I'm sweet enough, thanks.

I bought some dried fruit. I don't know why. I can buy real fruit...hydrated fruit. But I decided to purchase some chemically induced dried fruit. Pineapple to be specific. I never liked pineapple growing up. For years I put it in the same class as rock melon and mango...which I still despise to this day...it's the texture of those last two that does me in...they're all soft...it's like marshmallow fruit...but pineapple...I think I was just scared of it. Plus we never really had pineapple in our house...or mango really...rock melon I'm not so sure about.

And after rediscovering pineapple in the last year or two I've come to appreciate it's uniqueness...it's sweet and tart...it can burn the inside of your mouth and sting the corners of your lips...yet it's delicious and refreshing...much like James Antonas...sweet and tart, delicious and refreshing...'bitingly refreshing' - that would be a good slogan if pineapple was actually a product that was marketed...actually...the best. I defy you to think of a better one...

But it's a pain to prepare...all the cutting, the juice...a harder thing there has not been...so I was browsing the aisles of the local supermarket and saw a packet of Dried Pineapple, purchased a bag and began to devour them. After a few I thought...these aren't too tart...where's the bite? This tastes like a lolly...and lo and behold...just above the title of 'Pineapple' it says 'Sweetened Dried'! What the hell does that mean? It was dried in sugar!? I think they mean sweetened and dried but couldn't afford an 'and' or even an ampersand ('&')...so I was basically eating sugared pineapple...outraged as I was I still finished the bag...but learnt a very valuable lesson...don't try and sweeten something that is perfect as it is.

Any amount of sugar coating will make something that is unique lose its lustre...and by doing so become less unique. And I think that's true with human beings...you shouldn't try to change who you are to make yourself more palatable to other people...actually no, I think you should...well I think other people should...not me...I'm perfect...but you know those people who are loud-mouthed and opinionated and say 'I'm opinionated' (you can tell the real sorry cases are the one's who have to declare themselves 'opinionated' rather than letting their opinions 'ate' for themselves!)...and if you can't take me as I am then go away...I think this is total malarkey...there's a time and a place for opinions and it is also a better type of person who can be opinionated but quietly so, and who is also willing to take into consideration other people's opinions. I am an opinionated person, but an ill-informed opinionated person...I base my opinions on my own irrational thought process...and gladly defer to someone who has actually done the reading or the listening or the watching...they have the knowledge...I have the mouth.

So...in short...don't add sugar to pineapple...if that pineapple is James Antonas. Otherwise...add sugar and shut up.

You stand defied...top that!