For the Love of Words

Ahhh, Thanksgiving.
As I mused over my dessert, it occurred to me that there are two 'S's in dessert, but only one in desert.
Unless you happen to  leave your military unit without authorization for an indefinite period of time in which case you desert, but with only one 'S'.
Why is one who leaves a military post a deserter, but when you eat dessert, you are not a desserter?

Considering that stressed is desserts spelled backward, is one stressed when desserts are not forthcoming, or when one has consumed too many desserts?
Great! Now that I've looked at the word dessert so many times in a row, it begins to look as though it is not a real word at all.
Have you ever experienced looking at a word so many times that even though you know it is spelled correctly, it begins to look like gibberish?

Uh, yeah. I mean, nope, me neither...