While I was recently re-watching Interview With the Vampire for the first time in awhile I was thinking about what it would be like to live for hundreds of years or more. Then I flashed back to a line from the beginning where Lestat says to to Louis, “I’ve come to answer your prayers. Life has no meaning any more does it? The wine has no taste. The food sickens you. It seems no reason for any of it…” and then goes on to convince Louis to become a vampire. However we then find out in this vampire mythology that vampires can’t eat. For me the majority of the joy of life is one way or another connected with food. I’m a foodie because I love all kinds of food, simple and cheap to complex and expensive. Living hundreds of years without being able to enjoy the exploration and enjoyment of food seems horrible to me, before we get to any of the other complications that substantially increased longevity brings (as Armand gets into later). Food is life. Whether it’s following the teachings of Buddhist monks and learning how to thoroughly enjoy each sip of a cup of tea or each bite of a piece of fruit, baking cookies from scratch with your family at the holidays, scarfing down a delicious soft pretzel as you drive down the road, taking in a pint or two with friends at a bar, or getting to experience a luxurious meal at a Michelin Star restaurant, food is so integrated into my experience system I don’t see the point of living even a normal lifespan without it much less living for hundreds of years. The bigger lesson for me is also to remember to enjoy the simpler things that I experience every day and not always be looking for something new, unique, or exotic to try next.