An ill-considered action

   I'm on my way to the grocery store. Among the items on my list are the ingredients for a really yummy bar-b-que spice melange that the family enjoys. So, I'm going through the cupboard, toting up our collection of seasonings to see what I need to buy, and I come across a small, unmarked tupperware container half full of a reddish powder.
   Unsure of whether it is paprika, or cayenne pepper, I peel back the lid, and give it an exploratory sniff. Just as I do, a synapse fires somewhere in my brain, and a vague memory speaks to me. It says, "wait, haven't you done this before?" As usual, in the race between unconsidered thought, and protective memory, the memory is one measly neuron behind, and before I can react, the insides of my nostrils, sinuses, and throat are coated with a fine dusting of cayenne pepper.
   Fifteen coughing, choking, eye-watering, nose-blowing minutes later, I am getting out a small piece of masking tape, writing clearly upon it, "CAYENNE PEPPER," sticking it to the container, and asking myself, "why, why, oh why did you not do this last time you snorted a line of red-hot, South American, powdered spice?"
   Live and learn, as they say. Well, you know, eventually.

tags: Misc.