I rarely watch TV in the morning, but this morning I was waiting for laundry to dry and turned on The Today Show, just in time to see a feature about a new dessert that’s been created by the popular New York eatery, Serendipity 3. I’m always up for a good dessert and this one looked delicious – mounds of ice cream laced with gourmet cocoas from 14 different countries, truffles, whipped cream, and gold leaf. The price tag? A whopping $25,000!

Apparently, the five grams of gold that decorate the overpriced sundae are edible, not to mention that the price includes a diamond and gold bracelet that is wrapped around the base of the dessert goblet and a gold-plated spoon that is encrusted with chocolate colored diamonds. When asked whether anyone has actually purchased the dessert, the restaurant’s owner responded, “Not yet.” Thank goodness. At least the customers haven’t lost their minds. Who needs a $25,000 dessert? Even if I were a multi-millionaire, I wouldn’t for a moment consider spending that much money on a lump of sugar, no matter how “gourmet” the cocoa and truffles. Nor do I have any desire to ‘eat’ gold.

I find more joy in simple pleasures, like this fun sculpture and bold egret I found at the park beneath the Ringling Bridge leading from downtown Sarasota to the Keys. Best of all, they were free. There is pleasure to be found all around us, if only we open our eyes and tune into it.

At what point did we begin to lose common sense in this country? A $25,000 dessert? Sheesh! I checked the restaurant out online and discovered the new dessert isn’t even on their menu. Their menu does, however, advertise a $1,000 Golden Opulence Sundae that is touted as a Guinness World record. They don’t say WHAT the record is for, but one has to assume it was for the most expensive dessert in the world. During the TV segment, the restaurant owner proudly displayed his new Guinness World Record, certifying the $25,000 dessert to be the most expensive dessert in the world. Did they created the $25,000 dessert because some other restaurant usurped their “most expensive” position, or because the $1,000 dessert simply didn’t generate enough press interest? Then I wondered how many starving people $25,000 would feed.

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