New Neighborhood Merits: Music and Vegetables

Today is a lazy Sunday. It's one of those overcast days when the thought of laying on my couch and listening to old blues music seems so much more appealing than doing one of the hundreds of little boring things that I should be doing, like re-registering to vote in Illinois and hanging the medicine cabinet I bought for my bathroom. I can do those tomorrow.

However, on this lazy Sunday I have been thinking about one of the many merits of my new neighborhood: the record store down the street. Reckless Records is fantastic. I was a little skeptical when I first went in after reading some reviews on the internet that the guys who work there are, "music snobs." However, I have spoken to several of the guys there one multiple occasions, and they could not have been nicer. I don't think they are snobs; I think they just have good taste (and firm opinions) in music. The store sells CD's and a small selection of DVD's at the back, but the middle of the store (and the most floor space) is devoted to vinyl. They have an awesome selection of blues and old rock n' roll, as well as a great variety of new music, including a lot of albums on smaller labels. (I found the Jason Molina's album Pyramid Electric Company that was only put out on vinyl, and unavailable on Amazon or any other internet site I checked.)





So on this lazy Sunday, I am appreciating one of my newest finds at Reckless: an LP of America's Roots Musical. It is a fantastic compilation of old blues singers including Little Walker, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, and Sonny Boy Williamson. It is awesome. The best $3.99 I have spent in a long time.

So why I am talking about music and record stores as opposed to food? (There is a connection I tell you.) Another merit of my new neighborhood is being very close to the famous Chicago Green City Farmer's Market. This market is Chicago's equivalent of San Francisco's Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market--its trendy and the who's-who of Chicago yuppies all shop there and start off conversations with, "Yes, I only buy my produce from Green City Market." On Saturday morning around 11:00 am the place is jam packed full of Lincoln Park thirty-something mom's in Lululemon yoga gear, holding a Starbuck's non-fat sugar-free pumpkin spiced latte, and pushing their two-year old child in a Bugaboo stroller. (Sorry, they only kind of annoy me. The strollers seriously get way and take up all the room in front of the booths.) Therefore, the key to Green City farmers' market is to get there at 7:00 am when it starts.




So here is the connection between the record store in my neighborhood and the farmers' market. Both Reckless Records and Green City farmers' market have been railed in online reviews for being full of "music snobs," or "food snobs," or "hipsters" (in the case of Reckless) or "yuppies" (in the case of Green City). Now, while in Reckless I did have to elbow my way past several nineteen year old guys wearing tighter jeans that I, Ray Ban style sunglasses with florescent pink sides, and their fixed gear bikes chained up outside (aka, the hipsters), but these guys were not the ones working at Reckless. They were merely the patrons of the store. At the farmers' market I had to nudge my way past the hoards of strollers, but once again the yuppies were not selling the produce, they were just the patrons of the market. The farmers at Green City are so incredible friendly, helpful, and down to earth. They are not "food snobs," they just have good taste, and firm opinions on food.

Both farmers' markets and independent music stores are super trendy at the moment. They are both "cool" places to be, be seen, and talk about going to. Whenever the coolness factor comes into play, you start to get cynics railing against the trend, and I can be guilty of this. Yes, the yuppies in the strollers are annoying, but if they are shopping at the market and supporting local farmers and learning by proxy about seasonal eating and organic/pesticide free small scale farming, isn't that good? The same with the hipsters. Yes, they are annoying, and I wish that they would take a shower and wear pants that left a little more to the imagination, but if they are in great record stores speaking to a knowledgeable staff and expanding their horizons on some amazing music, isn't that better than them blindly listening the vast amounts of terrible hip-hop and rap that is clogging up the radio? I think so.

As I alluded to in my post earlier on Gardening for Yuppies, I tend to find myself forming harsh opinions of those blindly following a new trend. However, if that trend is a good one--good for the earth, good for workers, good for artists, good the population as a whole--why should I be complaining? I really shouldn't. If hybrid cars became far more trendy than SUV's everywhere across America, we would be far more along in reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. If stores like Reckless and farmers' markets continue to become the norm rather than the exception, I think that our neighborhoods will be much more friendly places. I have to not be selfish and keep great things like farmers' markets and local record stores to myself--I just have to get there early, before the yuppies and hipsters arrive.

After Thesis Celebration Pie...and a giant rat

I am back after a hiatus of lugging boxes up three flights of stairs, freaking out (just a little) about leaky windows (during Chicago's worst rain in 137 years), learning how to find studs in the wall, and being very angry with AT&T for two hours while trying to set up wireless internet. But all that is over, and I am all moved in to my new house, which I hope is my last change of address for a long while.

However, I must report that there has only been one pie to speak of in the past month. This is due to two reasons. First, I have just been incredibly busy, living out of boxes, and driving across the city far too many times. Second, even if I wanted to bake another pie as soon as I moved into my new house, I sadly cannot as my kitchen equipment has not arrived from California yet, and it is not due to arrive for another three weeks. While living at Erin's house, I had full use of her mixing bowls, but at the moment I am making due with one small frying pan which is difficult to mix any sort of pie filling in.

However, just before I moved I baked what I named, "After Thesis Celebration Pie". My friend and summer roomie, Erin, has had quite the uphill battle with her masters thesis. After struggling to get her hands on the data set she was approved to use many months ago, she was finally able to finish the first draft of her thesis a couple weeks ago. This momentous occasions called for a bonfire out at The Point, including grilled sandwiches made in Colman's pie irons, decadent s'mores (made with Reeses peanut butter cups and York peppermint patties), and of course...the most ridiculous over the top pie...ever.

After Thesis Celebration Pie had to be over the top to properly celebrate Erin's feat over the great data set, and the farmers' market was brimming with fresh picked apples. However, After Thesis Celebration Pie could not just be a boring apple pie...no, it must have caramel and nuts as well...lots of caramel, and lots of nuts.

So, after making the pastry for just a single crust, I cut ten Kraft caramel squares into four pieces each and placed them at the bottom of the pastry. I then mixed the apple filling. I used three different types of apples: Golden Delicious, Gala, and Macintosh, all peeled, cored, and sliced into eighth inch slices. I then mixed the apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, lemon zest, almond extract, vanilla extract, and a pinch of cloves, and a healthy does of corn starch. I poured the apple filling into the shell (on top of the caramel pieces) and baked this for about half and hour.





Meanwhile, I made the topping. One stick of butter, a half cup of chopped pecans, a half cup of chopped hazelnuts, a half cup of sugar, and a half cup of flour were all cut together until well blended. When the pie was done with the initial baking, I pulled it out of the oven and spread my nut-crumb mixture on top, and placed it back in the oven to bake for another 45 minutes.

In the meantime, I prepared...yes, more caramel...and more nuts. I melted 30 Kraft caramel squares with three-quarters of a stick of butter over the stove. Once the caramel was melted, I added some almond and vanilla extract, and let it cool slightly. When the pie was done baking, I poured the caramel all over the top of the pie and then topped the caramel with pecan halves and whole hazelnuts. Then I melted ten more caramels with another knob of butter (and added vanilla and hazelnut extract again) and drizzled this caramel over the top. I told you, this pie was ridiculous.




(Due to the very brown colors of this pie, it was particularly difficult to photograph. Every picture I took made the pie look more like a pie-plate full of regurgitated cat food as opposed to a pie, so these photos are the best of the bunch. Already, my food photography skills are pretty bad, but this pie in particular does not look as appetizing in the photo as it did in real life.)

Essentially, the pie ended up being two desserts in one--apple pie on the bottom and caramel nut torte on the top. Oh, and don't forget that there was an entire layer of caramel underneath the apples as well.

The pie was excellent, so excellent in fact that I had to fend off a giant rat that attempted to eat the pie. We were sitting around the bonfire clutching our stomachs full of s'mores and pie, when I looked over to see a giant rat attempting to get his grubby little hands on the uneaten half of the After Thesis Celebrate Pie. Luckily, I had thought to wrap the left over pie in a plastic bag so the pie was never touched by the rat, but I did scream and hurl myself into the defense of the pie. My friend Charlie commented that if I am as attentive to my future children as I am to my pies, I will be a very good mother--thanks Charlie.

After Thesis Pie was also delicious cold the next day, and luckily untainted by dirty rat paws. Unfortunately, it may be a while longer until my next pie update. However, for now I have some other things that I would like to write about, but they will have to wait for the next few days in attempt to not write a monstrous blog post.

So, for now, I will enjoy my finally working wireless internet and my beautiful new clean kitchen. Oh and yea, I promise I will be more regular about posting...much to come...

I have been away for a while...But what foodie holiday were YOU born on?

OK, so I have not been posting very regularly here, and I intend to change that. There is much that I need to write. However, I am in the process of moving at the moment and things are quite hectic. So I promise that once I am all moved, and settled, there will be much more to actually read on here. Give me a week or so.

However, in the mean time, I thought that I would share this website so that you can find out what foodie holiday you were born on!

It turns out that I was born on the Animal Crackers birthday...hmmm not very exciting in my opinion, but I will take what I can get. If I was born on April 21st, I would have a birthday on National Chocolate-Covered Cashew Truffle Day! That would be cool. But unfortunately, my birthday is not April 21st, so I will have to settle for Animal Crackers.



Anyway, hope you find the website entertaining in the meantime. I'll be back in a week...

The Omnivore's Hundred

So I was "surfing the net," (as they say) and catching up on many of my other favorite foodie blogs, and I came across this list. It was rather refreshing actually, because just before I came across this I was thinking to myself that if I see ONE MORE blog about vegan or fat-free cooking, I am going to go nuts. Now, I feel kind of bad saying that, because I actually love vegan cooking, and there are many many amazing vegan food blogs out there. However, I will need another few blog posts to fully express my views about the current trendiness of veganism, but for now, I will leave by saying that I have some opinions on the matter. And I will add that I am unabashedly an Omnivore--I love plants, but I also love meat. So, this list is a list of 100 foods that every omnivore should try in his or her lifetime. I have copied the instructions here too, in case anyone else wants to do this little exercise as well. Lets see how I do....

PS...if anyone readying my blog here decided to do this, post a comment on this post with a link back to your results...


Here is the link to the original list:
http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/

And here are the instructions:

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison--Delicious! If it is on the menu, I will most likely order it. If you are ever in South Africa, springbok or kudu venison is AMAZING.

2. Nettle tea--At Chez Panisse Café

3. Huevos rancheros--But of course.

4. Steak tartare--not yet, although I have had carpaccio many times, including ostrich carpaccio. I feel like that is the same family...raw meat and all

5. Crocodile--No, but I have eaten alligator tail, and it did taste like chicken.

6. Black pudding--No, but I will be in the UK over Christmas this year and plan to try it. I turned my nose at it many a time when I was younger.

7. Cheese fondue--Cheese may be one of my favorite pastimes, so yes, of course.

8. Carp--Hmmm, I am not sure. Not that I can remember

9. Borscht--I made it this summer with some fresh beets from the farmers' market. I added shredded dill pickle into it, which was delicious.

10. Baba ghanoush--One of my favorites. I actually prefer it to hummus, but it is quite hard to come across GOOD baba ghanoush. I think the secret is to roast your eggplants over an open flame to get that wonderful smokey flavor.

11. Calamari--Yes, the first time I ate it I was seven. At the time I insisted that I hated everything that came from the ocean. I did not know what I was eating, but I liked it. When my dad told me what it was I almost threw up. It took me many years to try it again, but I did, and I have never turned back.

12. Pho---Mmmmmm, ultimate comfort food. I love anything with noodles. I must admit though, that I have not been bold enough to try the pho with tripe and intestines, but I will someday.

13. PB&J sandwich--Are you joking? Who has not? Well, I suppose if you are not from the U.S. there is a good chance that you have not. Although I did grow up in the U.S., with a South African mother I became accustomed to Marmite sandwiches, and I actually would take a Marmite sandwich over a PB&J any day.

14. Aloo gobi--Yes, I am a fan of anything curry, and anything cauliflower.

15. Hot dog from a street cart--Yep, that was my number one goal for going to New York City. Screw the Yankees, the Empire State Building, and Central Park. I was there for the hot dogs, pizza, and the MET (what a combination).

16. Epoisses--Sadly no, I don't think that you can get it here in America, and I have yet to go to France. I will someday though.

17. Black truffle--Ahhh yes. Shaved on top of a fillet Mignon...one word: heaven.

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes--Apple wine last fall. It was not that good. I prefer hard apple cider.

19. Steamed pork buns--Yep! Delicious!

20. Pistachio ice cream--One of my favorite flavors.

21. Heirloom tomatoes--Heaven. I had the opportunity to go an Heirloom tomato festival last summer at Kendall Jackson Winery in Sonoma, CA. I had an heirloom tomato sundae! It was bacon ice cream topped with lettuce whipped cream, an heirloom tomato sauce and then sprinkled with bread crumbs. It was delicious, but a little confusing because I was not sure if I was eating lunch or dessert.

22. Fresh wild berries--Berry picking is an activity everyone should do at least once in their lives. Your fingers are stained, your tongue is purple, and your tummy is full...for every berry you pick one goes in your mouth.

23. Foie gras--A guilty pleasure...It tastes so wonderful, especially on freshly made brioche toasts.

24. Rice and beans--I grew on up them. A dinner of rice and beans is proof that good food does not have to be expensive.

25. Brawn, or head cheese--Yep, and I can't say that I liked it.

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper--What!?!? No! Not raw! I have had a cooked one though.

27. Dulce de leche--Heaven

28. Oysters--Yep. My dear childhood friend Charlie Johnson gave me my first oyster. He caught them that afternoon at Avila Beach (a beach near my hometown in CA) and brought them over to my house. A little lemon juice and a little hot sauce and down the hatch! He told me that it would make me horny...hmmmm I was not convinced.

29. Baklava--Perhaps one of my favorite desserts in the world.

30. Bagna cauda--No, one day when I am in Italy I will, and I will relish every bite.

31. Wasabi peas--Yep, yep.

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl--A specialty in my hometown at the infamous Splash Café. To tell you the truth, I am not really a fan of clam chowder. I would rather have Manhattan style clam chowder or corn chowder. The sourdough bread bowl however, now that is a good thing.

33. Salted lassi--Hmmm, I am not sure what this is. I have had lassi before, the Indian yogurt drink, which is delicious, but I am not sure what a "Salted Lassi," is.

34. Sauerkraut--With good sausage, spicy mustard, and a frothy beer...its pretty hard to beat.

35. Root beer float--Ahhh, childhood memories. It must have a cherry on top.

36. Cognac with a fat cigar--Hehe, yea I have. Thanks Dad!

37. Clotted cream tea--At the Orangery in London. Proper civilized tea with the snootiest waiters in England. (It was delish though!)

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O--Ahhh! Yes, for the first time this past January. I had five before I realized that they are not PART vodka...they are ALL vodka. The next morning was not fun.

39. Gumbo--Mmmmm, Southerners do food right.

40. Oxtail--A specialty of my Aunt's in South Africa.

41. Curried goat--Yep! On Devon Avenue this past winter.

42. Whole insects--No, I am reluctant to say that I will not try them, because I think that if it was in front of me, I would have to try it. However, the thought is not appetizing.

43. Phaal--Yep, at Bukara in Capetown. SPICY!

44. Goat’s milk--Love it. Especially goat's yogurt.

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more--Yep, did not know it at the time. I had a glass at a little Scottish pub here in Chicago. I wrote the name down so that I could go and look for it at the liquor store. I found it, but saw that the price on the tag was $130! I decided that Single Malt is far too expensive of a habit for me.

46. Fugu--Nope, not yet

47. Chicken tikka masala--My brother insists on ordering this dish whenever we go to Indian food. He is not into trying new things. If he likes it, he will get it, over and over and over again.

48. Eel--Just had unagi sushi for lunch yesterday

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut--Yep, but I can't say that I am that huge of a Krispy Kreme fan. I don't get what all the fuss is about.

50. Sea urchin--Hmmmm, no. I don't think so. Not that I can remember.

51. Prickly pear--Yep, I will never forget Liz Johnson's famous prickly pear salad. I was about nine when she made it. Getting me to eat salad at all at that age was feat to be had, let alone prickly pear salad. However, under the threat of death (which is very scary coming from Liz) I tried it, and I did not like it. But I did not like any salad at that age. If she made it again today I am sure that I would like it.

52. Umeboshi--Nope, maybe one day I will get to Japan and try these foods.

53. Abalone--Ah yes. I was very lucky. My dad's dear friend Don Tally flew up to Northern California and went abalone fishing (?? I am not sure if the term is to fish or forage for abalone). He flew back that afternoon and invited us for dinner. They were pounded thin, breaded and fried, and they melted in your mouth like butter.

54. Paneer--Did I not say that cheese, any kind of cheese, is one of my favorite pastimes??

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal--Yep. One word: Gross.

56. Spaetzle--Ahhh Gesine, my German second mother, I still dream of your Spaetzle.

57. Dirty gin martini--My standard cocktail.

58. Beer above 8% ABV--Yep, yep. The Belgians do it right.

59. Poutine--Nope, but I suspect I will someday.

60. Carob chips--Yep. Gross. There is no replacement for chocolate.

61. S’mores--Nothing like 'em. There are nights when I have cravings and roast marshmallows over the flame on the stove.

62. Sweetbreads--Who knew that organs could taste so good?!

63. Kaolin--No, and I don't know what this is.

64. Currywurst--No, I will get to Germany eventually...

65. Durian--No, but when I lived in Berkeley they had it at the Berkeley Bowl. I considered getting it, but I was scared and didn't know what to do with it.

66. Frogs’ legs--No, another one on the to do list for when I get to France.

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake--all delicious, delicious, delicious...with a healthy dusting of powdered sugar

68. Haggis--Nope, but this December I will be in Scotland and I think that Ben will make me try it.

69. Fried plantain--Those Cubans are onto something...sooo good!

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette--Well, I have had intestines as sausage casing. Does that count?

71. Gazpacho--A summer favorite.

72. Caviar and blini--No, but once again, I suspect I will someday :)

73. Louche absinthe--Yep! Just became legal here in the States and all my friends pitched in and bought me a bottle for my birthday...what pals.

74. Gjetost, or brunost--No, but would most definitely try it...I love cheese!

75. Roadkill--Gross! No! Hmmm, would I try it? Maybe if it was a chicken that I SAW get hit by a car, and then it was retrieved from the road and cooked right away.

76. Baijiu--Nope, but sure I would try it.

77. Hostess Fruit Pie--Haha, no I have not actually. Why have a hostess fruit pie when I bake a pie once a week?!?!

78. Snail--Yep. Trader Joe's started to sell frozen escargot when I worked there in college. It was not good. I think that when I get France eventually I will have the real thing and it will be good.

79. Lapsang souchong--Mmmhmm. One of my favorite afternoon teas.

80. Bellini--Yep! We just had a "Brunch for Dinner Party" complete with a Bellini bar and all.

81. Tom yum--One of my standards when I go out for Thai food.

82. Eggs Benedict--Eggs Benny...gotta love it!

83. Pocky--Haha! Strawberry was my favorite when I was little.

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.--Yep, I had the full nine yards at Charlie Trotter's for my twenty-fifth birthday.

85. Kobe beef--Yep, the Prince of Whales restaurant at the Hotel del Corondao when I graduated from college.

86. Hare--Yep. I think it tastes like super moist dark meat chicken.

87. Goulash--Ahhh Gesine, once again I dream of your cooking.

88. Flowers--Haha! Yep, I just ate all the flower garnishes off of our desserts at Fronterra Grill a few weeks ago. I was trying to convince my parents and Ben the whole time that they were edible and tasted like licorice. They were not convinced and thought that I was crazy.

89. Horse--No, I don't think so.

90. Criollo chocolate--Yep, paid $4.50 for a tiny chocolate. It was good though.

91. Spam--Yep, my roommate in Washington D.C. was Chinese Hawaiian. She made fried Spam sandwiches. When the stuff is fried, it is not bad. But hey, what is not good when fried?

92. Soft shell crab--Mmmmm, one thing I miss about living on the east coast.

93. Rose harissa--Nope, but I have had harissa, and I love anything with rose flavor, so it sounds delicious!

94. Catfish--Yep.

95. Mole poblano--So so GOOD! When I was in the Yucatan Peninsula we had mole almost everyday. That was the first time I had ever had it, and it surely was an enlightening experience.

96. Bagel and lox--Yep, I am not a huge fan though...I know, I am strange.

97. Lobster Thermidor--Nope. Once again, when in France...

98. Polenta--One of my staples. On a cold night there is no better dinner than a steaming bowl of polenta with a runny poached egg on top, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee--Hmmm, no I don't think so.

100. Snake--Yea, I think that I was also forced to try this at the Johnson's house when I was younger.


Well, I have tried 73 out of 100. I don't think that is bad for being twenty-five years old! Well, I am off to make some pie pastry.

An Amazing Story

This entry is not about food, but rather about life. I had a somewhat remarkable experience this morning while I was riding my bike along the lakefront.

I had just ridden onto the bike path and was going around the point down in Hyde Park. There were orange construction cones and mile markers set up like there was going to be a running race. As I was cycling around the point, another cyclist came up along side me and said, "Hey! Do you know if there is a running race going on here?" I told him that I did not know, but that I hoped not and that it seemed odd for there to be a race on a Tuesday morning. I asked if he had ridden from up north (the direction I was heading for my ride) and he said that he had, and that there was no race going on up there (which I was relieved to hear because I did not want to ride into a bunch of runners).

So we got to chatting and he asked me if I lived in Hyde Park and if I went to university there. I told him yes, that I had just graduated. He asked me the famous, "So now what are you going to do," question, and I told him that I was moving up to Lakeview and needed to find a job (really need to find a job--in a serious way). He said, "Oh I love Lakeview, I met my wife in Lakeview, but now we live in Lincoln Park. We are raising our kids there." He then said,

"You know, it is a miracle that one of my kids is alive."

I listened, and he proceeded to tell me this story:

His son complained of pain in his leg and had a high fever, so they took him to the hospital, but the doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him. All of his tests were coming back normal, and he did not appear to have a virus or any sort. However, the doctor was still weary, and just thought that something was not right, so decided to keep in the hospital overnight to monitor him. The next day, he had to be rushed into emergency surgery--his legs and arms had to split open in several places to release swelling, and his stomach was cut open, his intestines taken out and suspended above him on the operating table. The dad, his name is Scot, said that he watched and saw his son on the operating table all cut open, with his guts hanging in a bag above him, and completely blue from head to toe.

It turns out that Strep type A bacteria had gotten into his blood stream. The only reason the doctor knew what to do in time was that she had seen a case like this once before--however, the chances of this type of infection is extremely rare. After 4 surgeries they had to induce a coma and wait to see what would happen.

It seemed that they were able to clear the bacteria from his body and save his life, but it was not clear what the lasting effects would be. At first the doctors thought that they were going to have to amputate both of his legs, and then it seemed that maybe he was only going to loose one leg, and then it looked even better and seemed like he may just loose one foot. The surgeons went in and started to scrape away the dead tissue on his feet (which were all black) and could not believe it, but found that there was healthy tissue underneath. It turns out that all he lost was two toes and part of his heel.

At this point in the story I was completely stunned. Scot then turned his head to me and said, "I'm sorry, I feel like I have to tell you this because it is good for me to re-cap it because he just got home."

I then asked how old the little boy is. He told me that he and his wife have four children, an eight year old daughter and a five year old daughter. He and his wife decided to have a third child and ended up having twins, two little boys who are now four. The little boy is one of the twins. He then told me,

"You know, the doctors all thought that he had no chance to live. They are all amazed that he is alive today. They said that the only explanation is that there was a higher power looking out for him. My wife and I say that he may have lost two toes, but he taught so many people the value of life, love, and family. He brought so many people together."

At this point we had been riding together for about twenty minutes, and with that he said,

"Well, I have to spin off this way. It is my daughters' first day of school and I am going home to make them oatmeal and help them put on their first day of school dresses. It was great to talk to you, and good luck with everything!"

All that I could manage to say was, "Thanks! It was great to talk to you too!" I did not even have a chance to wish him luck or wish his son good health and a quick and safe recovery. As quickly as he came into my life he left, and I will probably never see him again. However, the story of this little boy has profoundly affected me and made me reflect on all the people that I love and all the things that I take for granted every day. I am astounded at how strong of a person Scot must be. I don't know if I would be able to see my child cut open on an operating table, blue, with his intestines suspended above him, and then make the decision to induce a coma in which there is no certainty that he would come out of. Scot told me all of this is the most upbeat and chipper way--not like he was unloading on me, but rather that he wanted to share with me the lesson that his little boy had taught so many other people. The lesson that life is precious and can be taken away at any second.

So I felt compelled to pass this story along--to tell the people I love, that I love them. This morning was one of those moments in life that was so random, but I feel like it was meant to happen...like I was meant to run into this guy and listen to his story. Life is funny and unexplainable that way--but I sure do appreciate it.

So now I am going to end this post and enjoy the summer day. Love, life and happiness to you all.

--melissa