Waves gently rocked the cruise ship. It had been a gorgeous day and we were able to share some of the culture of Mexico before heading out to sea again. We were dressed in our finest as we were seated at the table for dinner. The waiter shook out each napkin to lay them in our laps – all fifteen of us. The table was set with a clean, neatly pressed tablecloth, glasses and silverware lined up just so.
The menu seemed endless. If you have ever been on a cruise, you know there are lots of cuisines and food choices available. You can find almost anything to satisfy your taste buds from pizza and ice cream to filet mignon and fresh lobster and everything in between. The waiter gave us ample time to decide what we would like before he came back to take our orders.
When the waiter came to Daddy and asked what he would like, Daddy said, “I’ll have the escargot.”
“What? Why? You know that’s snails.”
“Well, I wouldn’t eat that at home.”
Sister Ellen
He learned that little trick from Sister Ellen when they went to the Holy Land together along with Cousin Kitty and Cousin Beth. When they got home from that trip, Daddy laughed as he told about Sister Ellen ordering things she would never eat at home. I guess that’s a pretty good philosophy and one that I adopt when traveling.
Though I’ve never had escargot, and don’t intend to, I did suck it up, literally, and had raw oysters that taste like the salty ocean breeze. Actually, I had them more than once. I have also had squid, which is something else I never intended to eat.
Sometimes you just have to step out of the box and expand your horizons and your senses.