After dinner mints and a side of conversation

My favorite part of a meal is when everyone is finished, happy, and full and ready to relax around some good conversation. After all of the events of the past 7 or so days I felt like we all needed some conversation like this. The beauty of after dinner conversation is that it may get heated and the conversation may become controversial, but everyone is too full and happy to really mind and the conversation always ends on a sweet note even if that note only comes because of the after dinner mints.

Last Friday Walter Cronkite died at the age of 92. The news broadcasts told of his life and how upstanding of a man he was. It was a pleasant change after the weeks of Michael Jackson broadcasts. I think I heard "Thriller" more times than I ever did in my life. Cronkite lived a much different life even though he also lived in the public eye. Someone was on Good Morning America talking about how he and his wife were perfect for each other and how wonderful of a life he lived. No one once mentioned Cronkite's favorite food. A man who traveled and knew the world like he did had to have his favorite restaurants and favorite night time snacks. I, being the food lover that I am, wonder these sort of things. I know the world will miss the truthfulness and openness of reporting Cronkite had. His passing was a sad one.

Another great died just Sunday. Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes died of cancer at the age of 78. A lot of my high school years were spent perusing around the biography section of the public library. I know that sounds dreadfully exciting, but the lives of the many people who did exciting things and decided to write about those things were truly my heroes. If asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I would probably tell you exciting. I wanted to be like these people; I wanted so many adventures that I could fill a book, or two. I read Angela's Ashes during this period of my life and like all of the other biographies it made me want to run away. I wished I grew up in a dirty Irish home, as hysterical as that sounds today.

During high school I didn't have the ginormas adventures that I had hoped for, but after leaving for college I started to see that everyone is born into their own little adventures. I read so many more books that inspired me in my writing throughout cooking school and now journalism school, but when I heard about Frank McCourt's passing I could not help but go back to Brandywine Community Library and my dreams of adventures and other countries and places.

Life really hasn't changed much since then. I still want to live an exciting life, only now I have a slightly different view on what makes things exciting, working 22 days in a row and around day 20 watching your roommate buy cocaine in your driveway will do that to you. Waking up every morning to my adorable little puppy is exciting now, as is being Betty Baker at the country club I work at.

Not everyone can grow up to be a Walter Cronkite or a Frank McCourt, but everyone has a story to tell; you just have to be willing to stop what you're so busily doing and listen. You may be amazed at the things you will learn.

I can't think of a better way to listen than over food. If I could I would go and get the after dinner mints now. Maybe just treat yourself to a little dessert and thought.

Happy Eating!!!

Emily