Today in the history dept breakroom there was a package of halloween oreos. Day-glo orange creme double-stuffed between two chocolate wafers. I took one on a whim (I don’t usually indulge in breakroom junk food).
As I headed up the elevator to my office I munched on the cookie (politely resisting the impulse to tear off the outer halves and lick the creme because I was chatting with a colleague). The taste of the lard-laden filling brought back a flood of memories.
For almost a year I only ate oreos. For whatever reason, they were the only food that never made me nauseeous when I was on chemo. Maybe it was because, unlike other foods, they tasted almost the same going down as coming back up. I’m not sure.
But whatever the reason, and lard notwithstanding, they are still soul-nourishing to me.
PS: TJ’s Jo-Jo’s and Newman-O’s are tasty, but don’t hold the same visceral memory of the real o-r-e-o.