The man in the jaunty suede jacket and the casually woven scarf paused at the meat section of the grocery store and gazed down at the choices.  He clutched his throat whilst he gazed at the selections.  Without pause, he picked up a packet of Bellota Bellota ham from Spain – by far, the finest and most expensive ham in the world.   And just as swiftly, he put it back, extending his fingers and examining them, as if he had touched something horrid.

Thirty euros?  For a few chunks of ham?  That seems a bit high.  The man in the jaunty suede jacket and the casually woven scarf stroked his chin and pondered the situation.  There are, after all, starving people in Africa.  How can one justify a 30-euro bite of ham?  And without a flinch, the packet of 30-Euro ham went into the grocery cart, a la Mary Tyler Moore in the opening credits of her 1970’s TV show.  A rolling of the eyes.  The onward movement of the shopping cart.

The man in the jaunty suede jacket and the casually woven scarf was me, and I had just arrived at La Grande Epicerie de Paris – the gourmet food hall adjacent to the Bon Marché department store in the 7th (metro Sevres-Babylone).

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