When I was in first grade we all had meal coupons with which we claimed our daily lunch in the grade school cafeteria. My mother bought whole booklets of them and placed one coupon in my shirt pocket every morning. This was a time when classes were taken to the cafeteria in groups by their respective teachers and sat at long tables. I never felt like taking my lunch and often sat there quietly with my food untouched. I remember that my teacher even once came to me and spoon-fed me.

I could not articulate it then, but I was hyper-sensitized by the 300 boys around me in that huge hall. I felt that we were animals being fed at troughs. I could not stand the noise, the smell of industrial cooking, and other boys' eating habits. This is one of the reasons why I never attend our class reunions.

To this day I prefer eating alone or in intimate groups.