He put sugar in his coffee, sugar in his tea. Just picture it, then add more. He put sugar in his milk, sugar in his bourbon.
Sugar was the largest ingredient in all his recipes. Sugar in his spaghetti sauce, sugar in his chili. Sugar on chicken, fish and steak. Sugar on hotdogs, hamburgers and French fries.
Have you ever seen anyone eat a sugar sandwich? I have. Sugar. Between two halves of a Kristy Kreme. I’ve seen him twist apart two halves of an Oreo to add sugar to the cream filling.
I’ve observed him adding sugar to soft drinks, sugar to maple syrup, sugar to honey. I’ve even seen him sprinkle sugar on candy. I watched him make himself a bowl of sugar with ice cream on top, then mumble to himself, “Pretty please with sugar on top?” Then I witnessed him pour sugar on top.
I’ve heard him sing in the shower: “Pour some sugar on me,” as loud as Def Leppard ever did. I’ve known him to add sugar to shampoo and body wash as if it made him smell sweeter.
I’ve heard him dogmatically proclaim that sugar is a better exfoliant than alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids and numerous other chemical exfoliants.
I’ve heard him spew conspiracy theories that toothpaste with sugar is a better exfoliant for gums than toothpaste with baking soda, that sugar is a better antidepressant than an antidepressant, and that if endocrinologists would encourage their hypoglycemics to eat more Mars bars then there wouldn’t be any more hypoglycemia.
He once served me communion with cookie and Coke. “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” he read from his Bible with a mouthful of cookie before chugging his Coke. He referenced his Bible as proof that God is made of sugar.
Truly, I say unto you, I watched the man live the sweetest of lives. Then I watched him die with a sour look on his face.
Todd Matson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in North Carolina, United States. His poetry has been published in The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Soul-Lit: A Journal of Spiritual Poetry, The Clayjar Review, Agape Review and Mindfull Magazine, and his short stories have been published in Ariel Chart International Literary Journal, Faith, Hope and Fiction, Agape Review, Literary Yard, Vital Christianity, CafeLit and Children, Churches & Daddies. He has also written lyrics for songs recorded by several contemporary Christian music artists, including Brent Lamb, Connie Scott and The Gaither Vocal Band.