I am ravenous. Or, anyway, I was. I came home late and was so hungry. Had I ever really eaten dinner? (Um, yes, but a long time ago and not at home.) I nuked some frozen vegetables and then sat down to check my e-mail. An old, dear friend of mine who lives far away had sent something which made me smile. It was a diet plan:

Breakfast

1 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 cup skim milk

Lunch

1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
1 cup spinach
1 cup herbal tea
1 Hershey's kiss

Afternoon Tea

1 The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag
1 tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chips



The dinner and late night snack were, as you can imagine, increasingly outrageous. Why is this so funny? Because it strikes a chord in all of us. This is not just a joke about dieting; it reflects a truth about how our best intentions go awry.

We may begin the day (the project, the school year, the job) with rigor and discipline. But we find that this is not enough to get us through. Inevitably, we feel deprived and so we say to hell with it and inhale the bag of barbeque flavor chips (baked, not fried, but still...)and all six 100-calorie packets of whatever. We give up because we can't figure out how to follow through with our goals, and still feed/nurture ourselves.

So here are the questions for tonight:
What are we hungry for?
What will (or won't) satisfy that hunger?
And must it involve Hagen-Daaz?