Tag: Salt

I was Wrong!!!

backinphillyLeave a comment

I am an incredibly superstitious person. I freak out whenever I see a black cat, I refuse to walk under ladders, I don’t break mirrors and I hold salt shakers hostage during dinner so that no one spills it.

Therefore, I also believe in certain “signs” if you will, meaning that since one thing occurred, it must mean that I need to do something.

In this instance, I got sick this morning because I was meant to watch the Pro Bowl, even after swearing I wouldn’t.

So here I am, laying in my bed, meds taken, tissue box in hand, watching the Pro Bowl on NBC.com. I’m probably in for a garbage, throw away game full of blown tackles and crappy effort.

Um, what is this I’m watching? Is this…a good game?!

I have actually enjoyed watching the Pro Bowl this year. Watching some of my favorite players in the league just explode for yardage play after player. Yes, the defense is still a little bit lax but I am enjoying myself right now.

Of course, a game including the best in the business usually has a few highlights.

For starters, Russell Wilson looks like the second coming of Jesus.

For the religious nuts out there, get over it. I’m not insulting religion. I’m a proud Roman Catholic, but I’m not about to get insulted by this nonsense. Jesus was a perfect being, so say the teachings. Today, Wilson was quite perfect indeed.

He threw some great passes, ran a few times, commanded an offense and made me wish he was the QB for the Eagles. I’ve said it countless times. I believe in the mobile quarterback. I don’t mean the running back that can throw like Mike Vick. I mean the quarterback that can run, like RG3 and Wilson.

Another highlight was seeing Jeff Saturday, the center for the NFC, come over to the AFC side and snap the ball to Peyton Manning. For those that live under a rock, Manning and Saturday were teammates in Indianapolis a few years back for a long time. They built a chemistry that was unmatched in the modern day NFL. Jeff has decided to retire following the now concluded Pro Bowl game.

There were a ton of highlights, and I encourage any of you guys to check out some clips. However, my personal favorite highlight from the day was when Ed Hochuli, the referee for the game, dished out the first flag of the day. The game had gone almost a full half before a penalty was called. So, he took that fact and decided to make some comedy out of it. He turned on his mic and said the following to the crowd,

“Yes, there are still penalties in the Pro Bowl.”

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Salt

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

Salt.  NaCl.  Sodium chloride.  Table salt.  Sea salt.  A seasoning.  A preservative.  Once so valuable that soldiers were paid in it.  The reason most foods taste good.  Increases the pain of a stinging cut exponentially.  Makes your tongue dry.  A slightly creepy movie starring Angelina Jolie.

I love salt.  I can tell right away when food is too salty, or more often, not salty enough.

When I was little I used to shake some salt into my hand and eat it.  My mother tells me it’s disgusting, and perhaps it is.  But I do it anyway.

I prefer salty to sweet most days.  If I am presented with a bowl of jell-o or a bowl of white cheddar popcorn, 97% of the time I’ll pick the popcorn.

Salt is a necessity to any meal.  Which brings me to the purpose of this blog post.

How many people have seen one of these?

I’m gonna be presumptuous and assume everyone has seen this at least once in their lives.  Yes? Good.

They’re in restaurants, cafeterias, homes and anywhere else there is food.

Now let me ask you this:  How many times have you palmed the salt shaker?

How many times have you put your hand over the metal part and let your skin touch where the salt comes out?

Oh yeah, admit it. A LOT.

Though I am not proud of it, I confess, I have done it a fair amount.  Not on purpose mind you, but it’s a transgression I can never undo.

Am I making this sound dramatic and biblical?  Good.  That’s the point.

Now, this issue never used to bother me.  “Can you please pass the salt?” is often followed by someone palming the shaker and handing it to the asker.

I started seeing it more and more, often at school and restaurants.  Then I thought to myself.  Where have these people’s hands been???

There and endless possibilities of course.  People sneeze into their hands, they touch public things like bathroom doorknobs and pencil sharpeners (if you still use a graphite sharpenable  pencil that is), playing with questionably clean hair, scratching off dead skin, plopped down in unknown gooey matter, typing on filthy keyboards (it is a  proven fact that toilet seats are cleaner than keyboards because they are sanitized more often).

The unpleasantries go on and on.  Mindful of this new information, I became wary of my beloved public salt.  Now I use it sparingly.

Although, these shakers do not concern me:

They also prevents this:

My point: be mindful of the shaker.  Don’t palm the salt!