The narrator recalls learning an old Chinese saying from his finance professor - "A white horse is not a horse" - though he did not understand it at the time. Years later, he gets a craving for a salami sandwich on rye bread. When shopping at the supermarket, he finds many variations of rye bread but not actual rye bread, allowing him to understand the meaning of the saying - that something is not really that thing if it is missing essential qualities.

1. A WHITE HORSE IS NOT A HORSE
That is what is known as “an old Chinese saying.” I learned it from my finance
professor. I was too embarrassed to ask him to explain what it meant. Soon, I
would figure it out for myself.
A few years later, my wife and I moved out West. What happened? Something
that almost never does. I got a craving. A food craving. A food craving for for
something I never crave. A salami sandwich on rye and a bottle of beer.
We drove to the supermarket. Beer, no problem. Salami, no problem. Then, we
went to buy the rye bread.
I found, pumpernickel rye; marble rye, low-sodium rye; diet rye; California rye; I
found every kind of rye bread except rye bread. Then I understood. A white
horse is not a horse.
Solution. I had a baloney sandwich on white bread and a glass of chocolate milk.
How many white horses do you have in your stable?
Regards,
Slim
Copyright, © 2011 Slim Fairview