The other day my upstairs neighbor had texted me asking me to go grocery shopping with her. When I received the message my immediate response was no. I was content in my big comfy chair watching tv and relaxing. She pleaded me to go with her and explained that she was home all alone and didn’t want to take on the bitter cold alone. As I contemplated I had realized that I too was alone in my apartment and also sitting a dark apartment…. well this is depressing. I agreed to tag along, to at least get some fresh air and a little human interaction.
I bundled myself up with several layers and my warm snow shoes. If I had added another layer I would have been as bulky as Randy from “A Christmas Story” minus the hat. The nearest grocery store was about 7-8 blocks away and with it being 10 degrees outside, it seemed even further. As we ventured out I immediately regretted my decision, but nevertheless we were off and I didn’t want to leave my friend alone.
When we finally got to Trader Joe’s immediate warmth filled our frozen faces, greeting us with a warm embrace. We grabbed a basket and began to roam the aisles. I didn’t need anything but didn’t mind helping myself to the free samples of juice and chips that the employees were handing out. We were almost done when we stumbled across Beef Jerky. I had always thought the stuff was disgusting. I had always seen it in the stick form and honestly it did not seem appealing. Trust me, I am always open to trying new food, and not a particularly picky eater but this no. Who would want strips of dry beef? “Oh, you didn’t get your daily protein? Not a problem! Beef Jerky is your solution!” Um no.
My friend immediately decided that I had to try it. She browsed the choices trying to decide upon a good first flavor for me to encounter. I never realized how many choices there were! You had beef, pork, even salmon, plus the different seasonings of each one! Who knew there we so many options? I would have figured there was just one but apparently not. I shot down the salmon, because even though I love fish, a jerky version sounded gross. Upon review of each flavor we decided on just the basic flavor of Beef. When we checked out she immediately opened it and handed it to me. I looked at her a little nervous, swallowed, took a deep breath and dove in. I grabbed a small piece and took a bite. Immediately, my tastes buds clung to the salted meat and absored the flavors. I chewed the tough meat and swallowed. She looked at me with anticipation.
I smiled and shrugged, “You know it ain’t too bad.”
She laughed and grabbed herself a piece and said I told you so. It was true, it wasn’t that bad. I took a couple more pieces and savored the saltness of the beef all the way home in the cold. When we got back to the apartment she handed it to me to keep. I shook my head and gave it back and said if you leave this with me I’ll eat it all and that won’t be good. I let her keep it as an excuse to come upstairs and visit her. I wouldn’t say Beef Jerky is going to be on my list of groceries anytime soon but if the opportunity presents itself to have some I wouldn’t turn it down.
Girl On Kenmore 