A different kind of tasting

Last Saturday, tucked amidst stalls inviting patrons of Berkeley's Farmer's Market to taste watermelons! cantaloupes! peaches, plums and nectarines!!! stood an intriguing, if not completely disgusting, invitation. 

I tried to ignore it, to stay focused on Arctic Queens and Dapple Dandies, but, perhaps inspired by my Travel Channel Super Hero and my self-imposed obligation on this site, my curiosity got the best of me. 

"Is this for real?" I asked a man standing next to the sign beckoning passersby to take part in a free, gulp, worm tasting. 

"Yesss," the long-haired, somewhat worn-looking man said smiling. 

I was at a loss for words, and my grizzly friend wasn't doing much to keep the conversation rolling. 

"Why?" I finally managed, not sure if I meant why he offered the option to eat the worms that live in the dirt he was selling or why anyone in their right mind would take him up on the invite. 

"Because people in Berkeley are crazyyy!" he said, still smiling. 

I asked if people had really tried it, and he told me yesss, several had. I asked if anyone had gotten sick, and he said several of the several had thrown up on the sidewalk right behind his setup. I asked if he had ever eaten a worm himself, and he said no, presumably because he is not crazy. 

Neither am I, I guess. You gotta draw the line somewhere and mine, while not necessarily at worms, definitely runs through the point where a man won't take part in his own free worm tasting.