What we eat off of...

I ate of her, ate off her, ate her whole.

In the highchair -king of the iron high chair, “Feed me,” was my only language. I ate off the porch on my rocking horse, blanket, plastic bear in hand, sister now in chair.
I ate in hotel rooms.

I ate from the dirt in the backyard.

I ate off the wagon.

I ate out of your hand.

I ate off stunning serving ware in France, Greece, Spain, Israel, Bahrain, Italy but not Turkey.

I ate out of your mouth…Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Dulce De Leche by Haggen Dazs.

I recall stacks of bright colored plastic bowls & plates with spaghetti, meatballs, tuna casseroles, goulash, stuffed peppers, liver and onions, Lucky Charms, Lipton cup-a-soup, potatoes, meats, pickles, beets, Pop Tart’s and other candy colored treats. Lots of bright colored plastic cups with Koolaid, lemonaid, milk, ice cream floats, water and pop.

“Have anything you want!”

“I’m having shrimp.”

“--The hell you are?! What are you goddamn nuts?!”

“But you said, whatever I--“

“Order anything else!”

I ate pizza off paper plates 3 times a day as a kid in Seaside Heights, I ate crullers in the morning from Wyckoff’s, and crabs at night from the bay. We caught those crabbing crabs in the early morning, caught in cages with fish heads and turkey necks, put in bushel baskets. In the dark bay sat our little dingy…with those crabs running nuts at our tiny toes.

-Ate steak and lobster for a couple nights in the Persian Gulf with Captains and ranked officers. And a few weeks before that, I shared a thanksgiving meal off a metal tray on a shiny ship off Naples with 1000 others.

-I took notice in the fine blue detail of a particular piece of late 1800’s Stone China; it was a dinner plate that a few of us smoked hash on.

-We eat off the Mikasa we got from our nuptials…It’s our daily dishware. And the 1960’s dinner set given to us. Thank God for Replacements LTD.

Burning with sunlight to this day from an eight course banquet; fresh succulent mango in a puddle of Indian oil with ginger… served off the back of her knees.