Awakening of The
Slumbering Host
“Yeah,” I said, suddenly feeling sad I
wouldn’t be able to taste his dish.
“That’s too bad. I love lobster and
shrimp. I don’t know what I’d do if I
couldn’t eat them any more. You born
with an allergy?”
“No… it began a couple of years after
my mother passed away. Prior to this,
I loved most shellfish, although oysters
were never my oyster.” I explained to
him, “At the age of 13, I worked with
a crew of kids that sold subscriptions
for the Chicago American newspaper.
It paid a lot more than a paper route.
Anyway, after we got paid for a
day’s work I’d buy some fried shrimp
from a great seafood joint in the
neighborhood. I came home one
evening, shrimp in hand, to find an
ambulance parked in front of our
building. I went up on one elevator as
the paramedics took my mother
down on the other one. So fortunately,
I didn’t actually see her on the stretcher.
It was the first time we knew she
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