Arrgh! Yachk! Ptuppfh, gagh gagh yachk! Hurrrgehhhphupt! Ok, Scott, you almost won. Promite, Marmite Vegemite. I would rather dine on used motor oil soup.
But I have one last most grossest thing. I'll wait my turn, let all the players get the last cards in, and then....
Oh my word, this has been quite an excursion into grossness. I have a story for you, somthing that I experienced some years ago. It might not seem gross by definition, but it crosses so many red lines all at once.
Back in 2011 Terri and I had the good fortune to visit Greece for 10 days as guests of a very gracious older couple. We spent 3 days at their little compound on the island of Kithnos, then a week at their building in Athens. We did a lot of walking in between subway and bus rides, and one day we toured the main meat and fish market.
The smell was, well, one got used to it. It was a huge place, with lots of dead things, something that most of us sanitized Americans have little experience with. All kinds of wonderful produce, tiny ouzo bars the size of a closet for the vendors, fishes of every description,, little lobsters, shrimp large enough to take your knife away, whole squids, whole octopus, whole things from Cthulu's lair.
Over on the meat side were all kinds of things both wonderful and dreadful. One vendor had a forest of hanging sausages. I saw a crate of snails, with many trying to escape. Pigs heads, rooster combs. And yes, raw lambs heads. Boxes of them. They are a popular item in Greece. And offal. Lots of offal.
Here we get to the heart of the matter. And there were beef hearts, and tongue, and brains. And I will always remember one meat case with tripe and kidneys and shanks and a set of bull testicles. Just all sorts of fifth quarter stuff. And one of the butchers was taking a late morning break, leaning on the side of this case. His white apron was smeared with blood, finger streaks of blood, knife wipes of blood. There was a small glass of ouzo at his elbow, and he had a cigarette in one hand and a half eaten sandwich in the other..... How's that for gross?
I don't have a problem with it. When in Rome.... But if that happened at an American supermarket they would shut it down in a heartbeat. Peoples heads would explode. It would be on the news, details at eleven. The mayor would be impeached just for good measure.
This guy eating his sandwich, he smiled and nodded as we walked by. I loved Greece.
Reminds me of my mom’s stories of Germany, late 1930s, going to the bakery, and the grizzled baker behind the counter working over his dough, cigarette in his mouth with a long ash ready to drop at any second and cockroaches scurrying about. Yum.
Comments
Whaddya call a monkey in a blender? Rhessus pieces....
Ok, Scott, you almost won. Promite, Marmite Vegemite. I would rather dine on used motor oil soup.
But I have one last most grossest thing. I'll wait my turn, let all the players get the last cards in, and then....
One more effort:
Squid ink pop tarts.
Back in 2011 Terri and I had the good fortune to visit Greece for 10 days as guests of a very gracious older couple. We spent 3 days at their little compound on the island of Kithnos, then a week at their building in Athens. We did a lot of walking in between subway and bus rides, and one day we toured the main meat and fish market.
The smell was, well, one got used to it. It was a huge place, with lots of dead things, something that most of us sanitized Americans have little experience with. All kinds of wonderful produce, tiny ouzo bars the size of a closet for the vendors, fishes of every description,, little lobsters, shrimp large enough to take your knife away, whole squids, whole octopus, whole things from Cthulu's lair.
Over on the meat side were all kinds of things both wonderful and dreadful. One vendor had a forest of hanging sausages. I saw a crate of snails, with many trying to escape. Pigs heads, rooster combs. And yes, raw lambs heads. Boxes of them. They are a popular item in Greece. And offal. Lots of offal.
Here we get to the heart of the matter. And there were beef hearts, and tongue, and brains. And I will always remember one meat case with tripe and kidneys and shanks and a set of bull testicles. Just all sorts of fifth quarter stuff. And one of the butchers was taking a late morning break, leaning on the side of this case. His white apron was smeared with blood, finger streaks of blood, knife wipes of blood. There was a small glass of ouzo at his elbow, and he had a cigarette in one hand and a half eaten sandwich in the other..... How's that for gross?
I don't have a problem with it. When in Rome.... But if that happened at an American supermarket they would shut it down in a heartbeat. Peoples heads would explode. It would be on the news, details at eleven. The mayor would be impeached just for good measure.
This guy eating his sandwich, he smiled and nodded as we walked by. I loved Greece.
Let's not judge where we haven't been.