So What’s Your Category?
Categorizing people is very popular nowadays. It
simplifies life. For example, someone is a ‘have or have not,’ a conservative
or a liberal, and so on. Now, you may be thinking this seems like an odd blog
from an author of a mystery, but it does explain the actions of my main
character, Claire. So bear with me.
I have my own way of categorizing others. There are those
who eat to live (EtL) and those who live to eat (LtE). I, myself, belong in the
latter category and come from a long line of folks who end one meal fantasizing
about what delights they’ll eat later.
Before I continue, let me explain that it’s not readily
apparent who belongs in which category. Body size or shape is no giveaway. Nor
is wealth or lack thereof.
No, it’s the gleam in someone’s eyes when food is
mentioned. The enthusiasm one displays when discussing the virtues of a
chocolate, chocolate giant muffin. Yes, muffins do have virtues. Claire DeNardo,
my private investigator in the “Terrified Detective” mystery series, is, of
course, one who lives to eat. To take it a step further, she, like me, craves
sweets. Both Claire and I know where we stand. Give us a brownie chock full of
chocolate chips, glazed with, you guessed it, chocolate any day. That’s our
battle cry. Of course, being Italian, Claire and I can’t resist pizza, pasta,
sausage and meatballs doused with marinara.
In fact, many of
the LtE people would happily spend much of their time discussing the creaminess
of a fat-laden super-premium ice cream than talk about themselves. There is,
unfortunately, one aspect of being an LtE. Both Claire and I are terrified of getting
hips like Claire’s Aunt Lena. But that doesn’t stop us from indulging. Sure, we
dread the
morning-after weigh in and running a finger around the waist of our pants and
spotting the red, wrinkled line on our skin where the material cut in.
Momentary
regret may be strong, but then like a dove calling to its mate, chocolate
beckons us. Once again we find ourselves captured within its talons of
tastiness, forgetting the scourge of the bathroom scale.
Now the difference in people, LtE or EtL, may seem
inconsequential. Believe me. It’s not. The potential for dissatisfaction and
unhappiness is great when an LtE is in a relationship with an EtL. They are
indeed, mirror opposites of each other. It can be heartbreaking to see the
frustration an LtE feels when describing the golden crust of a pizza to an EtL,
only to have that EtL yawn or begin answering texts.
To help recognize if you’re about to get into this sort
of unbalanced relationship, I’ve come up with a very short, informal quiz for
anyone about to embark on a new relationship. Ask yourself: Are you an EtL? Or
are you an LtE? In which category is your love interest?
Respond with a Yes or No to each question
1.
When you reminisce about the glorious dinner you
two ate, does your significant other join in enthusiastically?
Yes
No
2.
Read question number 1 again. Reverse roles. Do
you join in enthusiastically?
Yes
No
If you answered ‘yes’ to both questions,
congratulations. And if you took this quiz and you found you’re opposite of
your new (or even been-around-for-some-time) significant other, take heart. Your
relationship could still flourish. But if you’re an LtE and your partner isn’t,
you may find that you need a support group. Others who understand your need to
discuss, drool over, and discover new and marvelous foods.
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