Must be something in the air 09/23/09
For the second year in a row I was part of Six Mile Creek's harvest festival. In what I believe is a statement of our slowly recovering, yet still fragile economy I met a lot more people from the general Ithaca area this year than at the harvest festival last year. Once again I met a lot of very nice people of all ages. While I didn't get most of your names you know who you are and I want to thank you all for enriching my experience of being there. Several of you couldn't wait to try the "Kicked up shrimp" recipe...please e-mail me to let me know how you liked it. Others couldn't wait to use the onion blend on their next home made pizza...again I'd love to hear from you. For the young children who tried the sauces (especially my Mom's original blend)let me know how they taste on your scrambled eggs the next time you make them.
I do want to say and early "Thank-you" to Scotty for the referral and to say I did make contact and hope within a week to officially be posting a new addition to the "Where to buy" section!!
In addition to all the quality conversation mentioned above there was another few moments like my conversation with the Pennsylvania couple last harvest festival where time seemed to stop. Some might say karma, others the weather had something to do with it and still others might say there must be something in the air. I simply think it was meant to be just like everything that happens to us. I want to thank Carmen and her son Vinny for all that we shared. I'll remember it just like the couple from last year and trust me when I say that if I never see them again or hear from them and if I never see you two again or hear from you it will not take a thing away from our conversations...they will stay with me forever. As I mentioned to you, just because we may not know how a story turns out doesn't mean the time we invested in someone was wasted. Quite the contrary which leads me to say this to you and everyone...
THE best gift we can give someone is the gift of our time.
Nothing else will ever top that...not money, not gifts... nothing.
To you Vinny I say enjoy each and every moment with your Mom and Dad. I know I mentioned how old I was when my parents passed...don't live in fear of that. Heck, your parents may live to each be 100!! You have your whole life ahead of you...embrace it. Yes the teenage years can be troubling as I recall but they're also filled with amazing accomplishments along with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth. Pursue all your dreams, everything you're passionate about, everything that stirs your soul and know your parents will support you every step of the way. Continue to explore cooking and see where it takes you and keep that open mind to everything you try in life. My son said just yesterday that he still most wants to become a PGA golfer but definitely wants to keep exploring cooking and thought it would be neat to be a chef or own his own restaurant someday.

From your parents point of view I want to share something else that I don't think I mentioned the other day. My Father taught me a lot and in the absence of him being here his teachings have helped me a lot in my role as Dad and in life. Both my parents died before my kids were born but one thing he was very sure of was something he called unconditional love. It was of his opinion (and I definitely share it)that unconditional love was the purest, most amazing love that exists and as much as he loved my Mom he said it only can exist between a parent and a child. You put two adults together and, since we're supposed to know it all, we tend to put conditions on the love we share. He said from the moment me and my four sisters were born so did the unconditional love. Having said that he also said unconditional love offers no guarantees. As a parent you pour your heart, soul and guts into your children on a daily basis yet there's nothing written to guarantee the child won't grow up to hate your guts yet as a parent that's not an issue because the love is just beyond anything you've ever experienced. In other words it's more than worth the risk. I'm sure your Mom and Dad feel that same unconditional love for you.

One more thing for you and that's the words priority and obligation. For some parents children are an obligation and to others a priority. Obviously with all I've already said and the fact my daughter and son are my universe, mine are a priority. For others, and I've both met and seen a lot of them over the years, children are an obligation. They look at their child/children turning the age of 18 as a time when they get their lives back because presumably it's time for college or bottomline being out of the house. I'm dreading age 18...not living in fear of it but never want there to be a time when I don't hear the pitter/patter of their feet, hear and see their smiles and laughter. So what I do about that is what I've done for 13+ years...acknowledge that 18 will be here soon enough and then go out and make the most of each and every day. I know for sure your parents look at you as a priority and not an obligation.

In closing let me thank you both again for the gift of your time and if it's just for that one time I'm fine with it and my life has been enriched as a result of it.

And in the bigger scope of the entire harvest fest weekend let me thank Eric for having me be part of the festivities and to your entire staff (Allison, Melissa and everyone else)for all the assistance and for making me feel so welcome. I feel very much at home at Six Mile Creek and look forward to future harvest festivals.