A Casual Conversation At Wal-Mart

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Yesterday I made a trip to Wal-mart in search of a B-12 supplement to help with the salt problem. A 60-ish year old man was already perusing the vitamin aisle when I arrived. As I stood comparing two different brands of B-12 tablets, he shook a bottle of Vitamin-C chewable tablets at me.

"Wish they made these in 1,000 milligrams," he said. "Wife can't swallow pills so I have to get her these to chew." He shook the bottle vigorously in my direction. 

"Yes, that would be nice," I replied. 

"One-thousand milligrams," he repeated. "Do you take vitamin C?"

"I don't," I said. "I'm bad about taking vitamins in general. I need to get better about that."

"I take a daily Centrum," he said. "Every day. And I take vitamin-C. Best thing for you. Can't go wrong with vitamin-C." He peered at me. "You don't take it?"

"No," I said. "But I'm sure I should." 

"Best thing. Centrum and vitamin-C."

I'd found what I needed. "Well, good luck," I said, leaving the aisle.

He waved. "Same to you. We all got to figure this out." 

The conversation has stuck with me. I don't know why. Just one of those random interactions that made me smile.  

 

A Never Ending Taste of Salt

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Leave it to me to come down with some medical oddity. This time it's salt. For the past week, I have had the undeniably strong taste of salt in my mouth. I have brushed, I have flossed, I have gurgled... it doesn't help. I have no clue what's happening. All I know is that everything I eat tastes like a salt shaker has been spilled on it. Bread, fruit, sorbet, cereal... all salt. 

You'd think I'd be eating less, but no. Desperate to rid myself of the taste, I am constantly putting food and drink in my mouth, trying to cover or wash away the taste of having just licked the rim of a margarita glass. 

....

Okay, so I just Googled "salty taste in my mouth that won't go away," and found a few leads. (What on earth did we do before the Internet was here??) Staying properly hydrated was one suggestion. I've really slacked on that since my race ended, so I'll give it a try. Other culprits are sinus problems or vitamin B-12 or Zinc deficiency. Someone else suggested eliminating coffee, tea, salt, and alcohol. I'm willing to try anything because right now, it's like I'm sucking on a salt lick every time I swallow. 

Why can't it ever be something like "the never ending taste of dark chocolate...?" Stay tuned...

New Moon, Team Jacob, and the Most Romantic Date Night EVER

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The other week I dragged Blair to see the teenage vampire romance New Moon, part of the Twilight series. I was introduced to the books by my niece when they first came out. "They are the most romantic books ever!" she exclaimed. The books aren't a bad read. My only real complaint is that each book in the saga is approximately 300 pages of Edward the vampire telling Bella, "I love you and must be near you!" to "But no, it's wrong. We must remain apart," and back to "But my soul yearns for you. If only I could kiss you! But no... I must not." On and on and on...

Coming from a teen's perspective, I totally get the yearning/romance angle. As an adult, however, I really want to tell the characters to just make a freaking decision and move on with their lives.

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