Seen at the Market, Part II

So I was at the market... the black people's wal-mart, and I saw this...

Vienna sausages. I didn't know those were still sold in the stores. I thought they went out with the seventies.

Since when did vienna sausages come in flavors?

Barbeque? Hot and Spicy? When did that start up?

Buffalo? Bourbon Barbeque? Are you kidding me?

Then I saw something that took me back to the age of 5:

Potted meat. I remember the devil's food potted meat. The can was wrapped in paper and a red devil with his pitchfork was on the wrapper. Scared me bad.

But my great-grandmother and Uncle Olin would buy cans of it, which were 15 cents each. They'd also buy a big box of saltine crackers.

They did this every time they'd go fishing at a pond or lake. Sometimes they took me with them, and we'd sit out there on the pond's edge and eat potted meat spread on saltine crackers. I remember the saltiness of our lunch. And I remember being on the lookout for dragon flies. Those scared me.

The 40-year-old memory made me smile.

I smiled so hard that I bought a 48 cent can.

When I got home, I looked at the food labeling. I am always interested in labels because I work with chemists who check them for accuracy. So when they are having heated discussions about some vitamin content on the label, I listen real close.

Back to the label:

Mechanically separated chicken. What does that mean? Why couldn't they just say "chicken"?

Then there's the pork fatty tissue. Yuck. I stopped reading right there.

On to the other side of the label.

That cholesterol, fat, and salt content is O_O. You only need one can of that, with nothing else, to make it through the day!

 I opened the can.

Look at all that congealed goodness! Have mercy!!

It looks the same as it did some 40 years ago. However, it's a bit watery.

I had a little on a townhouse cracker. It tastes the same as it did some 40 years ago, but more watery.

The saltiness of it was too much for me. I tossed the can into the trash.

You know, all of this is great for storage in your bomb shelter. This is the type of stuff you eat when there's absolutely nothing else in the house. I imagine if you're stranded during some natural disaster, then potted meat and Vienna sausages are as wonderful as fillet Mignon.

I remember, though, that this was what we ate when I was a child. Sometimes, my mother couldn't afford anything else. But most times, we ate it because we loved it.

I'm just shocked, with today's health consciousness, that it is still sold in stores.