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S and S

What's with this new sweet and salty #food trend? Isn't it just another advertising ploy to get us to empty our pockets of hard-earned cash? Everywhere I look it's #sweet and salty--#popcorn, ice cream, bacon cinnamon rolls--BuzzFeed lists 24 "awesomely" #delectable sweet and #salty foods.https://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/24-unexpected-sweet-and-salty-combinations?utm_term=.vvaL

The idea behind it is you don't have to choose between a salty snack and a sweet #snack. You can have both in one package. #Yippee!! And while this may be true in the world of foods, there's something inherently sinister and insidious about informing people that the Age of #Rational Choice has come to an abrupt end. Just because the Food Fairy has decreed that you now can have your cake and eat it (pardon me, but this worn cliche seems to apply here) doesn't mean you can do it in The Real World of Serious Shit.

For instance, take income. Choose teaching kids instead of sailing to #China and you'll probably earn a living. Choose sailing to China and it'll probably cost you a few bucks if you don't drown first in a typhoon. The point is we live in a world of choices, and to think you can avoid choice by combining two different things is ludicrous and sets you up for disappointment. For instance, if you take those kids sailing to China, you won't see a dime from their parents and you'll probably end up with a ton of law suits.

I'm a super example of Forced Choice. I know I'm #dysfunctional--I have #OCD and a low tolerance for fear and anxiety and get depressed at the drop of a hat. So my choices take these realities into consideration. I don't sky dive or swim in the ocean (yeah, it's the shark thing). I also choose not to see films, read books, or partake of any #media in which the dog dies at the end. Why? I cried for days as a 10-year-old when I read The Yearling and #Bambi. I never did read Old Yeller for the same reason.

I know I'm a Big Girl Now but I'm #keenly sensitive to this trigger. A few years back my sister (from whom I'm happily estranged) said to see the 1989 movie "Turner and Hooch." I asked her specifically if this is a movie in which the dog dies, and she either lied or had a convenient loss of memory. Anyway, she won't be on my Christmas list--that was a no-brainer choice.
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA

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