The last two days before returning from Oahu, Hawaii have been interesting as far as that goes. There's a lot to centre the mind when you're suddenly stuck in the discomfort of hours in a small airport from eight hours prior to your flight home. And naturally, you become a people watcher too.
A day before, on Friday afternoon, January 6 2017 at Fort Lauderdale airport, a shooting had occurred, in which five people were killed, and dozens injured. Now I found myself viewing some of the fallout of that event in Hawaii.
There were airport police everywhere you looked. One of them told me, “our patrols have been increased.” No kidding. We were sitting just outside a place where the officers do some sort of electronic sign in to get to their inner sanctum area, and it was a hive of activity.
It was also a place to observe each officer, and sad to say, for the most part they did not appear to be in the finest physical condition. I found myself wondering if they would be able to actually help me run out of the airport should the need arise? True, they were walking a lot, and it’s good exercise, but why for the most part, did they seem so, well, chunky?
Presumably these valuable first responders aren't all a bunch of gluttons. But maybe the foods they eat aren't found on the perimeter of a supermarket, where you find the veggies and fruit, the dairy products and the meat?
Supermarkets here and there
In all fairness, I don't buy much in the way of convenience foods. Our palates are so unused to high salt and sugar that most of those are just not enjoyable. I was excited to buy some locally made mango ice cream, and after half a serving we just couldn't eat it, that's how sweet it was. There was no mango in it.
Please don’t mess with my milk
There were so many items I'd not come across before, it was dazzling. Butter that wasn't just cream with maybe a bit of salt added. All kinds of mixes, prepared foods and processed foods. It all takes ‘convenience’ to another level.
It might be best to consider buying labor and time saving kitchen gadgets rather than processed food. It’s a good plan to read the labels, too. Warning signs are lists of additives that are hard to read and pronounce.