There was once a land of liver and onions. Everyone said the people who lived there were the smartest of all.
It all started they said with an accident they say. There was a doctor, who really didnt like liver and onions, who noticed one night while feeding his dogs liver and onions table scraps how much brighter and energetic they seemed to be. He watched this a few nights, being a man of science, and was really intrigued.
He wondered, “Could this be why so many people feel so bad? Could they have a deficiency of liver and onions?” Being a man of science he decided to put this to the test. He tried giving it to a few patients and sure enough they started jumping around and became more energetic. It had its drawbacks, maybe a slight problem with diarrhea, but that seemed like a small price to pay for progress, and he was really excited.
Years went by and it became an established scientific fact that liver and onions made people feel better and happier. It became a big business. They finally made it a law that the only way to get it was to go to legally registered restaurants that had liver and onion chefs. After all feeling better was too important to leave to ordinary people.
People knew that liver and onions made the human brain healthy and life happy and no one really took those serious that questioned this. The doctors finally decided that they had anosognosia. That was a fancy word for people with brain damage who didnt know they needed liver and onions.
But they knew how to deal with them. Laws were passed and soon things were safe for healthiness and happiness again. After all people needed to be happy and healthy. They had to even if they didnt want to and even if they were foolish enough to think there life was okay without liver and onions.
There was only one sad little boy left. His parents talked to him about liver and onions. They told him how much they loved it and how much everybody in their family loved it. They told stories about famous people and liver and onions. They even told him about how God wanted him to eat liver and onions. But the little boy was stubborn. Finally they even told him the state might take him away and send him to a state home for bad little kids who hated liver and onions. Still he refused.
His parents became unhappier and unhappier. Friends urged them to eat more liver and onions to deal with this incredible stress, but even double and triple helpings seemed to do little good.
Finally in desperation they asked their son, “Why wont you eat liver and onions?” They just knew he was brain damaged. They knew he had the dreaded anosognosia. They were terrified.
The little boy just smiled. He couldnt believe they were finally going to listen. “I tried eating it and it made me real sick. I didnt think I was ever going to stop throwing up. I dont like it. I dont need liver and onions to feel good. I just need you. I love you.”
The parents were confused. They felt better after listening to their son, but they didnt know why. After all they hadnt eaten liver and onions all day.
