On Chestnuts and Video Games

Our neighbor walked
down the street this weekend
sharing bread bags full of chestnuts
with all the neighbors.
They had fallen from one tree
in his family's backyard.

I asked if I could glean a few
from under the tree,
and his reply was along the lines of
"knock yourself out."


So yesterday afternoon
I paced a little grid under the tree
and I discovered
a growing sense of delight
every time I spotted a shiny brown nut.
I could feel the biochemical splash
of positive reinforcement
upon each discovery.

I realized that this is the same
biochemical reinforcer that hooks
so many people on video games.

Before my nieces and nephews
begin mocking me
for leading such a dull life
that I get excited finding chestnuts,
let us remember that
the whole reason our bodies
give this kind of rush of happy
upon discovery
is to help us survive.

Finding food
is the reason we're wired this way.

For those who came before us
(and perhaps for us in the future)
our true survival depended upon
on hunting, gathering and growing.

Here's another quirk of modern culture:
If you ask someone
how to eat a chestnut,
9 out of 10 people will say,
"Roast them over an open fire?"

Easier to cut a cross in the top
(so they don't explode while cooking
and so you can peel them easily afterwards)
and roast them in the toaster oven
at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

They are nutty and bland,
but they smell like heaven.
They provided last night's protein
at supper.