Aug 26, 2008

Did they expect me to read the bag? In times of rapid change, experience is your worst enemy. - J. Paul Getty Now he tells me. I made a bad assumption yesterday and in the words of the lovely Mrs. Sneed, "You could have died." Skydiving, assuming the electricity was off, thinking the water wasn't that deep? Nope mangos. a Merle Wayne Sneed is allergic to mangoes. I have had two near-fatal medical emergencies involved this allergy and I am usually quite careful in making sure anything I eat is mango free. My latest near-death experience started Sunday when the lovely Mrs. Sneed and others were having brunch at a local cafe. I ordered oatmeal, which came served with a delicious assortment of dried fruits and nuts. Very tasty and mango free. I eat oatmeal infrequently, but whenever I do, I wonder why I don't eat it more often? With that question in mind, I bought a bag of mixed dried fruit and nuts yesterday, with the intention of mixing some in the oatmeal that I planned to eat more regularly. I have purchased this assortment before without incident, so I assumed that it was mango free, You know what they say about assumptions, "They make an ass of you and me." ASS-U-ME. Unbeknownst to me, the manufacturer of this product has substituted mango for pear, something I only learned after my face swelled up and I developed full body itch. Generally, this is accompanied by the inability to breath and a runaway pulse. Luckily, this time my symptoms were confined to swelling and itching. After weighing my discomfort against the prospect of sitting for hours in the emergency room among a zillion other sick people, I opted to take some beneodryl and hoped that I didn't die in my sleep. Which I didn't. This morning my eyes are very puffy and I look like a guy whose been on a bender for several days, but otherwise okay. So, here's another key to better living from Merle Wayne Sneed, Senior Statesman At-large. Read the package and don't assume you know what it says. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky

11 comments:

Kurt said...

Ah, the dreaded mango allergy! I believe that's what killed John Wayne.

I knew you had lived.

Megan said...

I don't know why anyone would eat mango(e)s anyway.

What about coconut? Are you allergic to those to? Does that mean you will never be "Old Guy Who Knows How to Build the Shelter Dammit!" on Survivor? Another dream dies...

tut-tut said...

Goodness! I had not realized that mangoes would cause a reaction. Anything else?

Anonymous said...

My oldest brother has the dreaded strawberry allergy. A nasty nasty rash and itchiness, and swelling. we always try to adulterate his food with strawberry,

Reya Mellicker said...

Thank God you're OK. You know if you had died, the press would have been all over it, calling it a suicide of disappointment because of the V.P. bid that went to Biden. Thank God!!

I didn't know they said that about assumptions. Thank you. Ass-u-me. Oh yeah!

Hope the swelling subsides soon!

bitchlet said...

Mangoes are wonderful. I've spent all my summers eating different types of mangoes in every possible form. Even as lunch and dinner!

It's an Indian thing. We have mangoes everywhere in summer. All shapes sizes and flavours.

I'm happy to hear you're ok.

Steve Reed said...

You know, it's weird how mangoes produce this reaction in some people. They're a very allergenic fruit. I get an unpleasant tingling around my mouth sometimes when I eat them, but nothing worse than that. Glad you escaped greater harm!

Bobby D. said...

Some shellfish makes me break out, so I avoid... I have never heard of the dreaded mango allergy, but have heard of people getting terrible face rashes from citrus--oranges especially (blisters on their lips--very unpleasant!)

Here's my recipe for a good oatmeal breakfast:
Steel cut oats
raisins, cinnamon and sugar (or Stevia instead of sugar)
slivered almonds.

Bobby D. said...

I do eat mangoes, they are a favorite fruit.

Unknown said...

Damn fine print gets you every time.

I'm glad you're OK.

Squirrel said...

you don't like Kiwi, do you?