How I almost died.

(Okay, so maybe I'm following one of my Mom's tips and making the title seem a little more dramatic than it actually was.)

Let's just say that the following three things don't mix.

Before I left my parents' house yesterday, I went out into my dad's garden to take some fresh vegetables home. I grabbed a huge zucchini and two cucumbers and threw them into a bag in the front passenger seat of my car.

When I was about 30 minutes from Alexandria, I got a little bored/delirious and started playing with the pricky things on the cucumbers. Now, keep in mind, (and this is key) I wasn't looking at what I was touching. As my fingertips glided over the cucumbers, I kept feeling something wet. "Maybe I poked too hard?" I thought. Or "Maybe there's a rotten spot?" I digitally investigated them further to find if there were any imperfections. None. Weird.

In a moment of pure curiosity, I peeked in the bag to see if I had mistakenly spilled my Diet Coke inside. As I turned and twisted the veggies around, I found the hideous imperfection. A sloppy slug!! I shrieked, yelled something I don't remember, and steadied the steering wheel with my left, un-infected hand.

It was touch and go for a while, (keeping my right eye on the fugitive, left eye on the road) but I pulled into my parking lot unscathed.

I think we can learn a lot from this seemingly minor experience.

As strong as the temptation may be to touch/play with produce, keep it out of reach, preferably in the trunk. It's just not worth the risk.