"I Like Them, Sam I Am. I Like Green Eggs and Ham!"

The day I ate Green Eggs and Ham...

... was one of those days:  cool morning breezes, doves busily gathering twigs for their nests.  I decided to harvest my spinach before getting to work in the office. And my life came together in a flash!

My generation began and grew to maturity between two very different times in US history: WW2 and Vietnam.  We are the baby boomers --  grandchildren of the initiators of modern technology and modern society; we are the children of the generation that saved freedom through sacrifice; the first to watch world events on TV, talk on the phone from our car, send a letter across the country in a second.  We are the baby boomers, the rebels.  We said " no"  to convention and then became convention.  And now we are the generation talking about the good ole days, when things were simple.

Trying to hang on to the simple things in life is what my generation is going to do next. We're the ones going green, raising chickens, planting gardens, turning a cynical eye toward the politics of our day.  We remember walking to the corner store to buy a candy bar for 5 cents. We remember when everything was closed on Sunday and, milk came in glass bottles with cream on the top. 

I lived in the safety of America during the Cold War while the U.S. became a superpower.  This morning I read about some of the daughters of my generation, women who leave their babies at home and go serve our country in the embattled Middle East.  They go so their children may grow and enjoy the same freedom I cherish.

You might ask what all this has to do with Green Eggs and Ham.

Everything! 

The day I ate Green eggs and ham, I made perfect photocopies of a Bible that was printed in 1878, sent them off to New York, Texas, &  California; they were ready to view in under a minute.

The day I ate Green Eggs and Ham journalists were talking about terrorism, the demise of a major terrorist leader, and the "certain" retribution  we should expect anytime, anywhere.  But I was harvesting homegrown spinach and using it to make a delicious, healthy smoothie and a wonderful omelet!  I was listening to bird songs while offering a bath to the little feathered soloists who know or care nothing of the past or the future of the world.  They simply do what is before them, they carry out the task at hand. They eat, they drink, they raise their young in carefully prepared nests--come what may around them, they do it all the same.  They sing.

  Why? Because my Father in Heaven has the whole world in his hands.
 Generations of people and birds come and go.  Life is today, now, where we are.  The task to do is the task at hand.  I am thankful for the men and women whose task is to risk their lives to secure freedom. I am thrilled that I can easily send a photo of an ancient Bible across the country in a  couple of seconds.  


Because of  the dreams, sacrifices, and efforts of generations before me, the hopes of the generation following, and because God is faithful,  I can stop to enjoy a spinach smoothie, topped with fresh mint. (recipes below)

(And just look at the beauty of those leaves.  Intricately designed, organized with veins of life- giving substance, endowed with heavenly scent and usefulness.)

Because of the arduous days soldiers have spent training and sweating and bleeding,  I have the freedom to fill a bath for the birds who build their nests in my backyard.

I really never thought this meal would end up tying my whole life together but it did. It made me notice the creative plan of God, the beauty and simple intricacy of the natural world that continues while man struggles and strives.

The day I ate Green Eggs and Ham something as basic as gardening and eating shared space with the past and the future, it was as though all of time existed in one single moment.  And it was good.

FRESH GREEN SMOOTHIE
To start the day healthy and green: Blend 1 banana, 1 cup unsweetened coconut (or almond) milk, 1 big handful of washed spinach, 4-5 strawberries (I use frozen) 1/2 ripe avacado...YUM!

GREEN OMELETTE
Blend 2 fresh eggs with a handful of chopped spinach, 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, and a splash of milk or half and half.  Heat pan, add 1 tsp virgin coconut oil. Cook gently.  After turning the egg mixture, add your choice of filling.  I used cooked bacon and grated sharp cheddar.  Enjoy!