The Strange Scars of Childhood

You ever have memories from childhood that aren't really bad, you just got mentally scarred by them anyway? Well when i was about 6 or 7 years old I went to stay with my Grannie Annie. She lived up north in Mn, and lived out in the woods. Everyday we would take a looonnng walk down to the main road to get her mail from their mail box, and every day we would pass one of these off to the side of the road up on some saw horses:

Well, for you city folk, this is a salt lick. They were using it on the side of the road to attract and keep deer in the area.

Animals will lick the block of salt (get it, salt lick) which gives them several nutrients. Usually animals find these deposits naturally but people put out these salt licks to attract deer for viewing, photography or hunting purposes. Well after walking past it for several days, learning what it was, I wanted to know what it tasted like. So my grandmother told her trusting, loving 6 year old granddaughter to go lick it! Go ahead and lick where who knows what kind of wild beasts have been putting their mouths! And I DID! BLECH, PETOOOEEEE! EWWWWW!!! I still get the shivers when I think about it! All my mom has to say is "and what did it taste like?" IT TASTED LIKE SALT! WHAT THE #%&9#%@ DO YOU THINK IT TASTED LIKE? Couldn't Grannie just have told me that?! Man o Man!