TheSnackHound

Help! The Beatles are trapped in this blog. Not really. You may need the help, though, but don’t ask the Beatles for it.

It has been brought to my attention that I use the phrases “addicted” or “addiction” a lot.  If I don’t use the actual term, I certainly imply them.  Of course, my main reference has to do with chocolate addiction, and the term is used somewhat humorously. The smell, the taste, and the whole set of circumstances the candy is usually eaten in adds to the enjoyment.  In fact, they say especially dark chocolate creates feelings of general well being or even an amorous feeling in certain individuals.

On a more serious note, there are people in the world, and maybe sitting at the desk next to you, or walking their dog down your street that have addictions that are not quite a laughing matter.  Of course, my addiction is not a laughing matter either, because I am dead serious about my chocolate, but for some folks their addiction is a matter of life or death.   Far stronger substances than chocolate, such as opiates and other drugs may be invading their life.

Of course, this may seem like “A Very Special Episode” of The Snack Hound or somewhat like an After School Special with a HUGE MESSAGE in comparison to standard fare, but it needs to come to light.    If you have an addiction to a substance and live in my state, there is a Michigan drug rehab referral list to a variety of treatment facilities and other options.   The idea of “rehab” has been in and out of the news with each new celebrity that enters through the doors, but perhaps it has served a purpose.  Perhaps it is less stigmatized and people who were once afraid to seek it out are getting help.  The key sometimes is removing people from forces that keep them addicted, such as friends who encourage their use, and keep them away from social circles until they can gather up some strength.

Unfortunately, I am extremely enabled by others in my chocolate addiction, but it is not something that is going to cause harm in my life.  If you have an addiction that is causing harm in yours or is making you feel powerless, please accept help.

What do I do if I just have $25.00?  I would like to say I save it for a rainy day, but this past weekend I didn’t.  I got so excited that there was an organic grocery store around here now, and I wandered around the store aimlessly.   Well, I wasn’t so aimless, I was on a mission to find the very special food products that I have been missing.  I bought a bunch of Jamaican Brew Ginger Ale that has real ginger in it, not all that high fructose corn syrup and “flavorings.”  I admit, I also bought quite a few Newman’s Own Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.  Everywhere I went, they only had the mint ones, so I sort of am embarrassed to say that I acted like I was buying canned goods and water before a hurricane.   They may be the LAST ONES that any store carries and I had to stock up because you just never know!

I read something interesting that made me feel like a total glutton.  With $25.00 I could do something to help my country, and get a little return on my investment.   Suddenly, I was transported back intime to my high school economics class, where we ran a little business to teach us how corporations worked.  We sold stock in the “company” for $1 each to students, parents and friends.  We used the money to print T Shirts, and returned their initial investment plus a small profit to those that participated.  The project was a big success, and even a skeptical uncle thought he got a better return than the stock market.

When I was in my early twenties, I learned that you can’t get that much bang for your buck on $1.00 stocks.  Since that was a LOOOONG time ago, $1.00 in high school money in 1992 equals $25.00 of adult money in 2008.  That’s not really true, but it might as well be.  The prices in snack machines have more than doubled since then.

An investment company has come up with an idea for anyone who can spare $25.00 to be able to invest in something that will not only possibly return an investment, but expresses it as a patriotic act to rebuild America.  Rebuilding of America pools everyone’s investment and uses them to fund projects that rebuild homes.  A twenty unit property that was started before Katrina will be rebuilt.  Another project is a senuor housing unit in Kansas City which lies incomplete due to builder bankruptcy. The goal is to purchase the property to both prevent blight and to creates a worthwhile and profitable property.

Of the $25.00 an individual invests, $5.00 is collected as a fee, and $20.00 is deposited in an FDIC Certificate of Deposit that is used to back the purchase, revitalization, and sale of the properties.  In give years, the original $20.00 is returned to the investor, plus a return on the investment.   The projects creates jobs, impact the families who will be living in the properties, and also allows individuals to invest no matter their income level.

This is a very interesting concept.   It definitely matches my philosophy that few people may have a large amount of money to give to charity or to invest, but if everyone does just a little bit, it adds up to something big.   I will do more investiagation, of course, but this project is very intriguing and I will be following it.   Before I spend $40.00 on ingredients just to make three cups of salsa and then have ancho chiles in my cupboard until the next ice age, I will consider something more meaningful like this, although homemade salsa has its charm.   So does chocolate, but I can buy more chocolate later versus buying just a little bit now and someone may benefit in the process.

It’s that part of the program where I take off my oven mitts and give you a proper lecture so you aren’t tempted to do something to hurt yourselves. I am serious. If this blog were a sitcom, this would the “Very Special Episode” where Mallory Keaton and Peter Brady and Arnold and Willis learn a very serious lesson and they will never do a particular thing ever again.

All summer long (and to be fair, spring too) we have been talking about renting a pontoon boat and having a BBQ on the water. That sounds nice, but sometimes I think we don’t remember what’s all involved. There is the question of the mechanics of it all. Would the food be precooked, or would we bring a portable onto the boat? If you bring precooked food, you lose the ambience, but if you bring the grill on the boat, you probably lose your security deposit. Secondly, of course, when I think about it, the damper is put on right away from remembering there are no bathrooms on most boats! You would have to drive around for awhile to find a riverside restaurant (and buy a candy bar to qualify as a customer) or have to cut the day short.

There is a more serious “don’t” when it comes to boating: Don’t Drink and Drive.

I don’t really drink, save for wedding toasts and the occasional glass of wine (however “whine” I imbibe too much of), but I know other people having fun on the water do. There is no harm in having a drink as you sun yourself along the river, but people often forget the boat is a vehicle, too. Some may drink an extra couple of wine coolers to prevent themselves from loosing their cookies when the boat rocks if they don’t have their sea legs, but if you aren’t careful, you can lose more than your cookies!

Far too many people have been injured or even lose their life when Boating Operating Under the Influence.

Some nice people at the Arizona Game and Fish Department came up with a very chilling public service announcement. I am posting this in hopes that you, my dear blog readers will think twice.  Maybe it will inspire you to take a Boating Education Online or another type of safety course, but my real aim here is to influence your decision to take your rum CAKE on the boat, but leave the liquor on the shore if you anticipate getting behind the wheel.