Hungry ........for a Book???

I’m hungry……nothing unusual……..articles I’ve read say I’m probably bored, or thirst……or maybe I’ve been reading the wrong thing.

Latest on my ‘just finished reading list’in no particular order….

Born Round by Frank Bruni.  Bruni is the former restaurant critic for the New York Times.  The subtitle of the book is ‘A Story of Family, Food and a Ferocious Appetite'.   If you’ve read my post about gravy--I’m in the wrong business.  This guy (a former political writer, then international correspondent, turned restaurant critic) starts by going to all the ‘starred’ restaurants in New York City.  I, on the other hand, can tell you where the best Iced Tea is on all major Interstates in Illinois.  Something is terribly wrong with this situation.  It is a great book, especially if you have food that runs in your family genes.  Like Bruni does..and I do!

 Next up, Chigger by Raymond Bial.  Bial, who has been and AITC staple for years with books like Corn Belt Harvest  and  The Super Soybean has branched out of his typical photo-documentary book and has written a positively stunning portrayal of growing up in a small town.   This book, set fictitiously in Roscoe, Indiana; could be about my childhood---except substitute Nixon for Eisenhower, and The Early Show Dialing For Dollars with Ed Kelly for the Mickey Mouse Club.  One passage struck me---even in the 1950’s, there is a difference in what Americans eat.    Luke, our main character has befriended (almost by accident) a new girl in town--nicknamed ‘Chigger’.  Luke has both parents, a stay at home mom, gets 3 square meals a day--plus regular trips to the Tastee Freeze.  ‘Chigger’ on the other hand is a latchkey kid--before there were such things, from a broken household.   Chigger becomes a fixture at Luke’s house---for many meals and treats as her mother works odd shifts and sleeps odd hours.   After a summer of dinner with Luke, Chigger invites Luke to lunch at her apartment.  

            “Isn’t this great?” Chigger remarked, digging into a bowl of canned spaghetti and tomato sauce. “Mom got it special for us.’

            “Sure is.”       

            Slipping carefully into my seat at the table, I sniffed at the off-color stuff.  At least I knew what it was, even if I was quite sure what it was made of.  Out of politeness I ate every bite, even though it tasted pretty awful ---too soft and squishy for me.  Not that we had fancy meals at our house, just the opposite, but we hardly ever ate anything out of a can, unless Mom had put it up herself.    (Chigger, By Raymond Bial, 2012,  Motes Books, page 153)

Wow--what a difference food makes to kids.  Thinking back--there was ALWAYS a difference between ‘homemade’ and ‘store bought’.   I remember my sister an I used to beg for ‘store bought cookies’ because other kids got them.  I didn’t realize how lucky I was to get ‘homemade’ more often than not.  (Might explain the not only ‘born round--but ‘remained round’ as I like my cookies!)

The final series I just finished was “The Hunger Games” Trilogy  (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins.  Although I’m not typically a reader of post-apocalyptic fiction, these books have been flying off the bookshelves of JH and HS libraries.  Plus there is a new movie about to come out.  In this series we see a world where food is power--not necessarily money.   Imagine---the people with the food have the power--what does it mean to be in power now?   How does it relate?  In these page turners, I was struck by how much I take for granted and always have---full cupboards and water from the tap.  I was left with the stunned feeling like each time I use the book “The Hungry Planet” by Pete Menzel.  What if we were to match up ‘contestants from around the world in our own ‘Hunger Games’---who knows what it is like to be truly ‘hungry’ versus ‘starving’.  

I’m certainly not starving..... or hungry……probably bored or thirsty---but living in the land of plenty, these books have reminded me of what great benefits my family and I have. I work to remind myself and my family of these gifts daily!

READ ON---and think about how hungry you really are.