Some Like It Hot

Today, The Misers added to their garden. Sparky planted four different types of chili plants: Thai Chilies, Serranos, Habaneros, and a chili called Floral Gem. The chilies that Sparky grows are very hot and spicy, muy picante. He makes BBQ sauce out of it, a hot sauce, and a relish. He gives some away and we use the rest. Our dear Sleeford was a huge fan of these sauces, and Sparky always ran out of it because of Sleef's voracious appetite for it. I am also a fan of these chilies, and also somewhat of a braggart. I can seriously eat really, really hot spicy food - I am quite macho about it actually. I can out heat everyone I know. I could even out heat Sleeford, although he definitely came in second place right behind me. I don't really know why I can tolerate such spiciness. It's not like my taste buds can only enjoy extreme foods. I also like delicately spiced foods and subtle flavors, so its not as though my tongue doesn't work properly. I was not raised on spicy food, but rather the normal, bland North American diet. I never did find Mexican food to be very hot, and Tabasco sauce always seemed like a joke to me. My sister and her husband came up with a theory that I think might actually be true. When I was little, I was a thumb sucker. I sucked my thumb until I was almost six. I would pull the fuzz off of my red blanket, rub it on the side of my nose, and suck my thumb. My parents tried to get me to stop. Nothing worked. They even put anti-thumb sucking stuff on my thumb, but I sucked it anyway. This anti-thumb sucking stuff was hot sauce! Thus, my love for heat might have grown out of that incident. I eventually stopped sucking my thumb sometime before first grade. First graders didn't suck thumbs, so I had to give it up for good, and I remember I was kind of sad about it. But at least I will always have my chilies.