So there I was working hard, minding my own business this morning when two students - real good students - came into my room with some freshly baked apple crisp. They wanted me to have some so the walked all the way down from the FACS room to deliver it with a smile. I happily took the plate and thanked them. They waited a minute in hopes that I would dive in but I set it down a resumed working on my computer. They got the hint and left. About 5 minutes later I chucked the plate and food into my neighbor's garbage.

Here's the deal.

When I was in high school, I had some buddies who took a class called Intro to Foods. They cooked things and gave them away. I know the stories of what these guys did to the food and - without going into details - I was shocked that nobody was rushed to the emergency room back then. With those memories burned into my brain, I find it impossible to accept food gifts without reservation. Even pot luck dinners are tough for me. I can't help but think of "those people" who live in our community and their regard to safe food handling. I am not saying that this food is dangerous - I bet is is great tasting - but I just can't do it. Sometimes I give these gifts to other students but most of the time I just toss it. Does this make me a bad person? If so, tough! Like the person who can't shake hands for fear of germs, I can not eat student cooked food. Oh well.