Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes,
he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.

A. A. Milne, author, (“Winnie the Pooh”);
he was born on this date, 1882


Potatoes!! I absolutely adore potatoes! My favourite way is fresh mashed Yukon spuds from “scratch”, with heavy cream and butter, and drenched in a thick turkey gravy. Yum! Next: little red or fingerling potatoes, scrubbed, slathered in virgin olive oil, and roasted in the oven at 400F until done. Yum!! Next, red, boiled, tender, slobbered with real butter and a little sea salt ….. perfect! And one more glory: my friend Peace’s double cooked baked potatoes, the skins stuffed with fluffy potatoes, garlic, chives, and butter!

I have always said that if I could have only one thing to eat on a desert island, it would be ….. potatoes – as long as I had fire! I am definitely NOT a fan of raw potatoes ….. nor any food raw, except Carpaccio in the Carpaccio salad (served with braised radicchio at Buona Tavola in San Luis Obispo, CA. Yum!!!

So, I’m with Milne: “if a fellow [or woman] really likes potatoes, (s)he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow”.

Potatoes are, almost by definition, the “soul” of personal authenticity and of moral solidity!

For what might a potato be a metaphor? I think for ….. the rootedness, the earthiness, of human being-ness. All of us are rooted in our “dust”, our “animal” nature. We are hard-wired for this when born. But in us, latent, lies the coming choice: to choose to be transformed into our identity as One with the Divine and with the Creation. To be fully, wildly Human.

We are all born hidden, in the metaphorical Earth. We are all destined to be hauled into the Light, washed in some aspect of “baptism” - cleaned up, spiffy-ed up, and sent forth to delight others in the World.

Elegant spuds, to comfort and nourish!

Brian+