I’m thinking about how many times in my life someone has asked me this question . . .
“What Do Mermaids Eat?”
Ah hah! I remember. ONE TIME!
That was when my unpredictable, truly fascinating Japanese wife was sitting across from me in a café on Taketomi Island, Okinawa.
We had just come from swimming at a lovely beach. Unfortunately, the water was very shallow and the entire seabed was covered with sea cucumbers. We had to walk very carefully, scoping out the sandy bottom every step we took.
Sea cucumbers in a word are disgusting! They are ugly tubes of squishy flesh that seem to have no purpose on the planet. They don’t move. They just lay there. If you’re unlucky enough to step on one, it’s an unpleasant sensation, like stepping on an intestine.
We survived the attack of the sea cucumbers — now there’s a great movie title if I ever heard one — dried off, then stopped at the café on the way back to our guest house. While we ate a snack lunch, we were engaged in light conversation, generally in very high spirits, being in the luxurious warmth of the sun and pleasant blowing breeze of this Japanese paradise. I made a few more wise cracks about how repulsive the sea cucumbers were, how drab and pointless their lives are, and asked jokingly, “What the hell do those things eat?”
Masumi smiled and said, “And what about mermaids? What do mermaids eat?”
That was the one time. And it became the inspiration for my latest book!
After several years in development, this fantasy/travel/cookbook will be available next month. And yes, you’ll find out first hand the answer to this salient, very thought-provoking question.
I promise you: It’ll be fun. It’s a book to treasure over the years, guaranteed to bring smiles to anyone who reads the stories.
