Contributing Writer
So this is my final article in my four year career here at the beautiful Springfield College. If I can bestow any knowledge onto my fellow peers it would be this (pay attention because it’s literally the only knowledge I will ever share)…JUST TRY IT! I have been confronted a few times by members of our SC family and told “I don’t like hunting or game meat but I love your articles!” My next two statements are always the same, “Thank you very much” followed swiftly by “But have you ever tried it?” Generally the answer is no, to which I always offer two more statements. “If you want to try it let me know” and “If you want to hunt, I’m your guy.” Here’s the thing, I never liked tofu. I would have sworn up and down that it was the devil reincarnated as a white block of firm, bean pasty junk. Then, I tried it freshmen year at Cheney. You know what, still not a fan. While I do not enjoy tofu, it was not as bad as I thought, and now I can tell you for a fact that I am not a fan of tofu.
I use squirrel as an example. If I were to ask 100 people on campus what they thought about eating squirrel, an overwhelming majority would state that they do not like it. However, I can guarantee that most if not all have not tried it. Townhouse RD, Amy Nerlinger, was once a skeptic of the lowly squirrel, stating something along the lines of “it’s a big rat” well, that’s because it is. She did try a piece of my squirrel pot pie and said that it wasn’t bad. I’ll take it. I made one more believer in the edibility of squirrels in a world full of haters.
As I have stated before, I am not the biggest fan of fish, but I am learning, I try it a new way every year. At one point in my life I would have adamantly insisted that I hated all seafood. Through trying shrimp, clams, crab, lobster, and so on I refined my pallet and realized that I do not like strong tasting fish and I am not a fan of fish that is not fresh. But to say that I do not like all seafood is just ignorance, unless I have in fact tried all seafood in all of its preparations and still do not like it.
So if someone asks you if you like something, rather than say no, say you don’t know because you haven’t tried it. Say that you are hesitant because you have heard mixed reviews. Let people know that you are not opposed and I bet they would be willing to facilitate your next culinary experience or outdoor adventure. Life is too short not to give everything a try at least once. I argue with a close friend of mine often about her overuse of the statement “I don’t like it” but instead she should say “I have never tried it.” The reality is, in a culture where we not only have everything we want at our disposal, but six different brands and varieties of those items, it is easy to say we don’t like something and never have that challenged. Foods were not discovered through want necessarily, but through necessity. As a culture we have lost that sort of survival dependability and consequently have lost a huge connection to what is now considered “wild food”. I hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as “gamey” meat, just what meat should actually taste like in comparison to its corn fed counterparts.
So that’s it, that’s all I have to leave you with. Don’t say no, don’t say you don’t like it, just give it a try (like tuna fishing, I would love to try that *wink*nudge*). Hunt it, cook it, eat it, hike it…JUST TRY IT. And remember to be safe and have fun!