Too Much of a Good Thing

At the age of 122 years and 164 days, Jeanne Louise Calment was a French woman with the longest confirmed lifespan in history. She was born in 1875 and died on August 4, 1997. She ascribed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed into her skin daily.

Loaded with this information, I decided to do the same. Every meal in Tunisia is more exotic than the next, minus the buffets which are okay but not nearly as satisfying as the a la carte dishes.

Suddenly, yesterday, my stomach stopped my hungry mouth dead in its tracks. There would be no more cultivating this tasty elixir with couscous and ragouts. Nobody told me that olive oil also acts as a rich and mild laxative! I'm recovering but slowly.

This hardworking fellow and his busy family were seen harvesting their olive groves alongside a lonesome road in northwest Tunisia. He was kind enough to break for a few minutes and explain the process for us. I hope I'm feeling better by Monday because it's off to a famous plantation with loads of free samples to try.