Food and the Public Life

“An’ she just sat there, sat there all day eatin’ chocolate candies and licorice sticks till she ‘sploded!�

“Nah, ain’t no way that’s true, ain’t no way I gonna believe you. Not after last time and the story of the big tornado that took Charlie away. I asked mama and she tol’ me the truth, tol’ me that our Charlie dog died of old age, and she buried him in the back yard while we was at school. You’re a big, fat, mean ol’ lier Jessie, and I ain’t gonna believe you!�

“Well fine May, you don’t have to believe me. But I’m just telling you what Danny heard from Cynthia’s older brother. Hannah’s ma just sat in their house all day long after she got fired, using up all the money they had left, just sat there and ate chocolate candies and licorice sticks and then she ‘sploded.�

“A person can’t explode from eating too much. I’ve seen pictures of those babies in Africa that don’t get enough to eat, and their tummies get all bloated out and sometimes they ‘splode, but it ain’t cause of too much food, it’s cause of too little.�

“That just don’t make no sense May. How can a person’s tummy get big if it ain’t got no food in it? No, now you’re the one who’s lyin’. Hannah’s mom ate and ate and ate, and she exploded all over the house. An’ that’s the truth. I’m gonna tell on you for lying about the lil’ babies in Africa!�

“Who you gonna tell? Anyone you gonna tell will know it’s the truth! I learned it in school last month, you’re too little and they don’t teach you stuff like that yet. That’s grown-up stuff. They don’t get enough food and then their bellies get big and round, like they swallowed a whole chicken, and they die.�

“Mmm, chicken. I wonder what mama’s cooking for supper? We ain’ had fried chicken in a long time, think she’ll be cooking that?

“I dono, if we was having fried chicken tonight there wouldn’ta been nothing good in our lunches today, and we had fried potatoes with a lil’ bit a bacon too. No, I don’t think we’re having fried chicken. Sure would like some though. Get tired of all the same food all the time.�

“But those were just leftovers from last night, I bet we have chicken tonight, it’s about time. I can’t wait to have that hot grease sliding down my throat and then the crunchy crust and soft chicken inside my mouth. It’s gonna taste so good! I wonder what mama will fix with it. Maybe some green beans and potato salad even.�

“Jessie! Stop talking ‘bout all the food we ain’t gonna have. It only makes us hungrier when we see the same biscuits and gravy as always. So just stop talking about it and stop thinking about it. You should be thinking of good things, like your school work. Then you can graduate and get a job and maybe one day you’ll get fried chicken. But it ain’t gonna do you no good talking about it without doing nothin’ ‘bout it. So stop dang you!�

“Fine. But you can’t stop me from thinkin’ ‘bout it.�