The Edible Variety — Joseph Torchia

Julia was a Roman snail, the edible variety, the kind you find in French restaurants. Or in the back yard, stuck to the undersides of calla lily leaves, which she had a passion for. Those thick, green, pointed clustered California calla lily leaves were Julia's aphrodisiac. They were also her downfall. They sent her stickily pursuing every snail in sight -- or night -- be it male or female, straight or...Or be it Julia, who loved herself when no one else was available.For Julia, like every other gastropod in her garden, was an hermaphrodite. That is to say, she had a complete set of both male and female genitalia. That is to say, with a stretch of her imagination Julia could turn that calla lily leaf into a veritable Roman bacchanalia -- all by herself.