CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS, I THINK

Today a client came in - an older lady with drawn on reddish colored eyebrows that matched her thin, wispy reddish clown-like colored hair.  Her hair cast against her translucently ghostly white skin, made her appear almost like a caricature drawn by a street artist - features distorted and magnified for dramatic purposes.  She was a sweet lady who brings in bags of documents and binders, afraid to throw things away, yet wanting to be organized.  I sifted through stacks of papers, determining what to shred for her and what to organize.  I'm not sure why her family doesn't help her with this, but instead she brings it in for us to take care of.  It's so easy to want to help her despite whether it's my job or not, as she is so thankful and grateful.  In tow today was a Walmart bag with two previously used bakery carry out containers (like the kind you would buy muffins in).  She had brought goodies for us to show her appreciation.  Now, I have a bit of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder - self diagnosed!) and have struggled all my life to eat things made by people who I don't really know or know anything about their cleanliness level.  I took one look at the recycled store bought muffin container that housed her various and assorted white and chocolate dipped pretzels and knew without tasting them what they would taste like.  The first thought in my head, this the last day of February was, "Well, most people don't make chocolate covered pretzels except at Christmas time.  This is not good - these are probably from December."  My bravery kicked in and I smiled as I opened up the old muffin container and laid back the plastic wrap that loosely draped the pretzels.  Which to try - white or chocolate?  I chose chocolate.  As I raised it to my mouth to take a bite I smelled an old smell.  A stale smell.  A, "I have outlived my shelf life" smell and look.  Did that stop me totally?  NO!  I took a bite.  WOW!!  The taste sensation was well, YUCKY   I could smell it as I chewed the bite willing myself to swallow, yet fearing if I did food poisoning would ensue at the speed of light.  I spit out the bite and threw the remaining pretzel from my hand into the trash.  Note to self, "Yet another reason not to get old - you start not realizing there is an expired state of homemade Christmas goodies and February 28th is past that date!!  AND, if I regift using egg cartons or old cereal boxes, muffins containers or the likes thereof when I am old, I want my daughter to immediately place me in a nursing home."