STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

Special Treat ??“ Carol Roach 

July 16, 2005 

Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine
and tarragon make it French. Sour cream
makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon
make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese;
garlic makes it good.

Alice May Brock

Garlic Makes It Good

Carol Roach

When I feel each bite of my meal as a body to body hug I think of the pleasure I receive from the sheer warmth of human contact, love and compassion.  The 17^th century writer/philosopher John Donne once said, ???No man is an island, entire of itself.???  And for me, no truer words were spoken.  Independently I can do a lot in my life, in conjunction with others, I can do much more. 

As the old adage goes, ???There is no ???I??? in the word Team.??? 

Since this piece is dedicated to food and humanity, let us examine the previous statement in accordance with people and food.

One of the quests of a humanitarian society is to feed the hungry of this world.  Individually we send our hard earned dollars to underprivileged countries and that is good.  But, we do not do it alone. We have a great system put in place.  

Very few people know the recipients of their generous donations personally.  For the most part, their efforts are combined with those of many likeminded individuals who pool their resources, time, and effort into a large organization or charity dedicated to helping others. These charities are multileveled.  The individuals send their heartfelt donations while the administrators direct this money to the people who are to receive it and pay out salaries and other administration costs which are an essential part of the process. 

On the receiving end there are doctors, engineers, social workers, teachers, counselors, ministers, and numerous other staff and service workers dedicated to getting the money out for the purpose it was intended.  Some of this money is earmarked for food, and some for education, building, and medical care; which brings me to another old adage,

???Feed a man a fish, and you will feed his belly for a day, teach a man how to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.???

The work of any one individual could never accomplish this feat, and the help of every individual is necessary for the success of the project in whatever capacity he or she can offer.

When I return to my meal and the warmth from the hugs of humanity, I think of yet another adage

???All we need is a melting pot.??? 

The melting pot theory was conceived to wipe out racism and I don??™t personally agree with it.  Not because I believe racism is good because I will never believe that! But because on the surface, the idea sounds so wonderful, but when we dig deeper there are some serious flaws.  When I envision a melting pot, I see a chocolate fondue. The chocolate is rich and bubbly.  It is all the same rich chocolate colour. It smells heavenly and tastes warm, smooth, decadent. 

I certainly can overdo it with chocolate. When I start, I cannot stop, but you know what, there is a point that I have to stop. My throat seizes up. It will not allow me to down this wonderful food. My belly starts to ache and I feel sick. Yes, sick of chocolate. As a child I never thought I would ever say those words, let alone even think them. But there comes a time when I have eaten too much chocolate and this heavenly food leaves distaste in my mouth. It is no longer sweet, rich, and decadent to my palate. It becomes bland, heavy, lifeless, and useless. 

The melting pot theory to me is the same.  While everyone is trying to be just like everyone else, we loose the richness in our diversity as humans.  We lose our cultural identities; we lose the beauty of what makes us unique, we dispel what brings richness and wonder, excitement, and joy to the tapestry of human existence.

Instead of the melting pot theory to overcome racism, I choose to adhere to the salad bowl theory. To make a good salad you must have a variety of ingredients, a variety of flavours, and tastes.

Can you imagine a salad consisting only of lettuce and you ate it every day of your life?  I would say with conviction mealtimes would be very boring, just as I say with conviction life would be boring as well.

To my way of thinking, a salad must be a celebration of flavour, always tempting, sometimes predicable, sometimes mysterious, but never the same. 

Let us start with the basic ingredient of most salads; lettuce.  Let us look at lettuce as the dominant culture of any society; necessary, important, the building block and foundation of any great nation. 

In terms of architectural design if you walk the great cities and towns of your country do find that every edifice looks exactly the same? I would hope not. Imagine if every house on every street looked exactly alike and every shop and every office tower looked exactly alike, and finally every restaurant and place of worship looked exactly alike ??“ that to me would be dismal. 

Such as we have variety in our architecture, we have variety in our food and variety within the people we encounter everyday of our lives.

I will end this piece today with the words I began with.

When I feel each bite of my meal as a body to body hug I think of the pleasure I receive from the sheer warmth of human contact, love and compassion. 

In my Canadian salad bowl, the lettuce represents the dominate culture; white Anglo Saxons who are the descendants from glorious old England. Now if I wanted a chef salad, I couldn??™t deny the Norman descendants from France, they are my tomatoes, rich, red, juicy, spicy, and saucy. You have to come to Quebec to experience the fiery tempers of French Canadians, of which I am part decent.  French Canadians are also warm and loving and have done much to make Canada the beautiful multicultural country that it is. 

Again, if I just had a chef salad every day of my life, I think I would become bored. I would have to look for more variety to enrich my plate, my palate and my life. For example, on any given day I may crave cucumbers; solid, and firm, with just the right amount of moisture. When I think about them it is the German and Slavic people who come to mind. They are a firm, solid people with just enough moisture to soften their hearts with compassion for the world around them.

I love onions. There is nothing I like better to have with just about any meal anywhere, anytime than onions; white onions, Spanish onions ??“ onions, onions, onions; such flavour, such fortitude.  To me an onion blends in well everywhere, adds spice, and is the perfect compliment to every meal including my salad. The Hispanic peoples of this world are my onions. 

My salad may contain green peppers, broccoli, or other greens. Thus, when I think of green, how could I not think of Ireland, the land of leprechauns and pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? They are an enchanting people, again, with fiery tempers and hearts of gold. I think of what Canada would be without the wonderful Gaelic community and the Celtic contribution to the arts.

My salad may contain garlic, and lots of cheese; mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and the list goes on.  Oh Roma ??“ belissima; and I think of the wonder of Italy: gondolas, Venice, Rome, the Tower of Pizza, the Vatican, the basilicas, the history, the love, the passion, and the hard work, and dedication of the Italian people who helped build my great nation.

My salad may contain feta cheese ??“ the cheese of the Hellenic community.  Much of our culture was handed down by Greek society: democracy, the Hippocratic Oath, the alphabet, the great philosophers; Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, just to name a few.  Today the Greek community serves Canada well in the capacity of entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers, and more.  They constantly give to the community, with the same fervour as before ??“ echoes of the past and promises of tomorrow.

My salad may contain beets, luscious red beets with a texture that is so rich, hard, and cold.  My salad may also contain sour cream; light and fluffy. The combination reminds me of Borsch, a cold beet soup topped with a dollop of sour cream.  Borsch is a soup which at first glance, may not appear appetizing. You might think ???oh I am not going to like this???, but when you taste it you are amazed that you do. For me this is the essence of all that is Russia; a hardworking, outspoken, staunch and dedicated people. Take the time to get to know them ??“ savour the unique flavour that is Russia. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised. Taste the soup!

My salad does contain spices such as garlic, curry, and ginger. And when I think about and taste these wonderful spices, it brings me to the great Orient, the peoples of Asia, and Africa too.  These spices are exotic, flavourful, robust, tangy, pungent, aromatic, and esoteric just like the people of the countries involved.  For example, ginger to me is very mysterious and magical.  It has great healing powers while at the same time maintaining a certain subtilty.  The Chinese and Japanese peoples are oftentimes a very quiet and discreet people. They are not proud and boastful yet their contributions are amazing. 

Our Canadian railway system was built upon the backs of the Japanese worker. We owe much to them. Ginger is delightful, warm, inviting, and playful; it leaves a lingering taste, a taste you never forget. The peoples of India, the Orient, and even Africa are like ginger, they are people that you will never forget!

My salad oftentimes contains olives, black or green, sour, oily, velvety to the touch, but never the less delectable, a source of energy and vitality, the pride of the Middle East. I think of the great vineyards of Israel and Lebanon renown for their olives. I think of the Jewish people, and all they have done for Canada, from the beginning of our religious history to contributions in every walk of life. They are truly embedded in the Canadian mosaic. I think of the Arab peoples, new immigrants to our country but with so much to offer. I think of the triune, the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We are all descendents from Abraham, we are all his children. The Middle East has brought us variety, mystery, and intrigue. We hope as the people of Canada, we have become tolerant and understanding as well as enlightened and enriched and willing to learn from these great people.

Last but not least my salad includes corn; maize given with love to our European ancestors by the great native peoples - the six Nations of Canada. We owe our very lives to these people. Only now, centuries later, are we developing an interest in the rich loving nature of these wonderful people. Only now are we starting to understand the spirit guardians of this great land.

There concludes my salad of humanity and the love and warmth of a great people and great foods. 

Carol Roach

winterose@videotron.ca

A Native of Montreal, Quebec, Carol is a graduate of Concordia, and McGill University.  She holds a bachelor in psychology and a masters in counselling psychology.  Carol Roach is a published writer and newsletter editor.  You can purchase her book: Picking up the Pieces: A Woman's Journey at www.publishamerica.com, or www.amazon.com.  You can also go to your local bookstore and order it there as well.  Carol has now finished her second novel and currently looking for a publisher. 

If you are interested in other stories feel free to join her newsletter: Storytime Tapestry at: http://subs.zinester.com/98907 , or email her directly at winterose@videotron.ca and she will be glad to accommodate you.  Carol enjoys email and responds to every inquiry.