Posted Wednesday 01 October 2003

Adrienne, the Vegetarian

San Francisco, 1982: A few years before I met Adrienne, she was dining in San Francisco, at a swank place on Nob Hill called Julius Castle, which is mentioned in one of the Sam Spade mysteries from the 1940's, so I guess the restaurant's been there for a while.

Adrienne and her escort decided to try wild boar, a special on the menu. The dinner seemed all right.

But that night ...

Adrienne was deep asleep.

Slowly and vaguely, a frightful dream crept over her. A dream of fear. In a dark forest, a terror in her heart. Being chased by ... something.

Running and running and running, scrambling through the underbrush, trying to get away. To no avail.

A sharp terror, a pain so intense ...

She awoke with an awful feeling in her blood. She'd been the boar; she'd been chased; she'd been killed, and eaten.

On that day, Adrienne became a vegetarian.

I'm not a vegetarian, myself. But then, I've never been chased, killed, and eaten.