Kids These Days 49

I have had conversations with Cam and Mala about how there are certain foods that we ate as children that we wouldn't touch as adults. Mostly because we are far more concerned with things like bacteria and germs that we were back then. The foods that I think of immediately are pickled. Pickled eggs, pickled pig feet, and just plain big ass pickles in a jar.

The least bad ones of these are the plain pickles. They were about the size of your young arm and could be grabbed right out of the jar. No gloves, no tongs, just your nasty ass playground hands reaching into a jar that hundreds of others had. And you didn't get this from the supermarket. Oh, no no no. You went to the liquor store (Webb's on Central east side represent) and got these. I doubt the juice in the jar was ever changed but we didn't care. It was good. Just get some Kool Aid or if you were a broke ass you got your hands on some Flavor Aid. That shit was the devil. You'd add an entire bag of sugar to end up with some colored sugar water which is also what its called when I sweat.

The next one, while good, in hindsight probably took a few years off my life was the pickled eggs. They were good and I have not had any in years. Now as a grown ass man if I wanted I could make my own. Just boil some eggs and make my own juice and let 'em soak. But as a kid the only option was to head to the store and let my hands marinate in some hood flavors.

Last, and the absolute worse, is the pickled pigs feet. Great googly moogly. These were exactly what they sound like. Just some big goddamn pig feet swimming in a huge ass jar of juice on the counter. “I want the one on the bottom. It has the most favor...” Next thing you know you're shoulder deep in brine. I remember walking down the street eating these. No sauce or anything. Just a foot. I ate a goddamn foot and was happy about it. These weren't even refrigerated. They just sat on the counter being whatever temperature stores were for months at a time. You stuck one of these in my face now I'd punch you in the throat but when I was a kid this was a treat.

Click here for previous Kids These Days.