July 18, 2006

That precious ladle...

7-25-06 Still trying to lad the graphic....

The graphic won't load---I'll try again later.

7-18-06-The above graphic is my name tag from the 4th of July Steilacoom Street Fair. I was in the Northwest Authors booth talking to my readers. If you missed me, I'm scheduled to be at the Proctor Fair, on August 5th, near Starbucks. Look for the Northwest Authors booth.

The Ladle
by Janelle Meraz Hooper

I don’t know why I was washing dishes by hand last night—I have a dishwasher. Maybe it was because our Mariners were behind the Yankees 2-4. Or maybe it was the latest war in the Middle East. Or maybe, it was the sight of our president stupidly talking in front of an open microphone and chewing with his mouth open at that big mucky-muck meeting of leaders in Russia (that man is such a hick!). I dunno what it was.
Anyway, there was a soup ladle in my sink, and it brought back a flood of memories (that happens to me a lot—maybe I should seek help). I can remember exactly when I got it. It was given to me at a bridal shower my friends gave me in our college dormitory in 1963. I don’t remember the name of the girl it was from, but I can see her as clear as yesterday. She was so fragile, maybe a size one, with reddish long hair. That year, she’d been working on a student talent show with us, and she’d objected to a poem by Ogden Nash because it had a swear word in it (A strange bird is the pelican—his beak can hold more than his belly-can—in his beak he can hold enough food for a week—but I don’t know how the hell-he-can). She was such a sweetheart.
That ladle has been with me from that first pot of soup until now. It has served delicious soups with beef and pea pods. Spicy, aromatic Cajun soups with chicken and ham. Sometimes, it has ladled soups that were more frugal. It has even spooned more than its share of beans. It has seen lonely times when my husband was in Viet Nam and happier times when his whole family gathered around our table for gazpacho. It has ladled tomato soup decorated with popcorn into my daughter’s bowl. Soup made with vegetables from our organic garden. Even soup made with leftover salmon (okay, that one was a mistake!). That ladle. That precious ladle.
It is still in good shape, made soundly from stainless steel by a company named Ecko, I think. After all these years, it is in no danger of replacement. How could I replace it? How could I purchase one of those new plastic ladles with lots of color but no memories?
I don’t know what happened to my friend who gave it to me. I hope she is well and happy—and I hope she has a ladle just like the one she gave me, oh so many years ago…

For shame! I've learned that the 4th of July piece that I posted was a hoax! Don't ya hate it when that happens?

Comanche Dictionary-Do you have your copy yet?

On my bed table: Gaby's Penance by Aline Lesage. Set in the early 20th century, Gaby's Penance is the gripping saga of a tormented and ambitious Québécoise, whose sin cost her more than she could possibly fathom. Read her story and you will never forget her! iUniverse, $19.95. This is the perfect summer read. Aline was born in Quebec, Canada, although she lives in the Northwest now.

Quote du jour:

"Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training." Anna Freud (quoted in the July 2006 issue of the OWFI magazine) I wonder what her definition of survive is?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I wish I found janellemerazhooper.blogspot.com before ! Your site is very informative, thanks.
You nicely summed up the issue. I would add that this doesn’t exactly concenplate often. xD Anyway, good post…