Most kids had some kind of food that they didn’t like. My little brother wouldn’t eat stuff because “it’s ugly.” It was often met with, “Just try it, you’ll like it.” That had varying degrees of success.
Well, for Tanner, he and his cousins needed convincing about trying a new food that they felt was a little… off from what they were used to.
When he was seven years old, Tanner, his brothers and parents, along with two sets of aunts and uncles packed up their respective family station wagons and took a summer road trip to visit relatives in the southern U.S.
The car ride was filled with fun snacks and treats that California kids grew up with but as things headed east – and evidently very south – the food selection changed… dramatically.
As the kids were outside playing in the backyard ditch (remember, southern U.S.) the grownups caught up and enjoyed their mini family reunion. The smell of a warming barbecue signalled that grub was about to be served. But, what exactly that grub would be was certainly a surprise for the youngens.
The aroma of cooking meat filled the holler (southern U.S.) and made everyone hungry – especially those kids that worked up a serious appetite while splashing and swimming. When the moms called for the kids, they came running and couldn’t wait to fill their stomachs.
It was Tanner who felt something was a bit different about the food on his plate. The vegetables looked “normal” but the meat described as chicken didn’t look, smell or taste like chicken. Nevertheless, he took Mom’s word for it because, really, why would a mom lie? (riiiiiiiiight!) Tanner remembers his mom giving his aunt a look after reassuring him the food was indeed chicken. He filed that away in his brain thinking eventually it would mean something later. And it did.
At the family Christmas party a few years ago, Tanner said the aunts had too much to drink and started reliving memories from previous gatherings. The “chicken” story came up and was discussed much to the kids’ – who are now adults – horror.
“The look on their faces when they ate possum,” said one unnamed aunt, as the others cackled with laughter. Tanner, who, coincidentally, was eating chicken at the time, dropped his fork and instantly lost his appetite.
The bombshells from the tipsy women didn’t stop there.
“What about when they ate pigeon?” remembered another giggly giddy mom, recalling a cooler of meat the relatives gave as a care package after that storied family road trip.
It all had Tanner wondering what other animals he’s eaten without ever knowing.