"There are two tools most effective in blackening hearts," said Poison Pie. "Can you guess what they are?" "Bologna?" said Lynn. "No," answered Poison Pie. "Bologna, despite claims to the contrary, does not turn a good heart black." "Corndogs?" said Lynn. "No," answered Poison Pie. "Corndogs also do not blacken hearts. Let me give you a hint. Neither one of them is a food." "Fritos?" said Lynn. "Stop guessing, Lynn," said Poison Pie. "Your turn." He pointed to the Notorious G. "Velveeta?" said the Notorious G. Poison Pie glared at her. "It's not exactly food. It's a cheese product." "No," said Poison Pie. "Velveeta has never possessed the power to turn a heart black." Poison Pie looked to me. "Forgetting?" "Exactly," said Poison Pie. "Forgetting can turn a heart black, forgetting all the good things that happened along the way, all the incidental kindnesses that arrived without invitation, then discounting them as insignificant and discarding them from memory. Forgetting can certainly turn a heart to black." "You know what the other tool most effective in blackening hearts is?" asked Poison Pie. "Remembering?" said Lynn. "Exactly," said Poison Pie. "The only thing more potent at blackening hearts than forgetting is remembering --remembering all the unavoidable unpleasantries along the way, reliving them endlessly, huddling with these memories and fingering them in a dank corner of the mind. That too can turn a heart to black." "They really get you coming and going," I said to Poison Pie. "That they do," he whole-heartedly agreed.