A Taste for Life

There's a monologue at the end of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" that I have always loved. I was required to memorize this piece of the play by Mr. Sweeney in Junior English class. In this monologue, the main character, Tom, is explaining how he left his family and set out on his own but how he would suddenly be reminded of his sister by colored glass such as one might see in the window of a perfume shop.

And so it was with me this evening that as I was preparing something to eat, I was reminded of some people who have influenced my life. Specifically, my Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary. Uncle Tom is/was my father's brother (Dad's crossed, so you decide if its past or present tense). And, of course, Aunt Mary has been his wife for more than 50 years.

When I was young, they lived in West Virginia. I always used to love to visit their house. First of all, it was a chance to play with my three cousins. I always had a lot of fun playing with them. But beyond that, I always loved my Aunt and Uncle. I've known people whom I thought were more in love they were, but never two people more dedicated to being in love. Does that make sense?? And it was always very obvious they loved their children. Actually, in the pursuit of accuracy, Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom had four children, all girls. Its just that their youngest daughter was born after I was away at college so I've never had the opportunity to know her as well as her three older sisters.

There was always such wonderful things at their house. For one thing, there was music. They had a piano and Uncle Tom could play. I was totally envious of his girls for having that luxury in the house! More than anything else, I always wanted to learn to play but wasn't allowed. Long story, that, and not the point of this posting. Suffice it to say it took me until I was in my 50s to get that chance.

And my Aunt and Uncle were always trying some new hobby. I remember when they bought a loom and learned to weave. And my Uncle learned batiking and made chessboards that way. They were very pretty! Uncle Tom is very knowledgeable about biology and he made going on hikes very interesting. And once he took us looking for fossils.

But what I remember most were the different foods we got to try. They always seemed to have something new to be tasted when we came. It might be a cheese, or a tea. Sometimes they had homemade root beer or ginger beer. Always something new and interesting.

I can't tell you whether my love of trying new foods is because of those childhood experiences or if its something genetic I inherited from my Dad's side. But where ever it comes from, I love to try new foods. All kinds of food. As I tell my nephews, you'll miss out on things you never knew you'd love if you don't try everything. Like Sweetbreads. Man, do I love sweetbreads. No, not like pumpkin bread. It isn't even actually bread. Look it up, if you don't know what they are.

Heck, I'd even give Thai candy another try, even though the first two times were the worst things I've ever tasted in my life (even including the fried grasshoppers). LOL!! Let me just say that its pretty near impossible to get the taste of spiced peach pits out of your mouth.

Anyway, I'm guessing that my Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom have little to no idea of the influence they've had on my life. And not just trying different foods, but also the importance of having hobbies and leisure activities. I ordered a set of knooking needles this week and can't wait for them to arrive! Its something new to be learned and enjoyed.

So Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom, THANK YOU!! You've both taught me a great deal that has made my life far more pleasant and interesting than I think it otherwise would have been. Excuse me now, I have to go practice my piano lesson for the week. :)