Sharing Food With Strangers

I'm eating dinner alone tonight in Culver City CA at a little place called Thai Dishes.

I've been here a few times for lunch, and was looking forward to the dinner sized portion of the Ka Ree Panang. It burns a nice sized hole in your gut, but tastes so good going down.

An older couple next to me were very friendly and chatty and were complaining in a cheerful way that they never knew what to order at these kinds of places since they wanted to try it all. They seemed a tad bit adventurous to me... And it proved out in short order.

When their food came the gentleman said "here you go young man- try this!" And placed bits of their 2 different entrees on my plate. What could I do? Well... Of course offer some of mine.

I placed a chunk of chicken positively soaked in yellow pungent burning hot curry sauce on some rice and he pushed it all onto a big spoon and downed it before I could warn him.

He choked and grabbed his chest, then downed his entire glass of water before declaring loud enough for all the neighbors to hear "my god, man, that's spicy!"