Trix are for ME

I’m going to be 25 in less than two weeks. As I approach a quarter-century of age, what do I do most of the time for breakfast at home, at least when I have (make) the time for it? Do I whip up a batch of pancakes, or make some French Toast? Do I scramble some eggs? No, I eat Trix. You know, the “Trix are for Kids!” type of cereal.

There are a lot of different breakfast foods here. I’ve thought of buying multi-grain Cheerios now and then, and now and then I have done exactly that. Sometimes I will buy Quaker Oatmeal, but each time I do so and then say to myself, “Hmm, I gotta do this more often,” I forget about it or choose not to. And so, my ultimate breakfast meal of choice in the Holy Land is Trix cereal. I didn’t plan on it becoming so. In fact, I’ve skipped out on breakfast as often as I’ve taken advantage of it in the Jewish state.

I think that this has something to do with the ulpan experience. The cereal at Ulpan Etzion was, let’s face it, not all that good. Heck, the meals in general at the ulpan weren’t all that good, but those of us who know the Jewish Agency for Israel know that they are only willing to spend so much money to keep us healthy. It was probably a conspiracy on their part with the government: feed us mediocre food so that we’d take our money out into the Israeli supermarket to buy groceries or visit a restaurant for some form of nutrition. The ex once complained that she’d gained 5 or 7 kilos, I can’t remember the exact amount. I disagreed, but if true I can certainly tell you that it wasn’t due to ulpan food.

I admit that I haven’t exactly kept a nutritious diet since moving here. For one reason or another, I will forget about a meal and just let it go. When I need food and haven’t any in the fridge or cupboard, I’m more likely to go to McDonald’s than to a store, but this is mostly because the times I don’t have food are on the weekend, and due to the Jewish Sabbath your choices are limited in Jerusalem when you’re hungry, have no food but have money, and are not shomer Shabbat. And when the only food I do have in the house is Trix cereal, and I’m lucky enough to have milk, I will sometimes make that my (take your choice) a) lunch, b) dinner, c) snack.

So maybe it isn’t that Trix is simply my breakfast food of choice. Maybe, in the land of milk and honey, of falafel and shawarma, of humus and couscous, of suicide bombers and targeted assassinations, Trix is not only a link to the land I grew up in but a rock of stability in a world gone nuts.