In 1990 I flew to San Diego with uncle Ion who was visiting from Romania. He wanted to see an exotic place in America and San Diego fit the bill.
We went to the aquarium, to the rocks
on Imperial Beach, to La Jolla, and across the border into Tijuana.
I rented a car, braved the freeway
traffic which was no small feat, coming from MS where the highways are pretty
much empty most of the time, took our passports to make sure we were let back
in by the border officers, on account that uncle Ion was very tanned and did
not look like a pale gringo by any stretch of the imagination, left the car at
the border, and walked across into Mexico all the way to downtown Tijuana where
there was a large cathedral.
I will not bore you with the details
of flies swarming over the freshly cut pineapple in the mercado or the human
excrement on the floor of a very busy outdoor restaurant that sold yummy
smelling tacos and other Mexican food, or the pungent odor of urine across a
bridge.
You are probably wondering what this
has to do with sharks. After all, we did not dare get in the angry water and
surf breaking across the rocks in Imperial Beach - neither one of us can surf
or swim in such high waves.
On returning from Mexico, the border
agents did examine uncle Ion’s Romanian passport with suspicion; after we drove
back to San Diego, we decided to eat in a nice restaurant in an outdoor mall.
The special for the day, you guessed
it, was shark steak. I ordered for him, and he enjoyed his food immensely as I
did. The difference was that I knew what the tasty meat was and he didn’t, he
just assumed it was some ordinary fish. He did not speak English and he trusted
me.
After we left, I asked him if he
enjoyed being a cannibal. I explained that, what he ate, was a special kind of
seafood, it was shark meat. "You never know what this shark ate before he was caught and became your meal, uncle."
He turned rather yellow and, from then
on, carried his English-Romanian dictionary with him at all times, just to be
on the safe side.
Uncle Ion, now 81 years old, still
remembers this memorable incident from 31 years ago, and I’m not sure he has
forgiven me.
Wonderful story, Ileana!! Bless you.
ReplyDeleteHad he spoken English, he would never have experienced how yummy it is
ReplyDeleteto eat shark. Their teeth are bigger, but our guns are bigger. - Larry Pratt
That’s a great story, Ileana. - Mike Hill
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this story; it is humorous. - Carmel
ReplyDeleteFrom Mada R:
ReplyDelete"I enjoyed immensely reading this little gem of writing (it reminds me a little of I.L. Caragiale’s “Pastrama trufanda.” Exquisite!