Thankfully I seem to be recuperating. My improved appetite indicates as much, anyway. The doctors have agreed to remove the intravenous drips and are happy with the juices and other drinks that I've been consuming. Now I have breakfast made up of an egg, cheese and milk. Even though I sorely miss foul and ta'meya -- in the arena of food they are to me what the novel is in the arena of literature -- well, I can't complain. The dehydration is over at last. I seem to be functioning normally so foul and ta'meya can wait.
When I had heart surgery in London, in 1991, I completely lost my appetite. A beautiful tray of food would arrive each day, full of every conceivable delicacy. Yet I couldn't touch it. The surgeon said: "Well, what would you like to eat?" I told him the only thing I could possibly contemplate was foul and ta'meya, or lentil soup. I was told that all of it was available at a restaurant called Ali Baba. It was a great revelation, a happy day...
"Popular" meals are what I like best. It is true Ilike other foods, but I like them from a distance, as it were. Say you invited me to a smart hotel. I would no doubt be happy. I would enjoy the company and perhaps eat with relish. But no sooner will I be out of the hotel than I'll have this terrible urge to go back to the cafe in Hussein, where foul and ta'meya are available in abundance, and where I could have a shisha, not a cigar.
Thankfully I seem to be recuperating. My improved appetite indicates as much, anyway. The doctors have agreed to remove the intravenous drips and are happy with the juices and other drinks that I've been consuming. Now I have breakfast made up of an egg, cheese and milk. Even though I sorely miss foul and ta'meya -- in the arena of food they are to me what the novel is in the arena of literature -- well, I can't complain. The dehydration is over at last. I seem to be functioning normally so foul and ta'meya can wait.
