One of the surprising and disturbing aspects of Army food has been the dearth of non-sugared cereals in the morning. Whatever happened to plain old Shredded Wheat, anyway?
Army chow halls have lots of cereals, and a cornucopia of different brands. But by and large, they're relatives of Count Chocula and Fruity Pebbles and Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes -- every one of them chock full of sugar and frosting and colors not found in nature.
I guess my parents scarred me for life by forcing me to enjoy Shredded Wheat and Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies -- most of which have too much sugar anyway, but at least it's not lathered on to the point of needed an insulin injection immediately afterward.
The other morning we had to be up at 0345 in order to go be tested for illegal substances. This meant that we couldn't go to breakfast at the chow hall, so the Command provided us with breakfast-in-a-bag. The 'cereal' was frosted something or other and the 'milk' was some liquid which masqueraded as milk, but which was heavily sugared, and didn't need refrigeration.
I'm pretty leery of milk that doesn't need refrigeration.
I forced myself to eat what was provided to us, but it was not a gustatory delight, in my estimation. Others seemed to like it, but in the future, I'd rather take a pass.
One thing about the early-morning drug testing: seeing as I'm almost 30 years clean and sober, I've never had to fear the test, and have actually felt a sense of satisfaction when the test comes back, affirming the sobriety and abstinence that has come at such a price.
Hooray for the Higher Power!
Blessings and peace to one and all,
Fr. Tim, SJ
3 comments:
In many places candy is kept on the tables in 12 Step Meeting rooms, per suggestions in the big blue book found there, too. Perhaps the Army is offering you the sugar to quiet the nerves that the BB recommends for recovering folk. Give 'em sugar and quiet the restless, irritable, discontented feelings... hmmmmmmm
Milk that does not need refrigeration isn't milk! And anything sugary is yechh.
When you want, swing by my blog, look up my email addy on the sidebar, and I'll send you plenty of Shredded Wheat.
Was the milk in a juice box type container? It's called an aseptic container. Parmalat was the first brand to be sold in the US but now there are several brands available. I have some in my refrigerator as a plan "b" for when life's been so hectic that I don't have time to go to the grocery store. It does taste a little sweet but it's not bad.
I also hate those over sweetened kiddie cereals too. Yuk!
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