A Great Oasis of Nothingness

Many years ago, when I was but a teen, our family moved off its usual summer vacation groove and booked instead, a cottage in the middle of, quite literally, nowhere. Friend, nothing surrounded us, no street lights or bus service, no shops, cafes, public buildings. When darkness descended, we looked out into a vast arena of nothingness – and it was glorious. One night, a thrilling thunderstorm lit up the sky and rain lashed against the roof of the little dwelling. Inside, all was warmth and cosiness, with flickering firelight reflected on our cups and glasses. And when daylight came, the sun shone again and our guardians motored us to the nearest beach. And that was the point of the vacation. Years have passed and, though I still remember that time with fondness, I have never yearned to live like that. It was what it was, an interval, a vacation, a leaving of the ordinary, the everyday, behind, an oasis where nothing happens providing space to think, to dream, to process life. Paradoxically, it is a place where many of us expand into everything, a reminder that this world was made out of nothing.

Stuffing the mushroom

Friend, if I could get hold of whatever subject, aeons back in history, who grabbed a bunch of fungus, stuffed them in his mouth and ate them, I would show you a freak indeed. The wonder is that the habit caught on and that today, the cookbook shelves are groaning with volumes extolling the virtues of these prediluvian horrors. Over the years, otherwise good friends have tried to “convert” me into liking these anaerobic aberrations of nature, and all without success. I just cannot abide it, that bitter, corky-textured hunk of pulp with its musty after-taste, all the while knowing of its origins in the direst of environments - no air, no sunlight, plenty of dirt – like a parasite that thrives in the foulest area of the animal anatomy. After all, we don’t extol the virtue of the tapeworm, now do we? And it’s not like there is nothing else to eat on this planet; what ho to a healthful apple, orange or peach, bred in aerated soil and exposure to sunlight. Enjoy your feast of fungus, if you will, but remember, if God made the world, then the devil made….