Stink Eye

I was just in the grocery store, following behind Louise who was actually shopping. I tend to daydream as I walk and will often look up to find that Louise has gotten lost, again. Today she stayed more or less in sight, or I was a little more attentive.

I am always fascinated by the fish section of the grocery store. I’m not a big fish eater or a fisherman at all, so I find this section endlessly entertaining. The variety of frozen, packaged fish is astounding. I suppose the fact that fish have been a staple of our diet since before recorded history would account for the diverse methods of cooking and preparing fish. Packaged fish is interesting, but I find the frozen fish captivating. They are flash frozen minutes after capture, and I can imagine them swimming in the ocean moments before the Russian trawler hauled them in. I wonder if they had any inkling that their number was up and in a very short time they would be frozen stiff, shrink wrapped and stored for later consumption by the species residing at the top of the food chain.

 

When I find myself in a large ethnically oriented superstore, I could spend hours just watching the “catch of the day”. I eventually have to leave when the guy behind the counter asks me for the tenth time if he could help me. My answer of “Nope, I’m just looking.” starts to sound kind of weird. I don’t think I would ever have security called, but some old guy hanging around the open fish tanks and laughing is a little suspicious I suppose.

 

I will admit that the clams and mussels are pretty boring. They don’t have eyes or fins to watch like the pathetic fish that are listlessly swimming back and forth along the glass in the tank. They can’t be thinking of escape, but from the looks of some of them, they wouldn’t be above suicide. In some ways, I guess you might say that what happens to them is sort of like assisted suicide…sort of.

 

I am most interested in the lobsters. They still have enough fight left in them that their pincers need thick rubber bands to hold them closed. I’ve got the impression that they have an inkling that we plan to drop them into boiling water and they aren’t very happy about the prospect. They have those weird antennas, six legs and the Popeye arms and look like they could really kick some human butt if they were just a little bigger. They are so ugly, it’s a wonder our ancestors decided to eat them. Unfortunately for the lobster, they taste delicious when served with butter after being boiled to a crimson colour.

 

Louise finished her shopping and gave me that “What are you doing?” look which ended my fish watching. I walked after Louise and wondered if the lobsters were planning an escape. There was some water on the floor and I could swear the big one gave me the finger and the ‘stink eye’.