Temporarily in Recluse

in4weeks

An unusual Friday afternoon and night off from teaching brought me to the supermarket aisles with a plastic basket hung over my elbow. As I scan through the chilled sections of shrink-wrapped vegetables and fruits, a feeling of disappointment I could not ignore. Nothing called out to me. With perseverance, I stood to stare at the extensive salad section – in this time, many plastic-packed brands fight each other silently for the buyer’s attention. Reluctantly, my hand reached out for a pack of wild rocket.

Rucola, in Italiano. Suddenly I remember that speedy sandwich I assembled in Milan of bland supermarket bread, sliced ham, broken pieces of Lombardian Bel Paese cheese and a thick bed of rucola. In that sandwich, it tasted as though I was eating a mountain of rucola. Such explosive flavours! Up till today, no sandwich experience had thrown it off the champion’s position.

I left the basket on the floor with the solitary pack of rocket. I left the supermarket.

Why had that excitement to whip up a meal disappeared? I know why it had gone. It is temporarily in recluse. And I hope in 4 weeks, I’ll be excitedly grocery shopping again.