To Live Forever

    Breakfast:
        Cereal with milk
        Several grapes
        Orange juice

He ate healthy, paying close attention to a properly balanced diet and making sure he got plenty of exercise. He planned to do everything he could do to live forever so he had to eat well and stay healthy. Sure the thought of immortality was far fetched, but with all the advances in science these days, who could say?

Finishing his breakfast he made a mental note. Normally he also ate dry toast at breakfast, but ran out of bread last night. Ahead of schedule today, he decided to stop in the grocery and pick up a loaf of bread. On his way into work he thought about lunch:

    Lunch:
        Turkey on rye
        An apple
        A small salad (no dressing)
        Perrier

He would get all that at the deli near his office. By avoiding the salad dressing and making sure the deli guy didn't use too much mayonnaise he knew he could keep his lunch reasonably healthy too. Looking up and down the street, he waiting until he was sure all he traffic was stopped before crossing to the grocers.

Shopping here was always enjoyable, with the bright fabric awning covering the fresh produce, he always paused in front of the shop to look over the display. Apples glistened in the rising sunlight, oranges and lemons were tastefully arranged on onside of the apples, while some pears and plums were stacked on the other side. On the other side of the walk to the entrance were cabbages, heads of lettuce, broccoli, and even some fresh asparagus.

After a few minutes admiring the produce, he quietly entered the store, nodded to the elderly store owner and he younger assistant. Moving past the candy and other impulse items displayed around the checkout counter, he headed towards the shelves of bread. He searched through the loaves, impressed with the overall quality of the choices. Not immediately finding the rye bread, he considered several alternatives, but after carefully reading the label information, he convinced himself he needed to stick to the rye.

Carefully studying each level of shelving, he slowly moved along the aisle but still could not find any rye bread. Finally he peeked over the shelves to ask the grocer about rye bread. Without noticing the other man at the counter, he called out, "Excuse me . . ." but just as the words left his mouth he looked at the bottom shelf, right in front of where he stood. Sure enough, after passing over it at least three times, there it was, plain as can be.

He quickly bent to grab the loaf of bread and suddenly heard a loud pop and felt bits of the wall fall upon him, as the bullet aimed for his head embedded in the wall. He then heard a shuffle of feet and the slam of the door as someone ran out of the store. Still unaware of what just happened. he grabbed the bread and headed towards the counter.

After work he would stop by the gym and work out a bit, perhaps covering a mile or two on the treadmill and then another two or three on the stationary bike. He might then spend half an hour on the free weights, perhaps just finish up early, take a shower and then head home. Traffic would be lighter then and the walk home would be safer. He considered dinner, figuring since he was already here at the grocers, he might as well be sure he had everything.

    Dinner:

        Broiled fish
        A slice of rye bread
        Green beans
        A small salad (no dressing)
        A banana
        Perrier

Yes, he had everything he needed at home, except for the bread in his hand, a perfectly healthy dinner. As he patiently waited for the grocer to call the police he overheard the conversation. Attempted robbery, gunshot? He made a note to ask the grocer what he was talking about, but soon turned his attention to planning his menu for the next day.

Jotting some ideas in his notebook he included the proper portions from each of the food groups. Now that he had the rye bread, he was set for at least the next few days. The grocer hung up the phone and looked up saying, "The police will be here in a few minutes, they'll want to talk to you."

After paying the grocer, he wandered out the door and began admiring the produce once again. Not entirely sure why, he waited for the police to arrive. He didn't mind, he enjoyed looking over the fruit and vegetables thinking of his healthy diet. It was important, especially since he planned to live forever.