As I type this, I am eating plain pasta. Rice pasta, specifically bought because it helps the stomach recover from the flu. But, I don't have the flu. I'm feeling fine if just a small percentage anxious. Like most, I prefer pasta with some kind of sauce, but I'm eating it plain for no other reason than to show that it's no big deal...totally fine...in fact, quite good.
Just over 20 yeas ago I did this with a group of novice drinkers. They had smuggled in a bottle of vodka and had no plans beyond that. It would have to be done straight or on the rocks (from a motel ice machine). I got the feeling peer pressure would set in, so as the others hemmed and hawed, I quickly replaced the contents with water. "Let's go" I said as I downed the drink to the excitement of the bunch. I later learned a lesson: no on remembers the guy who held his liquor with ease.
Saltines with unsalted tops, juice with vegetables blended in, these are the more pedestrian things, and yet even nuttier moments are done...quickly pushed out of my mind, if possible. Forcing people to do what they should do is no one's specialty.
But you get a smile, a giggle, an uproarious laugh just at the sight, and it's worth it. Or something.
