There are lots of reasons people might miss lunch: they're dieting; they don't feel hungry; they forget to get their packed lunch from the fridge before dashing out; they lost their wallet while they were out and about; someone flogged their lunch from the office fridge; they feel sick (sad); they're too busy (sadder); or they can't afford it (saddest of all).
I recently encountered one of the most fascinating reasons someone missed lunch. You're on a hiking trip, but you stay at a caravan park rather than camp because you're a wimp. All good. You meet the group the next morning to hear this.
One of the hikers who has a hearing problem has no lunch to take on our very long hike. How long? Don't know. 5-ish hours. My ears prick up immediately because I was born to feed people.
A wombat ate it, someone said. I said huh. During the night. Huh? How? When? Why?
Because, drawn by the smell of food, the hungry roly poly wombat ate its way through his one man tent (while he was sleeping in it) and ate his lunch.
And why did this hungry hiker sleep through the whole tent invasion episode and robbery? Because he's rather deaf and didn't hear a thing.
While I wouldn't wish deafness on anybody, if push came to shove and I had to choose between deafness (or temporary deafness at least) and the horror of a wild (well, wild-ish) beast gnawing its way through my abode and eating my food in the near vicinity of my head or feet (I couldn't bear to ask which), I'd be struggling.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, we all chipped in bits of our lunch at my suggestion. As if anyone will go hungry while I'm around.
Foodliterary Regards,
Julia Svoice
(Julia Hebaiter in Another Life)
FoodLit Writer, Feel-Good Food Lover & Storytellerwww.foodlit.com.au
Because Food Sans Story is Bland
