You Either
Have Crabs or You Don’t
Have you
ever had crabs? Because, I have. Unfortunately for me, it took me 12 years to
realize my passion for them.
Having
lived in the Midwest most of my life it was a huge shocker when my family and I
moved to the DMV, aka the Delmarva area,[1] a little
over 7 years ago. My body, unaware of an appetite consisting of seafood, was in
utter shock and rebellion. It’s been a month since having moved and I have made
a multitude of observations concluding that; if you are not eating crabs, you
are cooking them. If you are not cooking crabs, you are buying them. And, if
you just so happen to hate crabs, you’re just out of luck, because, down in the
DMV, seafood is the main course and crabs are our famous delicacy. Every corner,
of every street, there is a fancy seafood restaurant with top of the line
seafood and crabs, always made the cut.
Now, being
only twelve years old, my 15-pound weight loss diet consisted of only hamburgers,
pizza, chicken tenders, and occasionally a piece of lettuce. Never in my life
had the words seafood ever cross my mind. The smell was all wrong, the taste
was too bland, and the fact that I might eat Dory or Nemo made seafood out of
the question. Nevertheless, my parents got tired of the same old restaurants
and my unoriginal appetite. They kept pestering me over and over again saying “How
can you know something doesn’t taste good until you try it?”
I mean,
I hate to stereotypical but, when you live near the beach, you are basically expected
to love, eat, and breathe seafood. If you are not a seafood lover, like myself,
well you might as well pack your bags and move on. Unfortunately, I had no car
and no place to go. My options were very limited. It was seafood vs me and I
planned on winning.
Day one
of the seafood vs me challenge came and went. We ate at a seafood restaurant called
CP Shuckers Seafood Bar and Grill. So, quiet naturally, I ordered a burger. My
parents were utterly disappointed and made me promise that next time we went
out I would try something different. Hence, when we went to Catch 31 Seafood
Bar and Grill I ordered Pizza. Yet again, my parents were yet again
disappointed. Then, the day everyone was waiting for… August 12, 2012. The day I discovered crabs.
It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon and having just
left church my family decided to try this knew restaurant, Chick’s. Since, the
words seafood bar and grill were not attached I assumed that seafood was out of
the question. However, when we got there the menu consisted only of fish! I
mean can you believe that. The sign was so misleading. I looked, and flipped
over the menu over and over again, as my body went into shock. What was I going
to order? What was I going to do? Everyone is waiting for me. Oh no. I see the
words fried and crab sandwich with sweet potatoes fries. The waiter is coming.
I order. I take a huge gulp of water. Maybe I have made a huge mistake. I mean
it cannot be that bad – its fried, right. Wrong, I readjust my standards to an all-time
low. The foods coming. It sits in front of me. I breathe. Then, I took a bite
into that sandwich and my mouth slowly dropped. The words Hallelujah were signing in my head. I just had a euphony. It was perfectly
cooked, hot steaming off my plate, and the seasoning was just enough. I nearly
wanted to hug the waiter. It was then that I realize the lesson my parents were
trying to teach me all along. Trying new
things, even if you are afraid, is always worth trying; because, otherwise, how
will you ever know.
[1]
Delmarva – “The Delmarva Peninsula or simply Delmarva is a large
peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by most of Delaware
and portions of Maryland and Virginia. Although called a peninsula, it is
technically an island after the digging of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.” ("Delmarva Peninsula." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation,
n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2016.< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delmarva_Peninsula>.)
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