I was taking a walk one day and a woman invited me into her garden. A sucker for horticulture, I anxiously accepted the offer. She showed me several of her fruits, vegetables and herbs, then gave me some to take home. About a week later, as I was making dinner, I decided to try what she shared with me. Specifically, the red Habanero pepper/chili. It was then I decided I prefer the Habanero visually as opposed to internally. As a lovely, vibrant, flowering perennial, it is great. In my mouth, ears (yes, my ears) and, eventually, out my ass – not so lovely.
Kind of reminded me of a time I dated a guy who had accidentally blown off several of his fingers with a stick of dynamite. Due to the nerve damage, he had a prescription for a topical cream to rub on the ends of the fingers (we called them ‘nubs’). One day, after applying the cream to his nubs, he decided the feeling was too good not to share. So, he put some topical cream on another one of his ‘nerve endings’ and, within minutes, I had to advise him (while fighting back the burning), “External Use Only.”
