My Aunt Belle was a bit eccentric.  The oldest of the six children in my mother’s family, she never married. And some say she didn’t contribute much to the world.  But she lived until ninety-nine, far longer than any of her more productive siblings.

When the family moved her into a nursing home, Aunt Ruth was her most frequent visitor.  One day the nurse attendant told Aunt Ruth that Aunt Belle asked for a second egg, but they turned her down because of “her cholesterol problem". Aunt Ruth replied something to the effect that “For God’s sake, the woman is 99.  Let her have two eggs.”

I thought of that story the other day because I was planning to be away for a few dinners. Peter always chooses to have some nitrite filled sausage-type dinner when I am not around.  I thought about suggesting that he might want something healthier, until I remembered the story about Aunt Belle. 

Peter isn’t 99 yet, but what-the-heck? If he wants a few nitrite-filled dinners, who am I to stop him?