Letting go…
When I saw beekeeping on the bind of Gourmet magazine’s August issue, I naturally envisioned photos of people covered in veils surrounded the smokers while swarms of noise circled their faces. I assumed Reichl had instructed her writers to find an organic bee farm in order to cover the benefits of consuming all-natural honey, or delicately explaining the detriments of colony collapse disorder (CCD), all while keeping light on the current emphasis of producing one’s own food. However, when turning to Ian Knauer’s story on page 62, I laid eyes on the black-and-white photo that had closely captured a bee midflight, with the title, “Framing a Life.” I knew this was no ordinary article.
Throughout the beautifully written story I caught glimpses of what I had envisioned it would be about, however the overlying presence of another tale, a different but intertwined story, looms lovingly above your head as your eyes pore over a cascade of life lessons.
Like Knaur’s article, an articulate tale of letting go of fear - a necessity in bee-handling - I find myself in a similar situation, here in South Florida.
Recently moving out on my own, into a 500-sq.-foot studio, I began to notice the lizards that painted my home and sidewalk every time I entered my house. My casual evening strolls soon turned into a game of hop-scotch as I skittishly jumped out of the lizards’ path as they were seemingly racing toward me in the dusk. Every night, as my walk was over, I would dramatically slam the door to the outside - not allowing any lizards to sneak through.
One day, while moving furniture in, I noticed a baby lizard on my wall. Scared at first sight, I thrashed my broom at it as she crawled behind the couch. There was officially no getting her out. After a ferocious battle, I put my broom down, sat on the couch, and realized that I was going to have my first slumber party - with a lizard.
Sometimes in life there are things we must let go of, and Knauer’s words teach a tale of letting go that is so strong, it is sure to bring a tear to one’s eye. And when we encounter hardships in life, sometimes there is nothing better than to sit down with a good magazine, and let the words and attractive graphics take your mind away from the pain.
So, this summer, if you are letting go of a failed relationship - like I am - sit down with this month’s issue of Gourmet, and laugh at the pepper story, “Burning Love”; cry at the bee story, “Framing a Life”; and cook with the spicy story, “This Rough Magic”; because I am sure that these actions and thoughts will help take your mind off everything as you get lost in the enchanted pages of Gourmet.
