There has been too much coming and going.
I’m reveling in my aloneness here, your aloneness there
a bit crazy and wild-like
endless opportunities
for me in this 1200 square feet
of alone.

I am not really referring to the leftovers Thanksgiving turkey supplies us with.

I spent twice a much on a large breast (get the giggles out) for Jamie and I – locally and organically grown not far from here – as it would cost to buy a whole turkey from Price Chopper. I was reaffirmed in my decision after seeing a slide show about where Butterball turkeys come from, how they are conceived, live, and die. I wish I had inclinations to become a vegetarian, but I’ll save that for my next, further enlightened life where I can survive on mostly air.

So I spent about $60 just beginning to plan our dinner for two, when we found out we have other friends in town – chef friends. Who won’t allow anyone else to bring food. They’re doing that to be wonderful, perfect hosts…so well, I guess we’ll have our second supper on Sunday. Truthfully I was not completely organized, and I did NOT want to be trampled in the grocery store riot tonight – the night before Thanksgiving.

Back to the ‘spend more, eat less, buy local’ argument stuff. I narrowed my reasoning down a bit. We’ve all heard the gory details about tortured animals, the agregious amounts of pesticides used on our veggies, or even hormone influence growth in all of the above. Here’s a more philosophical thought:

Not unlike the cannibal ideal, who desire to eat human flesh to gain the strength of their enemies, I desire to eat locally grown, sustainable, organic or handcrafted foods to infuse myself with positive energy and ideals of the farmer or artisan.

Every living cell holds a different story, knowledge or strength – life has scribbled a different note on each one, and I want to eat poems.

Travel is inspiring of course – it can expand our mind and perspective in many different ways. Spending 3 days in different airports and people-watching is part of this inspiration.

Inspiration to not end up like many of the people I see. Inspiration to never eat fast food again. Inspiration to boycott shopping forever. (I spent about an hour imagining the blogging possibilities not purchasing anything new for one year would bring me.)

The hardest part is finding something to eat that is semi-affordable, and does not make me grip my stomach in pain after eating. I made a mistake in Nadi by choosing the cheap option; veggie samosa and pakora. Cheap, relatively small, but totally deep fried. Luckily, I am not a large person by nature, but I think I understand food addiction. (Like there is chocolate cake in the fridge right now – I may not eat until I am sick in one sitting, but I will certainly take small bites every time I walk passed until it’s gone.) Those samosa caused me stomach pain on the 11 hour flight into LAX…during which I ate a mystery meat chicken sandwich.

*Note: Always opt for the vegetarian option on your flight. Or simply drink juice – it is probably better for you. The vegetarian option is usually not as glamorous, but that also means it may not be microwaved. Which leads me to my next encounter – mystery meat.

“You know chicken is a chicken, right?” I saw this quote recently and thought “I’d like to think so.” Most of us don’t tend to think about what’s in our food other than calories, vitamins or fat. But think bigger…think beyond words…chicken? Where? All I see is some pink, cushy type lump on top of my salad. It’s most definitely that stuff they call “machine processed” which just makes me picture a poor chicken being ripped to shreds by 8,000 tiny, sharp surgical instruments in about 2 seconds. Or about this show I saw once, where they literally liquified a chicken, bones and all, into a sort of paste, which I bet could easily be stuck back together again into something resembling what was on my salad…that I ate in LAX, right along with the ‘bacon’ bits.

Ah! But it was my choice – this salad was sitting right next to a nice Greek salad, Olives and feta on top of the same creepy lettuce…and I chose the mechanical chicken.

I suppose it was better than opting for “Chili’s, Too.” Barf. Baby steps.

At least at home I have more control of what I am eating. I revel in buying local organic items. I had a hard time with the turkey this year – I spent 25 dollars on an organic turkey breast for Jamie and I from a local farmer…then saw entire turkeys at Price Chopper for 15, and tried not to get depressed. I don’t do these things to boost my ego, (as far as I can tell) I honestly want us, people, to take pride in putting something good into our brains and bodies!

I realize this sounds rather harsh. I do NOT plan on always posting something cynical, but it’s necessary at the moment. I thank the world for putting me in Vermont, a little bubble of awareness.

To be continued…