Trader Joe's Diaries

When I was in the jungles of Peru fighting ghost pigs, I was constantly amazed at how hard it was to find a good, compact chocolate peanut butter cup.  Now that I'm back in the States, I feel fortunate for many reasons.  One, I'm no longer fighting ghost pigs, but two, whenever I want a tiny treat forged of that ultimate of all flavor combinations, I know exactly where to go: Trader Joe's.  Yep.  Trader Joe's.  That's where I find delicious, mini milk chocolate peanut cups.  I grab several of these little friends when I'm heading out the door in the morning; several more -- ok, many more -- when I return home; and even a few right before bed.  As I then settle into my cozy mattress and pull up my warm blanket, I think of the jungles of Peru, and Juan, a grizzly old ghost pig mercenary, who, right before he was ripped apart by a ghost pig, told me of the yearning for the dark jungles that overtakes your soul.  I know that someday I will return and lead some other young foolish idealist into the jungles in search of ghost pigs, and then it will be my turn to reveal the wisdom of the jungle right before I am ripped apart by ghost pigs.  At least then I will have some mini chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's to snack on before I meet a violent death.