Quirky former FBI agent. Hoo boy!

[trof]

I was recently at a charity dinner and seated at the table with a retired FBI agent (think 'Hoover' years and after) and his wife.

They live in our neighborhood, but we're not close friends. He's WAY right wing, and, although she's a very nice lady, she pretty much parrots whatever he says.

When Miz t. and I were on the way home she said "Did you notice Ed didn't eat his meal?"
"Nope."
"He ate his salad, but when they brought the entree, he didn't touch it. He did eat two pieces of cake though. I wonder if he's feeling well?"
"Who knows."
As you can tell, Ed's actions aren't high on my list of concerns.
BTW, the entree was very good, grilled chicken breast wrapped in bacon on a bed of rice pilaf accompanied by grilled mixed veggies. Scrumptious.

The next day Miz t. saw Ed's wife and asked if he was OK, given that he had passed up the entree.
"Oh he's fine. That's just Ed. He won't eat anything that's touching anything else on his plate. The chicken had bacon on it, and it was on the rice, and the vegetables were touching the rice. At home I have to make sure nothing 'touches'. If I'm serving something kinda runny I usually put it in a separate little bowl, just to make sure."

Oh my.
This guy's in his late 60s.
:crazy:
And he was an FBI agent?
whew

[snooper2]

1. Maybe it was some freaking torture the Russians did to him?

:P

[monmouth]

2. OMG, my brother was the same way. It was a family joke but he also

is in his 60s and my sister-in-law says she never, ever lets his food touch.

[Ineeda]

3. That's often a symptom of OCD. n/t

[trof]

4. Makes sense.

[Frustratedlady]

5. I know three people like that. Gravy drives them crazy. EOM

[Hepburn]

6. Soooooooooo....how did he eat his salad?

The dressing, I assume, was touching the veggies, right?

LOL...maybe someone should point that out to him!

[trof]

7. I don't like the guy, but I don't want to DESTROY him.

:rofl:

[sammytko]

15. and was it a mixed salad?

and how did that work out?

[NCarolinawoman]

8. My sister was that way when she was about nine years old.

I remember one of my three older brothers teasing her by rolling over a pea to touch her mashed potatoes when she wasn't looking--just to get a rise out of her.

She worked through this problem by the time she was a teen. Perhaps it was because of sibling peer pressure?

[Poll_Blind]

9. I'll bet he's a hoot in bed!

:rofl:

PB

[seabeyond]

10. good for the wife accepting him as he is and helping him out. we have to pour our chips onto our

plates. take the lunch meat out of container with a fork. i have learned all kinds of things about transferring of germs that for a lifetime i never thought about, but my son obsesses about. a hoot in our family, and we love him dearly and try to work with him on these things, if we think about it, or observe he is bothered. he doesnt let us know. i generally figure it out over time.

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. +1 n/t

[DURHAM D]

11. I have a family member in his 30s with the same problem.

And you guessed it - he is an extreme rightie and in "government" service.

[RC]

12. Maybe someone should tell him that It all winds up in the same wine sack anyway.

Where it does more than touch.

[emilyg]

14. He's really Monk.

[MicaelS]

16. I used to be like that when I was a kid, drove my parents crazy.

I grew out of it. I can't imagine a grown man, in his 60s no less, still engaging in that behaviour.

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. This is not uncommon

Particularly among OCD people.

[MicaelS]

18. Any idea why? n/t

[hamsterjill]

19. Lemme guess...

He probably has to have all of the green M&M's picked out of the bag, too!!! LOL

[rainbow4321]

20. My daughter did that when she was young (elementary aged)

Not so much when we went/go out to eat but at home she would take one food at a time, put it on her plate, eat it, get the next food item, and so on. We just go used to her doing it ater a while.
But it also freaked her out when we went out to eat if the color coded sugar packets were mixed together in their little container. She would grab it and sort them according to color.
And she would call out the time on the clock if there was a pattern...ANY pattern: 2:34, 3:45, 3:33, 1:23, etc...
I don't know she outgrew the behaviors, maybe she has just learned to contain them?