Supermarket Seafood
Man: After three hours of starring into this case I’m beginning to lose touch with reality. My hands are sweaty and I don’t know where to put them. If only everything wasn’t being reduced to the same value as everything else...I’d be able to make a decision. Tonight I want supermarket seafood; I have no clue what that smell is. What’s that smell? What kind? Scallops? Hey, I have a question: what’s the difference between shrimp and deveined shrimp? My mom always told me it was their shit, not their veins. I always just believed that--it’s a very believable thing when you look at them. Okay, so there’s the tuna, which is just tuna. I could get the grouper, not such a bad idea… I always like grouper, I just never order it. Do you have monk fish? No? Is that monk--no. I guess that’s a chinese supermarket thing. We used to eat swordfish a lot as kids, that was always scary. The idea of eating it, I mean. The name. I mean same with anchovies, only not the name. Same with salmon. Cooked salmon just looks so raw. I never ate raw fish until I was 17. It tasted like fish, that’s all I remember. It didn’t really taste like sushi, but I guess I don’t use soy sauce. Raw salmon doesn’t look as raw as cooked salmon though, right? The big difference between salmon and tuna is that salmon is freshwater and tuna isn’t, yeah? So what’s grouper? And branzino? Sea bass? Tilapia? And you can’t really taste the difference? I can’t. Although now that I think about it I can imagine the difference, can’t remember tasting it though. Everything is just sitting here in a buckets on ice. Isn’t that kind of fucked up? I mean freshwater or saltwater, yea, but now just buckets of ice? Maybe that’s why I can’t taste the difference. MOnkfish is asian isn’t it? Oh you don’t have it. Okay, so let’s think. God, I really just need to make up my stinkin’ mind, Oh, that’s a good idea.
God? Can you help point the way for me? I’m having a really difficult time right now. I really can’t make up my mind about which fish to bring home from the supermarket seafood section. I was hoping you could provide me with the strength and clarity to evaluate each of my options. I know at times i lose patience, focus and attention to detail, really. I feel like I just let too much go right by me. I’m always so unaffected and removed, but all day all these choices, and paths, are flying my way--and even when they aren’t flying my way, like, those have to be considered too. There are just options all over the place. I get overwhelmed, okay, and just let them go by me with a little bit of recognition and nothing else. I mean for God’s sake look at me now! Supermarket seafood! I don’t even know if I want shrimp. I don’t even know if I want fish! Why did you make me this way?? Is my indecisiveness why I can’t taste the difference between a variety of fish? I mean, I know there’s that fishy taste--clearly I think I know that. What the fuck does cod taste like? I really have to ask myself that… the only thing I can think of is lemon. I know that’s the wrong too, so why? Why?!
I must not even like fish, or seafood at all for that fucking matter. I can barely remember a time I was thrilled with the fish I ate. Like, I like fish tacos, but would sooner order a land variety. Excuse me sir? Is it tilapia in fish taco, or mahi mahi? Oh mahi mahi...the Hawaiian fish, that’s right. Mahi mahi sounds great! Where is that? Wow. Looks exactly like tuna to me. How insane is that. Do people make tuna tacos? Would that differ greatly in taste from your average fish taco? No--what is the difference, exactly? Nevermind, I’m not making tacos, just fish. Hold on a minute, I’ll be right back, I’m going to call my Mom quickly, just to ask a few questions.