Every member of my family will attest to the fact that I am a cautious if not particular eater. I fight better instincts to eat salads because I fear insufficient washing of lettuce. I will not accept restaurant drinks with ice. (I'll spare you my reasoning). I shun potlucks and smorgasbords. Often when restaurant eating I'm checking out housekeeping while the rest of my party is checking out menu items.
These days, as I carry about 79-year old body parts and organs and with diabetes, I read labels when grocery shopping. Don't get me wrong, I once ate anything and everything and second helpings. That said, I became 'this picky eater' over time and because of health concerns. I recall how I used to love beef liver and onions. Actually, I'd love some today, however those organs are rather high in cholesterol and thus is a 'no-no.'
Speaking of beef liver, I remember back in the late 1940's, as a nine year old boy, my friends and I would seize a local butcher's discarded beef liver he had tossed to the alley for stray cats. We'd take that liver and head to the lower area of Washington Park East St. Louis. The creek there was not deep except when lower Washington Park flooded. That creek was suspect! Looking back on those days, I know that drainage from farm animal plots and outhouses made its way into that creek... perhaps that's why the crawdads were so huge in that muddy reservoir. Now, the true definition of 'crawdads' is 'freshnwater fish.' Well these crawdads were not freshwater, believe me.
We'd tie some liver parts on a string and toss it into the creek. In minutes we'd have two or three huge crawdads with punchers clinging to that slimy liver. Once we filled a bucket with these 'dads we headed to Mrs Jacknewitz's house where she would boil those crawdads in a big iron kettle over an open fire pit....Good Eating!
Okay, I know what you're thinking. If I survived that Eating adventure, I should not worry about ice in my diet cola. Ah, to be young and foolish again!
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