Pop

It's not the popcorn addiction in itself that concerns me....it's what that popcorn might represent.

Popcorn - after all - is an incredibly violent food.

Had this addiction developed years ago, I might be able to dismiss it. It could - I would theorize - be just a "chance" addiction, born out of ignorance. The truth of the matter - however - is that I developed my habit AFTER I read the full - raw - truths about popcorn.

It started nearly a month ago when I received some fresh ears of popcorn in my CSA volunteer goody-box. What, I wondered, is popcorn, exactly? Why doesn't any-old-sort-of-corn pop? WHY does popcorn "pop?"

The research led to some ugly, ugly truths. Why does popcorn pop? Because it's being heated to high, high temperatures....UNBEARABLE temperatures...and because the poor kernel can't breathe. That's right. Air cannot escape the little morsel, and - in one horrific, violent moment - its center liquifies as the husk explodes. The now-liquid inner kernel hardens as it hits the air - one final gasp as rigor mortis sets in.

I warned you. It is not pretty.

What does it mean, then, that since learning the truth about the horrific ending that each kernel of popcorn meets in my Whirly-Pop popcorn exploder, I eat it nearly every night? What sort of horrible monster am I?