Kerosene Cucumbers

The Mayberry Way

I was young, maybe ten or eleven and my dad cooked dinner one night and it was this noodle and shrimp pasta and it had this sauce on it. Not my favorite but I was going to try it. I took one bite and I knew it wasn’t for me but dad worked hard on it and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I was going to eat it. Dad comes in and sits down and he takes one bite, stands up, goes back into the kitchen and I hear the garbage disposal running and dad using a few choice words, he comes back, takes my bowl and says something along the lines of “no one should have to eat this mess”. My mom and I looked at each other and she had this grin on her face and I knew I was saved. Thinking about this now after writing this sermon, this could be the reason I’m a picky eater to this day. I was burned one time and now I absolutely do not like trying anything new, especially sauces. There are a few exceptions to that though.