The other day I had an errand in town that took me past the McDonalds “family restaurant”. There was a sign outside depicting a special hamburger they had this week, California something.  It looked very tasty.  But I remember last time I bought a hamburger. I opened the box and the stench of dead animals hit me square in the face. No, it was properly cooked, and the hygiene at Norwegian McDonalds is almost like a clinic. It is just that this is how meat smells and tastes to me now in my older years. At that time, I remembered that it had been like that, only not quite as intense, when last I tried, a few months before. It is probably more than a year now. I have no doubt that it is stronger now.

In fact, almost every ready-made food I buy seems so intense these days. Are people just amping up the taste for each passing year?  Probably not.  It has affected cola too – some days I find it hard to drink without mixing it with water, as I routinely do at home. It is just so intense.  I can eat a small amount of chocolate if I don’t eat anything else that contains fat within a few hours. But even those taste so strong, I wish I had some milk to swallow them with.

Somehow, I doubt the whole food and snacks industry has sneakily worked together to suddenly make everything taste more intensely. I mean, I can see them doing that over time. I don’t think it is a secret that they are working constantly at “improving” the taste of snacks to make them more addictive. But I doubt it happens that fast. And I don’t hear anyone else complain.

My tastes are changing. That is the most likely explanation.

I suppose it could be some sneaking illness of the brain. Or I suppose it could be a result of my spiritual practices the last couple years.  In fact, there are probably people who think these two may be one and the same.  I don’t think so, but it is an interesting observation.  Perhaps I will look back at this and understand it, later in life. Or if there is no such later, perhaps historians of the future, or relatives or some other curious person.