STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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

Special Treat ??“ From Me!

Oct 10, 2005 

Too Much Garlic

Carol Roach 

I remember a time when I never liked roast pork.  I used to watch my grandmother prepare the pork.  She would stab the poor thing as it was not dead already and place buds of garlic inside it.  I don??™t think there was a piece of meat left that had not been violated.  Then she sprinkled it with a few other condiments, added water to the pan and roasted it.  Once the meat was nearly done the smell of the garlic would permeate the house. It made me sick. Many times I wanted to vomit.  I couldn??™t stand the smell at all. 

I used to whine when it was time to eat.  There wasn??™t a piece of meat I could bite into that I didn??™t end up crunching a piece of garlic.  Each time that I did, I would gag. To me the smell of the garlic reminded me of something dead and left to linger.  The odor was evasive.  The taste was rather mild or tasteless until you bit into it and then it was a strong robust flavour which took my breath away as it made its fiery decent down the back of my throat.  I would only eat one piece of meat because I was hungry, but it was no easy task at all. 

There was no sense complaining. My grandmother would come back with the pure logic ???you eat pork chops don??™t you ??“ so don??™t give me that bull that you don??™t like pork.???  I had no choice. I had to eat it.  I was too young to explain or even realize for that matter, that it wasn??™t the pork I had an aversion too, it was the garlic.

To make it even worse, my grandmother would refrigerate the drippings, let it coagulate into a solid mass of grease and spread it over bread for a sandwich.  I drew the line there.  There was no way on this earth I would ever touch that vile stuff.  I would rather starve first.

Some time later, when I was about ten-years-old or so, I was over at my mother??™s house for supper and you guessed it she was serving roast pork.  I was always very shy with my mother and afraid to speak up and say what I really felt.  Yet she somehow knew when she placed the plate in front of me that it was not to my liking. 

???What??™s the matter with you???? she said, ???I know you eat pork, your grandmother makes it all the time.???

???I don??™t really like it though.??? I responded.

???I am afraid I don??™t have anything else to give you.??? She fussed.  ???I could fry you up some eggs, or make you a peanut butter sandwich.???

???You will do no such thing.??? He boyfriend responded.  You made this meal for us and we will all eat it and be grateful for it.??? 

I sat there. I took a mouthful of creamy mashed potatoes and savoured the sweet butter taste leaving it linger in my mouth longer than usually.  Next I tried a mouthful of peas, rolling them around on my tongue before they too descended my palate.  Back and forth I went from the potatoes to the peas until the only thing remaining on my plate with the dreaded piece of pork.

My mother was about to take my plate away exclaiming that I was finished but was interrupted by her boyfriend.

???She is not finished yet she hasn??™t touched her meat.???

???Come on Andre, she doesn??™t want it.???

???She??™ll eat it.???

I sat there head bowed and starring at my plate. I took one final look at the piece of meat and closed my eyes as I bit into it. Oh but wait, where was the crunchy, loathsome, repugnant, garlic.  I couldn??™t taste it.  Instead I tasted a juicy piece of pork, lightly flavoured, tender, and delicious.  I couldn??™t believe it. It was actually good.  I asked for seconds.

???You see,??? said Andre.  ???What did I tell you?  You can??™t let kids tell you what to do ??“ she ate it and asked for more.???

Years later, my husband and I would eat roast pork too, but minus the garlic.  I refused to use garlic in any of my cooking.  Today I am a garlic eater can you believe that?  It took my son to grow up and reintroduce me to garlic.  We did it slowly, first a little bit of garlic in the spaghetti sauce, then a little bit of garlic butter to fry or spread over vegetables, and finally crusty bread with garlic butter.  I am hooked, I love it. 

Just in case you are wondering, I still make roast pork now and then, and yes I use garlic.  I wouldn??™t eat it without it.

I Will Connect With You

I like my ability to be able to connect with people. It is like reaching out to humanity and proclaiming ???I am here for you???. I am not here to judge you. Others will certainly step into that position gladly. I am not here to reject you; too many people have already done that. I am not here to change you. My quest is simply to change myself. I am hoping that the beauty of you will change me. 

Every soul is beautiful. Every soul has something to offer. By getting to know you, you will indeed impart some of that beauty onto me. I am not here to impose society norms upon you. You know what they are already.  You know what is expected of you and if you can deal with them or not. I am not here to listen to what the world has to say, but to hear what is in your heart.

So long we have buried our true feelings to please others. We have listened to family, friends, employers, and society in general. Many times these influences were well intended and at other times they were not. It is not to say that we did not grow and learn from our life??™s experiences. We would not be the wonderful people we are today if it were not so. But sometimes we cared so much about what other people thought of us or what we thought about others that we forgot the most basic truth. We forgot to nurture who are as well. We gave all to others and forgot about ourselves.

Now we must begin the journey to heal from past hurts and move forward. We must grow like a flower; re-learn who we are and what we want from life. Like that beautiful flower we must bloom to perfection, in the image of our creator. We must listen to the chimes of our own heart and soul.

Your journey is not my journey. My journey is not your journey but our journey has a common goal and a common function. We strive to be the best that we can be. We strive for happiness and the ability to express our true hearts. When we are happy with ourselves, happiness in turn radiates from us. We become a beacon of love spread throughout the universe. Each single slice of joy, laughter, love and kindness we share with the world causes a ripple effect upon the sea of humankind. Soon other people will emulate the beacons of love that we have become and they too will join our love fest. The ripples will become tidal waves of love and understanding throughout the world and the world will truly become a better place.

My journey is not your journey. Your journey is not mine. However, I take comfort in the belief that all paths do lead to the one. Your path will take you down the road of love and understanding and my path will lead me to the same.

We may be at very different points in our path. One of us may be at the beginning, the other closer towards the end. We both will face obstacles, sometimes feeling the pressure and wanting to turn back, other times wanting to take the fork in the road that leads to the easy way out. But together we will make it as we continue along the path.

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??™s second book: Angels Watching Over is currently looking for a home. Stay tuned for details.  

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.