incident. Soon afterwards, I noticed - without even really looking - that pieces of fuzz can be found on food at many restaurants. Which types of food do I normally notice fuzz on? Bread, chips, and French fries - unfortunately, the food I crave when I’m starving.

I know that fuzz and dust particles are constantly swarming in the air and there’s nothing we can do about it, but it just makes you wonder: How long has the food been sitting out if there was enough time for pieces of fuzz to fall on it? I know I’m a picky eater, but I really don’t want to be eating fuzz or dust along with my French fries. Doesn’t sound very appetizing or healthy.

I also know it may seem like a silly thing to worry about to some people, but I don’t want to ingest something that might make me sick or harm my body. As far as I know, I’ve never actually gotten sick from the food I eat, but the possibility’s out there. And if there’s one question that nags at worrywarts, it’s this: “What if?”


P.S. - A few days ago, it only snowed a little and didn’t stick to the roads. After I wrote the previous blog, I still worried about the snow affecting my plans. Then, the day before the snow showers, the weather report showed that the snow would be cleared out by the next morning.

I could have continued worrying about the snow sticking to the ground and making the roadways slick, but I didn’t. I kept telling myself that everything would work out, and it did! It was great not having that added load on my back!

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