the trash-monster and the vegan.
a love story for the ages.
I’ve always been kind of a trash-monster when it comes to food. Once when I was in middle school, a girl scout came to the door and I was basically like, “You hush your pretty little mouth and stay right there.” I went and got my cash and paid her for two boxes of Caramel Delights and hid them in my closet, away from the rest of the family. I would eat them in secret—en masse.
Since as long as I can remember, I couldn’t be trusted around Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. I mean, I still can’t. I get one bag of them a year—in my stocking—at Christmas and then my best friend texts me around 10am to wish me a Merry Christmas and then she asks if the bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos is still intact… she knows it isn’t… I ate that bag in one fell swoop like a rabid animal guarding it’s prized kill a hour ago.
In college, I was in a weird love-triangle/square thing for YEARS. I think when you go to a Bible college and you’re super sexually repressed, instead of just sleeping with each other to get it out of the way, you make out a lot and go to a fast food restaurant. I remember one Christmas, one of the guys who liked me gave me my gift in front of another guy who liked me. The gift? A mix CD and a gift certificate to Taco Bell. I was so happy. I felt seen. The other guy, later that night, said, “He told me what he was going to give you and I thought, ‘Dammit, that’s perfect for Rachel. Why didn’t I think of that?’”
My third apartment in Jackson, Wyoming was right down the street from the Dairy Queen. I told my roommate that I really wanted a Blizzard. He didn’t really want to go to Dairy Queen, but he told me he would only go with me if we biked through the drive-thru. The DQ employees were not impressed and actually made us come inside to order, but I was so happy biking back home one-handed with a Reese’s Blizzard in the other hand.
When I had a crush on Evan, I asked a mutual friend to tell me everything she knew about him. She told me a) he messaged you on Facebook?? oh, he likes you b) he’s super into climbing and skiing and c) I’m pretty sure he’s vegan.
I had recently completed a six-month stint as a vegetarian, so I felt like it was pretty much the same thing. When Evan and I started officially dating, I soon found out he wasn’t a vegan anymore, but he still tried to eat as healthy as he could. I played along… hiding my trash-monsterdom… as long as I could.
As a new couple, Evan and I decided to go on a spur-of-the-moment road trip to go climbing in Red Rocks. (p.s. this is when I fell in love with Evan’s Volkswagen Vanagon—Nona.)
Evan was driving, so I was trying to be a good co-pilot. I asked if we should pull over sometime soon to get food, but Evan said, “Oh, I have some stuff to make a wrap in the cooler right behind your chair. There’s a cutting board and knives next to the seat, too, so you can chop the vegetables.”
I laughed, but then Evan wasn’t laughing and this was still new, so I stopped laughing and in my head, I thought, “Umm, excuse me what?”
Before I knew it, we were driving down the highway at 55 miles an hour (Nona’s top speed) and I was CHOPPING CARROTS for a wrap for this motherfucker next to me. We passed a Taco Bell, a Wendy’s, AN IN-AND-OUT BURGER FOR GODSSAKE: all while I chopped carrots and cucumbers, tore lettuce, and spread hummus on a pita. I started to wonder if this was worth it. Would this last? A trash-monster and a vegan may indeed fall in love, but where shall they eat?
As weeks turned to months turned to years turned to a decade-and-a-half, Evan has learned of my trash-monsterdom. I told him we almost didn’t make it past me being a carrot-chopping copilot. He still loves me. I still love him. He entertains my affinity for Taco Bell. I proudly tend to every garden we’ve grown together. He encourages me to eat healthy in front of our kid while also shaking his head at me as I make grossed-out faces behind her back when we’re eating something with too many tomatoes or cucumbers in it.
Yesterday was the most gorgeous day in Jackson. I biked to String Lake, where Evan and Marcelline were there to meet me for lunch, some paddle-boarding, reading, and a lake baptism.
Evan made us all chicken wraps with vegan pesto and arugula. I loved them. After we swam, we drove to a friend’s home in Wilson for dinner outside. They had a carafe of jalapeño mezcal margaritas… literally my favorite cocktail… but I’m not drinking right now, so I abstained. Marcelline played with the dogs, jumped on the trampoline, and made friends with the host who she convinced to make her plain pasta. It was a beautiful night.
On the drive home, Marcelline fell fast asleep. It soon was the first warm Summer night of the season, driving under a moonless dusk with the stars popping out in full-form.
I turned to Evan, the driver, and said, “I kinda want a treat. I mean, I didn’t drink anything AND I biked 24 miles today.”
Evan chuckled, but agreed I “deserved” a treat. After a laundry list of options, we decided on a Frosty from Wendy’s. As we pulled in, Evan told me that Wendy’s always reminded him of his best friend from growing up.
“He always ordered a Number 1, ketchup only, Biggie-sized, with a Coke. He basically lived off of Eggo waffles, Wendy’s, and cigarettes… and I was a vegan.”
We laughed and I realized Evan has always been in these Trash-Monster and Vegan relationships. He is the goodness and order to the chaotic fun faucets in his life.
We split a medium Frosty—wild, I know.
After we paid and pulled away from the window, I did my co-pilot duties and fed him every-other bite of Frosty.
He asked me, “I can’t believe this is our life. I never thought it would be like this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, driving through a Wendy’s in Jackson for a treat while our five-year-old is asleep in the backseat. Did you ever think this would be your life?”
With a mouth full of Frosty, I vehemently replied, “YES! I absolutely thought this would be my life. I love it.”
Evan laughed, “I love it, too.”
I fed him another bite of Frosty before he could say more or think about it any harder.
Quick Hits:
Jam Of The Week: Wet Leg – CPR.
(Wet Leg continues to prove they’re not a fad. I saw them back in 2022 and they played for 40 minutes and we got to leave and THEN get an early dinner and it was a perfect night. love seeing them adding songs to their catalogue for me to sing along to well into the night.)
Another Jam Of The Week: Christine and the Queens & Cerrone - Catching Feelings.
(my god it’s good. more pop music like this for me to dance to, plz.)
We’ve Also Been Listening To This Album A LOT.
(from the Pitchfork review: “Singing about her experience of parenthood and her hopes and fears for her child—and children generally—she also makes space for anthemic songs that build a sense of joyful coalition, such as the handclap-fueled ‘How Big Is the Rainbow.’ These songs invite the listener in, whether in big dance-party moments or in the gentler Motown sway of ‘Get Through,’ where Garbus delivers a lullaby for difficult times: ‘We don’t know how we get through, but we do.’ Where in the past she’s sometimes been accused of being overly didactic, here Garbus is more emotionally vulnerable. There are no straightforward answers to how we get through, but in that ‘we’ lies a powerful article of faith: that true strength lies in togetherness.” 😭♥️✨ aaaaaaand I just bought myself this birthday present that I really wish I would’ve bought at a record store in Seattle, because it came out on my birthday.)Also Bought Myself This Gem Of A Sweatshirt Today.
(love that store.)Have I Shared This Interview Yet?
(okay, but have you listened to this interview yet? obviously I love them. go see Oh, Mary! by any and all means.)This Book Has Been Everywhere And I’m So Happy To Be Deep In It Now.
(the best feeling is wanting to come home to read your book. bonus points if a loved one is sitting next to you reading their own book, not bothering you.)(not cool.)
Lose.
(drop, drop, drop… my god I love this artist who will not let his rival rest.)
This Poem.
(p.s. I can’t stop wearing these white barrel jeans, but I have to wash them after every single wear. which is………………… much more often than I wash my other jeans.)
A Little Woo For This New Moon.
(“At this moment in time, we can reflect upon the past to see where we’re going while offering ourselves a fresh start. The positive side of this lunation is that it allows us to discover and reinvent ourselves as we progress into our most valid form of being. The duality of the New Moon in Gemini urges us to shed the facade we show to the public by letting them see our unique and unfiltered qualities. There is beauty in being raw and pure. Allowing people to get deep with us will be a fantastic experience and adventure.” 🌑✨)
I love it here. Thank you for being here… even if I can’t find hilarious videos on IG anymore. I think the internet is broken.
xxo,
rachel.
"Before I knew it, we were driving down the highway at 55 miles an hour (Nona’s top speed) and I was CHOPPING CARROTS for a wrap for this motherfucker next to me."
I CACKLED at this line <3