That Place You Love: Real People. Real Stories.
Round-Up on Natural; Next-Up Sayings. Moving past theme post & new links!
“I’d have to do a blind taste test.”
This is what my partner said at dinner tonight when I claimed the Tex-Mex brand of corn tortilla chips (my favorite) was superior to the chips from Lidl.
I was grateful he bought the generic NACHOS chips because the store that carries Tex-Mex was closed for a week of vacation. I had scored some fresh cilantro and needed natural corn tortilla chips to scoop up the huge bowl of salsa I made.
“But why not buy Doritos?” one might you ask.
Because they taste like they’re full of unnatural ingredients & fake flavoring.
When I was growing up, Doritos had just begun to change the chips market. There were only three flavors: toasted corn, nacho cheese, and taco.
According to Frio-Lay Doritos are healthier now, but I find their flavors impossible to stomach. Even their plain corn tortilla chip.
What did our blind taste test prove?
My partner preferred the Lidl brand.
We examined the ingredients.
Yellow corn, sunflower oil, salt… for both.
Tex-Mex has a bit more salt. Lidl has a bit more fat.
Which reminds me of a SAYING about Jack Sprat who could eat no fat & his wife who could eat no lean!
Round Up: Natural. New Theme: Sayings - below!
If you’ve missed a week or you’re starting to feel like you might have a story to contribute, click on a THEME LINK to write 150 - 200 words on:
I always include new posts with unique links in the Round-Up.
If you’re reading this for the first time…
And want to know more about the ZINE’s mission, go to ABOUT or FORUM on the Substack platform or read the introductory post I WAS AN EASY LIAR.
4 Contributors weighed in on Natural:
I wrote about the natural magic I feel when hanging out with 5-year-old twins and how we are able to access pure creativity throughout our lives with intention.
Carole D compares the hornet’s natural instinct to protect its nest from destruction to the natural instinct a mother has for any child heading into danger.
Zig credits the centuries-long bond between dogs & humans for why it feels so natural to put the phone down and take a walk when there’s a pup at your heels.
Tabitha B conjures the “Friend of the Blonde” syndrome, where all of us non-blondes find ourselves at least once… “Why don’t you dye your hair blonde?”
Intact Animal shares the origins of his propensity for the natural state of nude corrected by the confines of clothing, beginning with the softest fabrics.
READ & HEART this week’s writers & SHARE your own story in the comments.
Contributor Kiah S went back to CLOSURE to write about the results of an innocent text search that unlocked the memory of her brother’s last words.
(Click on the unique theme hyperlink above to read Kiah’s moving story).
Next Up: SAYINGS
My buddy Tony A. and I have lived together in multiple cities and scenes. We’d roam the streets of NYC, BKLYN, Baltimore, and Philly, picking up stuff that caught our attention.
One day in Lower Manhattan, we spotted an electric bass guitar. It had been thrown out with the trash, we assumed.
So we took it home.
That’s how I became a bass player. Because Tony played guitar.
We cleaned up the bass, put some strings on it, and started jamming.
Oh, the joy!
In all sincerity, I looked up at Tony and said,
“Isn’t it amazing how someone else’s trash is now my treasure?”
He laughed.
“It’s ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’”
“What is,” I asked.
“The saying.”
“What saying?”
I believed I had come to this conclusion on my own!
Where do Sayings take you? Are they words to live by? Are memes the new sayings?
Read & Share on Monday in 150 - 200 words!
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More to come on Monday….
Have a great weekend.
Sincerely, for real.
Michelle