First, Raoul, watch out. You'll get a bad "rep" here.

Second, I just saw a piece on the news which said that Belgium was the chocolate-eating capital of the world, with each Belgian consuming an average of 17 pounds of chocolate a year.

Doesn't that seem like a lot of chocolate? Can't Belgium find something else to be "first" in, like maybe first in the harvesting of ancient wild photons per capita(with telescopes), or the most decaf instant coffee (or tea) drunk per capita, or the most truffles gagged down without coming back up per capita.

There's something about consuming the most chocolate which seems sort of mundane, inglorius. It isn't dramatic, like the most Scotch drinken, or ribald, like the most dark ale, or genteel, like the most crumpets eaten per capita.

I know I must have held the individual record for the most Wild Turkey consumed (not "wild turkeys", don't hunt), and I'll tell you that. If it were an individual record for chocolate, I probably wouldn't mention it. Wouldn't want to say that about myself. Drunk, yes, but candy-bar chomping SOB, nope. Wouldn't want it known.

So, are you scarfing up all that stuff? I hope not. And if you are, I hope it's in the form of something like bars, and is surrounding creme de menthe, and you aren't chewing your way through a stack of Easter bunnies.

Regards,

Arf