Tonight , as I was preparing for bed , I came across a post on Facebook that left my jaw on the floor. As usual , it had been made by a teenager. A million things went flooding through my head at once , and I wanted to say them all to this kid. Feeling a "delete-button-inducing rant " coming on, I decided it was probably best I just back away from the ipad , and chill for a minute. So I went and made myself a peanut-butter sandwich , and as I commenced the chilling , I had an epiphany ! My lowly little peanut butter sandwich was a wonderful metaphor for life ! Let me explain ;
When I was a kid ,I liked my Peanut butter by itself on crackers or bread , period. Bread must be white, period. And woe be unto him who tried to serve me PB with Jelly on wheat bread ! they would face the wrath of Mini Quiser ! And hell hath no fury like a Mini Quiser who has been presented with an in-correct sandwich ! Now , while the crust is still my favorite ( I used to love to steal the heels out of the bread bag )I have traded the white bread in for whole-grain white ( a small compromise for my health), and I can't stand solo PB. PB no J tastes like foriegn cardboard to me . I have acquired enough patience to wait for the heel at the back of the bread bag , rather than dig it out. And I am actually thinking of trying peanut butter and honey, a practice I Once considered abhorrent ! Whats worse, I know look back on the peanut-butter and banana on a toasted bagel phase of my early twenties in about the same way I do those pictures of my spiral perm in the eighties. EW !
It is amazing to me the ways the years and experiences I have racked up have changed the way I eat this ONE thing ! Thanks to some irresponsible use of diet pills when I was 22, i ended up in an ambulance . They thought i was having a heart attack. Turns out , my potassium level was so low my heart couldn't function normally. It also turned out that I couldn't keep any of the potassium supplements they perscribed down. So I had to radically alter my diet , to include as much banannas and potatoes as possible. one day , out of pure desperation ,i tried the banannas with peanut butter on a bagel. It was a welcome change, and became my breakfast of choice for the next 6 months. If you waved one under my nose now, I would probably hurl on your shoes. The mid-twenties brought on a surge of proverty that likes of which I had never known , which eventually put me in the position of stealing PBJ's at work because I couldn't afford to eat otherwise. It's funny how the addition of Jelly to your PB dosen't matter when that PBJ is the only thing standing between you and starvation. Just like as I have gotten older , my needs have changed, and my knowledge has expanded. Hence the whole grain white, i have grown an appreciation for my health and well-being that was somewhat lacking in my youth. I have learned of the benefits of regularly consuming LOCAL honey on your allergies. Being plagued by allergies, suddenly a little honey on my PB dosen't sound like blasphemy after all.
The point is , age and experience have made all the diffrence. As I have grown older , and acquired more knowledge , and more experience , my views on Peanut-Butter and all its varying acoutrements have changed. I have grown as a person. This is why we are told (though few ever listen) to listen to the words and advice of our elders. They have more experience and knowledge under their belts than our little pea-brains can fathom. And whether or not we want to admit it, more often than not , they know whats best for us better than we do .
So to the kid who inspired this ramble ( if you even read my drivel) , don't go swearing off the peanut-butter forever. Try it with Jelly , try it with banannas, put it on toast , it could be fun . But for gods-sake quit wasting good peanut butter on that useless, flavorless lump of celery your dragging around with you . It has mold all over it and no real nutritional value. There is plenty of lovely bread and crackers for your peanut butter far better than a shitty stalk of celery ! Listen to Quiser ! ( at least until you have accumulated a little more age and experience of your own ) Don't leave your warm and lovely bakery full of peanut butter to live in a moldy celery patch. Trust me when i say , God and all those bakers have bigger better plans for you than a sorry old celery patch , even if you don't. Much love to you my dear, this too shall pass .
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