Eureka in the Parlour

I am in a mode of training called Suicide Training. I work out as many times a day as I can, for as long as I can, until I drop... at least, that is the theory. Some days I don't get to work out as long as I want to because, believe it or not, I do actually have a life, a job and a household to maintain. So the rest, I do with diet. It's all protein and vegetable matter; absolutely no sugar, dairy or wheat, as little fats as possible and only complex carbohydrates. All of this is because I had a back injury about eight weeks ago that required that I stop working out. During the six weeks that I wasn't working out, I decided to live a little and eat food I don't eat, haven't eaten in many years.

I am so glad that I made that choice. I had forgotten how good food is! Oh, I don't want to knock my lifestyle - I am happily back on chicken breast and brussels sprouts, turkey burgers and asparagus and lots of eggwhites. Still... Like a child, I got to enjoy a slice of pizza... a piece of cheesecake... I had a french fry or two... My friends stared in wonder as I ate a dinner roll. I ate lasagna. I had granola. It was a fun little adventure and the best part was that, right in the middle of the adventure, my husband and I got to take a trip...

To Disney World.

We took our own food with us. I prepared a cool box filled with poultry and green vegetables; but it was understood that it was to snack on late at night and to make our main meals out of during the day. It was, also, understood (clearly) that this was our vacation and we would eat something if we wanted it. It was, after all, DISNEY WORLD.

Our first night there, Pat spotted the Cotton Candy vendor. We strolled Downtown Disney eating Cotton Candy and the Peanut Butter fudge I had decided to treat myself to. The next day, at the Magic Kingdon, we had one of those gargantuan turkey legs. The following day we were at a Disney wedding, where we ate the roast potatoes on our plates and had two pieces of wedding cake. It was, though, the final day at Disney that I had what may be my biggest treat during my six weeks off from my life as a health fanatic.

Pat wanted an ice cream cone. There was a real, honest to goodness Ice Cream Parlour in Epcot. We stood in the line and waited our turn... our turn to order, our turn to pick up, our turn to pay. Standing there, I looked at the other people in those two lines; I watched them study the menu, watched them place their order, watched them step up to the counter to pick up. I turned to Pat and told him,

"Ice Cream makes people human."

"What?"

I had noticed that everyone - and I mean everyone - whether they be young or old, of varying shapes and sizes, from various races and cultures, standing on two feet or in some kind of moving chair; everyone had the same expression on their face. As each person stepped up to the counter to claim their prize, as they walked away, as they took their first bite, everyone had the same expression on their face. Everyone was absolutely happy.

There are a few things in this life that we, all of us, have in common, other than the normal basic needs of food, water, shelter, a place to rest and the need for love. Not everyone likes to read, not everyone likes music or sports, not everyone watches tv. We don't all want children or pets and we certainly don't all like to excercise. Everyone has different needs, tastes and desires. We are unique in our individuality. There must, though, be one or two things that we all have in common. Maybe there are more than one or two - at this moment I can't really think of what they are, honestly... except for toilet paper and ice cream.

These things make us human.

Especially ice cream. It makes us human and happy.

These are good things.