She's made me a better eater.

My favorite meal is supper. And so I make it last. At least an hour. I put everything I'm gonna eat on my plate. Right from the start. I could easily consume everything in 15 or 20 minutes. But I don't. Because I want to savor supper. In part, because I'm in good company. With my Italian true love. Anyway, I know from the start what I'm going to eat. Nothing more. Nothing less. And the longer it lasts, the more the enjoyment. I don't like to dine in a hurry. It's probably bad for the digestive system. Food was meant to be relished. Ever so slowly. I know people who sit down at the dinner table with no idea how much they are gonna eat. They follow their whim. And stuff themselves. Fast and furious. To me, that's a sacrilege. A sin. Thing is, my true love has a good influence on me. Just by her presence. When I eat alone back home in Minnesota, I tend to eat faster. Maybe because she isn't there. I consciously try to slow the pace. But I succeed much more so in Sardinia. I owe a thanks to my true love. She's made me a better -- more healthy, more wiser -- eater. --Jim Broede