Appetite for distraction

"For turmoil, you should try these. They can halt most upsets of the stomach" said Geoff, offering a bagful of hot whelks.
"Hey thanks, but they're not the most appetising of snacks at the best of times" replied Keith. "Seafood is usually what starts the upset, if you ask me."

Ouch, instant noodles hurt the insides. Not like a pine cone or an all-lemon diet, more like forcing down a damp wad of toilet paper. Taste doesn't really come into the equation, but you might be able to dull hunger pain with this other feeling of thick and sloppy mass, and keep those demons at bay. But it's not satisfying that need for nutrients that the body gives out as a vague longing, at first, then a stronger tiredness and stomach cramp (or headache), then an implacable feeling of exhaustion and malaise. Of course there's the longer term pain of lacking any of the vital life-giving qualities of actual food - a really difficult-to-place void in wellness; it could last days... years. Imagine a drug where the effects don't kick in for several days. You'll only connect the reaction to the ingestion if you know what to expect. Food is like that. What's the difference?

Staring out across the sea towards some kind of boat that made it's way across the horizon, Geoff popped another whelk in his stinking gob. Keith thought about interrupting the silence with an observation, but thought better of it considering how banal an utterance it was likely to be. It would suit the weather, the landscape, the town, perhaps, but the silence of roaring wind, distant seagulls and the rhythm of the waves suited it just fine.

Keith would have been better off with a whelk, but he had never tried them before. How was he to know? They looked pretty disgusting, and that was enough to turn his stomach. Instead he filled his lungs with the sea air and hoped his churning belly would settle down enough for the drinking later on. A proper meal was what was needed, but no-one had been bold enough to be so prepared. On top of the background of nausea, hangover and tiredness, Keith felt the depressing throb of realisation that he had already opted out of having a great time this holiday and would have to suffer through it like so many before. The question to himself - was this to be life? And his answer: yes, for today again it is, and you have chosen it for yourself.

Mark Fry - Song For Wild (from Dreaming With Alice)