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[keystroke]

Today, the proprietress of Mr. Thai said I ate my food like a little kid

Comments

[ocannie]

When I was growing up, my dad was very strict and raised my sister and me to be "proper". At age 5 we knew 5 different forks and what course they went with. We weren't allowed to have more than 3 separate pieces of meat on our plate (cut a strip off the main portion, then cut a bite size portion off that, lay down the fork, eat the bite size portion). A little extreme when I look back on it. There was also the rule that you couldn't eat more than 2 bites of the same thing in a row. If you took two bites of chicken, then you next had to take a bite of something else, like the green beans.
It's nice being an adult now and being able to eat how I want to eat!

[keystroke]

Out step-dad imposed the three-separate-pieces-of-meat rule too. We never learned five different forks, but we did learn where everything goes when setting the table 'properly'.

We also weren't allowed to short-cut the process by using our off-hand to eat with. If we cut our meat with the knife in the right hand, we had to switch the fork to the right hand before taking a bite. He didn't care which hand we used as our primary one (he was left-handed himself), so long as the proper hand did the proper task.

I'll bet he was familiar with the no-more-than-two-bites-in-a-row rule. That might explain why he was so bothered by our eating things in order. I'll bet it was a rule he wanted to impose that my mom wouldn't let him.

[cassielsander]

I'm amazed sometimes by how little eating discipline there was in my house growing up. We didn't do lap napkins (which still sort of puzzle me), we didn't switch our utensils (I never even noticed this practice until a character in Twin Peaks brought it up), and I actually had this tendancy to hold my fork in a very uncouth fist until a family friend (who I never saw eat anything but french fries & potato chips) asked me if I learned to eat that way in prison.

[keystroke]

You know, I think I may have back-slid on holding my fork and spoon the right way. I think I may have reverted back to 'prison-style'. Now I want to watch myself eat so I can find out.

If you were never expected to hold a fork 'properly' at home, where did you learn 'proper' fork-holding behavior?

[cassielsander]

I'm pretty sure I tend to do that to, except in cases where one food is kind of a relief from the other. For instance:

-Eating steak or chicken (esp. white meat) in quantity makes my mouth feel tasteless, so I alternate it with whatever else is around.

-Spice accumulates, so I alternate bites of spicy food with whatever bland staple that civilization has cleverly developed.

[evilsupergenius]

When I was living in Oxford, I heard snickering from the locals when I would drop my knife to go for the fork. Being polite can be a real challenge.

Eating like a kid?????

[anonymous]

Yes, I do it too - always have, always will. (I'm the Mother) I too, tend to change my habits in "polite" company, but always revert back to enjoying my food the way I like it.