"Grandma, he had often wanted to say, Is this where the world began? For surely it had begun in no other than a place like this. The kitchen, without doubt, was the center of creation, all things revolved about it; it was the pediment than sustained the temple." - Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine.
For me, as reader, I consider this scene in Bradbury's grandmother's kitchen not just as an American moment, but one that translates to all cultures in which the younger members of the family are, for now, so little aware of how the way we're introduced to cooking and communing serves to permeate the soul for a lifetime.
"Eyes shut to let his nose wander, he snuffed deeply. He moved to the hell-fire steams and sudden baking flour flurries of snow in this miraculous climate......Grandma of the thousand arms, shook, basted, whipped, beat, minced, diced, peeled, wrapped, salted and stirred."
A few more thoughts for the road:
"Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude."
–A.A. Milne
"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast."
- William Shakespeare
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
–Albert Schweitzer
Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving.
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