Bacon Grease

Ever been surprised and disappointed all at the same time?

It’s happened many times in my life, but none were more shocking than the time I was about 10 or 11 years old. I was hot and thirsty. I’d been out playing or riding my bike, you know, one of those with the long banana seat and the handle bars that came up to meet you? Well, I came running into the house, in a hurry and looking for a glass of tea. I spied a glass on the counter with tea in it. There wasn’t a lot in it and even though I hadn’t poured it and had not idea who’d been drinking it, I grabbed it and began to drink.

I immediately knew something was wrong. What hit my tongue was not cool, sweet tea, but something warm, slimy and very bitter. I immediately began to spit and sputter and thought I was going to throw up. That’s how nasty it was. You see, my mom had cooked up a few slices of bacon and had poured off the grease into the cup to be used to season beans or something and I, thinking it was tea, had just wolfed down a cup of bacon grease. I’ll never forget the surprise and shock of that moment. Disappointed? You better believe it.