5. Food

Now I'm getting on to hunger. I try to forget about food as much as I can, because it can be difficult to get. I am not as sociable as some people who like going to the soup kitchen or asking for handouts. You should talk to people if you partake of their free food, which I rarely feel like doing, so it's the hard way for me.

Food is one area where it's helpful that I'm small. I don't need much food. Sometimes I wonder how the drinkers stay alive. When they have money, they automatically go for more booze, maybe cigarettes, but not food. Or they forget to eat. And what about large people? They must need a lot of food. And, therefore, Betty, maybe that's why there are mostly skinny people out here. Duh.

Ah, ha! I still have a power bar down in the catacombs of my pockets. I never thought of going to the baseball field during a game until Mike told me about it. The kids nag their parents for a bunch of snack bar food, and then drop half of it down through the bleacher seats. What a feast. And afterwards, I trade Mike my chips and licorice for his power bars, since he doesn't like healthy stuff.

I love power bars. I can make one bar last for an hour. It's a skill. I used to drive my little sister crazy, since she is a wolfer, as in wolf it down. Her candy would be gone and I would just be getting started, licking the chocolate nice and slow, to torture her. This stopped working when she got bigger than me and just grabbed my candy. I knew better than to cry for justice, since I sort of deserved it, but also because she could punch pretty hard. Out here I break off little pieces to nibble and keep the main part of the bar hidden for later.

Oh, look, an apple. How long has that been in there? Did Dave give this to me? He gets apples at the grade school after their lunch hour. Kids don't eat fruit, at least not un-cutup fruit that is big enough to throw, like an apple or an orange. They leave such goodies around the picnic tables, sometimes bananas too. The principal usually has a posse out to keep us away, especially Dave since he looks dangerous in that trench coat. But some days he's lucky. He doesn't like carrying extra food, so he shares with whoever happens to be around looking hungry. I'm good at that.

If you got a cart, there are places you just can't go, and school yards are one of them.

Wow, a power bar and an apple. That's quite close to a balanced meal.

5/5/07