April 2018

Many of these stray threads will be random impressions I carry from memories.  It’s truly curious the things we retain.

As a young child, I remember going to Six Flags over Georgia just once.  It was on a side trip from seeing my Grandmother and Grandfather on my Dad’s side in Ashland, AL.  I had to less than 10 years old at the time.  Once there, most of the park and experience is fuzzy at best.  However, there are three totally disconnect moments I remember distinctly.  One was seeing Stone Mountain from a tour train.  They had the the whole cowboys board the train for an action-packed shot-out.  The second was seeing who I believe was the actual Starland Vocal Band perform as we were passing by some section of the park.  We had come up on them as “Afternoon Delight” was being played.  The third, surprisingly, produced my greatest wonder of the entire trip.  Back at the hotel – a very rare occurrence for us – as we settled in for the night, I recall looking outside with the dim light of dusk still having in the air – not yet having darkness pull the covers of the day yet – only to realize that it was almost 9:00 in the evening.  I was amazed and thought this place must be enchanted.

So, no – this will not be an everyday occurrence.  However, food has always been a significant part of my life.  I have always enjoyed eating – as times at extreme detriment to my waistline.  But beyond that, somewhere along the way I developed a desire to actively participate in the cooking process itself.  I can recall as far back as Middle School and High School watching “Gourmet Cooking” on PJC’s (at the time) WSRE tv channel.  I was fascinated by Earl Peyroux’s descriptions of different techniques, dishes and preparations.  In addition, through his different cuisines, he opened up a whole new diverse world to me.  Asian, French, Cajun – the show reached beyond food and into the realm of all that could be experienced in the world.  But mostly, I was influenced by the passion he showed for cooking.  His sign-off tag line of “A’ bientot” is clearly heard within my head to this day.  From there (and with possibly a little help from what I believe was a Aykroyd skit on SNL), I found Julia Childs and a variety of other shows that contributed to my amateur culinary education.  In High School, I passed up the opportunity to take another advanced elective (LOL – passed up, he says) so that I could take a semester of Home Economics.  In a small way, it was my impression of being “well-rounded”.  I have a vivid memory of the look of surprise on my teacher’s face when she asked the class if anyone knew what “folding in” meant and I answered her.  From those days to now, cooking has remained an intensely and deeply seated part of my persona.  If I cook for you when we first meet, know that I am trying to impress you.  If I continue to cook for you, know that I think so much of you that I am sharing something immensely personal from myself to you.

Too often, we measure success in life by the vanquishing, conquering and slaying of all of life’s challenges like dragons from bygone times.  In reality, for the vast majority of these challenges, victory is found by just being a mere half-step past defeat.  The struggle is real, but we tend not to realize when we have already won.

Image: https://goo.gl/images/AxiFDX