BRUSSEL SPROUTS

When I was 14 I worked in a fruit and veg shop 3 evenings after school for 2 hours, and all day Saturday.
Guru Nana used to bring me 1/2lb of Jelly Babies every Saturday afternoon.
She would stand outside the shop not wanting to disturb the bustle.
In the evenings I would visit her and she would bath my feet in a Radox salt bath and feed me Angel Cake and copious cups of tea. Guru Grandad would talk about space, time, infinity and crosswords.
Wonderful.
One Saturday afternoon when it was quiet in the shop I was out the back sorting the 'snotty' Brussel Sprouts from the good ones.
Not an interesting or pleasant task. So I started thinking about a question Grandad had asked me:
'Can you imagine infinity?'
I gave it a go.
The next thing I knew I was being shaken by the shop owner, asking me if I was OK. Apparently I had been staring into space for the last 45 minutes, snotty sprout in hand. They had decided to leave me at first because I looked funny, but after a while they grew concerned.
I was fine. Very fine.
I could remember nothing about the experience. Just the decision to let go and think of infinity. I was trying to reach the end of the universe. I didn't get there.
I explained all this to the people in the shop looking concerned. They started to look even more concerned, so I decided to keep quiet and never try it again.
It was a lovely experience but tainted by wanting the approval of the people present.
I'm going to give it another go tonight, brussel sprouts are in season.

“We kids feared many things in those days - werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School - but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.” Dave Barry, Miami Herald Columnist