Professor Sharon

Well, the first thing I actually didn’t know is that it is spelled that way!  I’ve always spelled it jello!  What I know about Jell-O is that it is, in fact, one of my favorite foods.  Can it be considered a food though?  I’m tempted to stop and start researching, because I’m pretty sure, over the years, I’ve heard many issues with the nutritional value of commercial Jell-O.  I know many parents who restrict their children’s intake of Jell-O to the gelatin that you buy – a powder – and then you put fruit juice in it so that it’s “healthy.”  I think I know, although research is again in order that it used to have something to do with being made from animals’ bones or marrow of some kind.  As a kid we were always teased by someone that it was made from horses’ hoofs.  Was it?  I don’t know. Certainly the gelatinous thing that happens on platters with left over meats suggests there’s something related in the product. I do know it’s a favorite food of mine!  Just last week, at our 40^th wedding anniversary surprise party, one of the pot lock items that were brought was Jell-O!  I loved it!  I waited to eat until everyone else had – one of my habits at a party – even though I was told to eat first.  By the time I made it to the table laden with all kinds of summer goodies: chicken bits, strawberries – plain and in a fruit salad, a lentil dish, and lots of empty platters and bowls, I found the bottom of the Jell-O offering.  Yeah!  It was yellow – meaning lemon (a Jell-O connoisseur knows what color goes with what flavor) – with strawberries floating in it.  Yeah, who cared what else I ate.  I found who made it, thanked them profusely and practically inhaled that Jell-O in celebration.  I remember feeling that way about my life whenever I got Jell-O as a child.  I don’t even know how often it was dessert, but it was never refused by any of my siblings and I.  It would be served with a dash of milk on top!  I loved the sparkling pieces of red, like icebergs, poking up through the deep white milk.  So refreshing.  Nothing could go wrong, no one could bother me, no one would yell or be yelled at, no chores had to be done – all was at peace in the world – at least my corner of the vast kitchen table with so many around it – when Jell-O was being served.  This week when I was gifted Jell-O for the party potluck, I felt the love imparted in a bowl of Jell-O that so many others did not.  What I did was share my peace and delight in the moment by declaring “I love Jell-O! What a great party!”

(For my readers – if I have any – this begins an experiment on my part.  My life, in the coming year, is going to have some time in it for me to pursue writing.  So I am going to use some of the results of my writing practice as blog posts.  Published writers advise new writers to be sure to share their writing.  So, here’s to the experiment!  All comments welcome!)