By my third plate, my head was hanging low and I knew I was like George Foreman in South Africa reeling from the stinging blows of Muhammad Ali. I was going down, and I wasn’t happy about it. My friends laughed out in chorus as I pushed the plate away from me in disgust, and I knew I would hear the tale about how the great appetite of Tam was done away by some raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed. My bubble had burst and I was stuck with a thirty dollar bill for only three plates of food. Being the cheap guy I am, I immediately ask for a free refill of soda as the waiter presents the plate to me.
So that’s my story of how I tried to climb a mountain and fell right on my face. It wasn’t the first time it happened, and it definitely won’t be the last time, but it made me think about what kind of trouble my pride can get me into. When I’m 40 years old am I going to try to race every 17 year old I see at a red light? Am I doomed to try to run alongside the 18 year old thoroughbred track star at the local track when I know I have two bad knees and the stamina of a sloth?
I can’t answer that accurately, but my pride says yes.
And to that 8 year old girl who finished 6 plates of food at the restaurant, I have nothing to say. To her credit, after she finished she offered me some of her delectable little cakes she picked up at the dessert bar. Feeling sheepish and beaten, I took one of the morsels and stuck the whole thing in my mouth. The little girl laughed as my eyes watered from the frozen dessert that caused my mouth to clench as I realized I shouldn’t have tried to eat it whole. That’s when I remembered one of my biggest weaknesses….
Sensitive teeth.
Article comments
1 - Cerulean
Are you Viet Namese? I've never known a Viet Namese guy who ate a lot, until now.
2 - Cerulean
I think I misspelled Vietnamese. Sorry.