I have been vegan for two years now, and when I get hungry I still go to that big white box with the two doors on it. I stare at the things inside for a few seconds then I grab a few grapes, close the doors and grab a banana from the banana hammock. I thought to myself, “Why do I use that preservation box?”. I don’t even use most of the items inside of it, and the items I do use, should they even be preserved? That box sees more action in our house than the TV and the toilet. On a Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I counted how many times the doors on the big bulky white box where opened. To my amazement, they were opened seventy-four times in one day. I am sure that I missed a couple of openings while I was in the bathroom or occupied doing other things! I have to ask myself, “Do I really need that biggest item in the house other than a few pieces of furniture?”. I started thinking back to when I was a kid, was our preservation box that big? No, it was much smaller and probably wasn’t used as much. I went back to the heavenly white box and opened the doors. Looking inside I saw many items that I don’t use anymore like: mayonnaise, butter, many items filled with sugar to make them taste good like ketchup. Why do I have all these things in there. Well, I guess since I am the only person out of four in the house that is vegan, that may answer my own question! I wonder what my electric bill would be if I didn’t have it, or just unplugged it for a couple of months?
Every month I try to stop eating something else that isn’t healthy for me. Yes, I am vegan but I still eat things that are not as healthy. Like packaged items, and ketchup, and other things that have preservatives and need to be put in the preservatives cabinet with the two white doors. When I bought my newest iPhone, I thought to myself about how Steve Jobs thought about everything in the box. Like how the headphones was wrapped. Why didn’t he think, “How can someone return this wrapping so it could be used again?”. I wanted to take the box with all the plastic and carry it to the apple store and drop it off. Say “Here is your packaging back! Use it again.” I started being vegan for health reason and probably wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t done so, and since then everything has changed in my life. I really think how I can better myself and how will that affect the people around me. I see how it has affected some people in my life. They get irritated at me cause I can’t eat everywhere they want to eat. I can usually find something, but not real easy to find something healthy at fast food! Takes me back to the white box with the big doors. My son opens it like it is the heavenly gates. Grips both handles and spreads his arms wide to open both doors at the same time. Like he is really going to eat anything out of the frozen side!
My new year’s resolution (which unlike most people, I do stick to) is to no longer support fast food restaurants. I usually only get a bottle of water and maybe some fries when we go. But for now on, I am not even going to do that. When I can walk in and pick up a banana or apple at McDonald’s, or Burger King; Then I will return. There are so many things in those places that shouldn’t be consumed, yet millions of people eat there everyday. Some of those items are in my preservation box right now.
The Preservation Box as I call it, Funny yet what else should it be called. A refrigerator? Should we need to refrigerate the items we consume.
So I have two New Year’s Resolutions. One is to not support fast food, and the other is to start eliminating the use of my “Preservation Box”! That should go over well with the rest of the family!