Welcome again to the best part of the "blog," "Oatmeal Tips." Today's oatmeal tip comes from the delightful and delightfully named Emily Doe, whom I met in the McSweeney's office on my last trip to San Francisco. Please note: Emily broke up her oatmeal tip into handy and attractive paragraphs. But I have never learned to "do" paragraph breaks on the "blog." It is not Emily's fault! With that, I give you Emily: "I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed last month and as a result subsisted on an all-oatmeal diet for two weeks. While to some people this may sound like torture, to me it was a dream come true. I love oatmeal. I eat it all the time. What's not to love about complex carbs and one trusty ingredient. Here's how I generally enjoy my oatmeal: sticky, cooked on the stove with water - never in a microwave- with brown sugar and raisins, and sometimes dried cranberries- but never nuts. Here's how I ate it during my post-surgery days: very soupy, cooked on the stove with milk for extra calories, and maple syrup. Now that the holes in my gums are filling back in and I don't have to worry about dry sockets anymore I'm back to eating oatmeal the sticky way, but with a splash of milk!" Thanks, Emily! The conversion to milk is informative, and perhaps the most telling thing about your story. How interesting when a stark necessity becomes a luxurious preference - in many ways, the story of the world. Of the accompanying photo, Emily writes, "See those blue stripes through my teeth? Apparently, they’re from some now-defunct vaccine that they were giving kids back in the 80s!" What does oatmeal mean to YOU? Let me know by sending a postcard to "Oatmeal Tips" c/o "Writer" Oxford, MS 38655.
