To arrive, I need forever.

Seems to me that eating one's meals should be true dining. Not just putting food into one's mouth or drinking a beverage. I watch people as they eat. And many of 'em are merely there to fill their stomachs. Quickly. So they can get on with other things. Eating should be a nice ritual. So that a little bit of food lasts for a long time. I try never to eat in a hurry. When I eat alone, I intentionally try to slow down the process. By reading a book. An especially good book. Riveting. Captivating. Or by listening to relaxing music. Maybe I even light a candle. If I'm dining with someone, I like pleasant conversation. Maybe I try to avoid the subject of politics. If I'm dining with several people, I want to be the last to finish. Even though I may be the one that consumes the least amount of food. That especially goes for my favorite foods. I wanna make them last. Taking the opportunity to savor. To make dining a pure pleasure. My cat, Loverboy, has taught me the proper way to eat. He takes his good-natured time. His mate, Chenuska, empties her dish and fills her tummy with record-setting speed. As if dining is a sprint. A race. To get everything down fast. Little wonder that she sometimes urps it all up. A stomach wasn't built to go from empty to full in an instant. Yes, I find that the slower I move through life, the better the pleasure. That goes for almost everything I do. I don't wanna be in a hurry. That's why I need forever to get to where I'm going. --Jim Broede